Apparently a Mob Mentality Works Out Pretty Well....

Pat McDonough must be seething... Gregg Bernstein announced his office will not be taking action against the youths who participated in a flash mob turned beatdown at the 7-11 on Light Street.* 

The participants in the fatal police-involved shooting from last week have been identified. The deceased is 44-year-old Stuart Fitzgerald. The officer has been identified as Karen Crisafulli. Fitzgerald was killed while attempting a daytime burglary in the 400 block of South Chester St.

Three murders and four arrests. The BPD is slowly but surely inching the clearance rate back to an acceptable number:

• Arrested for the stabbing death of Ettice Jones was 46-year-old Kevin Whittington, a man with a multitude of prior convictions including several for drug dealing.
• Charged with shooting 19-year-old Lacy Lamb through a basement window was 19-year-old Sean Randall.
• Finally, the brother and sister duo responsible for the death of Antoneo Mattison have been id'd as Emanuel Fowlke, age 35, and Temeka Clark, age 26.

Have you seen this fella? He's wanted for a string of pharmacy robberies and the police are eager to snatch him up. 

A whopping 105 years in the clink for 21-year-old carjacker Terrell Scott. Scott, along with 20-year-old Abram Hall, jacked a civilian, beat him ferociously, stripped him, and then shot him in the chest. Luckily the victim (who for some reason was identified in the press release) managed to survive.

Several shootings earlier this week put three in the hospital. The first occurred late Monday, where a man was popped in the 1900 block of East Lafayette Ave. An early morning Tuesday shooting in the 200 block of Carey St left a man and a woman with gunshot wounds.

While guns are going off in the city, it seems everyone is getting knifed in the county. Three 16-year-olds were stabbed in separate incidents. The first stabbing was that of a Milford Mill Academy student playing hooky, stabbed in an apparent robbery. The second incident occurred Monday night, where a kid got cut up near a Middle River 7-11. Finally, a girl in Halethorpe got stabbed by her own brother while walking to a store. The brother, id'd as Austin Taylor Davis, faces first degree assault charges.

Speaking of County stabbings, the guy who stabbed his so-called girlfriend in the middle of the street before getting into a head on collision whilst fleeing the scene has been identified as Reginald Lee Fields, 29. Fields faces attempted murder charges whenever he's released from the hospital.

Life in prison for Susan Datta, convicted of providing the gun used in the murder-for-hire killing of Towson Hess station owner William R. Porter back in 2010.

A Towson attorney and his two sons were killed in a car accident while vacationing in England.

So apparently the city can effectively tell you to "suck it" when they owe you money, even if it's their mediocre infrastructure that broke your stuff... interesting.

So much for being lucky... the 7-11 famous for selling the winning Mega Millions ticket earlier this year has been stuck up again.

Two interesting stories I've come across: a fairly run-of-the-mill video from Fox regarding the Bath Salts craze that has people scared to no end, the other is a older Patch article regarding the various forms of burglary.

Some Recent Case Updates:

Remember Omar Little? No, I don't mean one of the single greatest fictional characters of all time, I'm talking about Omar Little Jr. (Pictured Right) He got busted on gun charges at the beginning of the year. It seems Bernstein is getting cases through the court system pretty quickly, because Little pleaded guilty and got five years, all but six months suspended.

This hasn't been posted on any news sites from what I can tell, but Vincent Forney, who was arrested after stabbing a man to death while visiting a lady friend back in August of 2011, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

This is a bit random, but I find it interesting. Very nearly 20 years ago there was a very violent neighborhood rivalry between The Old York Road boys and the McCabe Avenue crew. Despite being just a few streets from one another they spent most of their time trying to kill one another. When asked about the groups, a detective from back in the day said "They're like the Hatfields and the McCoys. It's never taken much to precipitate a shooting."
It's amazing how the style of crime has barely changed in 20 years, it's still just crews shooting it out with crews. I bring this up because a former member of one of the crews, Ronald Brady, now 38, was just sent to prison for the next 12 years for gun possession. A classic example of the "Bad Guys With Guns" mantra. Brady was one of several young men scooped up on murder charges related to the feud, and according to online court records, he served nearly all of his 20-year prison term for murder.

I took a moment to look up some of the other men arrested 20 years ago for their roles in the York Boys-McCabe Crew beef.  Marvin Day Rivers beat his murder charge, and eventually left the game by the year 2000. Now 43-year-old Eric Brown's current status is unknown, but he also beat his murder charge. Now 40-year-old Reginald King is still serving out a Life sentence in Jessup for crimes committed during the rivalry. Finally, now 36-year-old Gilbert C. McCory beat his murder charge as well, but didn't stay out of trouble for long, having been stabbed in a pancake house in 2000, and having finished a federal prison term three years ago**

Tribune slithering out of bankruptcy

The RealDeal

GERALD SCARFE

NYker

A mere 3 1/2 years, $1.3 billion in claims and $410 million in lawyer's fees later, short-fingered vulgarian Sam Zell is preparing to steer his crotch rocket away from a Delaware court with a bankruptcy plan... only to likely be forced to return in the future should right-to-sue claims against Morgan Stanley & Co. from disgruntled bondholders stand up.

No speeding

Baltimore widow Linda Johnson is suing the State and County police for "allegedly killing her husband"-- one thing is not in dispute, Carl Johnson was alive before he was Tased by police, but afterwards was not...

Guillermo L. Lopez-Molina, 41, is no Snoop, but he nailed a man he was having a dispute with while framing a house on Sweet Leaf Lane in Edgewater with three-inch framing nails..

From the Brew: Thomas Threatt, whose April arrest by Baltimore police was caught on videotape (see the :40 mark) appeared in Baltimore City District Court today, where a judge granted his request for a jury trial. ...he was given a June 26 trial date in Baltimore City Circuit Court ... A YouTube video of the Mar. 29 demonstration near Johns Hopkins Hospital in East Baltimore shows Threatt prone on the street, with officers kneeling on his back and neck and other officers repeatedly spraying Mace, point-blank, in his face. 

Voo jah day, county Senator Jim Brochin wants state police posted to the Harbor. He says he wants his constituents to go down to the city (better there than to his district's malls and streets, right?)

Mt Washington Starbucks employees were locked in the can during a closing-time robbery Monday May 28.

If you learn nothing else from this blog, learn that if you park in the Charles Village/Waverly/Guilford/Tuscany area enough times, you will get a broken car window. Sometimes even if your car is as clean as a rental and unlocked. But if you have a GPS, purse or phone in your car, pretty much expect it. Most stations have glass vacuums, there are also mobile glass repair services like Safelite that come out and fix the window at your job or house. Call your insurance co right away, find out if it's covered by your deductible, blah blah... make sure you get a report number form the police for your insurance company...

Traffic of pain pills to Wheeling, West Virginia got bottlenecked when 29 conspirators git federally indicted. 

Speed cameras: on one hand they've slowed down average traffic speeds in school zones, and we enjoy the schadenfreudeliciousness of seeing a-hole drivers get a flash in the plate. But Word on The Street is the city only gets $8 of every $32 ticket, and if that's true, that's an effing load, man. Revenue from the tickets was written into the city budget before the camera contract was even approved. In MoCo the county gets $16.25. If the city gets less than half they are sucka-asses.

Aw old-person Bmore culture moment.. when I was 27, pregnant and working at MICA I got to drive David Byrne around the city in my filthy Honda (that got broken into 13 times  in Charles Village). Nice to hear he is still interested in issues of urban living, promoting biking, etc.

how u doin

Remember the sad story of Johma Blackwell, an 18-year-old Coppin State student and young mom stabbed to death (32 times!) in Remington? One Syron Abdullah has pleaded guilty to her murder. He apparently started up chats with young women on a certain social media site with a "how u doin." Reports the Patch, "He would then attempt get their personal information, such as address and phone number, so he could rob them." A kid left with no mother for some video games.. fckawful. Who is raising this little girl?

And an Owings Millsian, Joseph Anthony Kallash, age 31,  was sentenced to 15 years for producing pornography with a 15-year-old girl he met on Facebook (whilst Kallash was pretending to be a teenager). The pervy scumbucket was busted after he expressed interest in the victim's younger sister, prompting her to report him. ... for Chrissakes, don't 'friend' or chat with anyone you haven't met in person, people! (Unless you've guest-blogged on their web site...)


"Career criminal" John Thomas (yes, John Thomas) got 15 years in the Federal pokey for gun possession.

A "strong odor" coming from a room at the Holiday Inn Express led to the busts of two Oklahomans, a North Carolinian, a Michigander and a Pennsylvanian in HoCo-- geniuses were (allegedly) cooking up meth.  Said a police spokesperson, "Apparently meth is their drug of choice and when they couldn't find it here in Howard County, they decided to make some themselves in their hotel room."  Hilariously, one of the suspects-- the one with the mega-overbite-- talked to a WBAL reporter. Students of body language will enjoy all of his classic liar's pantomimes-- covering his mouth, shifty eyes and postures ("I only know what I seen on movies..." "apparently it was a foul odor...")-- as compared to his demeanor when he's telling the truth ("I seen some cop cars drive by...")

In HarfCo, an 11-year-old was accidentally shot to death by his brother with a gun the boys found in a neighbor's shed. Man, the therapy that 8-year-old is gonna need...!

Wangs and thangs: Pasadenian CEO of "Wings to Go" indicted for embezzling $885k to pay for phone sex and hookers. At least it was for a good cause...

Tsk tsk, Baltimore lawyer Kenneth Ford is charged with defrauding clients in WVa.

Ignominious milestone

Seven people have been murdered in the city since Friday.

Tweeted Fenton, "it should be noted that [Michael J.] Sullivan, the 92nd murder victim,is the first white male."

Sullivan, 55, was the owner of Sully's Seafood & Subs on Belair road. He was found shot to death at work, but police say that robbery may not have been the motive-- items of value were left behind.*

Stop whatever you are doing right now and watch

... the Wire, the musical!
C'mon Bubs, stop doin drugs!

Dragon's Den Busted

By the DEA for selling "bath salts" labeled as “Speedy Gonzalez,” “Incredible Hulk,” “Taz,” and “Bugs Bunny.” Also found, "more than 100 containers—jars, packets, boxes, and the like—labeled with names such as “Dragon’s Breath,” “Bayou Blaster,” “Get Twisted,” “Zombie Matter,” and “Super Villain.”
WTH are bath salts, anyway? Explains the C to the P:

"popularly they are known as MDPV, 4-MEC, and MDMC (also called methylone). (For the hard-core chemists out there, who probably already know this, they are related to cathinones, alkaloids found in the khat plant.)... One of them, methylone, was patented in 1996 as an antidepressant."

89, 90, 91

This year's 91st killing is that of 64-year-old Edmond Dabney, shot in the head during a robbery gone awry in the 4600 block of Pimlico Ave. Dabney was walking with a female friend at 4am when he was murdered by an unknown assailant.

A killer brother-and-sister duo are behind bars. A fight between the unidentified female and 42-year-old Antonio Mattison led to the unidentified brother stabbing Mr. Mattison to death inside a boarding house in the 1200 block of Lafayette Ave. Mattison, the 90th victim of the year, has one prior arrest for armed robbery, a charge he beat earlier this year.

The man in drag shot dead after an argument at the Exxon on the corner of E. Fayette and N. Caroline St. has been identified as 18-year-old Desean Bowman.*

Seems a day doesn't go by lately without a police officer sent to the clink. This time it's 37-year-old Edgewood resident Samuel Ocasio. Ocasio received an 18-month Federal bid after copping to his role in the vast "Majestic Towing" scandal. 

Two men were shot in separate incidents overnight*. In the first shooting, which occurred in the 1800 block of W. Lexington St., a 33-year-old got a slug in his dome, as well as his upper back. In the second incident, a 41-year-old got shot at around 4 am in the 2100 block of N. Monroe St.

Five years for Sharee Thomas, the head of the "Diamond Divas" prostitution ring operating in Baltimore. The 35-year-old now-registered sex offender used underage prostitutes and advertised her pimping business online.

Daddy issues at their finest... Michael Darnell Palmer, 22, is accused of stabbing his pops after an argument over taking out the trash went a bit to far.

Impressively un-intimidating looking 18-year-old Bruno Pozzo (Pictured Right), is accused of robbing a a Pikesville pizza man with a pellet gun. Also arrested were 18-year-old Brandon Hudson Rohrback, 16-year-old Billy Antonio Evans, and an unidentified minor.

Somebody robbed the Parkville BK located in the 8300 block of Harford Rd. The lack of an arrest has certain residents "flame-broiling mad." (HAHA, just... awful)

Lennell Ellis, 32, accused of murdering another man and setting his body ablaze in a love triangle gone bad has turned himself into authorities.
(Do love triangles ever end... well?)

Male in gender-nonconforming clothing shot

Justin Fenton

Police tweeted a shooting of a woman last night at Fayette/Caroline; now say a man in women's clothing was killed in argument at gas station

 Victim was pumping gas when female friend went to pay the cashier, & suspect began arguing w her. ictim directed friend back to car,was shot

· · @justin_fenton on Twitter · 3 minutes ago via Twitter ·

Police-Involved Shooting in Upper Fells Point

Police appear to have interrupted two burglars near Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, and one of them ended up with a bullet in the chest.* 

87, 88, Cannibalism, and Gangs of Young Folk

The shooting on the 1100 Block of Myrtle Ave. has apparently turned into a this year's 87th homicide. Quintin Butler (Alternately Spelled Quinton), age 30, was shot and killed Tuesday. Butler had past convictions for Attempted Murder and drug dealing.

The 88th Homicide of the year is a so-far-unidentified man stabbed to death* in the 3000 block of E. Preston St. Thursday night.

The Sun has more and more information on* Alexander Kinyua, the man whose human-eating exploits have caused my Facebook homepage to blow up with people making zombie apocalypse jokes. Shockingly enough Kinyua seems to be a bit unstable, posting strange Facebook posts and having just been released from jail after blinding a fellow student in an unprovoked assault with a bat. Apparently Justin Fenton just figured out the guys internet handle, so expect more on this story tomorrow.

Apparently local groups of angry youngins are still going kind of nuts, beating on a Federal office worker* earlier today, while walloping another person Wednesday.

On the subject of youth mobs, a few have been identified from the 7-11 flash mob/possible robbery from a few days back.

Life times two for Larry L. Joseph, 23. Joseph was convicted of killing two men outside a Dollar Store in the 3400 block of Belair Rd. back in 2007. According to the State's Attorney, Joseph pumped a total of 15 rounds into the two men.

The death of  Daryl Augustus II, 21, found in a burning car in Essex Tuesday, was ruled a homicide. Police quickly ID'd a suspect; 32-year-old Lennell Earl Ellis. Ellis turned himself in Thursday and faces first degree murder charges for killing Augustus in an apparent jealous rage. 

What a creep. David Knight, 26 (Pictured Right Sporting a Fittingly Crusty Neck Beard) has been busted for taking a cell phone video of a teenage girl while she was using bathroom at the Inner Harbor. Not surprisingly Knight has a criminal record including convictions for theft, destruction of property, car theft, possession of not-marijuana, and gun possession. He also, shockingly, has a prior arrest for a smiler Peeping Tom incident.

And the scuzzbags just keep coming... Arrested by state police was 28-year-old Brian Williams, a Pennsylvania creeper charged with taking photographs of children at various rest stop bathrooms. 

An actual punishment for witness intimidation... nice. 21-year-old Lionel Lynch got two years for verbally threatening a witness in the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse in November of 2011. 

The eleventh in a seemingly never-ending array of corrupt police officers has been sent to the Federal clink. 32-year-old Rodney Cintron got more than three years for his role in the massive Majestic Towing scandal.

A guy with a starter's pistol scared the living hell out of folks at the UMBC campus today. An as of yet unidentified man sent the campus into a panic after being seen waving around a realistic looking fake gun, although police say he didn't actually threaten anyone at any point.

 One person is in the hospital after a suspect fleeing the BPD crashed head on with another car earlier today. 

Four people are injured in a car accident while another two are stabbed in somehow-related incidents on Owings Mills Blvd.

The most recent Crime Blotter, this time from the Southeast, has a good old-fashioned purse snatching, someone sleeping on the job got jacked, and a fella gets his weed and shotgun stolen, which apparently you can report to the police.

A rash of robberies in Essex result in the arrest of two people for separate crimes. Danyelle Smialkowski, 22, was arrested after robbing a woman fleeing a purportedly unrelated robbery, while 24-year-old Joseph Drummond was charged with robbing a 50-year-old man with a metal pipe. 

Finally, 10 years for yet another conspirator in the Latrobe Homes drug organization. Armond Dowdell, age 39, got the dime after pleading to selling kilo's of weed while being an armed felon.

Big Gay News

The First Circuit Court of Appeals has torn out the heart of DOMA, lubing, inching, and now surging the turgid equal-protection case ever closer to the Supreme Court's sanctum sanctorum.

"One virtue of federalism is that it permits this diversity of governance based on local choice, but this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage," Judge Michael Boudin wrote for the court. "Under current Supreme Court authority, Congress' denial of federal benefits to same-sex couples lawfully married in Massachusetts has not been adequately supported by any permissible federal interest."

BURN!

What the FARARRAKK?

Victim was eaten: Morgan State student charged in Joppa killing told police he ingested man's organs http://t.co/tOUtn6Mh

 Bath salts?!

Heroin homicide

Has this ever happened before?
Baltimore medical examiner Dr. David Fowler ruled the heroin overdose of 24-year-old Amber Brown a homicide-- but so far no one has been charged with anything. (Sun story)
Dr. Fowler has taken heat in the past (from me and Stephen Janis, anyway) for the crazy amount of undetermined deaths on the city's rolls-- at one point more than 340 in a single year, waay more . Fowler's comeback was that deeming overdoses' 'cause of death: undetermined' instead of 'accidental' was more intellectually honest in cases where a person might have been administered the fatal dose of a drug by someone else, which would technically be a homicide.
So it's kind of amazing after thousands of people determined 'undetermined' during Fowler's tenture this is the first time I have ever heard of an overdose actually classified as a homicide. Is there some evidence of a homicidal intention somewhere in the drug-supply chain?

Non-Targeted Shooting of a Child

A quadruple shooting in the 2300 block of East Hoffman St. Monday night put four in the hospital, including a 10-year-old boy. As if it needed mentioning, the 10-year-old was not the target of the shooting.

A fella took a slug to the chest in the 1100 block of Myrtle Ave, while a man and a woman were both stabbed Monday near North Paca and West Saratoga St. 

A man who struck a police car sending Officer Teresa Rigby over the JFX has been convicted and sentenced. 23-year-old Robert Vanderford received 3 points on his license, a fine, and community service.


A drive-by on Loch Raven Blvd. in Towson has left a man in critical condition. Two men shot the unidentified male outside the Welcome Inn apartments. Violence isn't new to these apartments, as this was the same location that witness Alicia Lee Avery and her 4-year-old daughter were murdered by disgruntled ex-boyfriend Brian Lamont Eggleston Jr., a little less then a year ago. Eggleston's trial has been postponed twice so far, and no trial date is scheduled.  

Judge Sylvester Cox has taken a metaphorical hacksaw to the damages awarded to the family of Philip Parker Jr., a man strangled to death by fellow inmate Kevin Johns whilst on a prison bus. The settlement has been knocked from $18.5 Million to $600,000.

An argument led to a police standoff which led to a suicide. 28-year-old Ansley Turner is dead after taking his own life while in the midst of a standoff with police in the 5700 block of Fenwick Ave. Sunday afternoon. 

A series of robberies on York Rd. are just some of the many crimes mentioned by the North Baltimore Patch. 

So called "Drano bombs" are becoming the hot new toy of Dundalk hoodlums, as three have gone off in the last four days. In the reported instances, two arrests have been made. One was of a juvenile, and the other was of 18-year-old Marco DeJuan Jones, charged with detonating one during the Dundalk High senior picnic.

A one million dollar fine has been levied upon the man held responsible for the 2010 Ehrlich campaign robo-calls. Beyond being out a cool million, Julius Henson also faces sentencing for the crimes next month. 

Local criminals are breaking out in droves. Maybe breaking out isn't the correct term, maybe more like "walking swiftly away" in droves. A total of five different area criminals have suddenly gone on the lamb, with convicted murderer Jermaine Jeter, 30, being the first to go AWOL. Jeter went missing after not showing up for his job at Checkers... can't really hold that one against him.

Another three men, Antwan Fraiser, Joseph Ryles and Emanuel Rich simultaneously left a half-way home Sunday, before all apparently simultaneously turning themselves in on Tuesday. I'm not even going to bother to figure out the motivation for that sort of weirdly synchronized action.

Finally, 24-year-old Eliyahu Goode (Pictured Right), escaped from the Spring Grove Hospital Center, a psychiatric facility. Goode was in the psychiatric facility after being found to be incompetent to stand trial for Robbery. 

Finally, 10 years in the federal clink for heroin kingpin Kevin Hently, 53. Hently was sentenced for his leadership role in an organization that imported the drug from New York by the kilo. 

78-87

A bevy of recent homicides, here's a breakdown:

78. Sylvester Rodgers (Alternately spelled Rogers), age 58, was shot multiple times and killed in an apartment in the 600 block of North Carey St. 24-year-old Dominick Brooks was charged with the crime. Brooks has prior convictions for car theft, drug dealing, robbery, assault on an officer, and assault on a DOC employee. Brooks is currently facing Probation Violation charges related to the robbery conviction.

79. Tavon Frederick, 35, was shot and killed during a home invasion in the 3300 block of Westerwald Ave.*

80.  Jacqueline Laster, 47, was the sole death in a triple shooting in the 2500 block of West Fayette St. Thursday. Laster is said to have been the target of the shooting, and had a minor criminal record.

81. James Shird, who according to Murder Ink is James Shird Jr age 18 and not James Shird Sr, age 48, was shot to death in the 4600 block of York Rd. No arrests have been made.

82. Andre Curry Jr., 28, was the fatality of the other triple shooting Thursday. This one in the 2600 block of East Preston St. Curry had prior drug dealing convictions and several minor arrests, but no new arrests since 2007.

83. Lanell Ausby, 22, was shot in the 2500 block of North Edgecombe Circle. After being shot he was pulled over by police while driving down the wrong side of the road. According to his parents, Ausby was preparing to finish college at the time of his death. Ausby had a minor criminal history.

84. Dwaune Evans (Alternately spelled Dawan), 25, was shot in the 600 block of Pitcher St. outside the Shake and Bake Family Fun Center. Evans had prior convictions for assault and drug dealing and received a three year prison sentence back in 2009.

85. Olivia Palmer, a 6 month old child was beaten by her father, Demante Palmer, age 34 (Pictured Right) . Police responded to the 1600 block of E. Coldspring Lane, and Palmer later died of her injuries. Palmer is the third child to have been killed by their father this year. 2011 had three young children killed as well, while 2010 had four. 2009 had only one young child killed, 2008 had five, and 2007 had two.

86. Amber Brown, 24, was a unique case of a heroine overdose being considered a homicide. 24-year-old Brown and a friend injected one another with heroin, Brown eventually dies due to an overdose, and although said friend has not been charged as of yet, the case is still considered a homicide. Brown had a minor criminal record.*

87. Ettice Jones, 47, was stabbed to death in the 1200 block of Woodbourne Ave. during an argument with a male acquaintance. No official arrest has been made, although police have a "person of interest" in the case. Jones had a minor criminal record.

Thanks to The Baltimore Sun and Murder Ink for providing much of the information.

A Violent Thursday in Baltimore

The Memorial Day weekend has started with a literal bang, as seven people were shot Thursday and one early Friday in 4 separate incidents, including two triple shootings. Among the eight shot, two were dead and woman is in grave condition. The only victim to be identified is 28-year-old Andre Samuel Curry Jr, one of three people shot in the 2600 block of East Preston St.

Police have busted the prolific "Craigslist Robber." He has been Id'd as 26-year-old David Brown, and had been using library computers to set up meetings with victims in the 3500 block of Callaway Ave.

Wow.. Caroll County resident Michael S. Almony, 59, was arrested after apparently running over a kitten multiple times in a successful attempt to kill it. He also managed to get caught on video doing it as well, after a secret witness dropped off a tape to the police.

 A 78-year-old woman who may be stricken with dementia has been missing from her home for well over two months.If you've seen Doris Elizabeth Anderson, please alert authorities.

The real life NCIS is investigating the suspicious death of a Fort Meade soldier. 19-year-old Pvt. Anthony Romano-caruso of Alamance, N.C. was found dead Thursday. Officials remain tight lipped on the cause at the moment.

With all this talk of "pill-mills" recently, one may be mistaken to believe that they are the only form of underground mills operating in this city. That is not the case, as a large scale "document-mill" got busted fairly recently, and all nine defendants caught up in the bust have plead guilty. Brothers Ivan Altamirano-Perez, age 32, and Roberto Morales-Perez, age 26, headed the operation located in the 200 block of South Broadway.

Lisa O'Connor, the one time president of the Middleborough Volunteer Fire Company, has plead guilty to stealing over $100,000 from her former place of employment. Employees first caught wind of the bilking when word came down that their fire truck was going to be repossessed.

AACO granny beater an sweet neck tattoo having resident George Nicholas Kuespert, 39, (Pictured Right) got busted for a mini crime spree the other day. Apparently when you finish a 9 year robbery sentence  received in '07, the first thing you do to celebrate is try to commit as many crimes as possible, to you know, acclimate yourself.

Finally, tiny newspaper the "Dundalk Eagle" has a story on gangs in Dundalk and surrounding areas. A fairly weak story that seems to give County Gang Enforcement Sgt. James Conaboyan excuse to showcase how supposedly well his department has been to combat gangs, but an interesting story non-the less.
It takes a lot for County residents to accept that their are in fact gangs around. But gangs like the BGF and DMI (Dead Man Incorperated) have very strong footholds in the county, especially the DMI, seeing as how gang founder Perry Rourk is a Dundalk native. I could give you a fairly long list of  local DMI members, but for the sake of not having my house firebombed, i'll probably keep it to myself..

Missing teen found

New rule: if you make the public look for a missing teenager, you have to tell the public where she was

79

This years 79th murder is that of 35-year-old Tavon Frederick killed in what appears to have been a drug rip gone awry, at least so the police make it sound. Frederick has a prior drug dealing conviction but no local arrests since 2002. *

Police need you help finding the suspect who killed 59-year-old Floyd Dorsey as he sat on his porch back in April. 

A sexual assault early this morning has Towson residents worried. The suspect, described as a bald black male in his 30's, has not been caught.

According to WBAL an unnamed city police sergeant is under investigation by internal affairs following an argument between the sergeant and an unnamed judge.

Speaking of police sergeants in the news, Sgt. Richard Willard, who you may recall was the police officer suffering from PTSD after shooting a suspect back in 2005. Sgt. Willard settled out of court with the department, agreeing to retire when he reached the 20 year service pinnacle. Willard also sent an email to Peter Hermann, offering more insight and an almost horrifying look into how PTSD effects someone. *

Those damn kids... a gang of middle schoolers went nuts during a 7-11 promotional slurpee giveaway, stealing tons of merchandise and beating on the store owner. This is just the latest instance of mob violence that has white people terrified. Republican delegate Patrick L. McDonough is leading the crime fighting charge* against those dastardly "black youth mobs." While to the casual observer it may seem that the city has a "youth mob" scare every few years, I'm sure this time is different, and that you ought to pack heat the next time you go down to The Fudgery.

It must be panic inducing day in Baltimore, as all the news outlets are touting the hot new crime: "Craiglist Robberies." And although people have been getting robbed, and hell, murdered, thanks to Craigslist since it first started, apparently it's gotten worse. A little tip: If you're dumb enough to respond to an ad on Craigslist offering a new in box 32 Gig Ipad 2 for $250... then you don't really deserve to have that money in the first place.

A Middle River church was vandalized yet again, so "Cable Connexions" stepped up and donated security equipment to prevent any more acts of destruction.

As much as people worry about Craigslist robberies, use of the good 'ol "pizza boy heist", is still going  strong, as a delivery man fell pray to this attack in Essex earlier this week.

A Dundalk man is in big trouble in Saint Mary's county after getting busted for police impersonation. This is not the first time 30-year-old Donald James Church Jr. (Pictured Right) has impersonated a police officer. He has prior convictions for assault and police impersonation, and more then a few Patch comments indicate he's been at it for a while.

A third suspect has been busted on charges related to the Lutherville "pill mill." New York resident Alina Margulis, 45, is facing drug distribution charges or her role in the ever widening conspiracy. Kind of curious why this is being held in County court, not Federal...

Carjacker Tyrone Royster, 24, has been sentenced to 10 years in the Federal can after pleading guilty to his role in a Christmas carjacking. Co-defendant Winston Golder, 22, was also sentenced to 10 years.

Finally, two leaders of the Latrobe Homes drug gang have been given significant federal prison sentences. New York resident Shawn Johnson, age 41, has been exiled for 13 years after pleading guilty to importing massive amounts of heroine into Baltimore from 2008 to 2011. Co-defendant and street level leader Antonio McNeely received 11 years for similar charges. 

Life for Rape

Hack cabbie Samuel Queen got life plus 63 years for raping a woman who got into his car.

Bernstein for the win

From the State's Attorney's Office:

May 23, 2012 -- Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Paul Smith sentenced William Carr today to life in prison plus 25 years for robbing and murdering a 55-year-old beverage delivery man who was working at a busy shopping plaza at the time of the attack.

On April 6, 2012, a Baltimore City jury convicted Carr, 50, of first-degree felony murder; armed robbery; two counts of using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence; and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

At approximately 3 p.m. on June 28, 2011, Carr approached Chong Wan Yim with a handgun and demanded his vest. Yim was carrying money in the vest, having just completed a delivery to a retailer in the Erdman Shopping Center in the 3900 block of Erdman Avenue. Yim attempted to resist the armed robbery attempt. The two struggled next to Yim's delivery truck as shoppers looked on. Ending the fight, Carr shot and killed Yim and then ran away.

A cashier and customer at a nearby Rite-Aid store observed the murder, identified Carr in a photo array, and testified against him at trial. Police provided additional evidence, including an analysis of fingerprint and palm prints found on the delivery truck where Yim and Carr had struggled, determining that they belonged to the defendant.

Twin cleared, officer ID'd

Justin Fenton: City police have identified the officer in the weekend police shooting as Gregory Bragg. Suspect grabbed another officer's gun, police say (from FB)


A woman in Hampden was assaulted with pliers, says the Patch

Kenisha Thomas, the mother accused of stabbing her baby at a Social Services office, saying "if I can't have her nobody can," was indicted by a Grand Jury. 

In HoCo, twin Wael Ali was cleared of killing his brother Wasel

Good tips for dealing with the police from Tucker Max, of all people, with bonus Chris Rock video, "How to Not Get Beaten by the Police."

If you're thinking of inseminating yourself with your dead husband's sperm for the Social Security benefits, SCOTUS says think again. Also considering for consideration: if it's excessive force to Taser® a pregnant woman.

Media Blabber: in spite of their pay-reporters-nothing business model, AOL's Patch is laying off about 20 employees, including former Sun VP of Interactive Tim Windsor.
And word on the street is the Tribune Co. will try to sell its newspapers after it emerges from bankruptcy.

An Update That Was Well Worth the Wait

Police shoot and kill a mentally-ill man inside his home. 31-year-old Maurice Holloman was shot while "attempting to grab an officer's gun."

Remember Chey Jordan? You probably don't... but he was the then 20-year-old who shot a Baltimore police officer with a semi-automatic rifle for seemingly no reason? Well, he's been convicted and, sentenced to 25 years in prison. It's truly amazing that he only hit the officer's holstered weapon, causing it to fire itself. Although that's a lucky shot, I was under the impression guns only went off when shot in Spaghetti Westerns.

A suspected Molotov cocktail attack occurred in the 1100 block of Barclay St. forcing one person to go to the hospital. Is this a return of the Molotov Cocktail gang from last year?*

Two men are in serious condition after both are shot multiple times in the legs and feet at the intersection of Aisquith and Preston Street Saturday.

That will put a damper on the party... a 19-year-old out partying with friends got popped in his behind at the 400 block of Oldtown Mall Saturday night.

Frank Durika, a 36-year-old Essex man, was struck and killed by a vehicle in Dundalk Sunday night. Interesting trend in recent accidental county deaths, with less-than-wholesome people being the victims.. Durika had at least 11 felony convictions in the state of MD as an adult.

A few weeks back 26-year-old Robert Ey was struck and killed by the MARC train.


Finally, a pill mill was raided in Lutherville. Two men, Michael Reznikov, 51, and 78-year-old Gerald Wiseberg (Pictured Right) were arrested days later for their roles in the large-scale fraud. Neighboring businesses reportedly became suspicious when cars from everywhere from Kentucky to Florida showed up all day, every day. I myself am not the least bit surprised, because if you're going to house an illegal prescription drug ring, of course you're going to house it in the most unlegitimate/vaguely motel-looking building within a three mile radius.

Also... their online ad just seemed extremely legit:

A Drug Ring Goes Down

That major announcement has been revealed to be the fruits of a six month murder and drug investigation. 14 people were charged in either state or federal court for participating in a large scale drug ring run by Robert G. Moore. As well as running a massive drug ring, Moore and associates also spent a good chunk of 2011 terrorizing the small neighborhood that surrounded the 1900 block of N. Collington Ave.*
Among those charged were:

Drug Kingpin Robert G. Moore, 43; Currently Serving 8 years in state prison for an unrelated drug dealing conviction.

Sarah Hooker, 29; Facing separate drug dealing charges when indicted.

Anthony Roach, 35; Has a conviction related to attempted murder, as well as a multitude of drug dealing convictions. Currently awaiting trial for the 09/16/11 shooting of Allen Venable.

Donnie Adams, 34; Adams has multiple drug and gun convictions and is awaiting trial for gun possesion by a felon at the time of the indictment.

Quincy Chisholm, 21; Currently awaiting trial for shooting Edwin Willis on 09/19/11.

David Warren, 19; Warren had been charged with attempted murder a whopping three times by the time he turned 18. Also awaiting trial for Armed Robbery at the time if the indictment. 

Emmanuel Deminds, 34; Prior convictions for Attempted Murder and drug dealing.

Taylor Flemming, 16

Nizam Roach, 38; A convicted drug dealer with prior arrests for gun possession by a felon.

Charged Federally:
Gregory Fitzgerald, 46

Tommy Heard, 34; Heard has a prior manslaughter conviction, as well as several drug dealing convictions.

Curtis Byrd Jr., 37; Byrd has prior arrests for kidnapping and large scale drug dealing, and at least one actual drug dealing conviction.

Black October

More from homicide lieutenant Stephen Tabeling on the murder of State Delegate Turk Scott, a suspected heroin dealer and the involvement of mysterious vigilante group Black October.

Missing Parkville Girl

Folks are getting pretty worried about missing Parkville girl Brooke Amanda Springer, last seen taking an evening stroll to the local Royal Farms Monday night. If you have seen the 15-year-old pictured right, let the County Police know.

WTG COA

From TDR on FB:

The Daily Record

BREAKING - The Court of Appeals has held Maryland must recognize the marriage of same-sex couples who legally wed in other states. More to come...

No more than 3 years for killer tweens

The 12- and 13-year-olds who killed Monae Turnage in March have been sentenced already - the younger one to the custody of relatives, the older to a "treatment facility" for a maximum of three years.

Must be a big-azz indictment...

From team Bernstein:

To discuss the results of a joint six-month investigation into an alleged murder and drug conspiracy, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein, Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Carl J. Kotowski, and U.S. Attorney for Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein will conduct a news conference tomorrow.

11 a.m. at the Mitchell Courthouse. What could it be? Mass quantities of narcotics? Clown- cars full of conspirators? A white girl? Possibly some newly uncovered conspirators from the McCants-Baker gang re. Cherrie Gammon? ... Money, Miami, Tay and Roland have been indicted federally).
UPDATE: Fenton reports it relates to murdered wrestler/ cancer survivor* Darian Kess, stabbed in the neck during a home invasion*.

National: Jeffrey Toobin on the backstory of Citizens United in the NYker this week

Oh, the douchery!

Lazy city workers faked water-meter readings*, hosing residents of Homeland and Endor Gardens with a golden shower of quintupled bills. Check your water bills, y'all!

Chrissy Lee Polis: I Want to See Other Things

McDonald's beating victim Chrissy Lee Polis has lost touch with the Trans Panthers and says she needs to get "a life," but sounds too flaky and impulsive* to make the most of the platform she's been given. And her sweet rescuer Vicky Thoms still looks over her shoulder whenever she goes out. Grow up, Chrissy! Stand for something! ... doesn't look like the Trans Panthers have done much either, though, but try to sell adorable purple berets.

So Much for the Sunday Truce...

More killings this week than there were days, including four murders on Sunday. So here's a recap of the last 10 victims...

65. Quintin Poindexter, an 18-year-old who was a part of the City's gun offender registry, and was awaiting trial on drug dealing charges, was shot to death outside an elementary school on the 5th.

66. Robert Bond, 21, has been identified as the man found dead in an abandoned home in the 3000 Oakley Ave. Bond had recently been released from prison, having been given a three-and-a-half-year sentence in May of 2011.*

67.  Shavar Little, a 28-year-old man with a long criminal history that included several arrests for armed robbery and a conviction related to an Attempted Murder charge, was shot to death  in the 1900 block of Aisquith Street.

68. Terrence Anderson, 19 (Pictured Right)  Was shot dead in the 600 block of North Eutaw St. Anderson had been charged with an armed robbery in the county back in 2009. A link to his memorial page.

69. Cornell Booker, a 46-year-old man, was drunk and arguing with his girlfriend in the 300 block of Whitridge Ave. when his unidentified son knocked him causing Booker to hit his head on the sidewalk and lapse into a coma. He later died. No one has been charged, and the son has not been identified. Booker has a son, also named Cornell Booker, who recently was released from Federal prison earlier this year.*

70. Christopher Jabar Mobley, 28, was the last of four fatalities Tuesday, having been shot dead in the 3400 block of Piedmont Ave.

71. Thomas Weddington, a 34-year-old man, with several convictions for mostly drug-related offenses, was stabbed to death during an argument in the 2600 block of Park Heights Terrace. A suspect has been arrested, but not identified. Weddington was the first of four men murdered on Mothers' Day.

72. Derrick Lawson, a 33-year-old man with prior arrests for attempted murder and armed robbery, as well a several drug-dealing convictions, was shot to death in the 4000 block of West Franklin St.

73. Dominick Brown, a 24-year-old man who does not appear to have a criminal record, was shot to death in the 200 block of Herring Ct, a part of the Perkins Homes public housing development.

74. Lacy Lamb, 19, was shot to death through a basement window as he played video games in his home in the 1600 block of East 32nd St. Lamb did not have an adult criminal record. He was the last of four men killed Sunday,

75. An as of yet Unidentified Male was shot to death Monday in the 1100 block of N. Milton Ave.

This week's Murder Ink has more information on all of these murders. It has also reported that 24-year-old Markez Jones has been charged with the July 2011 murder of Marvin Hayes, stabbed during a game of basketball. 

Prison Rape is No Joke

An ex-con shareholder in the country's biggest prison company has better insights than anyone on the board about the company's business practices, and he's introducing a resolution to hold the corporation accountable for prison rape and sex abuse. This is a great idea if you want to make a difference-- buying a little stock in a rotten company and proceeding to pester them. Nuns have used this technique effectively, though, of course, Alex Friedmann is no nun...

(New link to add to the sidebar: Prison Legal News)

Bribing, Bmore Style

This state contractor working for child support collections gets caught taking a bribe, or at least what he thought was a bribe.

.. to jail! Donnell Mackey got 53 years for breaking into a house with a female accomplice, tying up a lady and her nephew and pistol-whipping them. Anybody feel like search guy's record to see how many priors? I'm going to guess.. 19. What do you think...?

Violent Ex's Turn Out to Be... Violent

A man is in custody after brutally murdering his one-time girlfriend and tying up her young son. Edward Ford, 36, has been charged with the asphyxiation murder of 44-year-old Cheryl Thomas.* Thomas had at one time attempted to get a restraining order from Ford, although she never actually received a full protective order.

The body of a man found shot do death outside Windsor Hills Elementary School has been Id'd as 18-year-old gun registry member Quinton Poindexter.

Several folks were shot in the head this weekend causing two reported fatalities. WBAL reports a man shot in the head at the 600 block of Eutaw Place died, although it hasn't been reported anywhere else. Definitively shot and killed this weekend was 21-year-old Robert Bond, who was shot and killed in the 3000 block of Oakley Ave. Bond, had apparenly just, just, just gotten out of prison, having been sentenced to three and a half years in May of 2011 on an Assault VOP.

Another conviction for team Bernstein, this time it was 34-year-old Antonio Moore, convicted of first degree murder of killing Avon Beasley during a petty squabble back in 2010.

Sure to garner no one's sympothy, 42-year-old career criminal William Bryson was shot by a store clerk during an attempted robbery. Bryson was not fatally injured and faces a bevy of charges related to the holdup try.

40 years in prison for the killing of a 91-year-old woman. Anthony Robinson (Pictured Right), plead guilty to killing 91-year-old Irene Logan in the summer of 2011. Robinson was collared thanks to DNA found on used cigarette near the crime scene.

This weeks Murder Ink attempts to catch up on the multitude of revisions that the City police have thrown out regarding recent homicide tallys. Now the murder of Phylicia Barnes is being moved to it's rightful place on the 2011 tally, bringing last years total up to 197. Also, two more murders have been added to the 2009 tally bringing it up to 240. The deaths of Mia Nichols, killed by her onetime beau Tyrone Webb Jr, and Andrew Giancoli, a 48-year-old man found dead in his car over in AACO back in '09 have been added to that years tally.

Remember the CCBC Essex creeper taking looks under the stalls the ladies room? Well, he's been caught, and surprise surprise, this is not he first time he's been creeping around these parts, not by a long shot. Zachary Campbell, 20, (Pictured Right) has been charged with perverted practices at several local colleges. Since turning 18, Campbell has been charged in six different instances of being a "Peeping Tom," including an ongoing case in the City. Of those 6 cases, he has not once been given any actual jail time and remains off the Sex Offender Registry. If any of you ladies out there (or men, don't know the guy's MO for sure) recognize this guy as a bathroom creeper you've seen, let the police know.

Funeral services have been held in Baltimore for Reverend Mary-Marguerite Kohn, who was among two Ellicott City church workers killed by a disgruntled homeless man last week.

Someone broke into the the Waverly Y.

 As soon as they catch one Robber, another one pops up. Police are ISO a hooded Dundalkian who held up a Quick Mart at knifepoint.

The shootings in Essex seem to be piling up, this time, someone took a slug in the 100 block of Mace Ave early Saturday.

A boatload of burglaries have bungled a bevy of Lutherville businesses.

The Towson Patch has the latest Towson crimes in the slimelight, including a knife-point robbery in the heart of Towson, and an apparent attempted gang rape at the Towson Manor Park, or as locals affectionately call it, the "Baby Ghetto." (And it's doing a swell job of living up to its nickname.)

As the robocall trial is coming to a close, defendant Julius Henson took the stand. Whether he used his time wisely is up for debate, as he spent a good deal of his time shifting the blame onto everyone not named Julius Henson.


A "suspicious package" Tuesday morning put folks in Middle River on high alert. Although no update has been given, it's safe to assume that since the area is not currently swarming with Federal agents, the package in question was in fact, likely not a bomb.

Finally, the most recent crime beat, this one being from the Southeast area, has a purse snatching,  "Project Beat Down," and the robbery of a sex shop.

Towson's "Hipster Bandit" Captured

Remember this guy?

 The goofy hat wearing fella who was robbing the same few Towson banks since November?



Well, He struck the Towson branch of Wells Fargo on the 20th of April. This time though, his choice of disguise left something to be desired...

And sure enough he got busted. The so called hipster bandit is 36-year-old Jason Lee Haldeman, a York, Pennsylvania resident. Haldeman has been charged with 5 separate counts of Armed Robbery.

(A link to the online court records, sign into the Judiciary Case Search first in order to view it.)

Naturally, Haldeman is not a rookie bank robber, having been busted for the same crime back in 2005 in his home state.
 
For as smart as he was, wearing disguises (albeit goofy ones), and robbing a bank far from his home, He slipped up towards the end, robbing a bank with barely any disguise, and to make matters worse, posting a multitude of self shots on his facebook page. You can compare the pictures at the bottom, but it's 99.99% that this is the same guy.

(A full crime update in a bit)

Gansler: DNA Ruling Nnamdi-Pamby

Doug Gansler talks to Kojo Nnamdi about the consequences of the Court of Appeals blocking DNA testing of suspects before they're charged.

(Q. Does this mean people can't be swabbed after they are arrested but before they're indicted, or only after they're indicted, or only after they're convicted? Don't have much time to keep up with the news lately...)

For the Love of CitiStat

The New York Times blog on Baltimore's ongoing devotion to EverythingStat