November 1

A man was shot to death last night in an alley near Park Heights and Woodland Avenues. (thanks PP)

The man shot in Barclay yesterday has died.

Three shootings last night within less than an hour:

the first shooting occurred at about 9:50 p.m. when a man was shot in the face in the 2900 block of Woodland Avenue in northwest Baltimore. About 10 minutes later, a man was shot in the stomach at the intersection of Monument and Montford Avenue. A third man was shot multiple times about 30 minutes later in northwest Baltimore.

Blotter: A 16-year-old girl was kidnapped on Milford Mill Road about 11 p.m. Monday and released unharmed in the city; on Tuesday a man was shot in the arm during a robbery in Hanlon Park; a man was shot in the 800 block of N. Fulton Ave. about 1 a.m.; Two males, ages 14 and 19, were each stabbed in the stomach about 8 p.m. yesterday in the 1900 block of Etting Street.

The driver of what JZ called the "gold Infinite" that mowed down two officers was arrested yesterday afternoon in Bolton Hill.

It's WTF?! Day! (well, that's every day... but today is extra effed!)
How horrifying is the Elijah Cozart case? Lazara Arellano de Hogue's defense attorney reportedly apologized to the victim's parents. "I’m really sorry ... I just have to do what I have to do."

"A Baltimore City police cadet has been suspended while detectives investigate whether he was involved in the armed robbery of a McDonald’s in Parkville."

And the parking ticket scandal gets worse: contrary to city officials' claims that the bogus tickets were an isolated incident, a parking agent says that she reported habitual fake-ticket writing by an agent in 2005, but the city’s Department of Transportation did nothing about it.

Well, that's a relief: "A Maryland judge’s groundbreaking decision to disallow fingerprint evidence is not spreading like wildfire through the court system — at least according to a Baltimore County ruling Wednesday."

Sisters are doing it for themselves! Dealing drugs, that is.
Meanwhile, local law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll has lost its attempt to halt a gender discrimination claim.

Snacks, a Honda, a Chrysler, an oven, range, dishwasher, washer and dryer & a weed trimmer= crap stolen in the Northern. Plus muggings as gun- and knife-point.

In St. Mary's County, trial is beginning in the case of Cory Ryder, a teen who tried to hire a hitman to kill his mom.

Quote of the Day

"I saw this show on CNN, with Anderson Cooper. Cats were talking about 'Don’t snitch, no matter what happens.' I can't see how a guy can be considered strong if he lets a bunch of assholes walk all over him and he doesn’t respond, just because of some code that a bunch of idiots have cooked up ... the street guidelines are just moron bullshit." -- Original American Gangster Leroy "Nicky" Barnes

October 31

An unidentified man was shot in the head in the 2400 block of Brentwood Ave. in the Barclay neighborhood.

Alexander Robertson-El, 24, was shot to death last night in the 700 block of Bartlett Ave. in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello ("CHUM") East Baltimore Midway neighborhood* (thanks Burger).

One or perhaps two police officers working undercover were run over during an attempt to arrest a drug suspect in the 900 block of East 33rd Street this afternoon near the YMCA, the driver is still at large.
Reported JZ, "A gold Infinite matching the description of the getaway vehicle plowed into some parked cars ... [police are] in the process of getting a search warrant to see if anything was inside the Infinite that crashed."
Everything's inside the infinite, man!
UPDATE: A suspect has been arrested, and JZ edited their charming typos out of the story. What a shame!

The Ink identifies victim Christopher Burden and has updates on other cases.

Only in Baltimore would a 16-year-old getting shot be relegated to a three-sentence blotter item. Also not worthy of a whole story: a Molotov cocktail in the Southern (my, those are popular!), a man shot in the foot in the SE.

Details of yesterday's shooting in Loch Raven; the body found in the minivan a few days ago has been ruled a homicide.

That's a good question: "How does a 15-year-old find himself in possession of a .44 Magnum?"

Jim Kraft wants the City Council to have the power to pass new gun laws.
You're not getting any new gun laws until you use the ones you have, young man!

Albert Snyder won $10.9 million from the Westboro Baptist Church.

*Neighborhood maps have moved here, in the form of massive PDF files

October 30

A man died of gunshot wounds near the Mt. Pleasant Golf Course in Loch Raven.

The teenager shot by an officer yesterday has died and was identified as 15-year-old Ralph Simmont of the 7900 block of Scotts Level Road in Randallstown.

Did you know? "Hospitals are not required under Maryland law to report domestic violence cases when they don’t involve children or gunshot wounds."

Parking ticket scandal: "“They still have quotas, but they’re not called quotas, they’re called ‘expectations’.”

The case against the Westboro Baptist Church has gone to the jury.

The hit-an-run case against Lazara Arellano de Hogue, currently Towson's most-hated woman, continued with a witness who testified that de Hogue drove from Goucher Boulevard to Loch Raven Boulevard and then to Regester Avenue, got out of her truck and got back in. Yesterday another witness testified that the boy's legs were sticking out from under the truck. WTF?

In Annapolis, Christopher Haarhoff pleaded guilty yesterday to helping his grifter mom murder her boyfriend, Frank Fertitta, and set his body on fire. Wow, that is one messed-up story!

October 29

WMAR is reporting that a body was found in the back of a minivan today at the Garden Village Apartments in the 5900 block of Radecke Road.

Police-involved shooting #30 was a youth who allegedly brandished a handgun when stopped by an officer. He's alive and in hospital. Died at Sinai Hospital.

TDR's Liz Farmer goes "Inside the War Room: Baltimore's plan to keep repeat offenders off the streets: is it working?"
(that headline needs a colonic!)

A 35-year-old man was shot in the right leg near Waverly Elementary school; a 17-year-old was shot in the right leg by a passenger in a red Cadillac in the Southwest.

On Saturday an "uncooperative" 18-year-old was shot in the arm on Hollins Street. And plenty of robbery and burglary in the Blotter.

More on the suicide of murder suspect Damon Smith, who threw himself out of a 10th floor window at Mercy Medical Center.

Senator Verna Jones fighting gangs with Christian rap, acronyms.

In the county at Woodlawn High, a catfight led to a 14-year-old girl being pepper-sprayed, and trips to the hospital for 20 students.

The Sun and the Examiner both cover the "die in" story-- which is better?

Stat from the Children's Defense Fund: "Blacks are five times as likely to be incarcerated as white youth for drug offenses."
(Why do they capitalize "Black"?)

Weekend

Twenty-six year-old Coppin State student Veronica Fludd was stabbed to death Friday morning in West Baltimore, her ex-boyfriend, Damon Smith, has confessed to killing her.
Update: Damon Smith died Sunday morning of self-defenestration.

This just in: Witness intimidation remains a problem. (Wonder if MD, like NJ, won't relocate witnesses with criminal records?)

Federal investigators have seized property belonging to Michael K. Lewis, accused of illegally filing bankruptcies for clients.

What the?! Drunk Dad Runs Over Daughter, Flees the Scene

Feel-good story: A. Robert Kaufman is getting a kidney!

October 26

An unidentified 23-year-old died after being shot in the neck and face in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

A 19-year-old was shot in the Hillen neighborhood and is in serious condition; a 15-year-old selling candy for school was robbed, stolen schoolwork, foreign coins, car radios and GPS systems in the Blotter.

Jessamy and Cummings are taping a PSA "encouraging anyone who witnesses a crime to come forward with a guarantee they will be protected."

Euch! PDJ = Morton Ellin, 77, of Pikesville, who lost his medical license after he admitted to engaging in “inappropriate sexual contact” with a patient "about 100 times." The "patient" says that he injected her with a sedative, and she didn't protest because she feared he would have her committed to a psychiatric hospital. Jezum crow!

In case you were wondering why it seems like every jour there's a perv, it may be because RJR is prosecuting more of them.

More on the fingerprint-evidence controversy.

The victim's family is glad to have the body of victim Nancy Riggins recovered, but the HoCoPo is unhappy with how detectives obtained the information.

More on Sunday's "die in" (if they want people to see it, why are they having it on a day when no one will be downtown?)

There's something you don't hear about every day: a molotov cocktail thrown into a Roland Park back yard.

Headline of the day: "Teen held for setting classmate's hair on fire"

In Laurel, a girl was abducted from a church and sexually assaulted.
Speaking of child molesters, here's a nauseating tale from AAC of child rapist Karl Johnson, released again and again.

In AAC, police are looking for a bank robber-- with a vag!

October 25

Two men were shot in separate incidents last night in the South and Northeast.

There's shocking, and then there's completely, utterly bananas: Judge Roger Brown sentenced Janice Jones, 27, and Dakia Frazier, 23, to time served for driving a woman to the police station and ordering her to recant an incriminating statement against Frazier's boyfriend, who's in jail for robbery and attempted murder. Unfreakingbelieveable!

Blotter: The man found in a burning car October 15 was named as Henry Mazyck, 39, of the 300 block of N. Kresson St. in East Baltimore.

The Ink has names, details of murders from October 15-19.

An armed robbery suspect hung hanged himself at Central Booking.

The Examiner lets parking-ticket victims share their horror stories.

The NAACP, Justice Maryland, Associated Black Charities and other groups are holding a "lie in" this Sunday-- they hope to have as many volunteers as official murder victims sprawled in War Memorial Plaza, each holding a number corresponding to a victim.
Wacky fact: "if Baltimore had New York's murder rate, the city would see just 29 murders per year."

County ISO Robbers

The County is looking for suspects (and odds are they're in the city, don't you think?). First is Jerome Willis, left, who robbed an armored car with an accomplice and then drove off and left his buddy on the sidewalk! At right is an unknown suspect who robbed the bank branch inside the Giant on Loch Raven & Taylor Aves. in Towson on October 17.

October 24

Update: alleged baby-killer Billy Martin was re-arrested last night.

A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment (whatever that is) yesterday charging Steven Stone of Frederick and Jessie Dorsz of Walkersville with conspiracy to commit witness tampering for murdering federal witness David Lee in 2005. They both face a maximum sentence of death.

The October 19 death of Qur'ron Holloway, shot in the Lowell Liquors incident, was reported by police.

What the @#?!: "The Baltimore parking agent accused of writing dozens of bogus tickets is still on the city payroll, officials confirmed [yesterday]."

Prosecutors have dropped all charges against Latoya Renee James, a Central Booking guard accused of participating in a ring that stole inmates’ credit cards and ran up charges at Target and Wal-Mart.

"A suspected Bloods member who was allowed to walk out of court — despite an open warrant — has been arrested. But the case of Gary Watson, 20 — charged with participating in a riot at the Inner Harbor — is indicative of how administrative breakdowns hurt Baltimore’s efforts to serve 44,000 outstanding warrants, law enforcement officials say."

Blotter: A woman was carjacked and kidnapped in Reisterstown*; Marco Smoot, 28, was arrested for the murder of Lucy Hazel on August 28; George Scruggs, 34, was arrested for killing Darnell Thomas on August 29; burglaries & robberies.
* Wouldn't you think this would warrant a whole story? Has kidnapping become that common?!

The civil trial of the Westboro Baptist Church began yesterday with testimony from church members and the father of Marine Matt Snyder.

In HarfCo, Harold J. Tulley, a former assistant state’s attorney who screwed clients out of some $2 million, faces 300 years in jail.

Not Baltimore but irresistible... a 9-year-old girl escaped a perv in a VA Wal-mart with a swift kick to his gonadular area

Organizers on Facebook of the event, "Wear Black on Friday Oct. 26 For Justin" [ (Warfield, 18 of Columbia. HoCo, who OD'd on heroin in NJ) have a stipulation for participants:

READ THIS! IMPORTANT!
DO NOT REPLY TO ANY MESSAGES OR EMAILS FROM PEOPLE ASKING FOR INFO ABOUT THIS HORRIBLE EVENT. THEY ARE NEWS REPORTERS ASKING FOR A STORY. ALSO, THERE WERE NEWS VANS PARKED AROUND THE SCHOOL CAMPUS ASKING FOR STUDENT INTERVIEWS. DO NOT TALK TO THEM.

The media has already made lies about this, so don't give them anything so they will drop the story.

I wonder how many addicts OD'd in Baltimore City last year? because I haven't heard about a single one!

Baby Killer Escapes!

County police are looking for Billy Conrad Martin, 25, shown right, who walked away from a work detail at the county detention center. He was indicted in October for killing his five-month-old son, Calob (sic), who died after Martin allegedly hit him in the head and no one in the family sought medical attention. Three other family members are also charged.
Update: The Examiner reports that Martin was on the work detail because officials hadn't been informed he was charged with murder.

Idiots Acting Stupidly Dept.

Har! A Loyola sociology professor's ill-conceived assignment to have students act "outside of societal norms" led to a student's detention and an evaluation at Union Memorial.

A drunkard got home detention and three years' probation for assaulting a flight crew on his way from Arizona to BWI.

Murder Indictment, Robbery Sentencing

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Michael Blackwell, 28, of the 1700 Abbotston Avenue for first-degree murder. Court documents allege Michael Blackwell is responsible for a shooting incident on September 4, 2007 in the 2500 block of Garrett Avenue. Davon Qualls, 17, was found in the unit block suffering from gunshot wounds to the head. Qualls died from his injuries at Johns Hopkins Hospital the same day. An arraignment is scheduled for November 13, 2007 before Judge Martin P. Welch, Room 228, Courthouse East.

Today Judge M. Brooke Murdock sentenced Jerome Holloway, 36, of the 2500 block of W. Fayette St. to 25 years in prison for possession of a handgun and attempted robbery, the first five years served without the possibility of parole (if she hadn't specified that, when would he have been eligible?!). A city jury convicted Holloway August 20, 2007 of attempted robbery with a deadly weapon and possession of a handgun by a prohibited person. Details:

On November 1, 2006 at approximately 2:19 a.m. the victim had been at Greenmount and Preston Streets in his car. Holloway appeared at the driver’s side window and asked if the victim was hacking and then pulled out a silver and black handgun, got in the car and said, “You know what time it is. Give me your money.” The victim gave up his money, but took off with Holloway in the car at a high rate of speed, eventually crashing. The victim escaped, called police and gave a description of Holloway. Police caught Holloway a short time later and the victim positively identified him as the person who committed the robbery. Assistant State’s Attorney Kristen Hitchner of the General Felony Division prosecuted this case.

October 23

Witness intimidation is alive and well in the Northwestern.

Judge Souder's ruling that partial fingerprints were inadmissable in the murder trial against Bryan Keith Rose "virtually overturns 100 years of jurisprudence with respect to the admissibility of latent fingerprint evidence," and led to the trial being postponed. Rose is charged in the 2006 murder of Warren T. Fleming, a merchant at Security Square mall.

There was a cutting at Woodlawn High School yesterday morning, and not the good ol' "cutting class" kind, either.

Paul Stephen Riggins didn't kill his wife, but he somehow knew where her body was.

If you don't want to get hit with an attempted murder charge, don't try to run down a HarCo cop.

Huh. An unscrupulous attorney. Who'd'a thunk it?

The trial against alleged Westfield Annapolis Mall shooter Javaughn Norman Adams began today.

Gary Watson, the alleged Blood who walked out of the courthouse a few weeks ago, was re-arrested last week.

Cameras may be coming to the county.

Huh. An unscrupulous city meter maid. Who'd'a thunk it.

October 22

"Honey, do you know this guy?" Police officer Andre Robinson hooked up with a married woman while on duty in the NW, then shot her husband in the legs after he came after them with a crowbar. Jayne Miller reports that it's not clear if Robinson knew the woman was married.

The Blotter's back!
A man was assaulted on Woodbourne Avenue, a grocery store burgled, a handicapped person's Plymouth Voyager purloined, a man stabbed in the back in Essex, more than two dozen firearms stolen in White Marsh.

Last week's legal news, courtesy of TDR: Microsoft antitrust claims can proceed, lyin' lawyer Jerold K. Nussbaum was disbarred, the CSA decided that a rape defendant’s rights were violated when the state put a mentally disabled alleged victim on the stand but did not allow the accused to cross-examine her, parents who withdrew their child from a private school have to pay tuition, interest and fees, even if the school incurred no loss.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church go on trial today in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit filed by Albert Snyder, the father of a Marine killed in Iraq. Meanwhile, church members spent their Sunday picketing the Baltimore Basilica.

The Guardian Angels are back and saying they're planning to patrol the Eastern District. Wait, haven't we seen this story before?

PDJ: Daniel Cuneo, who got 5 years 5 months in jail for arranging sex for clients with underage girls in the Philippines.

Weekend

Big Ideas:
One you may have heard before: the crime decline of the '90s was related to the elimination of lead in gas in the 70s.
One you probably haven't: avoiding criminals by disguising yourself as a vending machine.

Killadelphia's crime-fighting volunteers are about to get training to patrol the streets for 90 days, and Bodymore waits to see what will happen.

(Alleged) PDJ = Nicholas J. Arminio.

Arminio surrendered his New Jersey teaching license in 1994 after two female students separately accused him of inappropriate touching. The state of Maryland didn't know that when he applied for teaching credentials and took a job at [Eastern Technical High School,] in Baltimore County. He eventually resigned and lost that license, too. Even so, until this month, he was coaching football at another Baltimore County high school [Perry Hall High] in a job that does not require a teaching license. After the AP started asking questions, he was fired.

Arminio claims the Toms River, NJ allegations were made up by teenagers seeking attention.

Sure, smoking kills more Baltimoreans than violence or drugs... but gunshot wounds don't have that cool, smooth flavor.

HoCo is offering 5,000 clams to whomever can find gas station robber Terrence Edward Boone, 24, and his 14-year-old accomplice Shawn Timothy Crockett (they're from Baltimore of course).

Most of the hijacked diesel fuel stolen on Friday was recovered from an underground tank in Washington.

Sad: A MD state trooper, Sgt. Pride T. Rivers, shot and killed himself Saturday morning on the corner of West South and South Bentz streets in Frederick.

News of the Weird: Money magazine "just ranked Mount Vernon as one of the top 35 best places to retire."

Thought-provoking headline: "Methodists Meet to Evaluate Transgenderism, Starting With Baltimore Pastor"

October 19

At about 2 a.m. an officer in the Southern found a man shot to death in the driver's seat of a Ford Explorer in the 4200 block of Audrey Ave., and
The shooting reported here yesterday on Walbrook Avenue turned out to be a fatal one, and two suspects were apprehended after a car chase.
(But if the shootee is dead, how can we know they didn't consent to the shooting? After all, sadomasochists sometimes like that kind of thing... Thanks Galt)

A man walked into Lowell Liquors in the 3200 block of Woodland Ave. (near Park Heights Avenue) last night and shot three men ages 19, 20 and 29. The 19-year-old was treated and released, conditions of the other three are unknown.

Police are still looking for Emory Lewis, left, wanted for the September 8 murder of Felicia Spratley.

Nationwide, "the Supreme Court’s decision to review the constitutionality of lethal injection procedures has slowed the annual number of executions to the lowest level in a decade."

Dwayne Price, 18, was charged yesterday in connection with the rapes of an 88-year-old cancer patient and a 73-year-old woman in South Baltimore in September of 2005.

Four federal child pornography cases have led to the indictments of Larry Cordell of Frederick and Stephen Michael Gayer of Baltimore, a guilty plea from John Ray Manning of McHenry and a 30-year sentence for Fabrice Snowden of Edgewood.

Parking tickets are big business for the city! Says Janis, "In current fiscal year 2008, the city expects to write $12 million worth of tickets and collect $8 million in fines."

Speaking of big business... OC ho's busted
(wow all these online ho's could keep a department busy! <-don't open that link at work)

Lt. Col. William H. Steele of AAC was found not guilty of aiding the enemy by loaning an unmonitored cell phone to an inmate in Iraq, but was found guilty of unauthorized possession of classified documents, behavior unbecoming an officer and failing to obey an order. More details here.

Remember MoCo cracker-hater Quinton Thomas, whose "REAL TALK" to a wrong address got him convicted of the fatal shooting of Stephen W. Kelley? He was sentenced to life without parole.

Quote of the Day

Anne Arundel judge Paul Harris dropped domestic violence charges against a man who punched a woman in the face in front of an officer because, he said, he couldn't be sure that she didn't consent to the beating. "'You have very rare cases. Sadomasichists sometimes like to be beat up,' he said."
(Thanks JB)
UPDATE: More details in the Sun story.

There was a shooting at Walbrook & McKean Avenues on the West Side.

October 18

Baltimore soldier Jerrell Hill, charged with shooting five people in a gang-related dispute last month, could be freed from an Oklahoma jail today, as Baltimore city prosecutors intend drop the case.

e first Kopera-related appeal (or the first one we know about) has come up and was denied.

In the county, sentencing was postponed for John A. Miller IV, convicted of killing 17-year-old Shen Poehlman. Miller withdrew his guilty plea, "effectively firing the public defenders who have represented him."

"For the second time in six days, a convicted sex offender was found to be accidentally left off the state's public registry Web site after his release from jail." But the Capitol won't say who he is "to protect the victims." Meanwhile Baltimore police say "Anne Arundel County is on the hook" for omitting rapist Eugene Waller, AAC says they notified the city that he lived here, but the city was unable to locate him.

Hey "Wire" fans, a nice long article on David Simon in this week's New Yorker. Spoilers: The fifth season is definitely the last, and "will be about 'perception versus reality'—in particular, what kind of reality newspapers can capture and what they can’t."
(More interesting David Simon-related reading: "Who Gets to Tell a Black Story?" the tale of Simon and Charles Dutton's experience on The Corner, from the NYT's "Race in America" series)

Boy Trouble

A 17-year-old boy was shot in Edgewood.

County police are looking for Daniel Joseph Tasker, a disabled 13-year-old boy who ran away from home.

A carjacker, an identity thief, a "Silver Spring Stabber" and a tax protester met their fates at the Garmatz courthouse.

Unsurprisingly, the Justice Department is prosecuting fewer organized crime, environmental and bankruptcy fraud cases and is going for terrorism and perverts instead.

October 17

Dismaying Stats from YPR: "Of the 320 adults charged with gun crimes through September 15th, 2007, 120, or 38- percent, were already on probation. Many had suspended sentences, including 24 charged with armed robbery, attempted robbery, or carjacking. Six were charged with attempted murder; 15 more with assault. Of the 50 gun-crime suspects so far this year with the greatest number of prior convictions, more than a quarter would not have been at large the day they were caught with a gun, but for suspended prior sentences."

Galt reports,
"The body found in the trunk of a burning car is now a homicide.
So is Andre Bryant."

"Crystal Nikkita Newby, 21, of the 2900 block of Southland Ave. is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Qasim Kabah at his home in the 2500 block of Terra Firma Road." The two were fighting over the sale of an assault weapon.

More dangerous than Iraq indeed: An 18-year-old Baltimore soldier, Jerrell Hill of the 5600 block of Lothian Road, was detained this week at an Army base in Oklahoma after city detectives accused him in the gang-related shooting of five people in the Barclay neighborhood last month. He's awaiting extradition.

Today the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Omar McGee, 18, of the 3400 block of Dupont Avenue for first-degree murder and deadly weapon. Court documents allege on August 9, 2007 Omar McGee was identified as the person responsible for a shooting incident in the 3400 block of Dupont Avenue. Troy Richardson, 30, was found in the middle of the unit block suffering from several gunshot wounds. He succumbed to his injuries at Sinai Hospital the same day. An arraignment is scheduled for November 9, 2007 before Judge Martin P. Welch, Room 228 Courthouse East.

Two Towson U. football players were busted for marijuana, and TU sororities are in trouble for posting pictures of underage drinking on Facebook. And worst of all, Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Teri Hall says:

"Ironic that we have all these women doing things that they shouldn't have been doing as part of sorority recruitment and they post them on Facebook for everybody to see."

No lady, that's stupid. You have a doctorate and work in education but don't know the meaning of ironic-- THAT is ironic!

Bogus tickets?! The parking division is more evil than we even knew! Dixon says the inspector general is going to investigate.
QTD from Jaclyn Schwarz: “They’re always blaming the people who live here. My house was broken into, and they said it was my fault for not having the correct lock. It’s a very difficult city.”

Oricil to see Can from Inside

At a hearing yesterday, Judge Barry G. Williams found Kenneth Ellis, 27, of Bowie, MD guilty of violating his probation. Judge Williams sentenced Ellis to three years in prison, consecutive to a seven-year prison term he is currently serving following a Baltimore County assault conviction in August 2007. On June 20, 2006 Ellis, also known as “Oricl,” pled guilty to six counts of malicious destruction of property. Judge Williams sentenced him to a suspended three-year prison term, 18 months probation and 500 hours of community service. Ellis was a prolific “tagger” spray painting the name Oricl on property across the city. As part of his original sentence, he was to work with Department of Public Works Crews to clean up the graffiti. The assault conviction in August and the fact that Ellis completed just 32 of the 500 hours triggered today’s violation of probation hearing in city Circuit Court. Says the SA's office, yesterday's "hearing highlights the continued emphasis on the identification and prosecution of repeat offenders in Baltimore on supervised parole or probation who commit a new offense or technical violation."

Man, Pregnant Woman Shot

A double shooting in the 2600 block of Quantico Avenue killed a man and put a nine-months pregnant woman in serious condition.

Another grade-school boy trucked to the hoosegow! Eight-year-old Eric Turner was arrested after stabbing a classmate with a comb at Woodhome Elementary (near Harford & Taylor Aves). JZ:

"The situation depends largely on one's point of view. Did Turner slip and fall into a classmate while holding a comb, or did he stab the classmate with a comb while fighting in the hall?"

Or, was this the last straw for school officials who'd talked to his family more than once, only to have them excuse and defend his behavior? Mysteries upon mysteries...
(ps. the boy arrested for sitting on the mini-bike, Gerard Mungo Jr., was 7, for what it's worth, and unlike Stabby was just sitting around!)

At a hearing today Charles Brockington, 47, ("rims guy") of the 4000 block of Cedardale Road pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Under terms of the plea agreement, announced in open court, Brockington faces a maximum of 10 years in prison suspending all but five years without the possibility of parole. Judge John Kaye Allison scheduled sentencing for December 17, 2007. Here's the JZ story. (thanks PP)

Four MDers were sentenced in a scheme to transport hundreds (hundreds?!) of illegal-alien prostitutes to the state.

From SA's office (edited): Today, after one day of deliberation, a jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charges of possession with possession and intent to distribute heroin in the case of Kennard Miles, 22, of the 700 block of Lakewood Drive. Miles was arrested as a result of a Baltimore City Police Department investigation focusing on the 2500 block of Monument Street, the 600 and 700 blocks of N. Rose St., and the 700 block of N. Luzerne Ave. On 6/30/06, Miles was observed receiving a black bag by an officer operating a pole camera focused on the 700 block of N. Luzerne Ave. The officer informed a waiting arrest team of the transaction. Miles fled the arrest team, and during the foot pursuit, Miles threw the black bag into a garage on 900 block of Lakewood Ave. The bag was recovered, and Miles was apprehended. The bag was found to contain 636 gelatin capsules of heroin. The trial, which lasted two days, began on October 10 and concluded on October 12 before Judge David Ross. The case was prosecuted by LaRai Forrest. Sentencing is scheduled for October 22, 2007 at 9:30am.

Fun fact! Odds of being arrested during a drug transaction, according to David Kennedy: less than 1 in 15,000.

The Sun has choice quotes from supersassy Baltimore County District Judge Bruce S. Lamdin. Here are the original stories by Van Smith of the CP from last month and six months ago.

Crime Farther Afield

Sad to hear about the possible murder of Dean Johnson of Dean & the Weenies fame in NY.
Here he is below singing one of the most brilliant songs of all time.



Also in the news... drunk Frednecks steal oversize keys

13th and 14th October

Short on details, but, surprise surprise, there's been another murder: 1700 block of Latrobe Street, shot in the head. Depending on whether or not the guy from the 12th died, this guy is either #245 or #246. I think.

The use of potentially excessive force to protect the well-being of a police cruiser becomes the 28th police-involved shooting in the City this year.

It's been thirty-years since Marvin Mandel's indictment, but, um, don't we have better things to worry about? Guess not.

"[M]iscommunication and possible equipment misuse" is the verdict in the Baltimore City Fire Department's report on the death of firefighter Allan M. Roberts on 10 October of last year. I have to admit, at first, I thought this story was about Racheal Wilson.

Rodney Curtis and Darien Watson, sentenced to hard time for a Joplin Street attack last year -- forty years Curtis, life for Watson. Here's my question: Curtis got "all but fifteen years suspended", Watson "all but five." What. The. Fuck? Seriously.

Ahh, here's a little white-collar-crime for a blue-collar-crime city.

Now that Baltimore's got a police commissioner -- and we've all got our fingers crossed that he's going to be great (but we'll settle for 'good') -- the City's Police Department is formalizing its new command staff. Anthony E. Barksdale is now the deputy commissioner of operations; Deborah A. Owens as deputy commissioner of the department's administrative bureau; John Skinner to chief of patrol, and others.

The trial of the guy who did the 2006 New Year's Day slaying of Ronny Martin is over, and here's hoping his family can try to put this behind them: Anthony Dickson, convicted. His sentencing is scheduled for December 7th, and here's hoping he goes the way of the U.S. Pacific Fleet: torpedoed and sunk. Most likely, he'll get sentenced to five years with all but a week suspended. Because this is Baltimore!

A tale of a pervert attempting to be perverted and the girl not-too-stupid-enough to fall for it, near the high school I graduated from. The article calls it 'Atholton', but anyone who has ever gone there calls it 'Assleton.'

STUPIDEST HEADLINE EVER: "Baltimore Police Search For Murderer." WHAT? Shouldn't it be: "Baltimore Police Search For Many Many Many Murderers." ????!!!!

The headline does say it all: "Failed by the system -- taken by the streets" regarding the life of The Sun's #211* - Davon Qualls.
(*Baltimore Crime's count puts him at #219)

Here's a fuzzy-wuzzy for this late Baltimore Crime entry: hats off to John Itati in his 2:16:24 win of the Baltimore City Marathon. It's nice to know the city's spiking homicide rate isn't scaring everybody away from Bodymore.

October 12

#244 seems to be an as-yet unidentified man shot to death in a barbershop in the 1100 block of West Baltimore Street.

You'd think once we moved away from paper files in favor of computerized shiznits, we'd stop losing people "in the system", but that's exactly what happened, and what allowed Eugene Waller another opportunity to 'slip through the cracks' (a figurative metaphor while also, unfortunately, a far too literal one considering the guy is a twice-convicted rapist).

What's the saying, the Early Bird Gets The Worm? In Baltimore, it should be changed to 'The Early Riser Gets The Bullet.' Ouch. It's unknown whether or not he's going on the body count list (yet).

An anonymous call to "shoot up" a Carroll County school gets schools throughout the area locked-down.

I don't blame the guy for carrying a gun -- after all, he's just as likely to be assaulted by a parent upset his kid didn't get to play as he is to be the victim of a random act of violence -- but the Feds don't share that view: Aaron McCrown, a 31-year old youth football coach, charged with illegally carrying a firearm because he's a convicted felon. Convicted of what? Possession with intent to distribute. How'd he get a job as a youth coach?

Gary Watson's release ... oh, just fucking brilliant.

Spotted!

... New Commissioner Fred Bealefeld III at the David M. Kennedy lecture.
I think he really cares!

October 11

A man was shot in the buttocks on Mosher Street for no apparent reason.

Dixon: our prisons are country clubs!

If you didn't go to the Block earlier this year, you missed hooch-swilling 15-year-olds, back-room "intimate interactions," plenty of drugs and a Foxy Lady named Lot of Bottom.

The Post serves up a TV-news-worthy lede: "The question has vexed us all: Where did I leave my cellphone? Consider the added anxiety, then, of having misplaced it near a murder scene -- a murder scene authorities suspect you created. Allegations made public this week suggest that James F. Swann put himself exactly in that bind. The 32-year-old is charged with first-degree murder in connection with the Oct. 3 shooting in Waldorf of Joseph G. Hickman..."

JZ: Rap and Fling Latest in Long String

"A woman was dragged from a bench and rapped at the Nursery Road Rail Station Tuesday afternoon ... After a few minutes she advised, all of a sudden he just grabbed her and forced her into a wooded area ... [she] managed to break free telling officers she swam to the Patpasco River back to the train station ... Officers say [the suspect] also flung to the Patpasco River where officers finally found him. Police say this is just the latest of a long string of similar arrest."
UPDATE: WJZ fixed all of the entertaining typos! :(
(For more grody details, read the Sun story!)

More on the NE district domestic-violence pilot project from the Wretched's Brendan Kearney and Luke Broadwater at the Examiner. Who wrote it better?

A Baltimore County judge Tuesday sentenced high school teacher Christian Liverman, right, to one year of probation after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a 16-year-old girl in his classroom.

Two gun felons and a thieving NIH employee met their fates in US District Court.

"Police called it one of the county's worst animal cruelty cases of all time.
But veteran District Court Judge Robert C. Wilcox said the investigation of the alleged Severna Park dogfighting ring is one of the worst examples of police work he's seen."
Meow!

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Carroll Bell, 56, of Philadelphia on charges of first-degree murder and first-degree rape. Court documents allege on January 25, 1990, a woman, later identified as Beverly Dixon, 31, was found dead and partially nude in an alley in the 2200 block of McCulloh Street. In 2006 evidence was retrieved and tested. On May 15, 2007 the evidence was matched to Carroll Bell. An arraignment is scheduled for April 8, 2008 before Judge Martin P. Welch, Room 228, Courthouse East.

Judge John M. Glynn sentenced Shardae Denise Coles, 21, of the 1300 block of Harlem Avenue, to 20 years in prison. Judge Glynn recommended that Coles be placed in the youthful offender program at Pautuxent Correctional Facility. Coles pled guilty to second-degree murder March 22, 2007. On May 7, 2006 Zion Treyvon Clemmons, 16 months old, was left in the care of Coles while his mother sought drug treatment. While in Coles’ care, Clemmons suffered blunt force trauma which resulted in his death. Coles admitted grabbing Clemmons and hurling him into the edge of a sofa at her apartment at 1305 Harlem Avenue. Assistant State’s Attorney Julie Drake, Chief of the Felony Family Violence Division, prosecuted this case.

October 10

Fed attorney Jason Weinstein explains GUNSTAT, and why some gun cases get The Rod:

"we've asked them [city police?] to track what you'd call 'federally significant convictions,' which are crimes of violence, felony drug crimes, that are the kind of prior offenses which increase your federal time to go above the five-year mandatory in the state court. So, people with two or more 'federally-significant' convictions are people who are looking at more federal time than state time. So, one of the things we do is, every two weeks, we go through and make sure that if there's someone with more than two federal convictions, that we've gotten a referral of that case."

Baltimore's 27th police-involved shooting was some crazy redneck shit! An officer making a traffic stop was dragged by the suspect SUV, until he shot the driver in the neck!

Ink updates include the closing of the cases of Shirley Cooper and Lorado Williams by exception.

Edgewood Grandma to thugs: "I don't give a damn what you think. I'm old-school."

Cops to sex offenders: no hole-in-the-candy-bowl tricks will be tolerated on Halloween!

News of the Weird: Cecil Co. man finds Weasel the Crackhead napping in his bed

October 9

Scandalized headline Du Jour: "Policy calls for shooting victims' arrest"
... but the story goes on to explain, "If the victim was committing a crime when he was shot — such as carrying drugs, possessing a handgun, committing a robbery — parole officials seek a warrant from a judge for his arrest."
Well duh!

The man shot October 5 in the 2300 block of Eutaw Place was identified as 30-year-old Tyrone Blanding.

Joining the populous ranks of Carroll County's sex offenders is Deborah Frock, 38, charged with pimping a teenager to a trucker.

Paul Stella, a 43-year-old Baltimore funeral director, pleaded guilty today to defrauding people who signed up for prepaid funerals out of more than $900,000.

Thomas Walker, age 25, got 20 Rosenstein-years for robbing a van full of clothes with a shotgun (a Mossberg, Model 500A, 12-gauge shotgun, no less, "Intended for use in harsh and dirty conditions, such as waterfowl hunting or combat.")

Events This Week

Tomorrow night C. Love is moderating a "Town Hall Meeting" for "Members of the Hip Hop generation" at the 5 Seasons Restaurant & Lounge at 830 Guilford Avenue from 6-8 p.m.

Wednesday the 10th at 5 p.m., Barack Obama will be at PG Community College with Elijah Cummings and Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler. Guests: $25, Students: $15.

This Thursday the 11th at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium the Friends School Diversity Council is hosting a free chat with David M. Kennedy, Director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control and a professor of anthropology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. His talk will be entitled "Race, Culture and Crime: Facing Facts and Finding Common Ground.”

A good & long interview with Bealefeld aired on MPT tonight ... but the only other chance to see it will be Saturday at 5 a.m. He kind of explained the gun registry: we're doing it because NYC is doing it, being extra-hard on gun offenders is going to be our thing, and the people on the list will basically be one gun charge away from being federally Rodified, so building a tidy case against them will be high priority. That's how I heard it anyway.

Indigenous People's Day

Details of Saturday's murders: Damon Coleman, 35, was the victim shot at around 6 a.m. on the east side of the basketball court in a public housing project in the 1400 block of May Court.
The man shot in the back who died Saturday night on Homestead was identified as Darwin Kelly Jr., 20.

A man was pepper-sprayed and carjacked, police have no suspects.

Wow. Of the four robbers who held up Sgt. Christopher Nyberg in Federal Hill, only one will serve any time. Each had faced life sentences.
Nutrageous!

A man turned himself in to police in Parkville after kidnapping and "roughing up" his ex in North Point. No word on what happened to the children.

An inmate was stabbed to death at around noon in the city detention center.

October 7

WJZ's Adam May reported a murder of a teenager on a basketball court, and a man shot to death in the back in the 1700 block of Homestead Avenue.

A Sun article uses killer Corey McMillon, killer of young father-to-be Jamel St. Clair, (right) as a jump-off point to ask some experts from whence cometh the "killer impulse."
If you're interested in neurolaw, the NYT Magazine article from March, "The Brain on the Stand," covers the issue in much greater depth.
There's also a bit in Scientific American about an experiment by Ernst Fehr ("ultimatum game" guy), this one about punishment aversion.

Not as safe as being in prison...

Apparently, it's dramatically safer to be surrounded by murderers in prison than it is to be surrounded by our neighbors.

In 2005, 56 prisoners were murdered. There are roughly 2 million inmates held in state prisons, meaning that the homicide rate per 100,000 prisoners last year was only 2.8. That number is less than half the rate of New York City (6.6 per 100,000) and an order of magnitude lower than Baltimore (42 per 100,000).

October 6

A murder in the Northwest (no word anywhere on who, where, what time) ended a an entire week without a murder.
Is some new method working, or was it happenstance... or was it The Bealefeld Effect?

More good* news, on Orleans Street last night, an officer shot and wounded a suspect who was firing at another man, probably preventing a homicide. (*wounding is good news if death is the only other option, right?)

"A 24-year-old man who was shot last week was shot a second time about 3 a.m. Thursday while walking down a street in West Baltimore."
Plus a date rape in the Blotter.
(Ed: It would be an interesting project to compare the various crimes on the police map vs. the ones in the Blotter to come up with a percentage of what the Blotter covers. I'll bet with robberies it's like, 1/500th)

Vandals broke into Armistead Gardens Elementary School two nights in a row.

Our carjack-victim readers will be happy to hear that one 19-year-old Calvin Williams got more than 12 years for his role in two NW thefts.

Charles Brockington, the guy who shot the guy over car rims, is free.

In the week following Bealefeld's appointment, various leaders voiced their good cheer and fond wishes. Everyone, that is, but "Doc" Cheatham, who made certain to register his regret about the Commissioner's oystery complexion and suspect heritage in the local tabloid before setting his sights upon Carroll County, where his dear friend the Reverend Al Sharpton was planning to attend a rally to demand that criminal civil rights charges be brought against six detention-school employees who had been implicated the death of Isaiah Simmons III, crushed to unconsciousness one chaotic night at the now-closed Taneytown Bowling Brook Preparatory school.

Fun stats:
Ratio of Baltimore City residents to # of sex offenders: 396 to 1.
Ratio in Taneytown: 218 to 1

A source reports four more t-shirt boys arrested in Hampden, cuffed & sitting on the curb on 36th street yesterday afternoon. Book 'em Kramer!

Tidell Harris' Killers get Three Lifetimes

At a sentencing hearing today Judge Robert Kershaw sentenced Elliott McClain, 31, of the 5200 block of St. Charles Ave. to two consecutive life prison terms plus a consecutive 25 years. A City jury convicted him July 27, 2007 of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and handgun counts. Today’s sentence in the maximum amount of prison time Judge Kershaw could have imposed.

On June 1, 2004 at approximately 1:00 a.m. in the 600 block of Hazel Street, McClain and co-defendant Kevin Fletcher approach the victim, Tidell Harris, on the street. They each pulled a gun. Fifteen shots were fired and Harris is hit five times, twice in the chest and three in the face and head and is pronounced dead at the scene.

Fletcher confessed and had a plea deal (life, suspend all but 25 years in prison) in which he was to testify against McClain. However, he refused to testify in January when called to the stand during a pretrial motions hearing, and Judge John M. Glynn sentenced Fletcher to life in prison plus 20 years. Fletcher and his mother had contact with McClain while awaiting trial and Fletcher requested protective custody at the Baltimore City Detention Center. Fletcher did testify in McClain’s trial but his court testimony was inconsistent with his taped police confession, which was played in court. Authorities have not located Fletcher’s mother.

Assistant State’s Attorney Tonya LaPolla of the FIVE Division prosecuted this case.
-- ASA's office

October 5

Is it possible that we'll have had no murders in a whole week?
The last was 24-year-old Jason Fortune.

The Sun has Bealefeld video:
"I haven't signed a contract. I haven't even seen such a document yet. You might find that hard to believe." Not really!
He also discloses his salary ($120,000 + $8 a day), says "I'm not ashamed to say I've taken something from [Commissioner Norris]."
So far so good!
If you can't get enough of that Bealefeld stuff, WBAL has a heckofalotta audio.

QtD: "Incidents are going to happen, but that happens at any bar or tavern." -- bar manager Omar Smith, whose establishment racked up incidents of mice, roaches, underage drinking, violating a health department order, a drug-dealing manager, three murders in two years and a broken-bottle assault before the liquor board revoked the Top Shelf's Liquor license

Wow, today is almost all good news!
I declare Friday October 5 the City's best news day of the whole year!

Even the Blotter is sedate! A carjacking, but it was in Cockeysville!

Aren't you glad you don't live in the county?

In HoCo, a crazy cat lady must pay $10k in restitution.

In Charles County, a 71-year-old man, Joseph Gilford Hickman, was shot dead on the porch of his townhouse.

MoCo's got a widening scandal, officers charged with double-dipping: 10 officers who allegedly took freelance jobs while still on the clock with the county. Four face felony charges, and six have pleaded guilty to misconduct so far.

Teens Trussed in Playground Bust!

Spotted at about 3:30 p.m.: seven white t-shirt teenagers getting busted at the playground in the 3400 block of Elm Avenue in Hampden.

October 4

Elliott McClain, 31, was sentenced yesterday to two life sentences plus 25 years in prison for the murder of Tidell Harris, 23, on Hazel Street in Curtis Bay in 2004.

Broadwater has the September murder roundup.
"said University of Baltimore criminologist Jeffrey Ian Ross, 'obviously, there’s a disconnect and there’s a failure in the criminal justice system.'"
This suspended-sentence nonsense does seem to be a huge problem-- why do we allow suspended sentences, and what would it take to make judges cut that shit out?

The fine print: An adult male was listed in serious but stable condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after he was shot in the face about 2 p.m. yesterday in the 2400 block of Wilkens Ave.; a man was stabbed in the 1700 block of Cherry Hill Road about 8 p.m. Monday; in Essex police are seeking a gunman who forced his way into a house in the 1200 block of Punjab Drive about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday and chased a man, 18, and a woman, 21, throughout the dwelling while firing a gun.

In spite of a front-page Washington Post story refuting the proliferation of human trafficking, Jessamy's holding a press conference to announce she and Gansler are launching a task force to tackle the non-problem.

Rumors Squashed: There was no, I repeat, no murder in Hampden yesterday! There was, apparently, some blood-like viscous liquid found in front of the Golden West Cafe on 36th street. This somehow spiraled into a rumor about some kind of thrill-kill gang/ serial vigilante going around shanking druggies! Not true-- no battered corpse has been found in Hampden for almost an entire two weeks (that we know of).
But thanks for writing, tipsters!

It's Official!

After letting the city go 76 days without a Police Commissioner and making some noise about DC's Charles Ramsey (apparently the only other candidate), the mayor has appointed Frederick H. Bealefeld III to the job.
Pretending to agree with her cockamamie gun registry plan must have been the final test!
Now let's hope he gets to rounding up some officers and lets that dog of a notion crawl off to die a quiet death!

Pervert!

WMAR has video of Stephen Gayer being taken away by the Feds while neighbors jeer. ("We're not clear yet why the FBI was involved with this arrest." That's because taking lurid pictures of naked little girls is a federal crime, Jenny!)

And yesterday, Matthew Justin Perry, 28, of Edgewood, Maryland, pled guilty to receipt of child pornography. Roddy J. locks perverts away!

..and smack dealers! Javon Brewer, age 26, got 198 months for peddling "Chocolate City" and "Hypnotic" brands.

NYT: "For Baltimore, Housing Slump Slows a Revival"

Public Art

Bealefeld, Frederick H. III, and Dixon, Sheila, "90 Days in Waverly," 2007
Gift of the John Galt Collection
BCR 2007.1480360728

Ooof!

In a major ballkick to the State's Attorney's office, a Baltimore jury today acquitted the owners of a city bail bond company who were being tried on obstruction of justice and perjury charges after only 90 minutes of deliberations on 21 counts following two weeks of testimony.
Rumor has it that 4 Aces Bail Bonds is a front for one of BMore's largest drug organizations.

VJayJay Day

Compare coverage of the Roland Park rape (Four stories in the Sun, six in the Examiner) with the 80 words given to a rape in the SE.
(Or, for that matter, the extended coverage of the stolen tomato.)

The Court of Appeals is trying to decide whether consensual sex can become rape if a woman says no in the middle of the act.

WYPR: Martha's Place, a drug recovery house for women, is "changing lives in one drug-infested Baltimore community."

Perv of the Day: Stephen Gayer of Parkville, who apparently has been violating Sex Childs for years.

Galt has more stories in comments.

October 2

In a court order dated August 24, 2007 and received October 1, 2007 by prosecutors in the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office, Judge Marcella A. Holland has denied James Thompson’s Petition for Post Conviction Relief and a Motion for a New Trial. The Post Conviction hearing was held on June 27, 2007 before J. Holland. In 1988, Thompson was convicted of the August 2, 1987 murder of Colleen Willar. Thompson was sentenced to life in prison. In the ruling of August 24, 2007 Judge Holland states:

“The DNA evidence does not remove the Petitioner from the scene of the crime. The DNA evidence does eliminate the Petitioner from being the ultimate rapist. Yet, even in the Petitioner’s testimony at the trial of James Owens, he never claims to be the actual murderer or rapist. His claim was that he stood by as the event occurred. Since the DNA evidence does not show that the Petitioner is innocent of the underlying crime of burglary, coupled with his confession stating that he burglarized the house as the victim was murdered, this Court does not concur with the Petitioner that the DNA evidence exculpates him of the primary crime of which he is accused – felony murder. This Court denies the Petitioner’s Motion for a New Trial.”

"A small group of protesters gathered outside Baltimore police headquarters Monday night to call attention to police brutality in the city, invoking the spirit of the Jena 6 rallies. 'We’re here for justice,' said Fenyanga Muhammad, who was shot four times by police after they mistook a Popsicle stick in his mouth for drugs."
(Matt Jablow disputed this account at the time, claiming that shots were only fired after Muhammad tried to grab an officer's gun. Charges are still pending against Muhammad, government name Donnie Ray Chestnut. Thanks galt)

The good news: "A growing number of police departments across Maryland are adopting a domestic violence program that uses a series of pointed questions to identify those most at risk of being killed."
Domestic violence is the leading cause of death for African-American women aged 15–34. So far in the Baltimore area, only the city's Northeast District uses the lethality assessment.

An NYT Op-Ed piece opines that the links above are related to each other, Isiah Thomas and OJ. What do you think?

Judge: The Baltimore police department "must return the personal laptop computer seized from a lieutenant suspected of using it to send offensive e-mails through the department’s network during working hours."

Nutjobs Farther Afield
Bobby Collins, 32, of Brooklyn, N.Y. "made hundreds of crank calls to Maryland police agencies because he was angry over a two-year-old speeding ticket he received while in the state."

Judge Barbara Jung convicted dog groomer Celeste Rainone of animal cruelty and mutilation in the Feb. 17 death of a poodle.

WSJ invokes Royal "we": "Every state has its problems, but we're especially glad this month that we don't live in Maryland." (subscribers only)

October 1

We've got some new laws-- including No Parole for Pervs and the the country's first statewide Living-Wage law (there are cities with laws though).

Assault with box-cutter, two assaults with brick, a stolen tomato in the Blotter.

Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver in a Saturn who struck a police van, causing it to flip on 83 at around midnight last night.

"Justice Department statistics show that the number of inmates in federal and state prisons age 55 and older shot up 33 percent from 2000 to 2005 ... That's faster than the 9 percent growth overall."

State Delegate Pat McDonough, a Republican who represents portions of Baltimore and Harford counties, wants to make MD less hospitable to illegal workers.

Burbs
In AAC, parents of a 5-year-old boy, Connor Freed, who drowned in an Anne Arundel County pool, won a $4 million judgment against the pool’s management company.

In DC, a job fair for ex-cons.

The Post has an update on the Samuel Sheinbein case: In 1996 in MoCo Sheinbein murdered Alfredo Enrique Tello Jr., 19, apparently just for kicks, then fled to Israel.

Off-Topic
The bad news: 20% of two-year-olds watch more than two hours of TV a day! The good news: the resulting brain damage may be reversible.

It's fun to collect typos: "Md. spending on sprawl curb not monitered, report finds" (Sun front page)

Consider skipping the ground beef for while. 21.7 million pounds of it may contain poop germs. Grody!
And it gets worse: "Topps said it believes that the vast majority of the recalled product has been consumed."
Blargh!

September 30

What the?! The conviction of Melissa Burch Harton has been overturned by the Court of Appeals! You'll recall Harton and her friend Natasha Bacchus Magee went out drinking Tickle Me Elmos, a fight ensued, and Harton strangled her former friend and fellow Loyola grad student to death.

"But officer, I drive a Volvo station wagon and have two young homeys enrolled in youth soccer leagues!" NYT reporter Solomon Moore on the hazards of reporting while black. (There's one problem no Sun or Examiner crime reporter would have!)

In Philadelphia, the Police Commissioner has called for 10,000 volunteers to patrol city blocks.

September 29

Jason Fortune, 24, was shot to death in the 800 block of N. Fremont Ave.
No suspects, no motive, just like Dixon and the still-unfilled Police Commissioner position. (42 days and counting!)

Good news Dept.: someone has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder for the brutal flattening of senior citizen Charles Erdman (#60).

A toddler kidnapped in New Jersey was rescued at the Baltimore Travel Plaza after police tracked down the cell-phone of his loopy babysitter, Shelvon Torrence (left).

In the city, stupid Pit Bull legislation lopes on.
(thanks for the links galt!)

Web site SpeedTrap.org can abet your hotfootin' all over town!

Fleeing to the suburbs isn't all it's cracked up to be! In ACC, "A 19-year-old Pasadena man was arrested Wednesday after police charged him with possessing fake drugs that looked like crack cocaine." (How could that be a crime?)

AAC's College Creek Terrace is some kind of evil vortex!
A man was stabbed six times in the back by a stranger there (see story below "fake drugs") this week, and on the same street last week a girl was attacked with a barbecue grill.

Fifteen-year sentences for guns and drugs; a guilty plea from Dundalk perv Robert Paul Layton; a witness to the Remington halfway-house murders got 53 years for bank robbery; 13 years were handed down for carjacking and as usual a load of $ fraud: all in a day's work for federal prosecutors & arranged smartly on a page for your reading pleasure.

"Chain of drug allegations is full of links to Orioles"

Murder Conviction for West Belvedere Shooting

A Baltimore City jury convicted Mark Lee Johnson, 26, of the 2600 block of Quantico Avenue, today of second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and two counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The jury heard three days of testimony and deliberated approximately nine hours over two days before reaching a verdict. Judge John N. Prevas scheduled sentencing for November 19, 2007. Johnson faces a maximum of 80 years in prison, 30 years for second degree murder, 30 years for attempted second degree murder and 20 years for the handgun counts. Details:

On January 22, 2006 at approximately 3:30 PM in the 3300 block of West Belvedere Avenue, Johnson approached Antwoine Armstead, 21, and Andre Gibbs, 22 as they were getting into a parked car. Johnson walked to the passenger side of the car and shot Armstead multiple times. Gibbs ran from the car and Johnson shot at him as he ran across West Belvedere Avenue. Armstead suffered seven gunshot wounds and was taken to Sinai hospital where he died a short time later.

Assistant State’s Attorney Joshua Felsen of the Homicide Division prosecuted this case.

Indictments in Christopher Clark Murder

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted both Brandon Green, 22, and Jerome Whitaker, 23, of the 3300 block of Ramona Avenue for first-degree murder, attempted murder and handgun charges. Antonio Santifer, 19, of the 3100 block of Cliftmont Avenue was indicted on handgun charges.

Court documents allege that on March 13, 2007 Christopher Clark, 18, was caught in a crossfire, and sustained a gunshot wound to the torso in the 3100 block of Cliftmont Avenue. Allegedly, Clark was shot in the crossfire when an unknown male appeared from an alley, and fired a handgun at Santifer, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of his residence. Santifer was struck and taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital. The two other suspects, later identified as Jerome Whitaker and Brandon Green, were also wounded and treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Clark died from his injuries at Johns Hopkins Hospital the same day.

Life Plus Three Years for Murder & Drugs

At a hearing today, Judge John C. Themelis sentenced Kenneth Mahai of Parkville, MD to life in prison plus three years consecutive for first-degree murder and a weapons count. A Baltimore City jury convicted Mahai August 10, 2007.

On October 21, 2005 the victim, Jermaine Morrison, was released from jail after having served 18 months for Possession with Intent to Distribute Illegal Narcotics in the 1700 block of Nome Street. While Morrison was in jail, the defendant, Kenneth Mahai, began selling drugs in that area. On October 25, 2005, at approximately noon, the two men got into an argument about who had the “right” to sell their illegal narcotics in the 1700 block of Nome Street (now Manor Avenue). As Morrison started to walk down Nome Street, Mahai followed him, confronted him a second time, and stabbed him two times in the chest and once in the arm. Morrison stumbled from the scene and collapsed around the corner on the 1700 block of Malvern. He eventually succumbed to his injuries at Bayview Medical Center.

The State indicted this case twice, once in April 2006 and a second time this year. In December 2006, the State dismissed all charges against Mahai after a witness central to the State’s prosecution was confronted and threatened by an associate of the defendant. Law enforcement was unable to locate that witness and it was learned that the witness fled Maryland to New Jersey. With the assistance of Cumberland County, New Jersey’s Prosecutor’s Office, the State continued to search for the witness, and, after the witness was located, the State indicted Mahai a second time for this murder.

Assistant State’s Attorney E. Wesley Adams prosecuted the case.