Less than a month after eviction from McKeldin Square, Occupy has moved on to a new thing, the group plans tomorrow to occupy a home at 1433 W. Lombard St where the resident is scheduled to be evicted. Property search shows the home was acquired by Deutsche Bank in August, in 2006 it was flipped by one Jui Fan-Lee Yang.
Twenty-one years in the slammer for a Mississippi truck driver who caused four crashes in MD while hopped up on "bath salts"
A reader/blogger has procured an org chart of the Baltimore FBI field office, if you are interested in that sort of thing.
Monday, January 9, 2012
3, 4, 5
The third homicide of the year occurred Friday when 27-year-old Doral Hinton was shot to death in the 2400 block of Ashland Ave. There were also plenty of non-fatal shootings as well.
Virginia resident Raymon Parrot, 35, was shot and killed in the 4100 block of Mariban Court while visiting relatives Sunday.
A 2006 beating turned into a 2011 death, which has now become 2012's 5th homicide.* Joseph Curtis, age 65 at the time of his death, is counted in this year's tally. His attackers have already been tried for the crime.
The Skateworks rape trial has ended in acquittal. Davon Perry, 26, was found not guilty on two counts of rape while deadlocking on sex offense charges, leaving the opportunity for a re-trial open.
The City PD and the ATF are working together to solve the heinous murder of 84-year-old Mary Hines.
A Maryland man is in hot water for trying to join a Somali terrorist group.
A Towson liquor-store robber got 10 years in the Federal pen. 27-year-old Edward Sample was exiled after pleading guilty to the 2009-2010 robbery spree.
Another Baltimore criminal was exiled for the next decade. Darryl Carter, 48, got his prison term after being caught holding a gun while riding a bike down Oliver Street.
And yet another ten-year term for another Baltimorean. James Bridgeforth, 38, was given the parole-free term after copping to bringing in heroin from India, Ghana and Peru.
Finally, 15 years at Club Fed for Roger "Tink" Ford. Ford was a major player in the Gilmor homes drug conspiracy.
Virginia resident Raymon Parrot, 35, was shot and killed in the 4100 block of Mariban Court while visiting relatives Sunday.
A 2006 beating turned into a 2011 death, which has now become 2012's 5th homicide.* Joseph Curtis, age 65 at the time of his death, is counted in this year's tally. His attackers have already been tried for the crime.
The Skateworks rape trial has ended in acquittal. Davon Perry, 26, was found not guilty on two counts of rape while deadlocking on sex offense charges, leaving the opportunity for a re-trial open.
The City PD and the ATF are working together to solve the heinous murder of 84-year-old Mary Hines.
A Maryland man is in hot water for trying to join a Somali terrorist group.
A Towson liquor-store robber got 10 years in the Federal pen. 27-year-old Edward Sample was exiled after pleading guilty to the 2009-2010 robbery spree.
Another Baltimore criminal was exiled for the next decade. Darryl Carter, 48, got his prison term after being caught holding a gun while riding a bike down Oliver Street.
And yet another ten-year term for another Baltimorean. James Bridgeforth, 38, was given the parole-free term after copping to bringing in heroin from India, Ghana and Peru.
Finally, 15 years at Club Fed for Roger "Tink" Ford. Ford was a major player in the Gilmor homes drug conspiracy.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Rapes, Robberies, and More Rapes. 2012 is Really Starting on a Low Note...
A serial rapist has been arrested for, surprise, surprise, rape. Nelson Bernard Clifford Jr. age 34, was arrested for a series of rapes, including one where he broke into a woman's house and raped her while her children were nearby. Clifford, a convicted sex offender, had been charged with sex offenses 3 times prior, as well as having been indicted for failure to register as a sex offender multiple times. Clifford beat his last rape charge back in September.
A possible robbery turned into a very definitive shooting in Glen Oak. A man was shot in the back Friday night at the 5700 block of Chinquapin Parkway.
Police are ISO a perv who raped a transgendered teen back in November. Though, with his face being plastered everywhere, it should only be a matter of time.
30 years in prison for the death of a County teen. Jason Gross, 37, was given the 30-year term for the murder of Rochelle Battle, despite the fact that her body has yet to be found.
Finally, several charges were thrown out in the last day of trial in the Skateworks rape case. Several charges were thrown out Friday, including first degree rape and assault charges. But after deliberating for several hours the jurors were not able to come to a decision.
I decided to take a trip to the Circuit Courthouse in Baltimore County Friday, to watch a few cases and just generally get a feel for how the county courts were handling cases. I bore witness to a bevy of cases, some interesting, some not so much. I managed to miss all the cases I had wanted to see, including the sentencing of Jason Gross, and the trial of Jeremiah Edwards, who was facing car theft charges, but more importantly was indicted for a Dundalk murder late last year.
I had completely forgotten that the Skateworks trial was going on, and sure enough, I walked into what I thought was a random jury trial, and instead found out to my surprise, that I had in fact walked into the closing statements of the Skateworks trial. I was both horrified, because I had up until then done a good job of burying my head in the sand about this case, and disappointed, because the state had done a very weak job of presenting their case against Davon Perry, 26. Although I had only been to the final portion of the trial, I got the sense that, had I been in the jury box some 10 feet away, my confidence in giving a conviction would have been sub-par a best.
But my trip to the courts wasn't entirely horrendous. I did catch the sentencing of Andrew Palmer, who if you may recall, was the man who made headlines for faking seizures at restaurants to avoid paying his tab. Palmer was on trial for... faking seizures! This time, at a local Applebees. Unfortunately for Palmer, his case was heard by the Honorable Judge Sherrie R. Bailey, who is by far my favorite judge now, after her non willingness to let repeat offenders walk. And golly, Andrew Palmer was a repeat offender, with, and I quote the prosecutor: "a 116 page criminal record" Palmer has been around. Around so much, in fact, that he was caught in the act due to the fact that a paramedic who responded to the scene recognized him from a prior fake seizure. The only line of defense Palmer offered before sentencing was the fact that he has been held since June on these charges, and last Friday he had supposedly "been nearly beaten to death by an inmate serving 127 years without parole." Of course, the great Judge Bailey wasn't interested in his sob story, and gave him the maximum, 18 months.
A possible robbery turned into a very definitive shooting in Glen Oak. A man was shot in the back Friday night at the 5700 block of Chinquapin Parkway.
Police are ISO a perv who raped a transgendered teen back in November. Though, with his face being plastered everywhere, it should only be a matter of time.
30 years in prison for the death of a County teen. Jason Gross, 37, was given the 30-year term for the murder of Rochelle Battle, despite the fact that her body has yet to be found.
Finally, several charges were thrown out in the last day of trial in the Skateworks rape case. Several charges were thrown out Friday, including first degree rape and assault charges. But after deliberating for several hours the jurors were not able to come to a decision.
I decided to take a trip to the Circuit Courthouse in Baltimore County Friday, to watch a few cases and just generally get a feel for how the county courts were handling cases. I bore witness to a bevy of cases, some interesting, some not so much. I managed to miss all the cases I had wanted to see, including the sentencing of Jason Gross, and the trial of Jeremiah Edwards, who was facing car theft charges, but more importantly was indicted for a Dundalk murder late last year.
I had completely forgotten that the Skateworks trial was going on, and sure enough, I walked into what I thought was a random jury trial, and instead found out to my surprise, that I had in fact walked into the closing statements of the Skateworks trial. I was both horrified, because I had up until then done a good job of burying my head in the sand about this case, and disappointed, because the state had done a very weak job of presenting their case against Davon Perry, 26. Although I had only been to the final portion of the trial, I got the sense that, had I been in the jury box some 10 feet away, my confidence in giving a conviction would have been sub-par a best.
But my trip to the courts wasn't entirely horrendous. I did catch the sentencing of Andrew Palmer, who if you may recall, was the man who made headlines for faking seizures at restaurants to avoid paying his tab. Palmer was on trial for... faking seizures! This time, at a local Applebees. Unfortunately for Palmer, his case was heard by the Honorable Judge Sherrie R. Bailey, who is by far my favorite judge now, after her non willingness to let repeat offenders walk. And golly, Andrew Palmer was a repeat offender, with, and I quote the prosecutor: "a 116 page criminal record" Palmer has been around. Around so much, in fact, that he was caught in the act due to the fact that a paramedic who responded to the scene recognized him from a prior fake seizure. The only line of defense Palmer offered before sentencing was the fact that he has been held since June on these charges, and last Friday he had supposedly "been nearly beaten to death by an inmate serving 127 years without parole." Of course, the great Judge Bailey wasn't interested in his sob story, and gave him the maximum, 18 months.
Friday, January 6, 2012
#2
Fenton Tweets: "Breaking: 84 y/o woman who died in fire yesterday morning had been first stabbed multiple times, autopsy finds..."
WTF?! Story here*
And WBAL has pictures of Jerome/Bootsy and friend, the Bolton Hill kidnapping home invaders. Guglielmi says it took police so long to release pictures because of the holiday weekend.
WTF?! Story here*
And WBAL has pictures of Jerome/Bootsy and friend, the Bolton Hill kidnapping home invaders. Guglielmi says it took police so long to release pictures because of the holiday weekend.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
'They brought a toilet and a megaphone'
Adam Meister takes to his blog now that "this part of the saga is over." ... check out this clip he found from the Afro-American, June 1972: Frank Conaway charged after hitting his wife and putting her in the hospital! On one hand, neither I nor Adam had been born when this went down. On the other, I get the sense it was not so easy to get charged with wife-beatery 40 years ago.
Abduction on Jordan Street
A Bolton Hill man was abducted on Jordan Street, taken on a tour of ATM machines and then left in some bushes on North Avenue*, minus his wallet, iPad, cellphone, gym bag and grey 2011 Infiniti SUV.
Remember the Walmart bleach attack? Now the alleged victim in that case, Ebony Odom, has been indicted for reckless endangerment and second-degree assault.
Murders may be down in the city, but they're up in the county
Lots of car-related crimes and a robbery at King Wok in the North Baltimore Patch blotter. In the Northern District, a 30 percent increase in shootings and a 22 percent increase in commercial robberies in '11, say police.
Kooky video of the day: Adam Meister stroking his cat and Frank Conaway jumping out of bushes in WBAL's report about the conclusion of the latest installment of Days of Our Conaways.
Seriously?! Down in DC, 75-year-old Marion Barry is running for re-election.
Remember the Walmart bleach attack? Now the alleged victim in that case, Ebony Odom, has been indicted for reckless endangerment and second-degree assault.
Murders may be down in the city, but they're up in the county
Lots of car-related crimes and a robbery at King Wok in the North Baltimore Patch blotter. In the Northern District, a 30 percent increase in shootings and a 22 percent increase in commercial robberies in '11, say police.
Kooky video of the day: Adam Meister stroking his cat and Frank Conaway jumping out of bushes in WBAL's report about the conclusion of the latest installment of Days of Our Conaways.
Seriously?! Down in DC, 75-year-old Marion Barry is running for re-election.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Who'll pay for it?
The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that indigent defendants are entitled to public defenders at all court proceedings including initial bail hearings*. Public Defenders say they don't have the resources to do it.
No charges in Conaway kerfuffle
... for either Meister or Mr. Conaway. But Meister will surely face ¢harge$-- the "frail white boy" hired Warren Brown as his attorney. As for old Frank's firearm permit, his lawyer says it wasn't expired and the charges were based on clerical error.
The Ink recaps last year's 196 murders, with updates on cases. In case you were wondering, Belair-Edison was last year's most murderous neighborhood.
And what the hell? Video of balding man attacking cops is making the rounds. WJZ identifies him as Manuel L. Imel. Blame it on the alalalalalcohol!:
The Ink recaps last year's 196 murders, with updates on cases. In case you were wondering, Belair-Edison was last year's most murderous neighborhood.
And what the hell? Video of balding man attacking cops is making the rounds. WJZ identifies him as Manuel L. Imel. Blame it on the alalalalalcohol!:
#1
Aw geeze, it seemed like we were going to go four whole days into 2012 with no murders, but it was not to be. The first victim of the year is reportedly a 62-year-old man shot in Park Heights last night. *
The Ink details last week's four murders, plus updates
In the County, a girl gang-raped at Skateworks identified one of her attackers* -- she was 12 and he's 26. Blargh. One of the other attackers, Kadeem R. Santiful, 19, plead guilty, and the other, Tracey W. Hankins, 15, was moved to the juvenile justice system.
Oh Conaways, you so crazy! Frank Senior pays* $3,640 in back taxes
Three men (including Thomas Jefferson!) cop to stealing $2.6 million worth of metal through a fence-hole at the Port of Baltimore. Sounds like Peanut is still at large.
A sexagenarian M&T trader pleaded guilty to stealing $223k from her former employer and one of its trading partners
Donor Richard Stewart pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes, so the guv re-gifted his contributions to a group that shoots deer for the hungry.
The Ink details last week's four murders, plus updates
In the County, a girl gang-raped at Skateworks identified one of her attackers* -- she was 12 and he's 26. Blargh. One of the other attackers, Kadeem R. Santiful, 19, plead guilty, and the other, Tracey W. Hankins, 15, was moved to the juvenile justice system.
Oh Conaways, you so crazy! Frank Senior pays* $3,640 in back taxes
Three men (including Thomas Jefferson!) cop to stealing $2.6 million worth of metal through a fence-hole at the Port of Baltimore. Sounds like Peanut is still at large.
A sexagenarian M&T trader pleaded guilty to stealing $223k from her former employer and one of its trading partners
Donor Richard Stewart pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes, so the guv re-gifted his contributions to a group that shoots deer for the hungry.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Hermann: 80 percent of perps had it coming
Life "" art: Omar Little arrested for handgun charges*
Hermann does the math so you don't have to: 80 percent of 2011's murder victims had criminal records, as 90 percent of those arrested for murder. I wonder if the trend holds from a few years back in which victims had been arrested more times, on average, than alleged perps.
2012's first shooting victim is 13*
Bernstein to organize prosecutor's caseloads into geographic "zones"*, as opposed to by crime category. Sensible solution, or deck chairs?
A case to watch: MD being sued over racial disparities in school funding
Dickeyville tire-slasher arrested
Er, whut? The city sheriff is going to start seizing the Housing Authority's stuff to pay for the lead paint judgement against them
Hermann does the math so you don't have to: 80 percent of 2011's murder victims had criminal records, as 90 percent of those arrested for murder. I wonder if the trend holds from a few years back in which victims had been arrested more times, on average, than alleged perps.
2012's first shooting victim is 13*
Bernstein to organize prosecutor's caseloads into geographic "zones"*, as opposed to by crime category. Sensible solution, or deck chairs?
A case to watch: MD being sued over racial disparities in school funding
Dickeyville tire-slasher arrested
Er, whut? The city sheriff is going to start seizing the Housing Authority's stuff to pay for the lead paint judgement against them
Sunday, January 1, 2012
2011 Homicides
With 197 homicides this year, Baltimore has had its lowest homicide total since 1977. Fenton from the Sun reports on the near-jubilance of public officials over this under-200 year.
Last year we had 223 homicides,
2008 was 234;
2007 was 291;
2006 was 274;
2005 was 269.
We've blogged 1,487 murders.
Here is the complete listing of 2011's 197 victims:
197. Phylicia Barnes, 16, 6500 Eberle Dr. Found: (4/20/11) Added: (04/26/12)
196. Tiyon Campbell, 31, 2800 block of W. Garrison (12/28)
Last year we had 223 homicides,
2008 was 234;
2007 was 291;
2006 was 274;
2005 was 269.
We've blogged 1,487 murders.
Here is the complete listing of 2011's 197 victims:
197. Phylicia Barnes, 16, 6500 Eberle Dr. Found: (4/20/11) Added: (04/26/12)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Justice Delayed
It has been more than five years after the murder of CO David McGuinn at the Maryland House of Correction. Jury selection in the trial of the first of his two alleged killers begins Tuesday* in Anne Arundel County.
Friday, December 30, 2011
'I don’t think there’s anything about which
I will ever be more grateful'
Robberies galore in the southeast and coats for the homeless stolen in the southern, reports the Baltimore Guide
Last week's four murders recapped in the Ink. Says O'Malley of the drop in the murder toll this year, "I don’t think there’s anything about which I will ever be more grateful in public service."
The WaPo follows up on the case following the killing of U of MD student Justin DeSha-Overcash
Police backtrack on the whole "prosecutors are stalling and hindering our cases" thing
Two "doctors" (can you call them doctors if they lost their licenses to practice?) are facing murder charges under Maryland's "viable fetus" law after two botched abortions. The women lived.
Nathan A. Chapman Jr., once a prominent man about town, is now a man about a halfway house*
Hellz yes, tax giveaways need more scrutiny
The FBI says gun sales are up
The Tribune Co. bankruptcy case will lurch on until at least this summer with hearings not starting until May. In better news, the judge has reversed himself, deciding that Zell won't be in line for a bankruptcy payout after all.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
196
Tweets Fenton, "Shooting at 2800 W Garrison is a homicide."
UPDATE: Fenton says the 31-year-old victim was killed when he fought back during the course of a home-invasion robbery*.
a friend of mine was also burgled yesterday in Endor Gadrens-- had her door kicked in in the middle of the day; thieves took her kids' Christmas presents. Sigh.
UPDATE: Fenton says the 31-year-old victim was killed when he fought back during the course of a home-invasion robbery*.
a friend of mine was also burgled yesterday in Endor Gadrens-- had her door kicked in in the middle of the day; thieves took her kids' Christmas presents. Sigh.
Have you seen...
this guy? He's wanted for questioning in reference to the December 9th triple-shooting near Club Envy in the 1800 block of Maryland Ave.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The year in crime, torts and general bad behavior
It's the end of the year, which means it's a fine time to recap some of the most notable civil- and criminal-law stories of the past 12 months:
10. Conaways in the crossfire: Frank Conaway Senior kept his position as clerk of the court again, but there was still bad news aplenty for the family: Belinda lost her city council seat to Nick Mosby after Adam Meister revealed she was claiming a tax credit illegally, TDR revealed a laundry list of problems at the Clerk's office, and Frank Senior got in hot water for brandishing a firearm with an expired permit in front of his house. And Frank Conaway Jr.'s book's sales rank slipped to #4,104,807th on Amazon.
9. Tow-mageddon: 17 officers charged with extortion in a dirty towing scheme. As Jayne Miller's source said, "it's not the crime of the century, but it's not pretty."
8. It got a little harder to rape somebody. The Sun's Justin Fenton uncovered the unsavory fact that the city has the nation's highest level of rape cases deemed "unfounded"*. And, finally, the FBI changed the definition of "rape" to include male victims, penetrations sans penis and non-forcible rapes.
7. For whatever reason, this was the year an exceptionlly high number of dirty political chickens came home to roost in MD: Paul Shurick, Jack Johnson, Tiffany Alston, Richard Stewart of the redistricting committee and Belinda C. all felt karma's bitter sting.
6. The Brew attacks! Rapacious newsroom cuts by the Sun's evil gnomish overlord left the local paper of record with scant resources to do the time-consuming, ass-pain investigative pieces necessary to uncover pork, malfeasance and sketchy government dealings. Stephen Janis' defection from Investigate Voice to join the Fox news team left another news hole. But fortunately for us all, the Baltimore Brew stepped into the breach, uncovering the mayor's plan to stealthily privatize rec centers, explaining the little acronyms like TIF and PILOT that let city officials grant breaks to their developer pals, and the high price of settling police misconduct lawsuits. What they cover is just a fraction of what could use delving into, but hey, it's something.
5. It gets better-ish. The arc of the moral universe is long and full of dings, dents, and crack-crazed seagulls, but it eventually, slowly bends towards not sucking as much. So it went this year for the state's gay and transgender citizens. In spite of the Senate passing the gay marriage bill, it died in the House. In March, Tyra Trent was murdered, and in April, Chrissy Polis had the tar beaten out of her at McDonald's. But it is now possible for a baby to have two mommies on a birth certificate (if said mommies married elsewhere), and starting next month, Baltimore county employees who were married in other states can receive same-sex benefits.
4. Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old honor student, went missing December 28 of 2010, and a long, pitiful search by police and family ensued-- one so desperate, police were taking tips from Cham. Barnes' beauty, youth, apparent innocence and mysterious disappearance seemed a perfect fit for Natalie-Holloway-level national hysteria and hand-wringing, but Barnes was apparently not blonde enough* for the national media, which ignored her case until Anthony Guglieimi shamed producers into briefly spotlighting her disappearance. Barnes' body was found in April in the Susquehanna, the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide, but still, no one's been arrested yet.
3. Mayhem at the Select Lounge. Chaos reigned at West Franklin and N. Paca on January 9: 42 shots fired, Officer William Torbit Jr. and reveler Sean Gamble killed, four citizens hit with bullets. But after an eight-month independent investigation, no charges were filed, no changes were made to BPD procedures, and FHB III concluded that officers "acted reasonably."*
2. Baltimore swore in a new prosecutor, Gregg Bernstein, who was promptly never heard from again. To be fair, press releases have finally started trickling out in the past few months, and as promised, office staffers did get their BlackBerries and the do-not-call list was abolished*. But it's uncertain if the office is actually more functional than Jessamy's was: in August police complained about prosecutors stalling and "hindering"* cases.
1. Murders, shootings and unclassified deaths are down-- way, way down. From 335 murders in 1993, to 223 last year, to possibly under 200 in 2011, which will make the murder rate lower than it's been since the 1960s. The drop in violent crime is not just a local trend, but a nationwide thing (hellz, crime is even down in Detroit!), and theories abound as to why. Cops having better technology? The right people finally going to jail? Have we "bupe" to thank? We may never know for sure, what whatever it is, we'll take it.
... so what did I miss? ... Fenton posted his top 10 in crime* a little while after I posted this one.
10. Conaways in the crossfire: Frank Conaway Senior kept his position as clerk of the court again, but there was still bad news aplenty for the family: Belinda lost her city council seat to Nick Mosby after Adam Meister revealed she was claiming a tax credit illegally, TDR revealed a laundry list of problems at the Clerk's office, and Frank Senior got in hot water for brandishing a firearm with an expired permit in front of his house. And Frank Conaway Jr.'s book's sales rank slipped to #4,104,807th on Amazon.
9. Tow-mageddon: 17 officers charged with extortion in a dirty towing scheme. As Jayne Miller's source said, "it's not the crime of the century, but it's not pretty."
8. It got a little harder to rape somebody. The Sun's Justin Fenton uncovered the unsavory fact that the city has the nation's highest level of rape cases deemed "unfounded"*. And, finally, the FBI changed the definition of "rape" to include male victims, penetrations sans penis and non-forcible rapes.
7. For whatever reason, this was the year an exceptionlly high number of dirty political chickens came home to roost in MD: Paul Shurick, Jack Johnson, Tiffany Alston, Richard Stewart of the redistricting committee and Belinda C. all felt karma's bitter sting.
6. The Brew attacks! Rapacious newsroom cuts by the Sun's evil gnomish overlord left the local paper of record with scant resources to do the time-consuming, ass-pain investigative pieces necessary to uncover pork, malfeasance and sketchy government dealings. Stephen Janis' defection from Investigate Voice to join the Fox news team left another news hole. But fortunately for us all, the Baltimore Brew stepped into the breach, uncovering the mayor's plan to stealthily privatize rec centers, explaining the little acronyms like TIF and PILOT that let city officials grant breaks to their developer pals, and the high price of settling police misconduct lawsuits. What they cover is just a fraction of what could use delving into, but hey, it's something.
5. It gets better-ish. The arc of the moral universe is long and full of dings, dents, and crack-crazed seagulls, but it eventually, slowly bends towards not sucking as much. So it went this year for the state's gay and transgender citizens. In spite of the Senate passing the gay marriage bill, it died in the House. In March, Tyra Trent was murdered, and in April, Chrissy Polis had the tar beaten out of her at McDonald's. But it is now possible for a baby to have two mommies on a birth certificate (if said mommies married elsewhere), and starting next month, Baltimore county employees who were married in other states can receive same-sex benefits.
4. Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old honor student, went missing December 28 of 2010, and a long, pitiful search by police and family ensued-- one so desperate, police were taking tips from Cham. Barnes' beauty, youth, apparent innocence and mysterious disappearance seemed a perfect fit for Natalie-Holloway-level national hysteria and hand-wringing, but Barnes was apparently not blonde enough* for the national media, which ignored her case until Anthony Guglieimi shamed producers into briefly spotlighting her disappearance. Barnes' body was found in April in the Susquehanna, the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide, but still, no one's been arrested yet.
3. Mayhem at the Select Lounge. Chaos reigned at West Franklin and N. Paca on January 9: 42 shots fired, Officer William Torbit Jr. and reveler Sean Gamble killed, four citizens hit with bullets. But after an eight-month independent investigation, no charges were filed, no changes were made to BPD procedures, and FHB III concluded that officers "acted reasonably."*
2. Baltimore swore in a new prosecutor, Gregg Bernstein, who was promptly never heard from again. To be fair, press releases have finally started trickling out in the past few months, and as promised, office staffers did get their BlackBerries and the do-not-call list was abolished*. But it's uncertain if the office is actually more functional than Jessamy's was: in August police complained about prosecutors stalling and "hindering"* cases.
1. Murders, shootings and unclassified deaths are down-- way, way down. From 335 murders in 1993, to 223 last year, to possibly under 200 in 2011, which will make the murder rate lower than it's been since the 1960s. The drop in violent crime is not just a local trend, but a nationwide thing (hellz, crime is even down in Detroit!), and theories abound as to why. Cops having better technology? The right people finally going to jail? Have we "bupe" to thank? We may never know for sure, what whatever it is, we'll take it.
... so what did I miss? ... Fenton posted his top 10 in crime* a little while after I posted this one.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Suspicious Food Containers, Merry Merry Shootings
City Hall was shut down for a little while this morning due to a bomb scare. Turned out it was just a food container and a t-shirt, though the BCPD intelligence section is taking over the investigation now.
A 30-year-old man was shot in the face in the 100 block of South Monroe St. on the 23rd.
Another December 23 shooting, this time in the 400 block of North Rose St. Two people, a man and a woman, were non-fatally shot at around 7:30 pm.
Two people, a 20-year-old and a 26-year-old were shot in the leg on the 24th in Poppleton, specifically the 100 block of North Freemont Ave.
If there weren't a lot of Christmastime homicides this year, it wasn't for a lack of effort. Two more people still were shot in West Baltimore, inthe 700 block of West Lexington St.
Finally, an arrest has been made in the Woodlawn stabbing death of Kevin Regusters. Registered sex offender George Robert Evans Jr , 35, was charged with first degree murder on Dec. 22 for his role in the stabbing death.
A 30-year-old man was shot in the face in the 100 block of South Monroe St. on the 23rd.
Another December 23 shooting, this time in the 400 block of North Rose St. Two people, a man and a woman, were non-fatally shot at around 7:30 pm.
Two people, a 20-year-old and a 26-year-old were shot in the leg on the 24th in Poppleton, specifically the 100 block of North Freemont Ave.
If there weren't a lot of Christmastime homicides this year, it wasn't for a lack of effort. Two more people still were shot in West Baltimore, inthe 700 block of West Lexington St.
Finally, an arrest has been made in the Woodlawn stabbing death of Kevin Regusters. Registered sex offender George Robert Evans Jr , 35, was charged with first degree murder on Dec. 22 for his role in the stabbing death.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Aw geeze
A murder Christmas Eve brings the toll to 195. A moment of thanks and appreciation to the dedicated and selfless officers, EMTS, firefighters and medical examiners who work on Christmas.
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