Bad ideas

A man is dead after shooting his ex-wife in the neck and then getting into a gun battle with police; the police spokesman says it's not clear yet if he was shot by police or shot himself.

The Court of Special Appeals overturned the first-degree murder conviction of one Jamar Anderson last week, "saying the trial judge had violated the defendant’s right to a fair trial by asking prospective jurors if they could convict someone without scientific evidence."

Jean Marbella follows up on the story of Baltimorean-cum-Libyan "revolutionary fighter" Matthew VanDyke. Meanwhile at the prison that VanDyke escaped from, a Quadafi-era mass grave has been unearthed.

At the Court of Appeals last week, the City Paper and Van Smith fought the revival of a defamation suit brought by Nicholas Piscatelli, the former owner of the Redwood trust nightclub.

A county officer was arrested and charged with assault after allegedly stripping off his shirt and brandishing his weapon in the middle of the street.

In the County, brokedown heifer Theresa Jefferson, 33, allegedly hurled bleach and Pine-Sol at her romantic rival, putting her and 18 other Walmart shoppers in the hospital.

Finally... could this possibly be a good idea? Keiffer Mitchell says that control of city schools should revert to the Mayor.
.. speaking of the Mayor, saw SRB in the Roland Avenue Starbucks Friday, Suburban illegally parked, flanked by a security guy with an earpiece and wearing giant aviator sunglasses in the (very dim) shop. She didn't speak, smile or acknowledge anyone, barely even the barista-- just nodded or shook her head to his questions. ("Would you like anything else?" Shake. "Do you want your receipt?" Shake.) Most strange.

October 6

A couple of robbery related shootings. One took place in Lauraville, the other in Charles Village very close to the spot where Stephen Pitcairn was murdered. Both shootings appear to have been non-fatal.

[So far! It sounds like a lot has been happening around Charles Village. There always is this time of year, in terms of scary robberies and assaults. ... wonder what John Pontolillo is up to these days? I heard something on the news about a CV resident stabbed in the face when he confronted someone who broke into his place, anyone else hear about that? - ED]

Murder in Woodlawn.

If you're going to rob and murder a pizza delivery man it's a bad idea to place an order using your own cell phone. This was a really sad story (poor guy was working hard to support his family in Pakistan) and it looks like the perps got away with second-degree murder convictions and relatively light sentences.

Spray-paint artist Mark Chase refused a plea bargain and insists he wants to go to trial.

[I love this quote: 'Your constitutional rights have nothing to do with the law,' the officer [Chase][reportedly] said." Good for him! ... I hope Bernstein announces they won't hassle street artists. It will bring us one step closer to a little Seine in the Jones Falls/Harbor. - ED.]

Already convicted on federal drug charges, Johnny Butler has gone on trial again for torture and murder.

Here's some good news for once: Missing 16-month old found.

Fatal car crash on Route 100 after the driver allegedly behaved like a maniac.

159

Maricus Kyle Perkins, 20, shot on Monday, has died of his injuries.

The Ink covers murders 154-157: Aldrick Hamilton, Dwight Montgomery, Keith Parker, and Antonio Blackwell (any relation to Maurice, J.R. or Steven, I wonder?)

Your check, sir... ? MD Reporter says the Attorney General's Office began sending out large, un-itemized bills for its indirect costs.

More fake cops robbing houses

No more liquor license for the Rancho Manila of Upper Fell's Point. "police were called to the bar nearly 100 times in a six-month span, including a homicide call in April."

Cat burned in alley

PoPo a Gogo

52-year-old man shot to death by police whilst brandishing a pellet gun was ID'd as Steve Mach, former member of the Vamps.

An attempted break-in at the Rendez-Vous and the Cold Spring RoFo robbed (again)! In the North Baltimore Patch blotter.

No bucks and an unsuccessful appeal for the family of Gerard Mungo, Jr., a seven-year-old illegally arrested for leaning on a dirtbike.

Robbery suspect Vincent Avila, 25, escaped from a police car after weaseling out of handcuffs and shackles, was later recaptured. County police note 30(!) robberies since September in the Falls Rd.- corridor area, though story/police aren't saying if this slippery suspect is connected to them. "in almost all of them entry was made either through an unlocked door or forcing open a locked door and half the time the suspect/s have entered through the front door." Lock yr doors, people, duh!! ps., is a security chain still the best thing to secure a front door, or is there a better technology out there?

editorial note...

Hi readers and bloggers, from time to time I get requests by people asking that I take their name off of the blog. I am glad to honor these requests-- criminal justice should be doled out by the judiciary, not Google and not in perpetuity. But the request needs to come from the owner of the name, not from a third party (e.g. your mom, girlfriend, boyfriend, brother, public relations firm or blowhard lawyer). If you want your Bcrime record expunged, just email me, address is at the bottom of the screen. Kthanksbai!

Charles Village Sexual Assault

Below is a report from the October 3 JHU Security Daily Incident Report.

Sexual Assault – 3200 Blk. Lovegrove St.– On Oct. 1st at approximately 1:20 AM, a student was sexually assaulted by an unknown male while in the alley/parking area. The student received minor physical injuries and was treated and released from Union Memorial Hospital. Baltimore Police are investigating the incident.

Description of Suspect: Black male, medium complexion, 20- to 30-years old, between 6’0” and 6’2” tall, muscular build and wearing a navy blue/black hoodie. Direction of travel was unknown.

Molotov cocktails?

From the BPD's FB page:

The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a series of Molotov cocktail arson incidents that have recently taken place throughout Baltimore City.

Within the last three weeks, the Baltimore Police Department Arson Unit, working in concert with the Fire Investigation Bureau of the Baltimore City Fire Department, has investigated nine incidents of arson (or attempted arson) involving the use of Molotov cocktails. The incidents span the city and occurred at the following locations:

9/13/11 3800 Blk Leadenhall St. Southern District

9/19/11 5600 Blk Haddon Ave. Northwest District

9/22/11 2200 Blk Park Ave. Central District

9/22/11 3200 Blk Rogers Ave. Northwest District

9/23/11 2700 Blk N. Longwood Northwest District

9/25/11 2400 Blk Loyola Northway Northern District

9/26/11 400 Blk Asquith St. Eastern District

9/27/11 5300 Blk Wesley Ave. Northwest District

9/28/11 3700 Blk Yosemite Ave. Northwest District

The occurrences are all under vigorous investigation and preliminarily appear random, as there are no apparent commonalties amongst victims or the structures targeted. Thankfully, there have been no significant injuries or property damage as a result of the incidents.

We are asking for the public to be vigilant and report anyone that appears to be transporting gasoline in non-UL approved containers, particularly those in highly portable glass bottles.

Persons with any information concerning these incidents are urged to contact the Baltimore Police Department at 866-7LOCKUP [866-756-2587]. As always, callers may remain anonymous.

Not Baltimore...

... necessarily, though if you enjoy crack, raise yr pipe to new dad Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, whose decades-younger wife just gave birth to twins at an L.A. County hospital.

Your tax dollars in an unreal city

City bills itself $500,000 for one month of water at downtown fountain, then says oops we made mistake and....btw..the billing system is antiquated. To bad they didn't figure that when they were evicting people over wildly high water bills a few years ago.

Meanwhile, city cop tests drive a Lexus while being chased by county cops.

"Paywall suicide"

DCRTV reports "slumping morale" at the Sun after the paywall reports (quoted b/c the dcrtv site won't let you link to individual posts):

Sun Insider: Web Paywall "Suicide" - 9/27 - Updated. DCRTV hears from an inside source that morale at the Baltimore Sun is slumping after news, which DCRTV broke first last week, that the Tribune-owned newspaper will be erecting a paywall around its baltimoresun.com website. "Morale in the newsroom is at a low point. No one can understand why we'd make print subscribers pay for the online stuff. It's just suicide, an experiment being carried out by the Tribune on just one of its properties." The website access plan, which takes effect October 10, will cost $2.49 a week or $49.99 for 26 weeks, after an introductory discount. Print subscribers will receive a reduced rate of 75 cents a week or $29.99 a year. While Sun has since run several articles about the paywall plan, "On Monday, management shut down the comments section on the Sun paywall story. They are insisting we call it a 'digital subscription.' And any comments by staff bloggers and Tweeters must be cleared by Editor Trif Alatzas," says the source. "Freedom of speech for Sun readers and writers? Not so fast." More: We hear from another source at the paper who says that there's been "no directive about Tweeting or blogging, though certainly if someone Tweets something stupid or blogs erroneously... then they're going to get corrected." Also, the Sun is not the only Tribune paper erecting a paywall - the Allentown Morning Call is doing it, too, we're told. "I think most of us actually are nervously hopeful that this will work out. We've cut a ton of people and content in recent years through buyouts and layoffs and we want to see that stop".....

Would u pay $129.48 a year for the Sun? (I pay more than that for the NYTimes.. but it's the NYTimes...!) ... wonder why Trib co. picked the Sun and the Allentown paper, and not, say, the Hampton Roads Daily Press?

In other news of broke-azz sources, the company that owns the Jewish Times and Style magazine is in the midst of an acrimonious bankruptcy proceeding. The JT's printer claims Alter Communications owes them $1.77 million(!)

Have you seen...

Endangered runaway Jalayia Scott, age 13 & no left eyebrow

B triple C was robbed

600 computers, TV, etc stolen by an employee who was also a drug dealer and gun felon..

Quick Weekend Crime Update

A flurry of non-fatal shootings in the city so far this weekend. A woman and a man were shot in seperate incidents, while an 18-year-old received non-fatal injuries after being shot in the 1000 block of Bennett Place.

Unfortunately for this blog, it appears that the Baltimore Sun is now going to be charging for web use. While some may see this as a mixed blessing, I can't help but be less than thrilled with the loss of a very useful crime source. For the sake of staying as a viable crime resource to readers, the number of Sun articles linked from here will obviously decrease dramatically. An unfortunate, but not unexpected event, that was frankly happened later than most would have expected.

Two seperate stabbings in Baltimore County Friday.Two angry brothers stabbed each other in Woodlawn, and a man was stabbed in Essex during the early morning hours.

Shots fly during the attempted robbery of a Middle River liquor store.

A very violent few days in Maryland's prisons, as a 34-year-old inmate is in serious condition after a lunchroom stabbing. While over at WCI, Saleem N. Abdullah, 53, was found strangled to death in his cell Thursday night. No official arrests have been made in either case. According to online resources, this wasn't the first time Mr.Abdullah had been the target of prison violence, he had been the complainant in 4 previous cases while incarcerated. None of the inmates accused in those cases were currently serving time at any Maryland prison facility.

Former Ravens OT Orlando "Zeus" Brown was found dead in his Baltimore home Friday. No foul play is suspected.

A freshman delegate is already corrupting at a senior level. Lawmaker Tiffany Alston, 31, has been charged with misappropriating campaign funds in order to pay for a wedding, among other things.

You can't talk about corruption in MD politics without bringing up good 'ol Ulysses Currie. A lawyer for Currie claims that the senator was "very sick" at the time of the FBI raid of his home.

Finally, nine members of the an apparently very profitable cigarette smuggling ring have been indicted in Maryland. The second such case of cigarette smuggling to come in front of Federal judges in the last week after former PG County cop Chong Chen Kim plead guilty to similar charges earlier in the week.

Jody Lee Miles and Euro Death Row Groupies

The death sentence of Jody Lee Miles has been upheld, reports the local news and Jody Lee Miles himself. (How do you get a Tumblr account on death row?) Miles has a Facebook account too, maintained by his wife. (Not his first wife, Jona, who helped him hide the evidence, but another wife, Michaela, who lives in the UK and apparently never met him in person before they were married until a TV station arranged it.) ... More about Miles' case here.
.... European death row groupies, who knew?

Hermann: a fascinating suicide story

Troy Taylor, convicted of killing septuagenarian security guard Charles Bowman at the Yau Brothers Carryout on Greenmount, got five months and 29 days added to his sentence when he refused to answer questions regarding the alleged triggerman on the witness stand.

... and looks like Luke Broadwater (of Examiner fame) is reporting for the Sun now-- good news for crime-concerned readers.

And Peter Hermann on a macabre tip this morning: a man shot himself outside of Union Memorial Hospital, leaving a note that he wanted to donate his organs. Blogs Hermann, "We of course would like to know more. Suicide is always a tricky subject to write about, but if this man really thought the only way to donate his organs was to shoot himself, it's a fascinating, through tragic, story. We'd also like to know why he chose Union Memorial, and if he intended to wound himself to stay alive long enough so doctors could harvest."

The even slower wheels of justice

The judge in the case of alleged prison-guard killer Lee Stephens has once again give the OK for prosecutors to seek the death penalty. If Stephens's trial starts in January as scheduled it will have been nearly six years since the murder of Cpl. David McGuinn at the Maryland House of Correction.

New Helicoptors, Shootings Galore, and Beyond

The BPD go from almost losing their helicopter fleet, to getting an entirely new one.

The victim of a September 7th double shooting has died. Isaiah Roane, 29, died Tuesday. Apparently Mr.Roane had several gun and drug arrests and convictions, as well as a 2006 arrest for attempted murder.

Non-fatal shooting of a 38-year-old woman at the intersection of West Lafayette Ave. and Ashburton St.

Three people were shot over a period of twelve hours earlier this week.

31-year-old Kenneth McDuffie is facing attempted murder charges afterhis 32-year-old girlfriend after leaving an Essex party.

The lawyer for Reuben Dunn, 28, claims that Dunn wasn't driving that fateful day when two Baltimore teens were struck and killed.

90 years in prison for one murderer, a conviction for another. 36-year-old James Fortune has been sentenced to 90 years in prison for a 2008 double shooting that left 25-year-old Sidney Millner dead. Convicted of first degree murder is Charles Thomas, 47. Thomas was convicted of the 2009 daylight killing of Alvin Alston.

We can all sleep easy now, because according to the FBI Baltimore's police force is quite well staffed.

More information on the fatal shooting in Dundalk earlier this week. Robert Charles Nelson, 24, was found dead directly across the street from the site of Joseph Palczynsk's famous hostage taking and stand-off. Based on the tone of the article, police seem very doubtful about the chances of capturing the suspect anytime soon.

Bail denied for the suspect in the Bowie State stabbing. Alexis Simpson, 19, is being held after her arrest for the stabbing death of 18-year-old Dominique Frazier, allegedly over an Ipod.

Studies have found that crime cameras appear to actually be cost effective. The cameras are apparently netting a whopping $1.50 for every dollar spent.

Apples grown at Hagerstown prison are to be sold to local food markets.Interesting they chose the one food already synonymous with hidden razor blades... but potential mouth injuries notwithstanding, these felon fruits will be sold at only 1/10 the price of normal apples.

In a classic case of just deserts, former mayor Sheila Dixon's house was burglarized Monday. Justin Fenton thankfully takes no time to make an allusion to when her home was raided as part of her embezzlement investigation.

Friends turn witnesses in the trial of 20-year-old Michael Hunter, the man accused of robbing and killing 72-year-old security guard Charles Bowman at the oft dangerous Yau Brothers carry-out on Greenmount.

Police are ISO the unpatriotic-SOB who shot a bald eagle in Western Maryland last Friday.

County police are looking for this robbery suspect, who hit a Comfort Inn and tried to hold up the Security Square Malls Macy's building.

A mandatory-minimum 5 year sentence is in store for former P.G. County officer Chong Chen Kim, age 43. Kim plead guilty to his role a massive untaxed cigarette conspiracy alongside former P.G. County officer Richard Delabrer, and small business owners Amir Miljkovic and Chun "Eddy" Chen.

Finally, 15 years in federal exile for 45-year-old Tyrone Slim Dollar" Dale.

Shooting in Waverly

A man shot in the head in Waverly at 4:30 in the afternoon, steps from Waverly Elementary and the 33rd street Y.

The slow wheels of justice

More than three years after hearing arguments in the case, the Maryland Court of Appeals has upheld the death sentence of Jody Miles, as well as the standard that Maryland juries use when deciding whether to impose a death sentence.

Unclassified deaths in Baltimore

State Medical Examiner Dr David Fowler sheds some light on the hangings, shootings, and bodies in the harbor that end up being unclassified deaths