January 27

Just when you thought the lows couldn't get any lower:

WBAL reported that a 80-year-old woman was stabbed repeatedly in the parking lot of a KFC after she refused to give spare change to a pair of panhandlers.

A 14-year-old boy was shot multiple times with a pellet gun while getting off the bus on N. Howard Street.

Roxanne Umphery-Lucas claims that the former head of the PTA, Michael Franklin, stalked her, threatened to burn down her house, stole her mail and slashed her tires.

Speaking of the "troubled North Avenue corridor," that's just Elizabeth Carter was found after a neighbor recognized her from the TV.

"A Lutherville man facing a 13-year prison sentence for sexually abusing a child and harassing witnesses has been charged with soliciting the murder of a Baltimore County prosecutor."

"Youths at a private residential program for juvenile offenders are telling their lawyers about watching staff members sit on [17-year-old Isaiah Simmons] until he died."

Ann LoLordo Op-Ed:
"How many more murders will it take before Baltimoreans are fed up enough to do something about it?"
Cybrarian Op-Ed:
Dear Ann, if standing outside and hollering like a renegade Pawnee is what it would take to stop the violence, (or driving through the West Side shaking a finger, or writing irate letters to the editor) we'd be all over that shit. But we all know that 3,000 people could converge on city hall with flaming torches and not a thing would change. The police are understaffed-- that is not my fault. Judges who do have the opportunity to lock people up dole out half-assed "concurrent" sentences-- what am I supposed to do about that, other than not vote for that judge again next time? The city gets grants, and what becomes of them? They're pooped away on one-time worthless projects like cameras, database projects that never get finished and chit-chatting committees. As long as we're blaming "the citizens," the people who are in charge and actually do have the power to change things are off the hook. The violence Baltimoreans are subjected to is bad enough-- to suggest we deserve it because we aren't mad enough is downright offensive. Mkay?

A lot of creeps out there, gals...

Hurrah for the clerk at the County courthouse who thought there was something fishy about one Boaz Immanuel Mohammed Pleasant-Bey and Googled him ... he turned out to be wanted for the rape of a seven-year-old girl.

College Park's got a creep who peeps, sneaks and sleeps.

Elizabeth Carter, 14, of Fallston, fled her overprotective, grammatically challenged parents, probably got abducted.

January 26

Mrs. Patricia C. Jessamy announced today that her office has dismissed first degree rape and misconduct charges against Steven Hatley, 27, and Brian Shaffer, 31, in connection with the alleged rape of a city woman December 27, 2005. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Shaffer and Hatley January 6, 2006 following an independent Grand Jury investigation. Jurors heard evidence and witness testimony during secret proceedings under Maryland law before returning indictments. Prosecutors from the SA's Sex Offense Division conducted a review and evaluation of the evidence in this case following the recent not guilty verdict in the Maryland vs. Jemini Jones.

Brian Witte: Md. lawmakers seek to repeal death penalty.

A 16-year-old was shot in the leg in the Eastern.
And three guys went to a whole lot of trouble to steal a moped.

Terrance Washington appears to have left the state.

Parkville pedestrians are being mugged by four unarmed men.

A jury found Enoch Hill, the former associate pastor of the House of God church, guilty of repeatedly molesting a 12-year-old boy.

Five people were arrested for selling pot.

A PGC cop shot two men in his home under murky circumstances.

HoCo: No wonder Mr. Hartlove was such a peppy teacher.

Wow... I was excited by the picture for a second. It looked like Baltimore had thrown Sheila out with the trash.

January 25

In murder news, an unidentified man [24] was shot to death yesterday morning near Madison Ave. and Bloom St. Tio Floyd [23] was killed in the 1700 block of E. Biddle St. at 10:30 on Tuesday night. At 8:00 Tuesday night, Ronald Lewis [22] was shot to death in McCulloh Homes, which is located nine blocks south of where yesterday's killing occurred. David Thomas [21] was the victim of a shooting on Brighton St. in Rosemont on Monday night.

More on Isaiah Simmons III, the boy who died after a violent outburst at Bowling Brook Prep.

A 16-year-old boy was shot in East Baltimore.

You'd think after two other escapes, they'd know to keep a close eye on Terrence Washington, or Terrance, or whatever his name is.

The carjacking mentioned here a few days ago is in today's Blotter.

The P.G. County Deputy Director of Homeland Security shot two alleged furniture delivery men.

HoCoPoPo are offering a grand to anyone who helps them catch the guy who robbed a Chevy Chase bank in Ellicott City on Monday afternoon.

The Sun reports that Jessamy's high-fivers were "reassigned."

Yikes. WJZ reports that "many young girls are looking up to Baltimore's first ever female mayor for inspiration." And WBAL blows our mind with this shocker: "Jailing Violent Repeat Offenders Key To Safety."

Two bills in Annapolis will replace the Maryland death penalty with life in prison without parole.

January 24 Nite

The Ink catalouges 2007's murders 16-20.

January 24 afternoon

Rumor has it that Mrs. Patricia Coates Jessamy fired two genuises on her protection team who high-fived each other in the courtroom after Jemini Jones' acquittal.
Says the SA's office, "We have NO COMMENT."

Why this isn't front page news is beyond me: an off-duty cop's daughter was held at gunpoint during a robbery outside the girl's day care center on Monday morning.

A fight at the McCulloh Homes in West Baltimore left one unidentified man [22] dead.

A Bowling Brook Prep student died after becoming "enraged for no apparent reason" and threatening school staff.

Typical Baltimore stuff (shootings, robbery, etc.) in the Blotter, including an armed robbery on The Avenue.

Two Annapolis men were wounded in a shooting late last night.

Harford County Detention Center inmate Terrance Kassis Washington escaped while being taken to the emergency room.

A robbery victim in South Baltimore was locked in the trunk of a Jaguar.

Breaking News!!! On October 13, robbers forced their way into a Pikesville house, restrained the family who lived there, and stole $20,000 worth of sports memorabilia. Police are searching for the suspects. Hopefully they fled the scene really, really slowly.

John Gray was sentenced to 90 days for attacking his son's peewee league football coach.

January 24

La Migra: we weren't planning a raid, but the inmigrantes jumped on our cars!

That's one rape trial down, one to go for Jemini Jones. Shouted a friend of the alleged victim, "Police... just proved they can get away with everything."

Cue the violins: The murder of Antwaine Curbeam (14) has made Loyola students nervous about walking to the CVS. Though the Police have never said killing was drug-related, Loyola Director of Public Safety Tim Fox was quick to reassure students: "All indications are that it was drug-related. It was a single shot, so that it kind of tends to look like it was maybe a hit of some sort."

Dear Readers, Does anyone have a CBS radio login they could share? Tried to register unsuccessfully and I kind of miss listening to Ed Norris...

January 23 afternoon

An immigration raid around Broadway resulted in an estimated two dozen arrests. Says our reporter on the scene,

I spoke to representatives from United Workers' Association, including Spanish speaking workers who were in the area of Broadway and Lombard this morning. At 11:30, unmarked cars rolled up to that corner in front of the 7-11 and rounded up Hispanic immigrants waiting for work there. At 10:30 the corner was full of people waiting for offers of work for the day ... Witnesses said the raid was carried out by 'Immigration,' presumably ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement, part of the Department of Homeland Security). There is no word yet if this was an isolated raid or part of a coordinated, multi-city effort.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury has indicted Kevin White, 23, of the 4700 block of Ellison Avenue; Kevin Barnes, 20, of the 900 block of E. Lombard Street and Lennard Jones, 21 of the 900 block of Whitelock Street on first-degree murder and other counts. Court documents allege on December 26, 2006, the victim, Jose Hernandez, along with another male, were approached by three males as they walked away from the corner store in the 3200 block of East Baltimore Street. Two of the males produced knives and the other produced a handgun. Mr. Hernandez and the other man ran, gunshots were fired and the other man witnessed Mr. Hernandez fall to the ground. Mr. Hernandez died as a result of his injuries. The other man escaped without injuries. An arraignment is scheduled February 14, 2007, before Judge Gale E. Rasin.

Judge Allen L. Schwait sentenced Reginald McKever, 21, of the 4700 block of Ellson Avenue, to 50 years in prison today. A City jury convicted McKever November 3, 2006 of attempted first-degree murder, use of a handgun in the crime of violence and attempted robbery deadly weapon. Judge Schwait sentenced him to 30 years for the attempted murder and 20 years for the handgun count with the sentences to run consecutively. Judge Schwait also sentenced McKever to a concurrent 20 year prison term for the attempted robbery deadly weapon count. Say the facts,

On July 18, 2005 Baltimore Police Officer Kevin Simmons was off-duty when McKever and an unknown male approached him. McKever brandished a handgun and demanded money from Simmons. Officer Simmons, fearing what might happen if the defendant got his service weapon, attempted to flea from the defendant while announcing that he was a police officer. McKever shot Officer Simmons one time, striking him in the foot, and then fled the scene.

A jury acquitted Jemini Jones of all charges.

No bail for Brandon Grimes.

Carroll County's one homicide of 2006 was Rylee Emge, age three months, a victim of shaken-baby syndrome. His father has been charged.

Silver Spring has bought itself a $7.7 million bridge that's now "a perfect place for a crime."

Examinertorial re. the Robert Clay case: "Every reason given for secrecy [by the police department] is specious."

If you've been groped, assaulted or forced to watch porn with the pervert at left, Fabrice Snowden, please call Baltimore County Police.

January 23

An unidentified man was shot to death at 8 last night on Brighton St. in West Baltimore's Rosemont neighborhood. The 21st murder of the year wasn't reported by WJZ, WBAL radio, WBAL TV, WMAR, or the Examiner.

The grandmother of Bonita Madden, the woman killed in the murder/suicide in West Baltimore last week, is being evicted from a senior living facility for taking in her granddaughter's newly orphaned kids.

Duane Latoye Geiger eluded police for nearly two years, but was finally arrested for the murder of White Marsh resident Ralph Amadi.

"Eggy's become a great man now."

Former Q.A. teacher Chris Tribbitt got 18 months, which is about six months shorter than his "relationship" with a teenage girl.

We steal from the churches, we steal from the outreach centers, we steal from the BK, and we steal from each other.

Funeral home owner Paul Stella is being investigated by the feds for stealing from pre-paid funeral accounts.

The Yorkway complex in Dundalk -- source of 3,800 calls to police in 2005 -- has started to come down.

Two 16-year-old girls are missing in Montgomery County, but foul play is not suspected.

Shut up and drive!

January 22 Evening

The Jemini Jones case has gone to the jury.

This past weekend I decided to finally update my non-fatal shootings map, so I slowly combed through the Baltimore Police Dept. Online Crime Map and counted all the "Agg. Assault - Gun" green triangle icons I could find. I thought the readers of this fine blog would like to see the list of this year's so far. It's a lot less than I expected and I have a feeling it is rather incomplete (where's that kid who got shot on Belnord and who was erroneously reported as dead by ABC?). Also, I don't understand why the person killed in the 300 block of West North Avenue gets to be the victim of both a murder AND an aggravated assault while the rest of this year's murder victims only get to be murder victims, but here it is, Jan. 1st through Jan. 13th:

Northwestern District:

1/1 - 5100 block Elmer Ave, 21215
1/7 - 2900 block Taney Rd, 21209
1/11 - 4100 block Fairview Ave, 21216
1/12 - 3800 block Beehler Ave, 21215
1/13 - 3400 block Paton Ave, 21215

Northern District:

1/5 - 1100 block E Belvedere Ave, 21239 (four victims)
1/5 - 3900 block Roland Ave, 21211 (three victims)
1/6 - 300 block W North Ave, 21217
1/8 - 400 block E 27th St, 21218

Northeastern District:

1/1 - 4900 block Aberdeen Ave, 21206
1/4 - 2600 block Pelham Ave, 21213
1/5 - 1700 block Carswell St, 21218
1/8 - 1800 block E 31st St, 21218
1/9 - 1700 block Abbotston St, 21218
1/11 - 4800 block Harford Rd, 21214

Western District:

1/2 - 1400 block Mountmor Ct, 21217
1/5 - 1900 block Clifton Ave, 21217 (five victims)
1/6 - 1000 block W Saratoga St, 21223
1/8 - 1600 block N Gilmor St, 21217

Central District:

1/4 - 1900 block Pennsylvania Ave, 21217
1/7 - 500 block W Saratoga St, 21201
1/7 - 400 block W Franklin St, 21201

Eastern District:

1/1 - 2400 block E Oliver St, 21213
1/2 - 1300 block N Bradford St, 21213
1/2 - 600 block N Wolfe St, 21205 (Johns Hopkins Hospital)
1/4 - 400 block E 21st St, 21218
1/8 - 1700 block Harford Ave, 21213
1/9 - 600 block N Wolfe St, 21205 (Johns Hopkins Hospital)
1/9 - 1200 block E North Ave, 21202
1/12 - 400 block E 22nd St, 21218

Southwestern District:

1/1 - 3400 block Clifton Ave, 21216 (two victims)
1/8 - 1800 block N Rosedale St, 21216
1/8 - 2700 block Walbrook Ave, 21216
1/9 - 4700 block Dartford Ave, 21229

Southern District:

1/10 - 3600 block S Hanover St, 21225
1/13 - 100 block S Schroeder St, 21223

Southeastern District:

None (!)

January 22

19-year-old Anton Jones Jr. has been identified as the 20th muder victim in the city. According to Galt, he had no criminal history and was guilty of nothing more than going grocery shopping.

Welcome to Baltimore, the city where a chauffered-at-gunpoint crime spree warrants 131 words in the Blotter. On top of that, two other shootings and a stabbing.

The State's Attorney's Office is questioning the effectiveness of the blue light cameras.

Closing arguments are scheduled today for Jemini Jones' case.

In Queen Anne's county, sentencing is scheduled for Christopher Tribbitt, a former physical education teacher who is charged with molesting a 12-year-old girl.

If you want a tattoo in Westminster, you'd better get it quick.

A good article about how two people can make a difference.

January 21

Two men were murdered yesterday: An adult male [19] was shot in the head at 1000 E. Baltimore St. at 3:50 on Saturday afternoon, and a man [20] was shot in the Northeast neighborhood of Cedonia at 11:00 last night.

Rodricks is trying to rally the masses.

A man in a stolen Volvo was killed when he crashed into an SUV in Annapolis.

January 20

More on Thursday's murder/suicide [18] on North Calhoun Street.
Fox reported last night that the eight-year-old daughter was the one who called the police.

Jemini Jones: "I never had sexual intercourse with that woman."

The civil-rights lawsuit against the city goes on. Former Baltimore Police Internal Affairs Chief Zeinab Rabold testified that she found a dead rat and racist flier on her car.

A teenaged suspect was shot to death by MoCo Police.

City cops are searching for an aging queen, European playboy or other "fashion-conscious gentleman" who burgled Gian Marco Menswear.

The scrunchie has left the building: top jailer Mary Ann Saar is out, and Gary Maynard, 63, is in! (Isn't it unusual to hire someone who's two years from retirement?)

Back by popular demand, the stolen Pug link.
The Pikesville Molotov cocktail is none too comforting, either ...

[mocking of Mike Schuh deleted out of respect for the dead]

Scratch that!

I woke up with a sore throat and might not make it but I'll try...
ps., if anyone has a copy of yesterday's post, in their cache or whatever, please send it to me.

January 19, evening

Rodney Thomas, aka "Skinny Suge," 31, of the 2500 block of Edmondson Avenue, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on Wednesday before the Honorable Martin P. Welch. Thomas was sentenced to 15 years in prison, however, Judge Welch suspended all but three years, ordered a three-year-term of probation and $1,471 restitution to the victim. While outlining the facts of the plea to the court, prosecutor Rita Wistoff-Ito noted that the victim recognized and knew the defendant from his appearance in the "Stop Fucking Snitching Vol. 1" DVD. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Thomas May 1, 2006 for first-degree assault. Court documents allege that on February 13, 2006 following an argument with the victim, Thomas assaulted an employee of the USA Boutique in Mondawmin Mall striking her in the head. The victim also sustained a chipped bottom tooth, black eye, bruised lip and a fractured nose from the attack. In a separate incident on February 18, 2006, Thomas was charged with robbery. That case was nol prossed following the plea agreement in the above matter, says the SA's office.

Today in Circuit Court a Baltimore City jury found Terrance Wynn guilty of robbery with a deadly weapon; plain old robbery; first-degree assault; two counts of second-degree assault; theft over $500; wear, carry, transport and use of a handgun during a crime; two counts of reckless endangerment and and two counts of false imprisonment. Say the facts:

In the late afternoon of Sunday, August 28, 2004 Terrence Wynn entered the home of Curtis Stokes in the 3100 block of Ravenwood Avenue under the guise of purchasing a T-shirt. He and an accomplice robbed and assaulted Mr. Stokes, Ms. Darlene Richardson, and Ms. Sagundra Poole of approximately $40,000 in cash, goods, CD’s, clothing, a cell phone and jewelry. Terrence Wynn and his accomplice then falsely imprisoned the three victims in Mr. Stokes' basement while fleeing the scene. Terrence Wynn faces a possible 170 years of incarceration at sentencing scheduled for March 26, 2007 in Part Four.

Oooh, The Sun now has a way to filter just the Baltimore City news. So handy for those of us who don't like to waste time thinking about anywhere else!

Cap'n Karl Hickerson was charged with 95 counts of being a pervert.

Apparently, Kenneth Trivett thought drugs and helicopters would go together like peanut butter and chocolate.

"...But I don't think that any of us want to think of Baltimore as a city that knows how to make excuses." Actually, Sheila, I don't want to think of Baltimore as a city where nearly 300 people are murdered each year. Do you think you can help with that, or will we get more excuses?

Wow... we've sunk to stealing pugs. That's wrong on so many levels, I don't even know where to start.

January 18, part II

21-year-old Dante Watson is murder victim #17. He was stabbed in his Northeast apartment on Monday night and died on Tuesday.

Jennifer Ann Kruszynski is missing and suspected dead; her ex-boyfriend implicated himself in his suicide note.

A federal cop and a Virginia State Trooper were beaten and robbed in Canton. Both were in town to attend Det. Troy Chesley's funeral and show support to the Baltimore PD.

Good to know that the Navy and the Secret Service are unofficially protecting our malls.

Armed robbery at the Rotunda, and a 17-year-old in a stolen Jeep tried to run down the police.

Things are looking bad for Jemini Jones.

Careful with that O'Douls: you might get charged with an open container violation

A transgendered woman got busted during her attempt to become transidentified.

The state has four years to fix the city jail.

There's a joke in here somewhere about the crime of O'Malley being governor and Dixon being mayor. It just isn't feeling funny to me this morning.

January 18

A woman was punched in the face and had her purse stolen at the Waverly Giant.

January 17

The funeral was held for Detective Chesley, who "lived well and lived right."

One of the guns found with Chesley's accused killer was confiscated by police in 2001.

Vehicular manslaughter was added to the charges against Lazara Arellano de Hogue in the dragging death of 3-year-old Elijah Cozart.

A 52-year-old city cab driver was shot in the neck by one of his passengers.

A 23-year-old man was shot in the leg in Annapolis this morning.

Okay, so it's Trooper Rafeal Reyes, not Rayes. And it's not merely teenage girls he likes, it's teenage relatives. Nice.

Luvine Summers got 10 years for robbing a bank in Ellicott City.

Badges and uniforms are missing from BWI: Dutch is pissed but the TSA says it's all good.

Sometimes it's hard to know which end of the knife is pointy.

Note to car thieves: It's much easier to get away if you don't take a shortcut through someone's living room.

This way, my teeth can fall out before they get too yellowed from all the coffee I drink.

Sheila likes Hamm's "ability to provide stability and consistency..." Interesting.

"The Modell's Give Disadvantage Kids An Education". I wonder if headline writer's at WJZ are included in those being educate.

Hi, Clubhouse!

Well, that wasn't so bad... Anna Ditkoff certainly seems to share the collective outrage r.e. the lack of outrage...
ps. Burg, you look just like Jason Schwartzman <-high compliment!

We call it "the Baltimore"

"Its many features include compartments for emergency morphine ... Built into the forearms are a small recording device, a pepper-spray gun and a detachable transponder that can be swallowed in case of trouble."

January 16

Two teenage girls, one of them pregnant, were shot in Park Heights.

David Wesley was arrested for trying to kill his brother-in-law and setting fire to his front lawn.

State Trooper Rafael Rayes has been suspended and charged with liking teenage girls way too much.

Questions remain about activist/businessman Robert Clay's alleged suicide, and police continue to be uncooperative.

Sheila's going to bring us a "more holistic approach to crime". This should be good.

Convicted murderer Lawrence Borchardt doesn't want to be murdered killed by the will of the people of Maryland.

Cynthia Putty has returned home safely.

The Examiner headline says it all: "Columbia Mall seeing increase in crime and accidents as it expands."

It's like Romeo and Juliet, but with the guards as the Montagues and the inmates as the Capulets.

We cant spel.

Skateboarding is not a crime. Stealing skateboards, however, is.

Lots of purse snatchings, cell phone robberies, and stolen computers.

Serious, starting next month...

Tuesday, January 9, Hamm talks to Sentementes and Linskey for an article:
"Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm said that officials who participate in the city's Criminal Justice Coordinating Council - a group of elected officials, law enforcement agency representatives and others - 'need to start getting serious about getting people off the street.'"

Wednesday, January 10, as in, the next damn day:
Hamm is a no-show at the CJCC meeting.
Only one person from the police department (James Green, director of special projects) bothered to go.

January 15

Richard Crane was shot to death on Saturday afternoon in an "ambush-style killing" on E. 29th St. Crane is the 16th homicide in 2007.

Wayne Baboolal was charged in the murder of Washeeda Ali Siahpoush, the Virginia woman whose body was found in Owings Mills.

47-year-old Cynthia Putty has been missing since January 4.

Funny how when people at the Harbor are targeted, a meeting about crime just isn't adequate. No, this time, they've called for a school assembly!!! (Oh, and students from Digital Harbor High are "no longer allowed to walk through the Harbor but must walk around it." How does one walk through a Harbor?)

Gun advocates are trying to give us the right to carry concealed weapons.

The mayor of Aberdeen is taking on the City Council over a date book.

I wonder if the possibility of a felony conviction is really worth $2?

January 14

A vieweing is scheduled today for murdered detective Troy Chesley.

Hammy wants more "community policing." He even took time from his busy meeting schedule to meet with career offenders and warn them.

Likes: federally funded trips to Miami Beach and San Francisco. Dislikes: Those annoying kids who keep causing trouble.

A look at the policies regarding alleged sex offenders in HoCo schools.

No, dammit... she said "Outrage," not "Outage."

January 13

Gregory Stokes was arrested in the Southeast and charged with killing Pamela Balk in Worcester County.

According to a WJZ headline, we're "Concerned Over High 2007 Murder Rate". The Almighty Sheila won't have recommendations until next week. Perhaps her suggestions will include that we stop killing each other.

Lawrence Borchardt is on his way back to death row.

Alvin Augustus Williams was convicted of second-degree murder in the unprovoked killing of basketball coach and software engineer Brian O'Neil Jones in Canton. Sentencing is on 2/26/2007.

Perverts in the HoCo schools, in the Klan, and in Carroll County.

Testimony continues against Jemini Jones, formerly of the Southwestern Flex Squad.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Patrick Cavanaugh handed down a sentence in what he describes to the Sun as "the most heartrending he has encountered in his 33-year legal career."

A stolen trumpet, debit card, and bag of groceries.

January 12

Mother Jones revisits the 1963 murder of Hattie Carroll, made famous by the world's most overrated musician.
(Here's more)
Did you know? Before the Internets, crime blogs were performed in epic folk song form!

January 11

Marcus McDowell, 16, homicide #10, was killed while trying to help a friend who was being robbed.
11. Rodney Gardner, 21, 3100 Ravenowood(sp?) Road
12. Gregory Rochester, 25, 200 block of E. 25th Street
13. William Davis, 26, 1200 block of N. Caroline Street
14. Antwaine Curbeam, 30, 5200 block of York Road
15. Melissa Stefanski, 23, 600 block of Washburn Ave.
Dixon and Hamm are going to have a meeting, and Judge Glynn is forming a committee.
Ever get the feeling there could be 15 people left alive in the city, and the solution would still be a combination of meetings, committees and study groups?

Police are still seeking the two men who shot a cab driver in Brooklyn, one with a "'snake-shot' weapon."

A CA woman was indicted for bringing 77 pounds of khat through BWI (which, I hear from a friend in airport security at a more cosmopolitan hub, is an extremely common find-- most flights from Africa come with at least one passenger with a "big, light bag full of what looks like hedge clippings." Many people don't know it's illegal, and most of the time security just throws it out.)

January 10

So far, '07 has been bloody and sad-- 15 homicides in 10 days, five of them yesterday, including Detective Troy Chesley Sr.

A cab driver was shot in the throat by a man on South Hanover Street who's at large.

Sierra Swann got 15 years and Nathaniel Broadway 30 for the deaths of 30-day-old Emonney and Emunnea Broadway.

Tia Whitehead, the mother of a 15-year-old Baltimore girl who was chained to a bed for four days got no jail time for her role.

Judge Glynn: The city court system deals with about 10,000 felony cases a year, but has the capacity to hold only about 500 jury trials.

This just in

From Julie Bykowicz, who was there:

DJ Tommy = not guilty

of anything. He's being released right now.

Morning

"Two slayings push homicides to 13"
And two more since press time.

"Trouble is so easy to get into but it is SO hard to get out of," said accused cop-killer Brandon Grimes.

A woman was arrested for killing Freddie Thornton, 69.
And a man was shot and another stabbed in the Blotter.

Sentencing hearings today for Nathaniel Broadway and Sierra Swann in what must be the worst case of child abuse the city has ever seen-- and that's saying a LOT.
Meanwhile, the city is struggling to fix its $67-million foster child tracking system.

Ted Venetoulis swears the Sun will be his by March.

January 9

Sun: "City homicide count rises to 9"
Can someone please tell me which don't count or are the same person or something?:
1. Leon Nelson, 17, China Garden
2. Man, early 20's at Windsor Forest apt. complex, 4900 Challedon Road
3. Woman in 2000 W. North Avenue Rowhouse
4. Another 17-year-old on Belnord, SE? - disputed
5. Thomas Joseph MacKenney, the 5900 block of Northwood Drive near Chinquapin Run
6. Yule Antonio Henderson, 21, 1800 block of N. Montford Ave.
7. Un ID'd man, 5200 block of Ready Ave.
8. Ray William Alston, 27, 300 block of W. North Ave.
9. Edward L. Canupp, 500 block of Maude Ave.
10. 16-year-old boy 5100 block of Harford Road
11. An Un Id'd man shot in the chest at an unknown location and dropped off at the Johns Hopkins Hospital emergency room
12. Detective Troy Lamont Chesley Sr., 34. (whose alleged killer, Brandon Grimes, had been arrested 17 times. )

A 13-year-old girl took the stand against her accused rapist Charles Carroll.

Shocking!

WBAL has taken the very rare step of publishing a photograph of the body of the Jane Doe found murdered on Caves Road near Park Heights Avenue.

January 8

Raeshio Rice got 27 federal years for racketeering and drug conspiracy charges. Said ♥RJR♥, "The Rice organization is out of business, their fancy cars and other assets now belong to the government, and gang members will spend many decades in federal prison cells with no probation and no parole. If Raeshio Rice does not already regret that he chose a life of drugs and violence, he will regret it long before the year 2030."

Donta Allen, who pled guilty to killing Hopkins student Linda Trinh, was given a life sentence, though under the terms of the plea agreement he may be out on parole someday.

Bykowicz on the trial of DJ Tommy, which continues today in room 430 of courthouse east. With the speedy schedule of a bench trial, it could be over within two or three days. The last witness, we hear, was/will be the Medical Examiner, who will explain, presumably, why he was certain Ramasamy's death could not have been a suicide.
ps. says a source regarding the "profane" message, it said, "i'm fuck" (or actually, i'm fucc) as if she (or someone) was attempting to write "i'm fucked."

Three victims were shot to death and one beaten over the past weekend. And in the blotter, another shooting, a stabbing and an assault.

Eeeewwww.... Joseph Samuel Ellis, 25, of Elkridge, who taught at Glenelg High School, HoCo, was charged with sex offenses for exposing his dangly bits live and via cell-phone cam to two teenage girls.

It's God vs the Deuce!
The Managing Editor of the WMAR newsroom, Nicole Block, resigned January 3 and sent co-workers a memo explaining that working her job "does not please God," adding, "I have grown into a woman, that [sic]now understands her purpose in life and that is to serve God in everything I do."

January 7

A strangled woman's body was found in the County near Caves Road and Park Heights in Reisterstown.

Justin Wylbynzynski of Berwick, PA. fled officers, was shot to death in Essex.

The family of HoCo murder victim Ronald "Jay" Kinzer held a vigil.

Pardon our digression, but indeed, the pink elephant declares Atlas Shrugged "joyless" and John Galt "not worth knowing."[login: bushsucks psword: bushsucks]

"Business leaders consistently name it as one of their favourite books... Why the fuss? Because no other novel grants the enterprising chief executive such Nietzschean superman status. No other novel provides such a manifesto for money and the free market ... Atlas's prose is rambling, often wooden; its length is self- indulgent."

Yet bitch still sells six figures from the grave and she'll probably sell more than that this year, so it's hard to feel too bad about the panning!

January 6

Dept: of Scary Stats:
Says the D.C.-based nonprofit The Sentencing Project, "more than half of young black males living in Washington, DC and Baltimore are caught up in the criminal justice system on an average day— either in prison, jail, on probation or parole, out on bond, or being sought on a warrant."

Some New York mapmakers used info gleaned from prison entry forms to plot the city's "million-dollar blocks"-- those where the city spends that much (in a year, presumably) to incarcerate its residents. Suprisingly, the borough with the most million-dollar blocks is Manhattan.

There was a triple shooting up in the NE at 1130 Belvedere Avenue, none of the injuries are fatal.

Mayhem in Woodlawn! Students at Milford Mill Academy were pepper-sprayed by police after a post-basketbal-game brawl broke out, and a man barricaded himself in a home... tasering ensued.

Mood-> :(
In Kent County, a 12-year-old girl was given marijuana and cocaine by Dad and New Mommy on a holiday visit. The criminally trashy couple was busted after the girl posted about her fun times on a myspace forum.

"You are a horror to every sane adult in this community," said federal Judge Andre M. Davis to Danny Fleck, a 60-year-old former postal worker who spent "years trolling online for underage girls."
And, 21-year-old George Alexander Riegel of Reisterstown received a four-year prison sentence for e-mailing an undercover agent files of two videos of an adult male having sex with a young child.

Judge Davis also called AAC cop-shooter Calvin Ignatius Savoy "cold-blooded" and "depraved" and sent him to jail for life.

A catfight downtown and plenty of burglary in the Blotter.

Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Tim Hutchins stopped a PGC drunk driver by his very own self after a motorist dialed #77.

Thought we all agreed to stop blaming music lyrics for violent human behavior back in the heavy metal days, on account of the whole supposition being unproveable, and any effective remedies being unconstitutional and unAmerican (not to mention some listeners are able to grasp allegory). Ergo, this column is stupid.

January 5

FredCo police are looking for Robert Lee Burgess Jr., left, a murder suspect whose last known address was in HoCo.

[Case name redacted by request-- this person was found not guilty] Another Update: An available courtroom was found and Judge Paul Alpert was open. The defendant chose a bench trial* instead of a jury trial, so Judge Alpert will hear and decide the case. Pretrial motions will be heard at 2:00 p.m. today and the openings will begin 9:30 a.m. Monday, January 8. Judge Alpert is a retired Judge so we don't know yet where he will be sitting Monday.
Ghosts of the Internets: [defendant] last logged in to myspace a week ago. And someone logged on on behalf of his alleged victim, Anu Ramasamy, a few days ago.
Update: Judge Welch has a trial starting Monday, so court administrators have to find a new judge and courtroom. Why no one thought of that before today, dunno...

*Why might a defendant want a bench trial? Notes this legal article,

In the local slang of some courthouses, a bench trial is known as a "slow plea," meaning that the local culture understands that the purpose of a bench trial is to find the defendant guilty, and present details of the case to the judge for purposes of sentencing. In such a jurisdiction, a defendant who believes in her innocence would be ill-advised to waive a jury.

A sentencing hearing for Donta Allen, admitted killer of Hopkins coed Linda Trinh, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday, January 8, 2007 before Judge Roger W. Brown.
Also scheduled Monday: the trial of Charles Carroll, indicted for second-degree rape, four counts of sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 18 and two counts of third-degree sexual offense, and the trial of Acurtiss Grimes, indicted Grimes July 15, 2004 for first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the death of his 2-month-old daughter Kaitlyn.

A County man spent 14 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, but he can't be pardoned because he's pled guilty to sodomy.

The future is now: gait-recognition software can detect suspicious pedestrians.

Andrea Siegel: "A Glen Burnie father shouted 'It's not fair!' and kicked his chair away yesterday after an Anne Arundel County judge sentenced him to 18 months in jail for a drunken-driving crash that killed two youngsters, one of them his."

Two homicide victims named: Larry Parks, 37, was shot in April and died in November (275 of 2006), and Eddie Golf, 26 (2), was the man found near Leakin Park.

Tug-of-Love maman Myriam Bédard is back in Québec, according to spokesmountie Sylvain L'Heureux (whose name means "The Happy Woods"). Thus ends MD's role in the tale of international scandal and intrigue.

The minivan-thief shot by police in PGC was ID'd as Mark Antonio Washington, 43.

The election may be over, but MD's voting-machine woes go on ...

You want flies with that? Says Health Commissioner Sharfstein, 16 percent of Baltimore City McDonald's restaurants have been closed on account of filth.

January 4 Insomniac Edition

Articles to think about while you lie awake:
More people are in jail in America than ever-- but death sentences are at a 30-year-low. What's up with that?

What should happen to officers like Lt. Ehren Watada who "fail to deploy for an illegal war"?

January 4 afternoon

Corey Reuben Cooper pled guilty to robbing jewelry stores. His accomplice, Brian O'Neal, was caught when Baltimore policeman David A. Williamson admitted taking some of the nearly $1 million in jewelry from Cooper during a traffic stop. Williamson resigned after his wife was caught trying to pawn the loot.

A Howard County Circuit Court judge denied the request to move Monti Mantrice Fleming,15 and accused of fatally shooting a Columbia teenager last year, to a juvenile facility.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Kevin Parker, 24, of the 1300 block of Poplar Grove for first-degree murder. Court documents allege on September 28 Parker and another person, armed with handguns entered a dwelling in the 1200 block of N. Dukeland Street. Parker believed an individual in the dwelling was responsible for a robbery that occurred on Winchester Street earlier the same day. A struggle over a handgun ensued between Parker and Sultan Mathews-Bey. Sultan Mathews-Bey was fatally shot in the head (204 of 2006). An arraignment is scheduled for January 31, 2007.

PGC police shot a minivan-theft suspect, closing down BW Parkway near Hyattsville.

Murdered Chidibere Ochulo had taken out two restraining orders against her husband before he killed her. She "told court officials that they were trying to work out their problems."

Germantown perv Brian Champange got 16 years for his stash of 7,600 child porn images, and sending nudie pix to a minor.
And, former NIH researcher Dr. McClellan Walther pled guilty to ordering videos from a child porn catalog sent by federal agents.

January 4

Oscar Adams shot pregnant passerby Ashley Harris to death on Charles Street in front of Club Choices, but he's out on bail.

Odd, was another teenager shot near Belnord Avenue, or it this the same story?
And police are still seeking Antoine Martin, 16, for stabbing Paul Jones at Southwestern. A picture might help.

Rest In Peace t-shirts are hot sellers at Mondawmin mall, and across the country in our West-Coast sister city of Oaktown. Headlines the SF Chronicle, "R.I.P. shirts become an urban tradition, Mementos honoring the dead now a religious ritual, complete with their own rules of observance."

The E blasts MOM for Mrs. J's $83k pay raise: "why didn’t O'Malley spend the money on a counselor for himself and Jessamy to improve their relationship?"

Getting Low in HoCo:
Like the cartoon villan she sounds like, Penny Banks is eeevil.. stealing $82k of dead-man checks!
Also on Rod's blog: Sapo of MS-13 pled guilty to racketeering, and a 25-year-old could be in jail until he's 55 for an accounting-fraud scheme. And a former District officer pled guilty to transporting a shotgun that he and his teenaged daughter sawed to an illegal length.

Myriam Bédard flies back to Québec today, after, says the Canuck National Post, "languish[ing] in an American jail as punishment for her testimony into the federal sponsorship scandal."
Languishing!

And MD taxpayers will be housing some Mexicans and a couple tarheels after they were busted for the coca.
Fun fact: the teenaged Cybrarian was once charged with felony reckless endangerment in Reidsville, Rockingham County NC!

Life may be too short, but Rodricks can make it feel a lot longer!

Dear middle-aged paunchy white guy of Baltimore: Let me start with this: Newspaper space is precious. Full of sad news sometimes, but newspaper space is precious. There are designers and editors in your department- and people everywhere in the newspaper business, for that matter- who work hard at laying out pages, appeasing advertisers and making pages interesting to look at. Readers spend seconds every day looking at the paper because they have faith newspaper space is precious. Most of us want to be informed. There are countless people with no newspapers, people who can't even read ...

... to use precious resources, space and ink repeating the word precious six times ... Just writing a few sentences in that pedantic, hand-wringing style is exhausting!
(Said Journalism professor Christopher Henson of Rodricks: "a white columnist’s imitation of black argot might be read by some as condescending." TG brothaman cut that shit out at least, right?!)

Thanks to galt for the link to the Messenger's Northern crime log, in which one can read about a York Road carjacking ("a motorist was flagged down"?) many stolen laptops, and in Hampden, arson and a stickup at the Dunkin Donuts.

January 3 evening

It's the County's second murder or the city's fifth, or some young guy had a heart attack strolling Chinquapin Parkway. In any case, just over somebody's line, "remains were found."

And a seventh-grader was stabbed in the right forearm at a West Baltimore middle school.
Like you never stabbed anyone in middle school?

Chet Dembeck, the "Last Reporter": "Watching local TV reporters ever so softly interview Gov.-elect Martin O'Malley on New Year's Eve reminded me of a scripted, surrealistic propaganda video you might be forced to watch 1,000 times in a re-education camp in Siberia."

January 3

The County's first murder was the fatal stabbing of 48-year old Arthur G. Brown Jr. in Landsdowne.

Got a babydaddy in jail and want to show off his mug shot? There's a place on the "Prison Talk" forum.

And ANOTHER shooting: a juvenile shot in the head on Belnord Avenue near Patterson Park in the southeastern has died (homicde number four).
1. Leon Nelson, 17, China Garden
2. Man, early 20's at Windsor Forest apt. complex, 4900 Challedon Road
3. Woman in 2000 W. North Avenue Rowhouse (see link above)
4. Another 17-year-old on Belnord, SE

A man shot in April who died in November became 2006's homicide #275 (and police still haven't called his family).
Two-seventy-five for the City, 350 for the Metro Area in '06-- such tidy numbers!

Dick Irwin reports on the juvenile shot in the head and also an unID'd man in the Eastern shot in the chest. And a carjacking in the Central, and lots of theft.

The 20-year-old man found shot dead in the Edgewood flowerbed was ID'd as Walter Antonio Overton.

Hamm: let's spend state $ treating cracky.

Your tax $ at work: An ongoing ACLU lawsuit against the city and the federal government on behalf of black public-housing residents has cost the city $6.6 million so far.

Harold Singfield Jr., 22, got a new trial when a judge ruled another judge should have asked potential jurors if they could be fair. Why this warrants a whole story is beyond me. I guess procedural slip-ups like that are usually frosted over, but this time an appeals judge put his foot down?
Update: Wrote someone from Luke Broadwater's mailbox,

There's a growing amount of case law that says judges must ask jurors direct questions about certain types of cases to determine whether the very nature of those cases elicit strong feelings, thereby resulting in bias.

Maybe it's only an interesting story to me -- I don't know. But, at least to some degree, I think it illustrates the difficulty prosecutors face in successfully convicting accused murderers.

Gregory Kane reveals that his cousin, Uncle George Floyd's boy Louis, was a bit of a black sheep; advocates "good" prisoners beating down the "dangerous" ones.
Er, wouldn't that make the good prisoners into dangerous ones by definition?

Hate those hit-and-run drivers! Eg. Jason Dehn, 24, who drunkenly killed two dialysis patients.

Phony $20s are showing up in Somerset County (sub req.).

"Meet the New Boss"-- CP has a Q & A with Ms. Dixon.
On Crime:

"I'm not making any bold promises as relates to a number [of murders] and reducing crime. What I want to see is that the State's Attorney's office and the police department have a better working relationship."

About as modest a goal as it gets, as it's all uphill from here!

A hypothetical question to Mrs. J and the BPD:

"Are we all in the business for reducing crime? ... what is it going to take from your department and what is it going to take from the police department? We need to have a frank, honest conversation, because there are weaknesses on both sides."

On fingers:

"Instead of pointing the fingers, recognizing that and really asking--like at the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council I asked that question, as City Council president. I ask that every time I go to the meeting, to the judges and parole and probation office, the governor's office, etc. I ask: Are we really in this to reduce crime or are we just here because of your titles and it's a job? Because that's kind of the sense I have from some of the individuals who serve."

But she's not pointing any fingers!
Meet the New Old Status Quo!
(Wonder whappened to that Urban Blight project of hers?)

Dan Rodricks' column reminds me of a lady I saw wailing on her kid at the mall, screaming, "you know better than to hit your brother!"
Like it would help anything to try to have a parenting discussion with a bitch crazy enough to take toddlers to the mall!
(How should a concerned citizen handle the public-child-abuse spectacle? WWJM*D?
(*Judith Martin)

January 2 Afternoon

A body was found behind an apartment complex near Leakin Park (2).

Two-thousand-seven rang in with the shooting death of 17-year-old Leon Nelson, who died about three hours after he was shot at the China Garden.

Op Ed du jour: "Where's the outrage over black-on-black killings?"
DeWayne Wickham, USA Today
"The number of blacks killed in 2005 [by a single black assailant] alone approaches the total of all the blacks lynched in this country from 1882 to 1968, according to records maintained by Tuskegee University."

Bédard's lawyer to Mounties: come get my client out of MD!

Can this relationship be saved? Stephen Mujerm, 40, of Lanham proposed to his woman, Victorine Taboh of Laurel. An hour later, he knocked her out with a steering-wheel lock and found himself in a PA jail.

What's old is new again dept: Is policing by private security firms the wave of the future?

January 2 - The Party's Over

A man's body was found squashing daisies on Meadowood Drive in Edgewood, HafCo.

An 18-year-old was shot, a 20-year-old was stabbed, a 15-year-old had bleach thrown in his face and an 18-year-old raped at a party in the Blotter.

Three people were shot at the China Garden restaurant between Dru Hill and Leakin Parks.

The Amber-Alert kids and their murder-suspect dad were found unhurt by an eagle-eyed motorist in Olney.

A Baltimore church has a service annually for the city's youngest homicide victims.

Care to define "metro area," Luke Broadwater? Is AAC in it? Harford County?

The Post Office is closed for Gerald Ford's funeral.

The Holidays are officially over ... good news to the 7 readers who contemplated suicide, the 13 who drank too much, and the two with no shoes on their feet (at the airport).
And no one had terducken for Xmas-- though five readers enjoyed the charms of Chinese.
Ps. The Chinese Delight on 41st and Falls has the best dumplings in town, plus they take Amex -- and that corner attracts the most interesting of Hampden's Falls Rd. ho's.

Chief Judge John Prevas will preside over a brief ceremony this morning at 8:30 a.m. as State's Attorney Patricia C Jessamy begins her third elected term and receives the Oath of Office. Following the Installation Ceremony, many of the 200 Assistant State's Attorneys who serve in the District and Circuit Courts, at Central Booking and in the Juvenile Courts Division will also receive the Oath of Office. Dockets will be called at 10 a.m. following the ceremony, juice and cookies.

Year in Review continued

April
The year's most lurid political scandal broke: that would be Charles Boutin, chief sponsor of the Defense of Marriage Act, using his state-issued computer to find a hooker specializing in domination ... then issuing a press release blaming "ED" for his behavior.

Pat Jessamy was livid at what she called a "rouge database" of inaccurate data.
She was also featured on the CBS national news, calling Baltimore the "epicenter of witness intimidation."

Hobbit-like Judge John Glynn was in a peppery mood, calling Jessamy a "liar" (regarding Amanda Johnson's plea) in the Daily Record and opining to the Sun that city police have a "sloppy and unprofessional" approch to search warrants.

Jayne Miller uncovered a story in which a man's death was re-classified by the ME at the behest of the police from 'homicide' to death by 'natural causes'-- even though a homicide trial was pending.

Oprah came to town to pay a visit to her old colleague Richard Sher and raise funds for Beth Tfiloh, and told WBAL, "I think the state of education in Baltimore is an atrocity, an atrocity. What is going on is a crime to the children of the city. It's a crime that people can't figure it out."

Our first link to the Examiner: a story about police helping convicts find jobs.

...to be continued...

January 1

Gus Sentementes puts 2006's homicide total at 274-- actually one fewer than the city's 2005 number as per the Medical Examiner's office.
Meanwhile, murder is down 15 percent in the District.

AMBER ALERT!
Police are looking for black dad Kelechi Charles Emeruwa and his three kids.
Their mother Chidiebere Omenihu Ochulo was found murdered in Burtonsville, MoCo, and Emeruwa and the children, (left to right) Antinnoe, 6, (a girl), Elijah, 4, and Jachi, an 8-year-old boy, are missing, as is their blue Honda Civic, plate MKZ-237.

Is the burning body found in a house near Greenmount Cemetery* number 27-something? We'll never know for sure...

What the?!-- someone removed a dead woman's gravestone and put it on her father's Glen Burnie lawn.

*This weekend took the husband on a Creepy Drive through the Northern and Eastern on the way to Canton-- from Greenmount and 33rd, South on Greenmount (check the nauseating flashy blue lights!), left (East) on E. North Avenue, view the Big Weird building (shown left), go South on Patterson Park Ave. to get out... or keep going East to see all the streets you read about in the blotter!
Hey Burg, I'll bet you have some good suggestions for Scenic drives through town...!

Year in Review

January
The first posts of '06 were made by Chuck.
Said a non, "damn my boi ronny aka butch was killed new years day butch we love u and we here holdin it down r.i.p"

Soon after the ball dropped, police had begun to look for Graham Buckmaster's GMC after he killed his live-in partner Lisa Moore.

The Northwest was outraged at the murder of Warren Fleming by 21-year-old career criminal Brian Keith Rose.

O'Malley's Catholic father died, causing the future governor to miss a Planned Parenthood event.

By Jan 21 there had been 18 murders. The "Flex Squad" scandal blew up, and Warren Brown called Jemini Jones' accuser a "big fat liar."
A redacted report suggested fixes to Central Booking.. and was promptly sent to the "round" file by the MD Dept of Public Safety and Correctional Services -- the very agency that commissioned it.
And you can't forget that Keith Mills story!

February
The Feds began to hand out hefty sentences in the McAbier firebombing case.

The strange murder of Natasha Bacchus Magee was recollected for a jury in HoCo.

"Big thick" John C. Gaumer admitted to killing Hampden's Josie Brown in Arbutus (and a reader was outraged that I wrote "poor thing" about Brown: "she was a person, not a thing!").

Vernon Evans Jr. was scheduled to die on the 5th, but didn't.

WBAL noted that the ME's office had 275 homicides down for '06, even with the justifieds and whatnot taken out. The police reported 269.
Commented a reader Feb. 23,

"the police xagerate details, ricky wilkins a.k.a Noodles is not a cold blooded killer...and hopefully at his trial in june that will show! we just went 2 south beach right b4 the murder.....look up the murdered guys backround Terrance j. williams, he is no saint! shout out to noodles hold it down in city jail and if u get off we gone back 2 florida! holla murdaland records all day every day!"

Before the white couple was arrested for asking directions in Cherry Hill, David Ervin, 57, was arrested after reporting being carjacked.

March
After we got our paws on the city homicide book, we tried to do math. Remarkable: 47 of '05's homicides were John Does.

Stories of police-on-police activity ....Dan Ostrovsky of the Daily Record described a lawsuit in which Baltimore Detective Cassidy Kampfhammer and her partner, an officer Donato, falsely claimed to have bought drugs at an address, not realizing the house belonged to two police officers. When she realized her mistake she called her husband, Lt. Sean Kampfhammer, and the couple cooked up a scheme...

And another [auxiliary] officer, Winnie Gibson Watts, claimed police barged into her home and arrested her and her children, claiming to be looking for a suspect.

Lax coach Greg Raymond (left) didn't get charged with vehicular manslaughter after his choice to drink (a ton) and drive ended with his friend's skull impaled on a pole.

Anonymous said...
As someone who knew Matt why don't you all consider this: Raymond was Matt's best friend. He isn't being charged with anything because Matt's parents did not want to prosecute him. Did you know he was driving because Matt asked him too? Do you think accidently taking the life of your best friend in accident isn't punishment? So, why don't all rid yourself of your holier than thou attitude. Ever heard of the saying, "But for the grace of God there go I..." People make mistakes and this was a mistake with horrible consequnces. But before you say the prosecution has "no balls" know the facts. What's more important: someone being prosecuted so you can feel like justice is being done or the wishes of a family who just lost their youngest son being honored?

Police officer Dante Hemingway was shot multiple times. Jobrea Lodge was arrested and went on to throw pee on an officer in Central Booking in the heat of August.

Hamm gave a two-part interview to WYPR.

"Let me tell you about Leonard Hamm. Leonard Hamm don't need to be police commissioner. Leonard Hamm was doing very well as a retired citizen of Baltimore. And could very easily go back and do that again, if, in fact, I had that kind of interference that everybody was talking about. Secondly, the mayor and I have a relationship where he is my boss. He's in charge of the city. And what the mayor wants is a safe city; he don't tell me how to go about doing it and making it safe. He just wants results. All he wants to know is, 'What happened with this thing? How're we doing with this? What's coming along with that?' So that, when reporters, such as yourself, come and stick a microphone in his face, he'll be prepared."

..to be continued...

December 30

Says NPR's Laura Sullivan in, "New Crime Data Has Experts Concerned," the federal budget for crime fighting is now a little more than one-third of what it was 10 years ago, and violent crime is up 4 percent nationwide.
Thanks, Republicans!

Three correctional officers were stabbed at Jessup.

Kenneth Megginson, wanted for murdering a Baltimorean in October,* was arrested in Berks County, PA. (Like the site's typo disclaimer!)

The Sun's Gregory Kane celebrates Festivus late, enumerating the (rather surprising) people who disappointed him most this year, including Rod J. Rosenstein and the Court of Special Appeals.
(No word yet on who gets '06's "Negro, Please")

Burglary, robbery, assault, etc. in the Blotter.

* Searching the archive for this guy, I found a comment I hadn't read! Good stuff!

Anonymous said...
If you've ever investigated a murder in the city, or talked to people in some of the f-ed neigbhorhoods where they occur, you'll soon realize how, in many cases, few want to talk to police or reporters about the gangbanger/drug dealer who just got his brains blown out. Please, I implore some bloggers/posters here to pick a murder in, say, the heart of the eastern district, and just show up at the address and start talking to people. don't just plot it out on your makeshift computer map and think you got some real handle or insight into city crime. Next, while you're out in the 'hood, imagine you're a homicide detective: you need to get people to cooperate, first by persuasion or by appealing to whatever compassion for their fellow man that they might have. Sometimes, there just isn't much compassion, so detectives break out the good cop/bad cop routine and act like pricks. Or if you're a reporter, you need to come back to your editor with on-the-record interviews from people who knew this dead gangbanger/drug dealer, or it's hard to put them on TV or quote anonymous sources. Try to get people in this neighborhood, who knew the victim, to give you their real, full name so you can quote them on how this dead gangbanger/drug dealer had some problems, but he was, at heart, "a good man." sure, right, of course he was... but even if he wasn't a good man, he still deserves justice for his murder. it's incredible to see how many, many cops doggedly pursue that justice, for someone who they knew nothing about, and who did little with their life except to cause a lot of problems in other peoples' lives and neighborhoods. talk about thankless work.

In many neighborhoods, residents, neighbors and obvious witnesses won't even acknowledge your presence or your questions; they'll just turn around and walk away. Like you have the plague. I shit you not. They don't want to talk to you, nor do they want to be seen talking to you. Of course, when someone does talk, they are thinking, or asking you: "will i be subpoenad? you gonna make me go down to homicide now? will i be quoted? will you show my face on tv? do you have to? i have young children who live here...please don't quote me."

Don't just imagine doing this while sitting at your computer and clickety clacking away in cyber/blog land, with your cop/media critic hat on. Unless you've tried to do it, you have no idea. So, go out and do it for a day. Give yourself a deadline later that day, and when that deadline comes, figure out how much you can really say about the life and death of someone, when virtually NO ONE wants to talk about him or her. And you'll get just a taste of what the police, prosecutors, The Sun, The CityPaper, The Examiner, and WMAR, WBAL, WJZ and WBFF/Fox get when they try to report on the "average" homicide in B-more. You can blame that general dearth of information, in no particular order, on: witness intimidation, general callousness, revenge motives, and the sad and pervasive belief that police, prosecutors, and the city, state and Feds can't be trusted to protect witnesses who cooperate. This blog might be kinda new, but this climate -- this landscape that police and local media operate in -- is not new. It's been around for years in charming Charm City. The murders have thrived in this twisted conspiracy of silence.

If people in certain neighborhoods are angry about the murders, or how they don't get covered in the media, then they need to pick up the phone and call the police and help them solve them. Start Snitching. DROP A DIME. Also, pick up the phone and call the media and cry and lament about the gangbanger/drug dealer who was just killed on the corner, who was wanted for murder or attempted murder or robbery.

TESTIFY. TALK ON THE RECORD.

But ya know something? most people don't call about the murders of such people. They don't call police. They don't call the media. They don't talk. They just endure it. And that's the general shittiness of Baltimore Crime, circa 2006.

Signed,
Anon.

Going outside? Lamenting on the phone? As if!
We have all the "idea" we can handle as it is, thank you!
But thanks for the comment, non! In honor of you I'm going to turn 'non comments back on!

December 29

Ehrlich granted 17 16 pardons (and one medical commutation). Ed Norris' was not one.