April 25

Here's the story of Norman Stamp, the police officer who was shot and killed at Haven Place. His last words were "I'm a cop."

Jean Marabella: "If you care about Baltimore, you should read the transcript of what (Judge) Young said... . No, don't just read it, clip it out of the paper or print it on your computer and put it in your pocket. Or stick it in the frame of your mirror, forward it to someone, do something other than just let it pass unheard."

I don't often say this, but Jean's correct. Here's the link again in case you blew off reading Judge David Young's comments.

In the "it'd be funny if it weren't true" department, an Examiner photographer was assaulted outside Reginald F. Lewis High School as she was doing a story on school violence.

Nancy Schmidt was hardly alone: lots of seniors are victimized every day.

Catherine Palmer's bail was lowered to 10 grand.

The dude who crashed his car and killed himself, his girlfriend, and her family on Rt. 1 was here to collect an inheritance, which he and his lady wisely spent on crack, heroin, and PCP.

Espinosa and Canela may be granted an appeal.

While it's awesome that Garland Williams led the construction of a Browning family memorial garden at Cockeysville Middle School, it pisses me off that things like this never seem to happen in the city. I mean, where's the memorial garden for the Dawson family?

If this batch of thieves pool their resources, they can totally start a kickass band with one of them fancy MySpace pages.

Liquor Board chairman Stephan Fogleman slapped Anthony Triplin's hand and then renewed the license for Trip's Place, which is the alcoholic side of Club Choices.

Obey Your Needly Master, Hon

Buz reports that the Hampden needle exchange van has quietly moved somewhere else.

April 24

Damn. An on-duty cop shot and killed an off-duty cop who drew his weapon in the parking lot of the prestigious Haven Place.

I forgot to link to the Ink yesterday. This week, Anna tells us that the dead landlord has been added to the city's murder tally, and that the (alleged) killers had a lovely evening with their family the night after they (allegedly) killed the man. Anna also ID'd the man who was killed on 6th St. as Stanley Johnson.

The flaming tow truck driver is home from the hospital, and the douchebags who set him on fire are wanted for attempted murder.

Fucking Yankees fans, stealing our cell phones and medication and stuff.

God and Pat Jessamy both seem to support Jolita Berry's decision to file charges against the 15-year-old student who beat her down.

15-year-old student body vice-president Nakita McDaniels led two other group assaults on lone girls. One day, Nakita, the mayorship shall be yours. 'Til then, though, your ass is going to jail.

Two other students from the bus attack are suing because their bus privileges were revoked. Maybe Dr. Todd should sue for having his driving privileges revoked.

Jason Allen got hit with murder charges for allegedly killing Jeff Payne during a Valentine's Day party near Morgan State.

The alleged conspiracy against former Southwestern flex squad leader Sgt. Robert Smith deepens.

I love the fact that I can read a headline like "Parents fault Abingdon school over handling of gun incident" and wonder if people are pissed because the school did too much or didn't do enough.

Life in Prison for Juanita Robinson

At a hearing today, Judge John C. Themelis sentenced Juanita Robinson, 28, of the 800 block of Bradhurst Road to life in prison. A Baltimore City jury convicted Robinson February 14, 2008 of first-degree murder. On March 31, 2007 Juanita Robinson shot Andre McBride, 21, in the head in the 6600 Knottwood Court. Robinson was the victim’s girlfriend and was the last person seen with McBride before the shooting. McBride died later at Sinai Hospital.

Robinson previously served six months for killing 16-year-old Derrick Colbert (see last para).

April 23

Sounds like Baltimore was a little bit better with Nancy Schmidt around.

Two guys on the side of 695 set a tow truck driver on fire yesterday morning. (Sun coverage.)

In a completely shocking and unexpected turn of events, someone got shot on N. Carey St.

The fifth graders are packing heat.

"This is why I'm disgusted. The system has failed the people in the community. The Police Department is suffering from a lack of oversight and a lack of character. Today was a victory, no doubt, and it shows that an average lay citizen can bring charges and follow through it with limited resources and still bring a guilty verdict." (Examiner coverage.)

Poor Vernice Harris. Nobody wanted to help her. Nobody cared. So how could it possibly be her fault that she gave methadone to little Bryanna? Poor, poor Vernice.

Joseph McInnis Jr. got nailed for a rape 24 years after the fact. As part of his plea deal, charges related to a murder 21 years ago were dropped.

April 22

Police said a break-in might have been the motivation for the murder of 74-year-old Nancy Schmidt early yesterday morning. (Examiner coverage.)

The Rev. Rush "noticed a lot of things that was out of order" at the fatal memorial service for Anthony Izzard. My guess is he was referring to the gunshots, not the noun/verb mismatch.

"Baltimore prosecutors are dismissing dozens of drug cases from two police officers banned from testifying in court amid suspicions they have been untruthful in charging documents."

An 11-year-old was robbed at gunpoint on E. Monument St.

An AAC cop got into a gunfight during a Brooklyn Park traffic stop.

Drunk Dr. Todd will get off with a year or so in jail, some AA meetings, and a $5,000 donation.

Murder By Funeral

Two men were shot, one fatally and one in the buns, outside of Unity United Methodist Church in the 1700 block of W. Lexington St. following a funeral for Anthony Lamont Izard Sr. (aka Anthony Izzard), victim #53.

Seriously?!

Says the big E, "City prosecutors in Baltimore are refusing to prosecute homicide cases that don't have the cooperation of at least two witnesses."

Media Blabber

The blog is on page 8 of this month's Blender magazine, under Club Paradox, The True Vine, Floristree (?) and Faidley Seafood:

Every month, Blender gets its travel agent on, spotlighting a different city with the help of in-the-know locals. This month, Baltimore: the food you should eat, the club where you should party and the corners from The Wire you should probably avoid.

5. BEST RESOURCE TO PLAN YOUR TRIP
Baltimorecrime.blogspot.com
Thanks to The Wire, most outsiders know Baltimore as a violent slum; this blog does little to change that. You can use its police-blotter-style entries ("Man shot on the corner of W. Lafayette and N. Payson") to avoid dangerous areas-- or to map out your own windows-up, doors-locked tour of Bodymore, Murdaland.

Fuck!!

As Galt posted, WBAL reports that 74-year-old Emily Schmidt was stabbed to death in the 200 block of West 31st Street at about 5:30 a.m. today.
I hate it when it's kids or old people!
UPDATE: Turns out her name was Nancy, not Emily.

April 21

As Galt reported in the comments yesterday, a man was murdered early yesterday morning on 6th St. in the Southern.

Baltimore City is safer than any of the surrounding counties.*

Edward and Catherine Palmer allegedly killed their landlord in self-defense. Then they burned his dead body in self-defense, borrowed a car in self-defense, and dumped the landlord's body in self-defense.

If you decide to go-a-killin', make sure there's only one witness.

The BPD gave the feds evidence related to the shooting of Edward Lamont Hunt.

A skateboarder broke into Eastern Technical High School, removed a door, and used it as a skateboard ramp. It wasn't all fun and games for skateboarders, though, because a teenage boy's board was stolen during an implied armed robbery in Parkville.

The opening six words of Kelsey Volkmann's story make me wonder how many teachers aren't tired of students assaulting them.


* Based on the number of non-fatal shootings and armed robberies reported in the Sun for the weekend of April 19-20, 2008. A 22-year-old man was shot in the leg in Marley (AAC), a 45-year-old man was robbed while walking in Columbia early yesterday morning, and two men were shot in two separate incidents -- one of which was a home invasion -- in Baltimore County on Saturday night. Meanwhile, there was only one non-fatal shooting reported in the City: a 21-year-old man was shot in the leg on N. Robinson St. on Saturday morning.

Can't Get Enough BCrime?

I'll be on a panel discussion this Thursday at 8 p.m. at Goucher, along with some very interesting characters.

April 19

Sounds like the mystery victim found in Middle River last week, right, was a landlord killed by two tenants.

Butterfingers! Teacher arrested after marijuana falls out of her purse during class

The EEOC has filed a lawsuit against McCormick & Schmick’s for alleged racial discrimination against black applicants and employees. :(

It turns out the 70 animal bodies found in Fredneck belonged to foxes, not dogs or cats.

The Lullaby of Bumberg

Big news!
Our friend Shayne has streamed Baltimore City Police radio transmissions from the Northern and Northwestern districts, and you can tune in at Scanbaltimore.com!
The links to the feeds are on the left of the page.
For the most action, tune in Fridays and Saturdays at about 2:15 a.m. (though there's always something going on).

For it to make any sense you'll need to refer to your "10-Codes"

April 18

The BPD doesn't have the 50 grand it needs to either exonerate Douglas Scott Arey or confirm that he's a killer.

"An unidentified man who was found dead Sunday in a new townhouse development in Middle River in eastern Baltimore County was killed in East Baltimore." There's a sketch of the victim, right.

A bunch of pending drug cases involving Sgt. Allen Adkins and Detective Deryl Turner are being dropped.

As bupe is being used more, more of it is being used illegally.

In HarCo, Samuel and Donna Merryman got 22 years each for starving their 8-year-old son to death. "... two of the couple's other children provided a look inside the family home in Whiteford -- where, they said, their brother was bound, strapped to a crib and deprived of solid food." (Examiner article.)

Kerri King got off on a HarCo driving charge that should've sent her to prison. She's still being held in the city for killing Courtney Brooks.

More Teen Hooligans!

Yikes, a 15-year-old boy stabbed a 14-year-old boy in the neck and back with a pair of scissors at Lemmel Middle School.

Har! "Police charged five Montgomery County teens and one adult [last week] with being linked to what authorities said was a scheme to steal guns from a student's home and sell them to classmates, a sale broken up when a 14-year-old potential customer accidentally fired a bullet into the wall of a restroom stall."

... and one brokedown stripper! If you've ever doubted that booze is bad for the complexion, check out this picture of Kerri King (alleged hit-and-run killer of Officer Courtney Brooks).

April 17

Tavon Smith was fatally shot yesterday afternoon in the 2900 block of Garrison Blvd. in the Northwestern.

Who needs stupid shows like CSI when you've got the Southwestern? Seriously, if the shit going on over there were in a Mark Wahlberg movie, I'd dismiss it as bad screenwriting. (Here's yesterday's article on the police shooting, and a couple of paragraphs in the Examiner.)

We're not prejudiced against either side of town, though. Last night, a dude got shot on the west side, and a dude got shot on the east side.

Are they spreading shitty sludge around poor black neighborhoods in Baltimore, or are they treating the soil with compost to help eliminate toxins and reduce risks of lead poisoning?

Cynthia McKay was convicted for killing her boyfriend and setting his body on fire. She faces 30 years. (Sun coverage.)

Tyron Montray McGowan admitted to killing Kwame Travon Johnson last month in Annapolis.

PDJ: Daddy likes to touch his teenage daughter and watch her take showers. Maybe some nice men in prison will like touching daddy and watching daddy take showers.

Rape now occurs the moment a woman says no and she is ignored, even if it's in the middle of a deed to which she's already consented.

Some Fredneck dumped the bodies of more than 70 dogs in the woods.

Third Trial Starts for Erik Stoddard

A third trial has begun for Erik Stoddard, accused of the murder of three-year-old Calen Faith Dirubbo in 2002. Stoddard's first conviction was thrown out because a toddler's "utterance" was considered hearsay by the CSA. Here's info on the case from the second trial which concluded in May of last year; that conviction was also thrown out. Reported the Sun last year:

... the judge in the case ordered a new trial, saying he should have asked jurors during the selection process whether they had any racial prejudice against the defendant.

Circuit Judge Allen L. Schwait's decision was based on a little-known but sweeping 1999 Maryland Court of Appeals ruling that a defendant has an absolute right to question jurors about racial bias, even in cases with no apparent racial dynamic.

Stoddard, 26, is white. Calen Faith Dirubbo, the 3-year-old who was fatally beaten in June 2002, was white. All of the state witnesses in the case were white. The attorneys and the judge were white. The jury was made up of eight blacks and four whites.

This case has inspired some interesting comments over the years.

April 16

Hot diggity damn. Only one new murder in the Ink (that of Anthony Izzard), and details on Yolanda Brown (who was ruled a homicide victim on 4/8). One of the other men who was shot at the same time as Izzard was apparently struck by a stray bullet while sitting in his house.

A boy was shot in the face this morning in West Baltimore.

18-year-old Charles Jakes didn't mean to kill his 14-year-old girlfriend Shawndreta, who was found lying in a bed naked from the waist down. Jakes accidentally shot himself in the thumb at the same time. Too bad he didn't accidentally shoot himself in the head. Congratulations Charlie, you are the douchebag du jour.

The burned body of an unidentified man has been ruled as a homicide, but police aren't releasing the cause of death.

Despite what the Jessup teenagers who got shot say, the cops say they only fired one shot.

PDJ: Scott Carpenter of Dundalk pleaded guilty to receiving kiddie porn. Maybe Chuckie Jakes can shoot off Carpenter's wang.

The state dropped charges against Patrick Byers so the feds could wholeheartedly nail him. Or so we hope. (Byers was indicted for killing witness Carl Lackl.)

Rapist Eugene Waller got 20 years.

Evening Update

City Officer Mark Spila was shot in the upper hip during a routine traffic stop around Poplar Grove Street and Lanvale Avenue in the SW. The suspect is still at large.
(TG the bullet didn't hit the "ephemeral artery"!!
UPDATE: the officer is recovering from surgery, and WBAL corrected the typo)

Eighteen-year-old Charles Jakes has been arrested for the murder of 14-year-old Shawndreta Griffin.

Party is sure to be a verb as "the b Street Team" holds a "Happy Hour" tonight at "The Green [sic] Turtle" in Towson. (Yes, I just posted that for no other reason than to annoy you).