Extra-legal liasons

Keep an eye out for missing octogenarian James MacKinnon (or is it McKinnon?), left, who has Alzheimer's
Update: Fox reports he was found, no details on when, where, by whom.

The man shot Friday on Shirley Ave. has died and was ID'd as Jose Estrella, 19

"Death penalty moratorium leaves survivors, convicts in limbo" -- why would O'Malley risk the controversy of pushing for a legal solution if there's a grey-area quasi-legal place to haunt? That would be unOmalleyful!

Altercation at the impound lot leads to man shot in the elbow in a "road rage" incident. "Both the suspect and victim had been at the same nightclub [and] from the club were still intoxicated Sunday morning." I wanner partay at dat club!

Greasy-lookin "Canton Burglar Caught By Craigslist Sting," more from the Sun

Students picketed the former site of Read's drug store, and Sun commentors don't like it one bit.

Starting March 1, you can put two mommies on a birth certificate in MD. (Why not two dads, you may wonder? And how is this biologically possible? In MD whoever is married to mom is legally presumed to be the parent of children born in the marriage-- no matter if the inseminator is the milkman or a turkey baster.)

Structurally unsound

Two men shot last night, not counting the suspect shot on Harwood Ave.
(Gawd that soda lady is annoying-- soda is not "groceries" you "feed your family," fatty!)

A man stabbed early this morning in Pikesville at Seven Mile & Reisterstown Rd

Slumlord Watch notes that an X painted on a vacant building means it's structurally unsound (not that a body is stashed there, necessarily).

Students plan to picket this morning at Lexington & Howard, former site of the Read's drug store and the famous 1955 sit-in, now boarded up and "poetic in its misery". More from Preservation Magazine on the Read's building (orchids and onions, who knew?)

It's going down

On Harwood ave at York Rd (500 block)-- five police cars, one ambulance and the whole street blocked off w/police tape across the road.
UPDATE: The deuce reports an off-duty officer shot a guy, and insinuates guy tried to rob the officer as he pitched woo to his girlfriend in a parked car. But things in this town seldom turn out to be how they seem at first, do they?

ps. love this Google maps picture of city workers relaxing next to a pothole

El Dooce also reports that a thief is targeting gym lockers throughout the state. Says somebody, "We take the safety of our members very why we have all of the cameras installed throughout the parking and within the gym and makes sure that its well light and we patrol it pretty often."

Try, try again

Travers and Tremayne Johnson will be retried in May.

Homicide detectives called to Park Hgts and Shirley Ave in the NW following a shooting in the parking lot of the Food City

Trial begins for Cleaven Williams Jr., accused of stabbing his pregnant wife Veronica to death outside of the North Ave District courthouse

More than 20 pounds of cocaine found in a shipping container at the Baltimore seaport.

Gold fillings stolen in Essex

47-year-old woman from Baltimore arrested for carjacking in Cumberland

Illegal flier backlash part II, no go to Pigtown nightclub

Housing officials blast Fells Prospect resident as a "pit bull" after she demanded an apology for a snafu that resulted in a lien notice being attached to her home for an unpaid fine for illegal fliers she reported.

Liquor board say no to proposed Pigtown nightclub

Death penalty moratorium extended

"Gov. Martin O'Malley's administration announced Thursday that it is withdrawing regulations that are needed for executions to resume in Maryland, effectively extending a four-year moratorium on the death penalty" and Del. Sandy Rosenberg, a Democrat repping the 41st, said he submitted a DP repeal bill today.

And 10 years for Zachary D. Watson, the final defendant accused of beating and robbing septuagenarian fisherman James Privott, and the one who admitted to driving Privott's stolen, LoJack'd truck.

That sucks

Save the Moshers!! Bolton Hill's On the Hill cafe robbed after closing.

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Unidentified man, 21, killed in a drive-by at the bus stop in the 6600 block of Alta Ave.

Murder Ink (barely) covers last week's murder of Warren Wilmer, 36, and has some updates-- arrests for the 2011 murders of David Jones (#1) and Jeffrey Purnell (#15), and a conviction for the murder of Mark Johnson in 2009.

After debate raged in the Senate yesterday, Mike Miller set odds of same-sex marriage passing at 60-70 percent. Unexcited by the prospect is one Victor Kirk of Lanham, "What if a father wants to marry his daughter? Or a brother and sister want to marry each other?" And Senator repping the the county, Jim Brochin, has swung his stance from civil unions to full-frontal civil marriage rights.

"Md. hands keys to Baltimore detention facility" to the feds. (Really? Actual literal keys?) Hey wonder whatever happened to that cell-phone-jamming idea? I know they tested the jamming system last year, but did they ever implement it anywhere?

... btw here's a picture of the alleged burglar who left his cell phone charging at a crime scene in MoCo. He looks so sensitive!

And a man arrested in Annapolis after faking "distress", then robbing the woman who stopped to help him.

And a missing person: Mark Cheshire, Gregg Bernstein's new Communications guy. After one single press release (announcing the arrest of Avi Werdesheim), nothing-- no press releases, TV appearances, answers to questions... total flatline. What do they have him doing over there?
Update: apparently he's sent out a few things but hasn't added me to the e-mail list. So much for transparency.

Beware of reporting illegal ad fliers

This upper Fells Point resident did and ended up with a $300 fine for her trouble...

More on Duane SHORTY Davis, Sr, alleged toilet bomber

According to his Myspace page, Duane Davis Sr. has previous experience with the whole bomb threat thing:

"People of the State of Illinois County of Lake vs. Duane G. Davis Sr. Case # 07CF4988 Defendant was charged with Bomb Threat ( Terrorist Activity)"

He is apparently making a movie about racism in the judicial system.

Oh, and he's had some other charges, too...

Also, photos of "Shorty's Underground Toilet tour"

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Craig Manuel, 19, shot to death in the 2700 block of Polk St.

Speaking of death, I hear this is good: PBS' "Postmortem: Death Investigation in America."

Yet another police-misconduct award, $75,000 for David Harris, 21, who spent 29 days in jail for assault and burglary even though the victim said he wasn't involved. The Record reports that the city has shelled out more than $688,000 in awards against the police so far this year.

$200,000 bond for terlit artist Duane G. Davis

What the? Man on the beltway tried to strangle his girlfriend and run over his friends, then crashed the car and was pinned down by his friends until help arrived. I think.

"A 16-year-old boy was hospitalized with serious neck and back injuries after being struck with a Taser® by a Baltimore police officer in a struggle on the roof of his North Baltimore home"

Mistrial in Dog-Burning Case

Will it be tried again? One of the twins, Travers, was due to be arraigned on attempted murder charges in another case on the 27th, don't know what happened with that.

and a "South River senior admits beating younger student unconscious"

Double-murder defendant Kenneth Perry took the stand and didn't do himself any favors

Save the puppehs!

City council committee supports extending in-state tuition for undocumented residents. (& I support extending one's skirt a little farther below your crack if you are addressing a city council committee. I know it's not the Vatican but geeze.)

That poor dog-burning jury is still a-deliberating. Says JZ, "the case spewed the creation of the city’s Animal Abuse Task Force."

Two freaky-looking chicks arrested for burglarizing a Glen Burnie pet store

Really? Owner of the Wine Source says 10-fold hike in hooch taxes is a good idea because it could curb alcohol abuse.

Cell phone taped terlit near courthouse

Officers find a toilet with a cell phone taped to it near the Towson courthouse. Reports Fox, "At this time, no evacuations have taken place." Uh, TMI, Fox!

UPdate: that's some toilet. The Brew reports that a similar "art can" has been parked in front of the schools HQ on North Avenue for "weeks". Quote of the day from Cp editor Tim Hill, "'I figured it was one of those memorials to a kid who had died,' Hill said, noting that, when he shot the picture, the assemblage included a stuffed 'Kenny' doll from the South Park animated television show."

Big bux awarded in police-misconduct lawsuit

$170,000 for Salahudeen Abdulaziz, who claimed police handcuffed him and punched him in the face while he was on the way to the store to get a bag of potato chips.

Sneaking and leaking

"Md.'s wine shipment laws create smuggling routes from D.C. and Va." Fun fact: MD became known as the "Free State" because the state did not allot any funds or pass an enforcement act to support Prohibition. Ironically, we now have the most jackassed liquor laws in the country.

And speaking of free, we'll believe in you when we see some hot document action, Baltileaks!

Super Sunday Crime Round-up

What do rapper Lil' Wayne, career criminal Joel Ugah, and Baltimore Blast owner Edwin Hale Sr. have in common? A weapons charge on their record.

Court Watch is back. Concerned citizens are bringing back the program due to the repeated breaks that the accused murderers of Stephen Pitcairn received.

Maryland and California both suspend their "Scared Straight" programs, a few weeks after the premier of the show "Beyond Scared Straight."

Federal officer Curtis Anthony Warren is convicted of killing his brother back in April of 2009.

63-year-old school teacher Myra Elizabeth Cason was shot to death last Friday.

Robert "Seattle" Jones gets 15 years for a bungled home invasion.

Interstate traveling stoner Travis Bielaski arrested in Nebraska with 33 pounds of grass.

Finally, Latin Kings enforcer Brandon Smith pleads guilty to Racketeering and attempted murder.

Fate of gay marriage hangs on six undecided senators

"Two men stabbed, one shot in 3 nonfatal incidents"

Four people stabbed at the Cheer's (sic) Bar and Grill in Parkville

PG county to seek the death penalty for a man who shot four people in Lanham

Shoulda, coulda, woulda

WJZ has an interview with Emmanuel Miller, the stringy-shtached teen charged in the beating of elderly black fisherman James Privott. "I wish I would have done something to try to help the guy."