October 12

An eight-year-old brought a .22 to Grove Park Elementary and discharged it accidentally. No one was hurt, TG.

In Oakland CA, possession of David Simon's "Homicide" is being used as evidence against Hans Reiser, accused of killing his wife Nina (you'd think the blood would be enough).

Interesting announcement from the Sa's office:

In a coordinated partnership, involving local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, police, prosecutors and law enforcement agents, including parole and probation agents will speak directly to offenders from the Northern Police Precinct areas regarding violent crimes TONIGHT AT 6 P.M. This call-in of offenders is an opportunity for law enforcement and the community to speak directly to known perpetrators of crime with a joint request to end the violence and seek community assistance. MEDIA ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE FACE TO FACE MEETING BUT CAMERAS ARE RESTRICTED AND MUST REMAIN OUTSIDE THE BUILDING. This iniative continues the operation safe neighborhoods launched by State's Attorney's Jessamy and the community in 2002 ... Northern Police District is located at Keswick and 34th Streets.

A Baltimore jury found Dameon Woods guilty of second-degree murder, depraved heart (?), first degree assault and second degree assault in the murder of Raymond Smoot. Judge Glynn revoked Woods' bail. James Hatcher was found not guilty on all charges. Sentencing is scheduled for December 12.

Jobrea Lodge pled guilty to attempted first degree murder today. He received 20 years and 5 years' probation. He also pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous and deadly weapon. For that he received 20 concurrent (aka "why bother") years. Sherray Douglas, alias Brittany Johnson, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous and deadly weapon. She received 12 years and 5 years probation. Douglas lured Detective Dontae Hemmingway to Wilgrey Court for a meeting; Hemmingway believed that he was meeting someone else. When he arrived and walked onto the porch of the address, Jobrea Lodge pulled a gun and told Detective Hemmingway to "kick it out," (whatever that means). Detective Hemmingway reached for his gun, and Lodge shot him three times. Lodge was shot once in the leg. After witnesses identified Lodge and Douglas, both were arrested and confessed.

A 14-year-old girl was stabbed with a 10-inch kitchen knife at Pimlico middle school.

Two brothers, Tavon Tyner and Dante Tyner, are being sought for murder in the death of Darrell Artis (186) on McClean Blvd.

ME Dr. David Fowler: the rumors of a NW serial killer are false. Comapre to this Examiner story from Tuesday. Did Janis even try to call the ME's office?

The Vernon Evans death-row appeal goes on.

"Ladies, ladies!" Julie B reports on the "biting exchange" at the CJCC.
Ps., looked up Leonard N. Garrett. He was due for court in HoCo on the 5th for a "marihuana" charge. In May another drug case was nolle prosequi'd. In July an assault charge was nolle prosequi'd. In April of last year his Cadillac was forfeited. In 2004 he was arrested for having a gun in his car. In December of 2001 he forfeited bond posted by the Lexington insurance group. His wife Geraldine sued him for divorce. And there were a lot of traffic violations. Not a model citizen, but not the worst-of-the-worst, either.

Rose Peterson and Skinny Suge's trials were both postponed.

Two shootings in AAC, one fatal (#7 for Annapolis), one not (even though guy was shot in the stomach and dragged by a car).

Ew. A WiCo football coach, David Lee, was arrested on child porn charges. Dude was posing as a 14-year-old boy on MySpace, which must be like amazon.com for pedophiles.

October 11 nuit

From Free State Politics: the governor has offered a stay of execution to ... a raccoon.

Holabird Elementary in Southeast Baltimore was on lockdown after a man was shot nearby.

Dept. of Duh: executioners have mental problems.

George F. Spicka, 59, of Woodlawn was charged Wednesday with e-mailing two bomb threats to BWI.

Police: girl grudges last for years.

Edward Hoffman, 75, of Elkton pled guilty to shooting and killing his 72-year-old wife Jane.

Henry Barrington of Leonardtown plead guilty to felony child abuse.

CJCC: Flying Fur Alert!

Almost didn't go to CJCC, but then I heard the rumor that O'Malley himself was going to appear and "yell at everyone," potentially too exciting a spectacle to miss. Sadly (but unsurprisingly) the Big Man never showed, but reporters anticipating flying fur weren't let down.

Hamm noted the increase in murders and said they were "attributable to gang activity ... it's the same guys we've been arresting year after year, they'r ejust putting Blood or Crip in front of the name." He noted there are six outstanding warrants for four murders and that the wanted men had been arrested more than eight times, that murderers are getting younger and that 15-year-old Zachary James was thought to be resposible for four murders. Any questions?

Sheila Dixon had a question: "the murder victim in Leakin Park [Leonard Garrett] had been arrested more than 18 times and was awaiting arrest when he was murdered. Why was this guy out? He'd been on probation three times, why was this guy out? Can anyone help me out here?"

Jessamy jumped right in: "Sheila, if you were really interested, you could research this case. Arrests are made but in order to secure a conviction you must have evidence ... you brought it up here because you wanted to make a public statement. If you want an answer, call me!"

Bickering ensued, broken up by Judge Glynn. "Anyone could look it up, I doubt anyone knows the facts of the case off the top of their heads."

Frank Conaway had a question for Hamm: "At a previous meeting I asked you about the Jayne Miller investigation and if the unreported crimes were troubling to you. Now that there's been a spike, is that troubling you?"
"Yes," Hamm replied peevishly.

Then Jessamy talked about gaps in city substance abuse services.
Then some guy got up to talk about a $1.4 million DOJ grant for creating a statewide domestic violence database.
Apparently the state was given millions to create a database after Richard Spicknall II killed his kids, but nothing every came of it and the state still has 56 different databases for restraining orders and the like.
And so the meeing wrapped up.

October 11

A 15-year-old boy was shot in the head in Pikesville.
Monday's murder victim (217) was ID'd as 22-year-old Donnie Blanding.

Nursing assistant and paramedic: we can kill Vernon Evans!

Violence is up in Federal Hill; a resident videotaped Southern High students beating a 73-year-old man, breaking his jaw. ("Digital Harbor High"?)

Deborah Jean Palfrey of Vallejo (pronouced "valet ho") CA, allegedly ran a Baltimore-based escort service, evaded taxes and laundered money. And still found time to win a preservation merit award for work on her historic home.

Four employees of the Newcare Pharmacy were indicted for selling more than $20 million worth of Vicodin.

A former CP freelancer is headed to the federal pen for helping burn down a building at the University of Washington.

City health department: Hampden needs needle exchange.

Joseph Schroen, a volunteer firefighter charged with arson, once set a high school classmate on fire.

Dirty old Dean M. Trout of CaCo, charged with sexually abusing a girl in May, was arrested again and charged with abusing three other girls.

Stolen cars, purses, computers in the Messenger crime log.

A HarfCo deputy found $50k's worth of stolen clothes, perfume and shoes during a routine traffic stop.

The CEO of BCSB, Gary Loraditch, resigned after the bank lost $7 million in a check-kiting scam.

Politiques:
What the?! Is the O'Malley campaign brainwashing children in Govans?

October 10 evening

Screw the honor system! Inmate Antoinio Rice (assuming NOT of the crime family) walked out of the Towson Detention Center last Thursday.

Panel: Ehrlich's firing of employees violated state law, constitution. But wasn't illegal. Huh?

No verdict yet in the Smoot case. The jury deliberations ended at 4:30 today and will resume tomorrow at 9:30 a.m.

Assistant State's Attorney (ASA) Gerard B. Volatile today entered a nol pros in the second-degree assault case filed against Thomas B. "Mike" Miller that alleged the assault of Leo Bruso on September 20, 2006 during a County Council hearing on Bill 75. The hearing today was held in the Prince George's County District Court in Upper Marlboro.

A trial for Rodney Thomas aka Skinny Suge, 35, of Edmondson Avenue, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow before Judge Welch. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Thomas May 1, 2006 for first-degree assault; court documents allege that on February 13 following an argument Thomas assaulted an employee of the USA Boutique in Mondawmin Mall striking him/her about the head. The victim also sustained a chipped bottom tooth, black eye, busted lip and a fractured nose from the attack.

The witness intimidation trial of mother of the year Rose Peterson, 36, is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning before Judge John M. Glynn, 236 Mitchell Courthouse, 110 N. Calvert St. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Peterson February 15 for witness intimidation, obstruction of justice, assault and misconduct in office. Court documents allege that on January 23, 2006 Peterson, who was working as a correctional officer at the Central Booking Intake Facility (CBIF), did by corrupt means/threat/force obstruct and impede/endeavor to obstruct and impede the administration of justice. It is further alleged that the victim, an inmate at CBIF, is a witness in a pending murder trial.

A transfer hearing is scheduled for Damon Holmes, 15, of Old Harford Road, for 9:30 tomorrow morning before Judge Albert J. Matricciani, Jr. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Holmes June 26 for first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon. Court documents allege on May 31 Holmes shot and killed Oumar Bah, 28, in the 7100 block of McClean Blvd. Bah was a cab operator who had picked up Holmes on Northern Parkway.

October 10

An unid'd man was found shot to death in a parked car in the Northwest (217).

"Flare-ups in crime have occurred across the city, but have spiked mainly in neighborhoods in the eastern, southern and northwestern parts of Baltimore ... The Eastern District has seen a 30 percent increase in homicides. The Southern District has had a 9 percent increase in shootings and a 17 percent increase in killings. The Northwestern District has had a 62 percent spike in shootings, a 12 percent increase in robberies and 24 percent in slayings."

By the way, two people were murdered six days ago (215-16). The deaths of Herbert Betz of Pasadena and Sean Dill of the Eastern are relegated to the blotter.
There's also a lot of carjacking going on.

The E covers the persistent rumors that there's a serial killer at work in the Northwest and brutal murders are going unreported.

Brandon Rusin of PGC shot and killed his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend.

Sad: Alzheimer's-stricken Nevolia Duvall is still missing.

Two students were robbed at gunpoint at TU. Yawn.

NAACP reps and a group called Justice Maryland want to meet with prison officials to talk about jailhouse violence. Meanwhile, Smoot jurors are still deliberating (as far as I know).

We could have told you that: "O'Malley has a lot of convincing to do, and within his own party."

$30k? Geez, that's like 700 bras!

October 9

WBAL: Leonard Nathaniel Garrett was found shot to death in "Lincoln" Park (they probably mean Leakin Park?). (<214)

Liz says there was a dead body at 26th and Miles in Remington.

Another violent weekend in Bumberg. Eight people ... wait, 9... no, 10... were shot over the weekend in the South and NW.

Stephon Nicholson, 19, was stabbed to death at the detention center, and Kevon Gantt, 19, was stabbed also.

A horribly depressing father-son murder-suicide in Gaithersburg.

bad guys arrested over the weekend:
An armed man in a stolen car was arrested Friday in the wilderness of White Marsh.

The teenager who was shooting kids with a BB gun at Pikesville High was arrested.

In MoCo two (suspected) MS-13 members, Roberto Moreno, 25, and Dimas I. Castillo, 27, were arrested for a stabbing in Gaithersburg.

AAC police arrested Williams Ludlow, who robbed a cab and left his ID, social security card and paycheck in the back seat.

Ed Norris wants a presidential pardon. Meanwhile, former commish Kevin Clark wants a state legislative committee to look into the legality of his O'firing.

Ehrlich collected the police union endorsement Friday.

Anybody read this week's NYker article about prison escape artist Richard McNair? Here's a link to the dash-cam video of the last sighting of the slippery sociopath.

october 6

Shanda Harris' bail rewiew was set for 11:00 a.m. today at Central Booking. She is in the 5th group. A court commissioner set her bail at $100,000 yesterday.

Away for the weekend: visit Galt's Baltimore b!

October 5 evening

Closing arguments were heard in the Smoot case.

Prosecutors and police today announced that they have concluded a two-month child-welfare investigation that followed the death of 11-year old Irvin Harris on July 28. As a result of a joint investigation with detectives of the Child Abuse Unit of the Baltimore Police Department, and other child welfare agencies, prosecutors in the Felony Family Violence Division and detectives today filed charges against Shanda Harris, 41, of Lawnview Road, Belair-Edison, mother of Irvin Harris, alleging that Harris failed to take appropriate action to keep convicted child sex offender Melvin Jones away from her children. Shanda Harris was arrested today and charged with the following crimes:

• 1 count of Reckless Endangerment, maximum penalty, five years;
• Four Counts of Contribute to CINA status, Maryland's version of a criminal neglect charge maximum penalty, three years.

The maximum penalty that Harris could receive is 14 years of incarceration.

Why not to live on the first floor: a Peeping Tom is afoot in the Riderwood area of the county.

Students protested against Towson U, which fired an orthodox Jewish guy supposedly because wanted off for jewish holidays.

October 5

Remember that fight at the Inner Harbor on July 4? Turns out it was a show of force by the Blood set called the L-Gang, and an officer was struck on the back of the head: a VERY different story than the Police and Mayor's office has been telling the public for four months.

Murders 212 and 213 are unidentified men, one died on the 1200 N. Luzerne Avenue, the other on the 1000 block of Bristol Place.

Danielle Riley, the former Villa Julie student accused of killing her newborn, admitted to second-degree murder in the county yesterday.

The widow of Marvin Ferguson (208) talked to Richard Sher. Ferguson was killed by his crazed neighbor Bill Horne on the 3800 block of Lyndale Avenue.

More on the dismissal of Nathan Colbert's murder charges. He was the third officer charged in the Smoot stomping. Kane: officers don't believe in justice, "just us." (groan)

Another officer has been arrested for burning a car for the insurance money. Terre N. Shields, 28, and her special friend Rashad J. Brooks, 29, were arrested on charges that they set her 2002 Acura SUV on fire.

TG no one was killed on 83 by this recidivist drunk-driving football player. Dick.

What's up with Howard County? Domestic violence incidents for one thing.
But it's all relative-- Howard County's population is about 270,000. Baltimore City, pop. 650k, got 26,000 domestic violence calls and arrested 5,300 people for incidents in 2005).

Dept. of Entertainment and Politics:
House Speaker Dennis Hastert: "The people who want to see [the Mark Foley scandal] blow up are ABC News and a lot of Democratic operatives, people funded by George Soros."
Gingrich: Democrats have "stench of hypocrisy."

Tamara Dobson, aka Cleopatra Jones, ten miles of bad road for every town, has died of MS.

JZ will air the Debate for Governor debate Monday October 16 at 7 p.m., the same night demonstators will be protesting arrest practices at City Hall.

I just discovered the Baltimore Chronicle. Shouldn't sources this politically biased have some kind of a warning label? Do I need to start putting little flags next to links? Remember kids, you never can tell who's who on the Internets!

Spekaing of labels, this Examiner self-reportage deserves a little tooting bugle, or maybe a spanked monkey.
Is newspapers reporting on newspapers reporting or blogs reporting about newspapers news? I smell a poll question...

October 4

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Zachary James, 15, of the 4200 block of Towanda Avenue, for first-degree murder. Court documents allege on July 16 a black male known as "ZACK" was responsible for the murder of Richard Smith. Mr. Smith was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the 3600 block of Cottage Avenue and was pronounced deceased at Sinai Hospital the same day. Mr. James was also indicted September 20 for the first-degree murder of Michael Freeman. An arraignment for both cases is scheduled for October 18, 2006 before Judge Gale Rasin, Room 509 Courthouse East. Fifteen juveniles have been charged with murder so far this year, all but one has been charged as an adult.

The defense and prosecution have rested in the Smoot case, closing arguements are due tomorrow.
This afternoon Judge John M. Glynn granted a defense motion to dismiss all charges against Nathan D. Colbert.
Jury instruction and closing arguments in the matter of State vs. Dameon Woods and James L. Hatcher are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow in room 203 Mitchell.
Courthouse speculation is the guards will get off, as the witnesses changed their statements multiple times.

Finally, three days after the fact, the S "covers" the shooting of 16-year-old Bernard Davis of the 1600 block of Castle Street in an exceptionally detailed 200-word feature.
Davis is the 19th juvenile killed this year.
Another boy was also shot during the incident but survived.

Ink: Last week was exceptionally violent, with 10 murders .
Andrew Jackson, 26; Davon Sampson, 18; Janice Letmate, 67; Lateef Chase, 25; Sultan Z. Matthews, 19; Gary Nelson, 47; Lamont Brown, 20; and Jamelle (sp?) Carter, 18, have left the building.
Also excpetional: the Sun wrote something about all 10 murders.
Is someone in editorial attempting to change the error of the paper's status-quo-loving ways?
What's next, humanizing these people with a hint of a detail of their lives?
Two hundred and fifty words, maybe?

Students were shot with a BB gun outside of Pikesville High.

Twenty-five pounds of pot was seized in Laurel.

Media coverage helped in the arrest of David Fernando Garcia for rape in Elkridge.

Five months after the death of Rey Rivera, the blog still gets multiple hits a day from all over the country for keywords related; evidently a lot of people don't believe his death was suicide.

Politiques:
The Gazette newspapers have endorsed Ehrlich.

O'Malley's people, via the Baltimore Chronicle, say Ehrlich refuses to debate.

Smug Sexism Dept.

Nothing like stepping to the 'puter to find out your worst suspicions about the media have come true.
If, like me, you ever wondered idly, "what's more printable to the Sun, beauty gossip or, say, a powerful Democratic Delegate making serious accusations of abuse of power by a Democratic candidate for governor in an election month?" all of our nightmares have come true.
So Jill just exaggerated when she said the Sun erased her for criticizing the powers-that-be... she's not totally erased yet, they'll still put her in .... to be condescended to!
Where'd the rest of the post go?

October 3 Evening

From the US Attorney's office, more details on the Tamil Tiger indictments, plus Daniel Trader, 57, and a prison guard at the Eastern Correctional Institute was indicted for having lewd chats with someone who he thought was a 15-year-old girl (but was really an Illlinois officer).

Alphonso Scott, 18, under house arrest, drove drunk in Severn, wrecked car.

Pollice arrested DeJuan Laron Hunter for leaving his semi-automatic at BWI.

A man of Iranian heritage was arrested for taking picture of the MD state house. Turns out he was working for a magazine.

History corner: how Glendening became governor.

October 3

Luther Bryant, 28, was shot to death near the 1300 block of Havenwood road. And a one man was shot and an unid'd man was killed at Gossip's nightclub on Calvert Street (@210-211), half a block from the State's Attorneys office and the Mitchell Courthouse.

Missing babysitter Tiara Chapman, her son and her 8-year-old charge Kia Edwards (left) returned home.

Two men, James L. Owens, 41, and James Thompson, 47, convicted of the rape and murder of Colleen Willar in 1988, may get new trails after DNA test results pointed to a third party. If so, it will be the first time in MD a DNA test clears a defendant after a muder conviction. (The Sun also has the story.)

Devon Richardson, 14, was charged with the murder of Janice Letmate, the 67-year-old woman (202) who neighbors first though had suffered a heart attack.

Two men were arrested for the home invasion robbery and murder of 45-year-old Eric Fountain in the county.

The man who killed his neighbor, Billy Horne (208) yeserday in the NE was ID'd as Marvin Fergueson, 40.

Suspended officer Jemini Jones was arrested Monday morning for an illegal handgun after leading police on a car chase. And PGC officer Sheldon Vessels has been indicted for pepper-spraying four young men who were not charged with a crime, and kicking one in the groin. Vessels was not on duty at the time.

Robbery, theft, larceny etc in the blotter.

Nate Chapman is in trouble again, this time for making false statements on a loan application. He was convicted two years ago of defrauding the State pension system.

Did you know? The Baltimore Police Department phone numbers on the City's site have been taken off the web, and the new BPD site has been non-fuctional for about nine months!

Is that normal? O'Malley is getting City Council members to donate to his campaign.

October 2: 'Happy' Yom Kippur

There was a double shooting on Castle street on the east side.

A fatal shooting at 6 a.m. on the 3800 block of Lyndale Ave. in the Northeast (<208). Update: a suspect was taken into custody after a standoff.

Two murders Saturday (<206-207). Jemel Carter, 18 was killed on Oswego Ave., (first reported by galt)
and Victor Council, 43, was shot on the 1400 block of Baltimore Street.
The man killed Friday (205) was ID'd as Lamont Brown.

A Baltimore County judge is due to sentence Matthew Horner today for trying to fake the suicide of his wife Lorraine. She lived and is expected to give a victim-impact statement.

Eighteen-year-old Loneil A. Smith was murdered in PCG Sunday morning.

A 16-year old boy was shot in the shoulder, and former president of the police union Frederick Roussey was hit by a truck while directing traffic downtown.

Terrence Gunnels was fatally shot near the Great Frederick fairgrounds.

Rockville police are questioning a delivery-truck driver in the dragging death of grandmother Ketty Alvarado, 69.

The penalty for being a drunk-driving teen just went up.

Former circulation manager fpr the PGC and MoCo "Sentinels" was convicted of stealing $288k.

One would think the prison system would be happy to let inmates atone any day.

Wow, Jill Carter has never been a shrinking violet! She rages against the Mayor's arrest practices in this undated feature. "The person that's the mayor of Baltimore shouldn't be the mayor or the governor. He has no interest in furthering the agenda of the people he represents or empowering anyone."

Washington Post: "the murder count ... remains a political liability" for O'Malley, reports the town went to hell after Norris left.
Mayor: "the downside [of setting the goal of 175 homicides] is far outweighed by the number of lives we saved."
Meanwhile, Team O'M says state and federal police and drug-treatment money dropped after 2002, team Ehrlich says it went up.

National:
Five victims plus the gunman Charles Carl Roberts IV are dead after a hostage situation in a school in a small town in Lancaster County, Pa.

TX supreme court refused to legalize "obscene devices.".

You're so Cheap!

The most trusted news souce of news a la BCrime readers is ...
the City Paper!!
Yes, the journal that features "Smut" on the cover this week, illustrated by a biblio-glory hole and an typographed male part.
Really?

Second-most relied on: WBAL, tied with the Examiner. In fourth, the Sun. In dead last, WMAR.
Okay, I'll bite, why do you hate the Sun so much? (no copping answers from thesunlies.com)

October 1

♥ the law? Check out the Supreme Court preview for this month.

This week, MedImmune battles Genentech [<-subscription required] for the rights to palivizumab, a bioengineered antibody, at The Supreme Court.

William C. Bond, author of "Self-portrait of a Patricide: How I Got Away with Murder," won a case against the Bank of America for improperly releasing financial records to his wife's ex in a custody case [<-subscription required].

Godson M. Nnaka (right), a Baltimore lawyer who happens to be running for President of Nigeria, had sex-offense charges dropped against him[<- subscription required] by the Baltimore City state's attorney's office.
Say charging documents, a 16-year-old girl came to Nnaka's office with two friends, wanting to hire him to represent her boyfriend in a criminal case. The girl said she let Nnaka grope her in exchange for his promise to reduce his fee. One of the friends picked up a pair of scissors to defend herself(?) ; Nnaka then escorted them from his office, the girls then flagged down a police car and made a report.

A man shot in the 1400 block of W. Baltimore St. is in critical condition at shock trauma.

Best PIO o'Balto Sviatko: Smoot guards attended a "party where apparently everybody got their stories straight."

There's only one time sports will be mentioned here, and that's when the over-esteemed, overpaid jockstaps break the law! Yes, sounds like three O's shot steroids like Mexican dairy cows. Tsk, tsk.

HoCo cops party with hookers, display porn, taxpayers fork out $75g.

Greedy, consorting cops pulled burning-car scheme to buy an Asscalade in Frederick.

Would be nice but isn't exactly true: Ehrlich sent out mailer alleging FBI probe of O'Malley's management of the BPD. Other election news:

• Ehrlich's team mailing out dollar bills breaks election laws.
• Sun assumes all readers are white and unwhite people voting Republican is impossible.
• Diebold: we've fixed flaw that made check-in computers crash during primary.
• Rodricks: Race card trumps reason in crime debate.

Yawn.

Media notes: the Sun's line appears to be to not cover too much crime because it's hard to sell ads next to depressing stories.
OR ... is the crime writing just boring?
The NYPost gets the tone right and embraces the drama and still manages to sell ads (next) to death. Or maybe it's that the NYP has more interesting stories to cover.

September 30

A man was shot dead at Park Heights & Quantico (at least 205).

.. speaking of Park Heights, when I was on Ed Norris the other day a guy called in to say that there had been a string of murders in Park Heights, "at least five or six" people duct-taped in their houses with their throats cut, but no one is reporting it. The freaky thing? It could well be true. But without the ME's office to say either way, the rumor can't be confirmed-- or denied. I also heard from a narcotics detective that there's "a war" going on in the NW that's taking the efforts of all six (!!!) City narcs. If I was a journalist I'd get up there and chase that story ... (TG I'm a blogger!)

A string of related burglaries in Timonuim and Sparks.

Jessup is being downgraded to a minimum-security prison, and prisoners from Supermax are supposted to go somewhere called North Branch.
Friday, former officer Candice Harlee testified about the pandemonium at Central Booking on the night Raymond Smoot died.

Perv: Andre C. King, PCG.

September 29 afternoon

Today Judge David Ross denied a defense motion to transfer David James Marshall, 14, to juvenile court (!!!). He will remain charged as an adult in Baltimore City Circuit Court. Marshall is scheduled for trial October 30, 2006. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Marshall May 5, 2006 for first-degree murder, two counts of robbery deadly weapon and four counts of kidnapping. Court documents allege that on April 20 at 1404 Kuper Street, Marshall and a co-defendant broke into the house, announced a robbery, and shot and killed an occupant of the home, Robert Atkinson, 47. Marshall remains held without bail in the Baltimore City Detention Center.

A Columbia man killed himself in the Howard County Detention Center.

Graphic testimony about an MS-13 gang rape.

Six arms-smuggling Tamil Tigers are being flown from Guam to MD to face trial.

One more day left to get rid of your dingo.

Letter from Martin deems Ehrlich 'Foghorn Leghorn,' advises sand-pounding

The gloves are off!!
We wondered when M to the O was going to say something about crime, and suddenly this article is out, and just we got this in the inbox:

BOB EHRLICH: LYING BECAUSE HE'S LOSING, PART II
Down In Polls, Ehrlich Caught In Lie About Police

Bob Ehrlich has a truth problem - he has a problem telling the truth, and the truth is a problem for his campaign.

You may have seen or heard Bob Ehrlich strutting around like Foghorn Leghorn recently on television and radio, claiming that he wanted to send the Maryland State Police to Baltimore to fight crime, but Martin O'Malley told him to "pound sand."

Turns out, once again, the Governor is lying.

As today's Baltimore Examiner reports: "Documents obtained by The Examiner indicate it was Maryland State Police who failed to provide Baltimore City with the assistance they offered in 2003."

Ehrlich's newest fabrication comes on the heels of the 18th straight independent, public poll that shows him trailing Martin O'Malley.

Today's Sun reports that with less than 40 days left, "Ehrlich's campaign is getting increasingly more negative because he trails in the polls."

Earlier this week, Ehrlich launched another attack ad, this time attacking the integrity of Baltimore's police officers.

The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 3 - which endorsed Ehrlich in 2002 - says the ad leaves them "disgusted." And they will not be supporting Ehrlich this time, because he has turned the brave men and women of the Baltimore Police Department into "political punching bags."

Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm calls Ehrlich's attack ad "absolutely false."

...The truth is that law enforcement and neighbors have come together and now crime is down in Baltimore:
The City increased investment in the police department by 47% and placed a system of hundreds of security cameras in troubled neighborhoods to give police more tools in making streets safer. [Baltimore City Police Department]
The Police and Neighbors reduced violent crime in Baltimore by 40%.[Federal Bureau of Investigation, "2004 Uniform Crime Report," Crime in the United States by Metropolitan Statistical Area; Baltimore City Police Department, "UCR Crime Total"]
The officers of the Baltimore Police Department helped reduce homicides by 18%. [Baltimore City Police Department, "UCR Crime Total"]

According to Commissioner Hamm, "We have the greatest crime decrease in the state of Maryland, and we did it without state help."

And that's the truth. Here's Bob Ehrlich's real failed record on crime - which makes clear why he is launching his shameful attack on Baltimore's Police Officers.

• He cut State funding to the Baltimore Police Department by 42% from $11.3 million in FY 2002 to $6.6 million in FY 2006.


• He cut State drug treatment funding in Baltimore by $3 million - from $52.2 million in FY 2003 to $49.2 million in FY 2005.
  
• He broke his promise to reform Juvenile Services - and instead, it has gotten worse, with children sleeping in bathrooms near toilets and riots caused by understaffing, according to Maryland's Independent Juvenile Justice Monitor.
  
• He broke his promise to implement Project Exile - which calls for all eligible gun crimes to be prosecuted in federal court. Federal gun prosecutions went down sharply under his handpicked U.S. Attorney, and he never delivered on his promised public/private advertising and outreach campaign.
  
• He broke his promise to end parole for violent criminals - and in fact, parole of criminals has increased on his watch.
  
• He has flat funded the State gun prosecutors grant to the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office (SAO) at the same $1.7 million that his predecessor began in 2001 - failing to account for inflation. The city has increased it's funding for the SAO by 50% since Mayor O'Malley took office (from $16.6 million in FY 2000 to $24.9 million in FY 2007).
  
• His much-hyped "Hype vs. Reality" campaign, launched at a press conference with Carmelo Anthony in May 2005 produced, literally, nothing.
  
• And under his watch, prisons are out of control, with corrections officers being murdered and nearly 20 times more violent incidents involving weapons than the larger Pennsylvania prison system - 257 compared to 15 for the first six months of 2006.

We understand that Bob Ehrlich is down in the polls and has a horrendous record of failure. But, that doesn't justify lying to the people of Maryland, and it certainly doesn't justify attacking the brave men and women of the police force who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities.
... Bob Ehrlich: Can't Be Trusted to Fight Crime; Can't Be Trusted to Fight for Maryland Families

MEOW! He's taking it to the street!
UPDATE: The mayor and the gov. have agreed to have two debates before mid-October.