May 15

Police say the Bloods are recruiting kids as young as 10. (And though the East Baltimore organization may be eight months old, there's at least one group claiming to be affiliated with the Bloods which has been active on the North side for much longer than that.)

Eula Uverde Osbourne, 49, was found dead in the basement of a house that was being renovated in Gwynn Oak.

At a hearing today, Judge Roger W. Brown sentenced Charles Benedict Knott, Sr. 52, of Clipper Heights Avenue to seven years in prison for the homicide of James Garrett, 56. Knott was the guy who beat Garrett to death with a cane in front of the Hampden family center on 36th street as kids were on their way home from school. Local rumor had it that Garrett had molested Knott's granddaughter. Knott pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter March 13.

David Evans, 23, of Bethesda and Duke University was indicted for first-degree forcible rape, sexual offense and kidnapping in Durham County, NC. He pled guilty to alcohol violations last week.

Five teenagers were arrested for assault and a car and plenty of cash stolen in the blotter (back after a nine-day hiatus).

May 14

Police barricaded blocks around Garrison Blvd. and Gwynns Falls Parkway after 36-year-old Justice Georgie was shot to death at a hair salon yesterday evening.

An unidentified male body with a bullet wound to the head was found floating in the harbor near the Bay Lady.

Police shot 18-year-old Justin Fisher to death after he stabbed his girlfriend and himself with a large pair of scissors.

A Crofton father of three turned out to be a member of an international drug cartel.

Hugh McWhinney, 73, shot his 76-year-old-wife Constance and then himself in Garrett County.

A Frederick County man lost is girlfriend and was driven out of town when FBI officials mistook him for a child molester. Good advice: "don't mess with suburbia, because we will chew you up and spit you out."

A Marine in Annapolis left his kids in the mall play area to apply Brazilian jiu-jitsu to a jewelry thief.

May 13

Dusty Shuck's mother says that the murdered 24-year-old suffered from schizophrenia and had walked away from a treatment facility in New Mexico.

Dundalker Steven Liller Jr. spent two months in jail for carjacking and assault in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

Two shockingly stupid Montgomery County teens are charged with setting 17 fires after posting pictures of their handiwork on Myspace.

Crazy shit, yo: A 57-year-old woman in Harford County hoarded more than 100 pets in conditions so squalid a hazardous materials response team shut off electricity for fear that the methane could cause an explosion.

May 12

Stephan Vaughn, 27 (or Baughan, if you're JZ), got 20 years in prison for counts related to a burglary, police chase and accident that ended in the deaths of Avon Holman, 15, and Denis Jurkiewicz Jr., 24. Said the state,

On July 29, 2005 at 4:53 a.m. police observed and pursued a black BMW 325i being driven at excessive speed and failing to stop for red lights on Broadway in Fells Point. The BMW crashed into a Mitsubishi Galant killing its driver, Denis Jurkiewicz, 24, a nearby resident who was on his way home from work. Both vehicles then struck a parked Chrysler Concorde, traveled up onto the sidewalk and into a tree, totaling both vehicles. The driver of the BMW, later identified as Stephan Vaughn, was observed to exit through the driver's side window and run into an apartment building at 3 N Broadway where he was eventually apprehended after forcing his way into an apartment. Further investigation revealed that the BMW had been reported stolen. Found inside was the deceased body of Avon Holman, 15. Also recovered were three plasma TVs and two cash registers which had just been reported stolen from a commercial establishment, the Red Fish, located at 845 South Montford Ave.Vaughn has a previous conviction in Baltimore County and could face 15 years additional prison time. More than 50 family members and victims were in court this morning and many offered victim impact statements.

A Baltimore City jury convicted Damien Whitaker, 26, of attempted second-degree assault and carrying a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure. Judge Shirley Watts sentenced Whitaker to five years plus three years of probation. Says the State:

On May 26, 2005, Damien Whitaker, along with other unknown associates, allegedly to held a woman and her grandson hostage inside their home in the 2800 block of Hilldale Avenue for several hours. Mr. Whitaker threatened to kill someone if he couldn't find his money and his "stuff" which he alleged was stolen from him the day before. Mr. Whitaker lay in wait at the residence until the woman's son returned home. When the son returned to the house, he was assaulted with a baseball bat and beaten by Whitaker and two of his associates. The victim's car keys and money were taken from his pockets and Mr. Whitaker forced the victim to drive to a motel on North Avenue to find the person Mr. Whitaker believed stole his property. The victim was eventually able to escape Mr. Whitaker and called 911.

A Baltimore City jury late last night convicted Herbert Wyche, 55, of West Saratoga Street, of attempted first-degree murder and a related handgun count, but acquitted Wyche of first-degree murder in the death of William Staten, 60. The jury deliberated approximately three hours following two days of testimony. Sentencing is scheduled for July 12. Court docs allege that on April 21, 2004 Staten was cleaning the steps andsidewalk area in front of his home at 1031 N. Stricker St. when Wyche dropped some orange peels on the sidewalk, angering Mr. Staten. The two began to argue and Mr. Staten hit Wyche in the head with a bottle. Wyche then pulled out a gun and shot the victim once in the abdomen. Mr. Staten died 15 months later.

The murder trial of Nathaniel Broadway, scheduled to begin today, has been postponed until August 3 before Judge Schwait. The defendant had indicated to the court he was going to plead guilty in this case but changed his mind.

The Capital: Four members of the MD PSC, Kenneth D. Schisler, Allen M. Freifeld, Charles "Kinky Boots" Boutin and Karen A. Smith violated the law when they secretly met with the governor's staff regarding the BGE rate hike (weren't they supposed to have been fired already?).

The Sun catches up with last week's murder news and misreports the age of murder victim Zion Clemmons, who died from blunt-force trauma at the age of 16 months, 3 days.

Bitch, please: Melissa Harton plans to appeal her 10-year sentence today, claiming her chock-full-o-lies police interview should not have been used against her.

AAC police are seeking the public's help in finding some shotgun-toting convenience-store robbers.

Donald Handy of QAC got 17 1/2 years for selling the crack, Timothy Fisher of HC got 13 years for being a felon with a gun (and crack, and cocaine, and ammunition).

The Sykesville perv is described as fat, bearded and driving a blue compact car. And a Rockville school bus aide has been accused of groping a 9-year-old.

Banks have been robbed in Westminister and Fallston.

May 10

Daughters of a 62-year-old rape victim have taken it upon themselves to publish a sketch of the suspect (left) who attacked their mother in the driveway of her Northwest home with a barbecue fork. They claim police have "discouraged" them from publicizing the sketch.

Officer Rodney Price, who pled guilty in 2002 to the first-degree murder of Tristan Little (who was having an affair with Price's wife), asked the court to reduce his 50-year sentence.

The murder and child abuse trial of Nathaniel Broadway, 26, of E. 31st Street, is scheduled to begin at 9 tomorrow morning before Judge Allen L. Schwait. On June 7, 2004 Broadway and Sierra Swann, the parents of infant twin girls, were indicted for first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the death of their one-month-old twins. The indictment charges them with the murders of Emmoney Broadway and Emmonea Broadway on May 11, 2004 at their residence. On February 13 Sierra Swann pled guilty to two counts of child abuse resulting in death and she is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30. Nathaniel Broadway and Sierra Swann are being held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center.

The judge in the case of Terry Jones, a 24-year-old man accused of beating his 15-year-old girlfriend to death has reversed her decision and now will allow DNA evidence (warning: story rife with typos). Meanwhile, during jury selection this afternoon, defendant Jones became ill and was transported to the hospital for medical care. The matter has been continued until tomorrow and will be heard in Administrative Court.

The Police Blotter has been suspiciously absent this week. Maybe Richard Irwin is on vacation, which would explain why three of the five deaths in "Murder Ink" -- including that of an 18-month-old child -- weren't covered in the Sun.

I think I'm getting this one right, but it seems too absurd to be true: David Allen Cullum was charged with first degree murder for shooting his stepsister's boyfriend yesterday. The boyfriend, Billy Wayne Corbitt, had beaten her, threatened to kill her, come to Cullum's house with a gun, and continued to advance on Cullum even after he had fired a warning shot. I guess Cullum was supposed to stand there and watch his sister get murdered by Corbitt.

An 18-year-old was injured and a 25-year-old man was shot to death in Northwest Baltimore.

A military hearing began yesterday in Iceland for the accused murderer of Airman 1st Class Ashley Turner, a resident of Frederick.

A Carroll County pervert has been offering middle school girls rides to school.

Dusty Shuck may have been killed by a trucker.

A 69-year-old woman who owned an assisted-living facility was sentenced to 18 months house arrest for patient neglect. One patient died after being found with bedsores on 40% of her body, gangrene in one foot, and maggots in the other.

Robert Nicholas Pyle will do three years for stealing a truckload of plasma TVs.

A man who cheated the Social Security Administration for over $20,000 was sentenced to 366 days in prison.

Utech, the employer of City Council President Sheila Dixon's sister, cannot contract with the city for at least two years.

May 9

A man was shot to death at 6:00 Tuesday evening in Bowley's Quarters, and Baltimore County police have made one arrest.

Police are seeking Darryl "Day Day" Bolling, 18, for shooting into a crowd of people at an Essex bus stop, wounding a 16-year-old boy.

BAL covers three child sex abuse cases today.

One of the surviving robbers who attacked Mark Beckwith at the Village of Cross Keys pleaded not guilty. Beckwith defended himself against the would-be robbers and killed one of them in the process.

Leroy Young faces up to 50 years for killing Terrence Smith last year.

An assault and robbery occurred outside of a Westminster hair salon last night.

Unshocking report: MD's joovy halls are poorly managed hellholes.

Howard county schools are getting tough on bullies.

The 6th grade teacher is out to get you.

After being held for 51 days, a misidentified carjacking suspect was released from jail.

Kids at Chinquapin Middle School in Northeast Baltimore were off yesterday because someone vandalized the school over the weekend.

Police in Aberdeen met with local residents to teach them about gangs.

May 8

From now until Thursday, I'll be posting updates in the early evenings. Please check back then.

Octavius Savage, 20, of Waldorf, was charged with first-degree murder of the grody, bisected, burnt remains.

Three men were arrested for breaking into Melissa Lynn Lowery's Abingdon home last night. The men, including her ex-boyfriend Richard C. Schofield Jr., attacked her and attempted to cut off the legs of Marc Edward Travers. Schofield and Lowery dated last year and had a history of domestic violence, including several reported threats against her and people she knew.

Police in Hagerstown are using a flashing yellow roadside sign that reads "HOMICIDE HERE" in hopes of learning information in the death of Dusty Shuck, whose body was found alongside I-70 on May 4.

BGE, Verizon, and Comcast all deny responsibility for the electrocution of 14-year-old Deanna Green during a softball game on Friday night.

A man in his 60s was attacked, cut, and robbed by two men while attempting to make a bank deposit in Crofton. One of the men used a large knife, possibly a machete.

A man was shot in the stomach three blocks away from Mondawmin Mall on Monday.

The best way to avoid getting shot by the Annapolis police? Don't hide drugs in your mouth, drag an officer behind your car, steal his partner's gun, then threaten to start shooting at police.

There was an appeals court hearing today regarding the death sentence of Vernon Lee Evans Jr.

Arvel D. Williams was stopped for a traffic violation and arrested for possessing a pound of pot, 100 grams of crack, and 127 grams of cocaine.

53-year-old Michael Zemanick of Ellicott City was charged with robbing his local branch of the Bradford Bank on February 15.

New Pikesville digs for the Baltimore County police. Perhaps the commander of the newly created Precinct 4 will be given an inadequate staff and then relocated when crime goes up. Not that anything like that would ever happen in, say, the city's Northern District.

May 6

One person was murdered last night in Overlea. Two suspects were arrested after speeding away from the scene and crashing into parked cars.

A hit-and-run in Elkridge left a 58-year-old bicyclist dead.

The woman whose body was found along I-70 in Frederick County has been identified as 24-year-old Dusty Shuck of Silver City, NM. She died from head trauma and a slashed throat.

A 14-year-old girl was electrocuted when she leaned against a fence in Druid Hill Park during a softball game. BGE claims their equipment wasn't involved and it wasn't their fault.

On Thursday evening at 5:00, a 19-year-old woman was raped as she was walking in Columbia.

After being attacked by a group of teenagers outside his house, Gregory Kane contemplates the juvenile murderers behind the deaths of Bryant Jones, Jerrod Hamlett, Jennifer Morelock and Jason Woycio.

A quiet day in the Blotter with only one person getting shot. (Oh, and a quick observation about yesterday's Blotter: A woman was in critical condition at Johns Hopkins Hospital after she was shot Monday morning by a man she knows. The woman was walking in the 400 block of N. Broadway about 9 a.m. when the man began to chase her. During the pursuit, he fired several shots, hitting the woman once in the left shoulder. This puts the shooting somewhere between the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins (401 N. Broadway) and the creatively named "500 Broadway" building at Johns Hopkins. I wonder how much news coverage this shooting would have received if one of those "several shots" hit someone besides the intended target.)

On Friday morning, a white man in his 20s attempted to carjack a woman in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart by the Arundel Mills mall.

The BPD is eating itself from the inside out: One of the accused officers in the Southwestern's Flex Squad was secretly working for Internal Affairs, and is now part of a lawsuit against other officers.

A case against two BPD officers for assaulting a man and two women in Federal Hill was dismissed because prosecutors didn't follow the proper procedures. The victim is "mad as hell."

The new jail in Baltimore County opened yesterday.

Another addition to the department of screwed up web sites: the city government has added fuel to the BGE fire by creating a site that incorrectly calculates your new electric bill rates. BGE claims their equipment wasn't involved and it wasn't their fault.

May 5

Baltimore police have been touting the new Web site, but all but the header/ticker is blank on my browser (Safari). Can anyone else see it?

PGC police closed four homicide cases this week.

WMAR's Keith Mills got nine months' house arrest for stealing prescription drugs from his neighbor who was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Officer Jemini Jones, 28, of the Southwestern District for second-degree rape, second-degree sex offense and misconduct in office. Court documents allege on October 24, 2005 Officer Jones executed a search and seizure warrant at the home of the alleged victim. Jones informed her that she would have to engage in various sexual activities in order to avoid arrest. An arraignment date has not been scheduled. This is a different incident than the one in December in which Jones is accused of raping a woman at the station house.

Kenneth Oakley, 41, was shot in his home in East Baltimore by a man who was chasing him.

Three non-fatal shootings in the blotter, and Shaheed Boyd was identified as the man fatally shot on Elderon Avenue last Saturday.

Alleged murderer/arsonist Daniel Murray's motive? He ws "teased." Murray was arrested after confessing to a co-worker.

Grody. Burnt human remains were found in Charles County.

Former Homeland-Security flak Brian Doyle of Silver Spring is out on bail after being accused of sending pornographic messages and films to (someone he thought was) a 14-year-old girl.

There's a hot new drug on the streets, says the DEA: a mixture of cold medicine and heroin that's being called "cheese."

James Wright, 32, got 20 years for selling crack.

The trial of Kenneth "O?r$a(i?)cl$" Ellis was postponed until May 23, 2006.

The FTC has sued five Internet companies, including Baltimore-based Information Search Inc., for selling consumers' cell-phone records.

May 4

Baltimorean Cindi Rush, 20, has been arrested and charged for the murder of Waldorf restaurant owner Patricia Caniglia.

A Virginia man was arrested for stabbing of 19-year-old William Green III to death in Baltimore County last October.

The second-degree assault trial of police officers Jack Odom, Jr. and Michael Brassell is scheduled to begin at 2 tomorrow afternoon in Hargrove District Court, room 2. Second-degree assault carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

In Curtis Bay, police shot fleeing suspect Scott Fischer.

Memphis anchorman Ron Meroney, 69, was arrested and charged with child abuse and rape for an incident that happened in Baltimore County more than 30 years ago.

Dundalk murder mom Denise Lechner got 30 years for child abuse resulting in the death of her 3-year-old son, Roy. Another son, Donald, had died mysteriously four months before.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury today indicted Jamal Charles, 16, of Edmonston Ave. and Dwayne Drake, 17, of Dolefield Ave., for first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and handgun counts. Court documents allege that on April 14 Charles and Drake shot and killed Bryan Jones, 42, in the 1000 block of N. Augusta Ave.

A woman's body was found by I-70.

Sun: the flex squad investigation is "dragging," with only one charge after four months of investigation.

A UM College Park student, Daniel Murray, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and arson in the death of 22-year-old Michael Scrocca.

Barbara Gahan, reported missing, was found dead in a creek in Essex.

The trial of Kenneth Ellis, 35, left, charged with malicious destruction of property, is scheduled for trial 8:30 a.m. tomorrow in courtroom one, Hargrove District Court. Ellis is accused of being the graffiti "artist" resposible for the tag "Oricl" or "Oracl."

May 3

The happy-hour auction was won at $660 by an extra-large individual who's fond of tacky watches and gently used boxer shorts! Congrats!

At a hearing today, Kevin Hunter, 37, of Baltimore, pled guilty to first-degree rape. Judge Allen L. Schwait sentenced him 20 years in prison and five years' probation and ordered him to register with the Maryland sex offense registry. On June 25, 1990 Hunter broke into the victim's home and forcibly raped her twice. A suspect was identified at that time but was cleared through DNA testing. In March 2003 Baltimore City police received information from the Maryland State Police that Hunter's DNA matched the DNA collected during a rape kit exam. Hunter is currently serving a 30-year prison term for first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and attempted first-degree murder for a crime that took place in 1991. Judge Schwait ordered that today's sentence run concurrent to this previous conviction.

Ink: Three murders last week, including 14-month-old Kayah Jackson. That's 87 murders so far, 86 not counting Julia Boussari.

Howard Rote was arrested for attempted murder, accused of shooting his wife, Mary, in the neck.

Andre Staton was convicted yesterday in PA and may face death for stabbing Beverly Yohn with a butcher knife in front of her son. Staton was on parole in MD following another stabbing.

A body found in NY may be that of missing Baltimorean Melvin Sharpless.

Police arrested two adults and "some juveniles" who are linked to more than 115 burglaries in the Baltimore area.

In Annapolis, a second midshipman, Kenny Ray Morrison, faces sexual assault charges.

Judge Richard Palumbo of PGC faces charges of misconduct after dismissing Yvette Cade's protective order, comparing women to buses, making a trooper void his traffic ticket because he was a judge, and discouraging another trooper from writing him a ticket by saying he "knew the trooper's boss." Meanwhile, Cade appeared on "Oprah" today. [Username ho420@yahoo.com; password go2hell]

A former Caroline County deputy, Michael K. Sheward, was the second former member of the sheriff's department charged with felonies related to sexual contact with an underage girl.

Six Duke lacrosse players have applied to JHU.

Pamela Hoffler-Riddick (remember her?), a former teacher, got 6 1/2 years for helping launder drug money.

Time to get like Whitney and stop the madness, stop the madness now.

May 2

Mary Galston, 31, was found stabbed in her home in Brooklyn.

A man was shot on Grayson Street in the Southwestern.

Natalyn Tart-Jones, 49, was stabbed by her ex in Columbia.

Davon David Temple, 17, has been arrested and charged for the murders of Jennifer Morelock and Jason Woycio.

Vernon Evans will have his appeal heard.

Sixty-six people are being held locally on immigration charges following raids on Monday.

For the second time in a month, a man was glued to a toilet seat in Salisbury.

Why is the Harford County sex-offender population on the rise?

May 1

An unidentified man was shot and killed near Wabash Avenue in the Northwestern.

Blotter: A man was shot near Johns Hopkins Hospital, and 20-year-old Ashley McLaurin was arrested for carjacking.

Man steals hair, paper uses cliche for headline.

Dept. of non-breaking news: prostitution is a nuisance, and some hookers have drug habits.

One month left to get that pet monkey.

In Wicomico County, Baltimorean Steven L. Pratt was found guilty of impersonating a police officer and was fined $157.50.

April 30

Two men were shot dead near a business complex in Linthicum.

Attorneys for the two officers accused of failing to intervene during a rape at the Southwestern District station house have filed motions to dismiss charges.

April 28

Police identified murder victims Kimberly Skyers and Larry Greene.

A woman was stabbed in the stomach and back at her home in Waverly by a friend of her husband's.

Yes, it's for real! You can bid on eBay for a "Happy Hour" with Hamm and Jessamy! (Disclaimer: happiness not included.)

At a hearing today, wheelchair-bound Jerome McCardell, 32, got a total of 20 years after he pled guilty to first-degree murder for shooting and killing Thomas Robert Pratt, 26, on December 9, 1991, guilty to use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, and also guilty to an unrelated attempted armed robbery from January 2, 2004.

Roger Hargrave was found guilty of attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and assault. WBAL has the horrifying video.

Baltimorean Craig Scott got 12 1/2 years for drug trafficking.

Two people were indicted for bilking the city school system of about $12,000.

Lavar Clark got 90 days for driving the getaway car for an Overlea robbery. Lavar is the brother of Javon Clark, convicted getaway-car driver in the William Bassett murder.

Nice! Cops are getting new cameras and computers to help them post pictures of sex offenders.

Erik Stoddard, charged with second-degree murder, pled not guilty at an arraignment this morning. His trial date was scheduled for August 10, 2006. On December 8, 2005 the Maryland Court of Appeals vacated Stoddard's second-degree murder conviction, citing evidentiary issues regarding the testimony of a three-year-old witness. A Baltimore City jury convicted Stoddard March 13, 2003 of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death for the death of Calen Faith Dirubbo, 3. Court documents allege that on June 15, 2002 Dirubbo was pronounced dead at her home, where she lived with her mother and Stoddard. Dirubbo died as a result of multiple beatings over a period of at least a month; the fatal blow, which severed her bowel, occurred June 15, 2002.

CBS National News reported that more than 90 percent of witnesses in Baltimore murder cases face intimidation. (Yet judges give career criminals and intimidators such as Clyde Meadows probation.)

April 27

Ghafour Asemani, 38, of Ellicott City pled guilty to attempted second-degree murder for choking his ex-wife, Samira, who remains in a coma.

Blotter: A 24-year-old man was shot four times in the Western, and there's a whole lot of stealing going on.

Baltimore thieves stole $9,000 worth of gas from two stations.

Details on the sad case of the PGC 12-year-old who stabbed his mother and 9-year-old brother to death, if you're not depressed enough already.

Why was a Howard County police officer creeping around his wife's office building at 3:30 a.m.?

In AAC a man was stabbed in the hand and a crackhead left his dog in a hot car, which led to his arrest on outstanding warrants. And did you know PCP comes in a bottle?

April 26

A Baltimore Circuit Court Jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts this afternoon in the first-degree murder trial of Mohammed Biglari, who sounds like a total psycho. Sentencing is set for June 15 at 11 a.m. before Judge Allison. This was Biglari's third trial for the 1991 murder of Barbara Halsey, a Veteran's Hospital employee and mother of two. His two previous murder convictions were vacated by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

The BCGJ returned two indictments charging Baltimore City police officer Walter Jackson-Hill, 36, of York, Pennsylvania with two counts of Bribery, two counts of Extortion by Government Employee and two counts of Misconduct in Office. Jackson is accused of taking cash bribes in exchange for failing to appear in court.

The BCGJ returned an indictment charging Baltimore City police officer Che Christopher Jackson, 35, of Randallstown, with one count of Felony Theft. If convicted Jackson could be sentenced to up to 15 years and/or fined $25,000. The indictment alleges that between January 4 and January 6 Jackson removed four 20-inch Rox Fossill rims and four Wanli tires valued at $1800 from a 2000 Cadillac Deville belonging to Lisa Smith. Ms Smith's vehicle had been seized as a result of an investigation into a shooting. The rims and tires were removed while the vehicle was being stored at the Northeastern police district. The tires and rims were subsequently located on a 1999 Cadillac Deville belonging to Jackson.

CP recounts the tragic tale of 15-year-old Vatell Murray, murdered on the last day of 2005.

The Ink recounts last week's seven murders. In case you haven't heard, crime is up in every category in Baltimore (by 4 percent city-wide, says the Sun) and we're up to 86 homicides.

Student mathletes filed a motion in court demanding $800 million and the removal of the school board.

Harry Hudson Conway got 12 years and 7 months federal for robbing two Towson banks.

Scary: a man trying to call 911 about an assault in progress was transferred four times and hung up on by operators.

Tainted heroin is causing addicts' deaths in PA, NJ and possibly Maryland's Eastern Shore.

April 25

Judge Stephanie Lynette Royster, 45, passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. Last November Royster was appointed to the 8th Circuit for Baltimore City by Gov. Ehrlich. Prior to her appointment she spent 15 years working for the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office, most recently serving as Chief of Staff and Deputy State's Attorney. She went to Western High School and earned her BA in philosophy from Loyola College, then spent 10 years with the advertising agency W.B. Doner before earning her JD from the University of Maryland School of Law.

The Commander of the Northern District, Maj. Steven Lukaskik, has been reassigned to the property crime division. The new man in charge will be Michael Pristoop, formerly of the Western. And Maj. Richard C. Fahlteich is retiring again.

Blotter: three people were arrested and charged with attempted murder for shooting a 20-year-old man on Barclay Street March 28. And in the Western, a man was shot in the head and lived.

Burning victim Yvette Cade testified against her estranged husband and alleged attacker Roger Hargrave.

The trial of Donta Allen, accused of murdering Linda Trinh, has been postponed until September because the prosecutor is busy on another case.

County police are looking for five possible witnesses to the murders of Youani Alvares and Joel Gonzales, found in a field near Shelbourne Avenue. They were last seen at the Club Mate & Lounge in South Baltimore.

Wonder if Patricia C. Jessamy got the "little lady, you should know better than to leave things of value in your car" speech.

Oy vay, JZ. A "pitbull" was shot after allegedly attacking a child in Pasadena. Charges are pending against the "dogs owners." Here's the story in English.

April 24

The murder trial of Brian Christopher Cooper, 21, is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning before Judge Shirley Watts. A Baltimore City jury convicted Cooper of first-degree murder April 28, 2003 and he was sentenced to life in prison June 26, 2003. The Court of Special Appeals vacated that murder conviction July 6, 2005 ruling Cooper's Miranda rights were violated. Court documents allege that on April 16, 2002 Cooper and Elliott Scott, 21, argued in front of an unlicensed taxi stand in the 2600 block of West Fairmount Avenue. After the argument, which occurred shortly before midnight, Mr. Scott walked toward his home with a female neighbor. Cooper got a "hack" to drive him home where he got a knife and returned to the neighborhood looking for Mr. Scott. Cooper allegedly found Mr. Scott on North Catherine Street, chased him into the alley behind his home in the 2500 block of West Fayette Street, and stabbed Mr. Scott three times. Mr. Scott underwent emergency surgery at the Shock Trauma Unit and described his assailant before succumbing to his injuries.

The murder trial of Keith Garrett, scheduled for today, has been postponed until June 1 before Judge Wanda K. Heard because there were no courtrooms available.

Pregnant Jennifer Morelock, 25, and her companion Jason Woycio, 29, of Carroll County, were shot on the West side.

Good(?) news: Arrests without charges are down to 11.7 percent from 23 percent.

Harold Medan was arrested for the murder of Aaron Mackley, and a student at Thurgood Marshall High was arrested for the attempted murder of Antoine Matthews, 18.

A middle-aged guy with a beard is robbing banks.

What the ?! is up with PGC? A 12-year-old boy was arrested for stabbing a 9-year-old boy and a 31-year-old woman to death, and 14-year-old Dominick Edelin was arrested at school for sexually assaulting girls.

A College Park bar's "Ladies Lockdown" raged, in spite of a table full of superciliously non-partying school officials.

April 22

Jarell Adams, 20, and an unidentified man were fatally shot on Thursday (so there were four homicides that day-- two in the South, one in the East and one in the West).

Kendall Charles Alexander got 27 years federal for robbing the Wachovia Bank on Northern Parkway, twice.

Twenty-five-year-old Kondwani Martin got 10 years for being a felon with a firearm and admitting to being involved in a gunfight with police outside the Upper Deck Grill last year. Less-lucky Harold Greene, 32, a felon in possession of a gun who didn't shoot at anyone, got 17 years.