Shooting on Belair Road

Three men conducted an armed robbery at a check-cashing establishment on Belair Road today. They apparently shot at least one employee and then the three fled on foot.



Do you think maybe the police will actually write up the B&E when it is the
Mayor's office which was broken into?

City of Victims

The good news*: 15 percent of Baltimore Crime readers haven't been the victim of a crime in Baltimore City (or never lived here). The bad news: the remaining 85 percent have been victim of a veritable myriad plethora of offenses, most prominently, a car break-in (note to self: call Safelite® re. advertising). A shocking number of readers have also been physically assaulted by a stranger, shot, stabbed, scammed, jacked and swiped from. At least eight readers have had a relative murdered in the city.

Don't forget to take the new poll (you may have to scrool to the bottom of the page if you're using Explorer), and to vote in the CP's BOBs (in case you're trying to remember for the "best scandal" category the PSC member who solicited 'ho Valerie Fletcher and released a letter blaming his acts on "ED" was named Charles R. Boutin).

*Other than that I'm back in America

... Other News

Darien Lawson, age 7, is back home after being >stabbed by another 7-year-old on a playground in Essex.

Some asshole in a dark SUV with Denali rims and a red-eyed skull sticker ran over teenager Lia Longhofer and her dog.

Billy Wells: high school student, basketball player, wholesale coke dealer.

Ex-from-hell Stephen Kokinakos of BaltoCo has defied a court order and kidnapped his three sons.

Why does Loyola College keep letting nutjobs into its grad programs? Former student Garrett Alder is charged with three counts of attempted murder, arson and stalking after harassing a professor, setting his house on fire and lurking in the woods. (The 25-year-old Connecticutian was quickly located by a Belgian Malawa. WTF that is.)

Marc Munford of Randallstown got 33 Federal months for harboring wanted bank robber Kendall Alexander Sr.

As if the Senate race wasn't weird enough, Russell Simmons went all the way from NY to Laurel to endorse Michael Steele.

..Int'l

Maryland teacher Ali Asad Chandia got 15 years for helping to ship 50,000 paintball pellets to Kashmir.

No matter how bad things get, sloppy cops may still be better than the well-organized ones of Bobo Freedom City, Beijing.

Airports and airlines everywhere went insane yesterday ... there was also a "mystery package" scare at De Gaulle, which closed the closed the airport and prevented trains or shuttles from coming in or going out for more than an hour.

August 26

Methodology problem

An Edgewood man was sentenced to 25 years for abducting an 18 year-old from 20th & Boone in Northern Baltimore in 2001, transporting him to Harford County, and shooting him dead in the head.

The question here is, who should record the murder? The deed was done in Harford, but the hazard is clearly to people on the Greenmount corridor, Baltimore City. Interestingly, we had another similar case a couple of years ago at 25th & Greenmount who was abducted and removed to a location in the Eastern District before being killed. That incident was recorded as an Eastern homicide, even though the hazard was to patrons of a location in Northern.

In Greg Kane's opinion article, catch his take on the fatal shooting of a boy by an assaulted police officer on a domestic dispute.

In police coverage, a good sized retail drug bust in Reservioir Hill nabs several dealers, including the 13 year-old son of one of the dealers.

Friday August 25

Do you smell something? Nah, that's just another body.

A decaying body found at St. Mary's in Seton Hill had apparently been in the bushes for about a month. Another day in paradise, I mean Baltimore.

Misconduct? What misconduct?

A highly racist email was sent from DPW to someone in the BCPD and then forwarded within BCPD many times. When questioned about it, Police Department spokesweasel Jablow had this to say:

"The Baltimore Police Department has no tolerance for employees who make racially insensitive remarks or distribute racially insensitive material,"

But Matt, your department does have tolerance. For racism, false arrests, lying under oath, covering up crime stats, declining to write up incidents, raping hookers, taking bribes to not appear at trial, etc. More tolerance than I've ever seen in a city police department. Thank goodness Councilman Harris is willing to call you on the carpet for this incident. Clearly, Mr. O'Malley will never do it. He's pretty darn tolerant. Kinda recommends against NAACP endorsing him, dontchya think? As for Mr. Hamm, if the Commissioner is supposed to be intolerant of misconduct, then Lenny cannot be the Commissioner, cuz' he looks the other way at a lotta nonsense. He's publicly stated that the BCPD will not tolerate .... a whole buncha stuff that's still going on to this day.

A useful City Council would demand that the BCPD comply within 60 days with the purported intolerance of all these things. Our just looks for more contracts to hand off to Sheila Dixon's associates. (OK, so the last two paragraphs were less than journalistically neutral. Sorry.)



Oh, this is rich. A former Psychology graduate student from Loyola tried to torch his Prof's home in York Co, PA. What was his thesis on, Career Dissatisfaction and Pyromania?


So, we have a new Acting Head of Corrections for the State of Maryland. Howzabout locking the bastards up in their cells? Just a naive concept of my own making.

In the Police Blotter, a shooting and a robbery. In yesterday's Blotter, a shooting a robbery, an assault on an officer, and an arrest on a murder warrant.

Also, a shooting, a robbery, and a whole bunch of burglaries in Charles Village and North Baltimore generally as detailed in the Messenger's Crime Log.

Two brothers operating a wholesale drug distribution ring to Hagerstown have plead guilty in Baltimore City to federal conspiracy charges. They were under surveilance near Union Memorial Hospital in Charles Village and face a maximum of forty years with a mandatory minimum of five upon sentencing in November.

The couple from Chantilly, VA who were falsely arrested in Baltimore had their day in court with the arresting officer. They were falsely arrested. The case was dismissed.

The Sun raises questions about how much O'Malley's administration has reduced crime and created jobs in Baltimore. The numbers appear not to bear out the Mayor's claims.

Wednesday August 23

Circuit Court judge Althea Handy has accepted a plea from convicted murderer Robert C. Griffin in the 1985 murder of Annie Cruse, who was found in Druid Hill Park. His counsel presented a DNA challenge which doesn't refute the prosecutor's case, but rather could muddy the waters. The State's Attorney indicates the conviction is solid and that it has credible witness(es). In any event, a so-called Alford plea was granted, acknowledging that the findings would likely be sufficient to sustain a guilty finding and commuting the sentence at time served. The Cruse family is not so pleased as Griffin.

Continuing coverage of the investigation of City Council President Sheila Dixon's affiliates in connection with improper diversion of City Council contracts appears in today's Sun article. Maybe the Council should consider passing an ordinance against stealing from the taxpayers. It's already illegal? Who'da thunk it? O'Malley's campaign promise of greater minority setasides raises concerns about corruption in his government in the Sun 's coverage.


Activist Bill Cosby to area excuse-makers: "You can't keep pointing the finger and saying, 'They're building more jails.' So what? Let 'em build 'em. Nobody says you have to go."
I heard that.

BCPD Det. William Welch was indicted by a Baltimore grand jury on rape and misconduct charges in connection with a 16 year-old prostitute he allegedly raped at the Southeast District station.

A robbery, a shooting, arrests on a murder warrant and an attempted murder with handgun warrant, and an arrest on an armed robbery in the police blotter today.

Homicides (5 this week per Murder Ink, 6 in fact) Total to date: 177

Mon. Aug 14 23 year-old Ryan Teel was murdered (176) and two other boys shot on the 400 block, Ilchester Ave. in tiny, 8 square block Harwood, part of Charles Village and host to six murders already this year. Note: another of the boys, Rodtinae Jones, has passed away as of this writing (177). The third victim is in critical condition with a collapsed lung.

Tues. Aug 15 27 year-old Harold Williams was shot on Clifton Ave. (175), as were two other young males.

Sat. Aug. 19 63 year-old Mary Page was stabbed at her home (174) on the 200 block N. Culver St.

Sun. Aug 20 26 year-old Pepe Bennett was multiply shot (173) on the 1800 block, N. Montford.
Sun. Aug 20 21 year-old William Tillman was found in the alley behing Spaulding Ave. shot several times. (172)

FYI: we are less than two-thirds through the calendar year and have already recorded more murders in shrinking Baltimore City than the entire State of Massachusetts does over the course of a year. That ain't right. T'aint right.

August 22

The 63 year-old found stabbed to death in her home at the 200 block, N. Culver, in Edmondson Village over the weekend has been identified as Mary Page. The case is being investigated as a homicide.

23 year-old Darryl Cook, jr. is being sought pursuant to a warrant for the Aug. 9 beating death of 28 year-old Cecil Saunders at the Executive Motor Inn on Pulaski Highway. Cook, who also went by the alias Donnell Williams, frequented the 2200 block of Wilkens Ave.

Also, Dennis James Wallace, 54, has been indicted in the 1983 killing of William Gibson, then 57, at the 2200 block of east Pratt Street. The cause has up until this time been listed as undetermined.

The editorial page of the Examiner calls upon Police Commissioner Lenny Hamm and spokesweasel Jablow to publicly apologize for the department's false arrest and charging of a Baltimore man for the theft of his own car, of which the police disposed prematurely. Don't hold your breath; the department's real good at making mistakes, not good at admitting it.

Around 1:30 this afternoon a motorbiker was hit and run on Frederick Ave. He was taken to shock trauma.

I usually don't include white-collar crime, but given the City's tacit assent to part I crime in Baltimore, it just seems that a link to the Examiner article on the ongoing State investigation of key staffers of City Council President Sheila Dixon is appropriate. The lucrative contract to manage the information systems of City Council has bounced from one Dixon affiliate to another. Her campaign chairman's home has been raided in connection with the investigation. link to article Now, since Dixon would succeed O'Malley as Mayor of Baltimore if he wins the gubernatorial race, a vote for O'Malley is a vote for.... this ?? Grreeaatt.

August 21 in the City That Bleeds

I knew it was too good to be true.

Well, the media coverage made it at least seem as if it was an uneventful weekend, in terms of local crime. However,...


... we got three more homicides, which apparently were not as newsworthy as increased voter registration tallies statewide.

A 63 year-old woman was found dead in her home on the 200 block of North Culver St.

Saturday night Pepe Bennett,26, of the 2900 block of Montford Ave. was found shot dead on the 1600 block of Montford, in the Eastern District.

Around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday William Tillman, age 21, was found in the alley at the rear of the 3000 block, Spaulding Ave near Pimlico. He had died of gunshot wound(s).

In broad daylight

A 25 year-old man walking the 300 block of East North Ave. was accosted by a gunman and shot in the hip around 4:00 p.m.

A few blocks north along the 2900 block of Greenmount Ave., about three hours later, two female pedestrians heard gunshots and ran, finding that they had each been hit in the leg.


Now, mind you, we get better tv news coverage of people falling in Rock State Park and of robberies in Columbia than incidents dead smack in the middle of town. Where I was brought up, a shooting was considered kinda important. Welcome to O'Malleyville.

So, get yourself some stylish kevlar clothing, perambulate the neighborhood, and Get In On it. Or maybe Get Shot In It.

But stay out of cars, even your own. City resident Keith Spence was arrested in February for stealing a car, a used Eldorado. Who's car was stolen? Keith Spence's. Yes, he was arrested and tried for being in posession of his own car, according to the story in the Examiner.

BTW, German shepherd Rolf, the MTA k-9 officer, was found at Cold Spring Lane and Reisterstown Rd. He's good to go and back on the job.

August 20 A slow weekend

When the police blotter is sumarized tomorrow, we'll see if the truth was as serene as the media portrayed it this weekend.

Around 11:00 p.m. last (Sat.) night a 14 year-old pedestrian was clipped by a black SUV while walking her dog, now dead, at Guilford & Fayette, according to wjz news. Yes, right by City Hall. Eyewitnesses are encouraged to contact the police.

Also, a German shepherd canine officer described as having a distinct black coat with silver and brown markings and a tattoo that says "J-328" in his right ear has gone AWOL around Hilton Pkwy. Please contact the police if you see Rolf.

I just saw Pres. Sheila Dixon on WMAR's local political talk show To The Point. She was asked about the increase in violence toward children of late. Her answer was that that 'society' needs to mend the faulty domestic environment through the schools. She observes that "we don't just need a nurse in the school, we need a psychologist, a social worker..." She refers constantly to 'providing resources to the families' because as she notes, minors are making more money on the street than their mother, they're paying the bills. And all that without an identifiable employer. She also spoke of the churches taking ownership of their neighborhoods.

Translation: she has no idea what to do as the President. Lotsa ideas what someone else oughta do. So nice to have a municipal government with real leadership, huh?

Friday August 18

Apparently, Gov. Ehrlich likes to watch.

Hizzoner the Guv yesterday announced an online GIS mapping of Maryland sex-offenders.
Click here to see the perv portfolio.

The Sun reports a 13 year-old male shot in the head on the 1600 block of Appleton in the Western and a male body found on South Vincent St., among other things, in the Police Blotter.

Convicted assailant Sean Davon Scott was sentenced to 17 years by a Baltimore federal judge for possession of a .40 cal semi-auto handgun when stopped by the po-po.

Serial hold-up star Donald Gladden, jr., who robbed numerous stores and individuals in Northern and Northeast Balto. City recently has been indicted. Thank you, BCPD. See the story in the Sun.

That said, representatives of the Rose Street Community Center, where a four year-old was recently shot, indicate that crime is worsening in the 'hood. Violence: the other Baltimore.

Criminal activity is certainly brisk in the Northern District. The Messenger recaps in its crime log.

Are Baltimore judges doing their jobs? Here's you chance to make your voice heard. The Examiner reports on campaign contributions to judicial candidates.

No relevance for jurisprudence in Baltimore, but while most judges do a lot of listening, this one has apparently been convicted of being a master debater on the bench.

19 year-old Lamar Prilliman has been indicted in U.S. District Court of conspiracy to distribute drugs as well as the November 2000 murder of witness Sharon Bagley in Harlem Park.

August 17 - Redux

These include the failed links in my earlier post today, plus new material at the end. Sorry 'bout that.

The Messenger article on Warren Brown's flamboyant interpretation of video evidence.

The Messenger's Crime Log up until this afternoon.

The Sun's Police Blotter today.

Now, hot off the presses.. lotsa, lotsa crime in the Northern District, particularly in Charles Village, as described in the crime log of the latest issue of the Messenger. Hmmm... didn't the City Council reauthorize the surtax on Charles Village for so-called supplemental security service? Empirically, 'twould seem not the very finest decision they've made of late.

(Update on the triple-shooting just east of Charles Village, one of the boys is to be interred tomorrow, while another is in critical condition. My sources on the street tell me the shooting was attributable to "He was lookin' at my girl. No, he wasn't. Yes, he was." Guess what? No, he wasn't. Too late now.)

The Examiner's article on police prevarication.

Also, the Examiner covers the beginning of federal RICO convictions in the pipeline for the Rice Organization, long the dominant dealing structure on the West side.

On the national front, the feds nabbed one of the top Mexican drug kingpins and a federal judge has instructed the Bush administration to cease unlawful domestic wiretaps immediately. The Attorney General is appealing, even if not to my taste, necessarily. Maybe it's just me, but what part of the fourth, fifth, and sixth amendments is ambiguous here? It seems to me that the FISA courts are pretty accommodating to the wartime needs of the administration., but then again, maybe I'm just an ignorant civilian.

Better Late than Never

So now we're shooting toddlers. Whatta tough gangsta you is!

On the 700 block of North Rose Avenue in East Baltimore early yesterday evening, a four-year-old boy was shot in the leg. Said Troy Harris of the BCPD, "We know multiple shots were fired"., some of which apparently hit another man in the leg. The boy was taken to Johns Hopkins Pediatric with non-life-threatening injuries. As of the interview, police had no suspects, but were investigating whether the man in late teens or early twenties who showed up at the hospital shortly after the shooting is connected to the incident. This block has several pole cameras, so tapes are being reviewed. The identity of the boy, who was attended by a babysitter, has not been released. Another man, who was shot in the back, drove himse;f to the hospital. Said a bystander, "It sounded like more than 10 shots," he said, describing the incident as "nothing new."


Fed up with BCPD shortcomings? Ready to get their job done? Don't tell Matt Jablow.

See the
wbaltv interview with a resident of the Coldstream-Homestead community who stepped up and got shot at, first by hoodlums and then (verbally) by Police spokesweasel Jablow. It's not the first time BCPD front men have arrogantly displayed disrespect of citizens trying do what they can to contain criminality. I won't hold my breath waiting for Commissioner Hamm's apology.

Definitely not your father's Oldsmobile.

A multi-agency task force intercepted a 1996 Oldsmobile bearing $170,000 in greenbacks and 53 lbs. of cocaine in the bumpers. The motorized mule was on a carrier pulled over for inspection by Maryland Transportation Authority Police before reaching the toll plaza to the Nice Memorial Bridge. They found stolen vehicles, which they were seeking, the drug cargo being a Bogota bonus.

Denny's assailant apprehended

Drifter David Burton, who allegedly stabbed and robbed the manager of a Denny's restaurant together with Sara Higgins, was arrested Wedneday in Virginia along with Higgins. The victim, meanwhile, is recuperating at Shock Trauma.

South Korean nooky enterprise interrupted.

31 individuals were arrested in a multi-state federal bust ranging from the District of Columbia up the east coast in connection with the importation of Korean girls for the purpose of working in the sexual services sector. The accused are foreign nationals who allegedly smuggled illegal aliens into this country to engage them in various facets of prostitution. Included are a couple from Woodlawn.

Looking for a loose screw with tomography

Mujtaba Rabbani Jabbar, the man who on June 15 opened fire on another patron at an Owings Mills movie theatre and killed him, has plead not guilty by reason of mental defect and has been ordered to undergo mental examination, including a CAT scan.

Producing an internal memo from Patricia Jessamy's spokesman Marti Burns, Steve Fogelman, her rival in the Democratic primary for Baltimore City State's Attorney, claims "We live in the only city in America where the top prosecutor wants police to stop making arrests," The memo asks staff to document instances in which the pole cameras espoused by the O'Malley administration produce poor quality video, resulting in cases being null-prossed for lack of credible evidence.

But even if there is evidence, there may be no one in the courthouse, because Mitchell Courthouse employees walked out, citing poor working conditions in the jury unit.

And even good quality video may not be enough for defense attorney Warren Brown, who is trying an armed robbery case in the Village of Cross Keys. Marti Burns characterizes his strategy as being on the theatrical side, as reported in the http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=574&NewsID=738671&CategoryID=8012&on=1
">Messenger. Also, the Messenger's http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpID=574&NewsID=738670&CategoryID=8012&show=localnews&om=1">crime blotter includes home invasion and theft in Charles Village, theft on Greenmount, armed robbery in Hamden, Hon, and auto theft in Hamden and on York Road.

As for the citywide http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/crime/bal-md.blotter17aug17,0,7790986.story?coll=bal-local-headlines">Police Blotter, among incidents were several armed robberies, another nonfatal shooting in East Baltimore, a B&E burglary, and an out of state arrest for a warrant on a 1999 murder in Mount Vernon.

The Examiner's http://www.blogger.com/ ">editorial considers the dubious merits of lying as a tool for the Baltimore City Police Department.

Readers, sorry for the messy links. Just don't have the time to debug the tags. - Galt

August 16 - Happy 63rd birthday mom! - Get in on it, Galt!

I'm going back to Paris and Chuck is going somewhere for at least a week.
Galt, it is time for you to put your ranting to use. I appoint you Esteemed Guest Taoist Cybrarian for One Week.
There is an invitation in the inbox of your hotmail account.

Feel free to link and report to whatever, opine, get as galty as you wanna be, just please use the "target" attribute for links, try to chronologically number the murders that happen within city limits, hyphenate appropriate compound modifiers and watch the apostrophe thing.

Au revoir bitches!

August 15 - Happy Assumption Day, Bitches!

Where the girls are dirty but the food is clean.

Goons over my hammy:BaltCo police are looking for 28-year-old drifter David T. Burton, who stabbed the manager of Denny's in Fullerton.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted David Piccione, 28, on charges of kidnapping, false imprisonment, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Court documents allege on July 11 while at a gas station David Piccione and his ex-girlfriend got into an argument. Piccione assaulted the woman, dragged her into his car against her will and drove away.

Clyde Lewis, 80, charged with the first-degree murder of Thomas Batty, 66, pled "not guilty" at his arraignment this morning. His first-degree murder trial is scheduled for November 27 before Judge Glynn.

Yvette Cade wants former PGC Judge Richard Palumbo, right, to face charges. On August 10 the Commission on Judicial Disabilities cancelled a hearing on Palumbo, opining that the judge's retirement effectively protected the public from his crapulence.

Annette High, 47, was arrested for beating 14-month-old Kayah Jackson (#86) to death.
David Pearson, 18, was arrested for shooting 36-year-old Howard Jones (#164) to death.

The family of the teenager abducted and raped in Ocean City is searching for the perps, left, one of whom may be named Chris.

"I'd like to know where these kids' parents thought they were at 6 p.m. on a Sunday night." Seven lunatic children, ages 10 to 15, did six figures' worth of damage to City College and also trashed the Sheperd's Health Clinic.

Why did the Air Force need all of that Viagra®?

Death isn't a block party. (Unless you're, like, Christian, in which case aren't you're supposed to be happy about somebody going to heaven?)

GGS.: City chews, spews 10,000 youths annually.

Yoohoo, George Soros .... a few hundred thousand "Dohertys" might make a nice gift. Seriously.

Yet again, liquor advertisers are targeting a minority community.

August 14

Today Judge Wanda K. Heard sentenced Corey McMillon, 29, to life in prison plus 20 years for the April 1, 2006 murder of Jamel St. Clair, 17 (left). A Baltimore City jury convicted McMillon of first-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence on June 20. On April 1, 2005 officers responded to the 2000 block of North Avenue for a report of a shooting. Upon arrival they found the victim, Jamal St. Clair, suffering from four gunshot wounds. He died later at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Investigation revealed that McMillon approached St. Clair and began to rob him. When St. Clair attempted to run away, McMillon shot him multiple times with a 9mm handgun.

21-year-old Jujuan Winfield (#170) was shot to death on Nelson Ave. in Northwest Baltimore at about 4:00 Sunday morning.

Someone (#171) was killed and two people were injured early this morning in a triple shooting just east of the Johns Hopkins University.

Ivy Mayhew was choked to death by her estranged husband in Arnold.

Chivalry is dead: Benjamin Howard Curtis was protecting his female passenger when he was shot and killed outside an Odenton bar.

An Annapolis baby overdosed on PCP while in the care of a "family friend."

The manager of the Denny's in Baltimore County's Fullerton neighborhood was stabbed during a robbery at 9:25 this morning.

A pizza delivery man was shot in both arms during a robbery in the Western.

Kids are falling through the cracks of the city's juvenile justice system.

August 13

When mace didn't work, a policeman shot 14-year-old Kevin Cooper.

A city officer driving the wrong way down a one-way-street and hit another car on Chilton Street near the Alameda. The officer and his victim were both taken to shock trauma.

"The United States is losing the war in Iraq; more specifically, Philadelphia is." = Worst. Lead. Ever. From a WashPost ediboreial, which argues that glossy magazines, 50 Cent, profligate arrests = causes of destroyed villages.


Saturday night's alright for fighting: In Randallstown, Karim Cross, 27, died after being stabbed during a bar fight at the Rush Hour Bar.
A 47-year-old man was shot in outside My Place Bar and Lounge in Odenton.

Blast from the past: Michael Olesker on Ehrlich's takeover of the schools two years ago. Meanwhile, there's school-lunch food fights.

August 12

The Post reports that police searching murdered prison guard David McGuinn's Baltimore apartment discovered copies of incident reports that prison officials claim didn't exist, leading to speculation that fellow guards allowed McGuinn to be killed because he wouldn't turn a blind eye to corrpution.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Demetri Jamal Greer, 18, of the 2800 block of E. Monument Street on first-degree murder and weapons charges. Court documents allege on July 20 Greer, along with an unknown female, assaulted and engaged in an altercation with the victim. The victim, Dion Williams, 16, was shot at close range. He died a short time later at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He was victim #145 of 2006. Greer had been charged with armed robbery in Towson in 2004 when he was 16, but was released on the condition that he attend Harbor City High and abide by curfews.

Relatives of the victims of serial killer Raymont Hopewell (shown left, photo by Sun's Karl Fenton) have mixed reactions to his guilty plea.

"Do you call it a Romeo and Juliet story?" Charges were dismissed against Shakesperially challenged Senate candidate David "Romeo" Dickerson, accused of assaulting his teen bride Anna. Also off the hook: the Salisbury pastor accused of boning the babysitter.

Police on Ocean City are looking for suspects who kidnapped and raped a 15-year-old girl.

August 11

The Baltimore Police Department Media Unit has embraced YouTube. Did you know? Crime lab supervisor John French is also a writer of "hardboiled" fiction! And Debbie Owens, the Chief of Patrol, once managed six Wendy's® burger franchises!

Results are in: Bcrime readers, certainly the most pissed-off people in the most pissed-off city in America, have spoken. They have no hate for cracker-ass crackers, Koreans or Democrats, but when it comes to Jean Marbella, fergetaboutit-- we'd rather be stuck making conversation with a jailhouse tattletale. Even worse are Suburbanites, who are are tied with Hezbollah. And the most-hated demographic, more detestable than even Vegans, are .... Republicans. Sorry, galt!

The murder trial of Dennis Bowers, 21, and Aaron Scott, 19, is scheduled to begin at 9:30AM Monday, August 14 before Judge Althea Handy. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Bowers and Scott April 18, 2005 for first-degree murder and handgun counts in connection with the shooting death of Jonathan Colbert, 21. Court documents allege Bowers and Scott shot and killed Colbert on the street in the 1400 block of E. Preston St. after attempting to rob Colbert.

At a hearing today, Raymont Hopewell, 34, of the 2800 block of Chelsea Terrace, pled guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, four counts of first-degree rape, and numerous related charges for incidents between February 1999 through August 2005. Under terms of the plea agreement, announced in open court, Judge John M. Glynn will sentence Hopewell to four consecutive life without possibility of parole prison terms at a September 14 sentencing hearing. He also faces numerous other concurrent sentences, including life and several 25 year and 20 year prison terms. To summarize:

On February 20, 1999 Hopewell entered the home of Constance Wills, 61, 1113 North Ellamont Street and burglarized it. He then raped and murdered Ms. Wills.

On November 30, 2002 Hopewell entered the home of Sarah Shannon, 88, 2503 Violet Avenue and burglarized it. He then raped and murdered Ms. Shannon.

On May 27, 2005 Hopewell entered the home of Sadie Mack, 78, 635 North Gilmor Street and burglarized it. He then murdered Ms. Mack.

On August 21, 2005 Hopewell entered the home of Carlton Crawford, 81, 3700 Greenspring Avenue. He then murdered Mr. Crawford.

On August 30, 2005 Hopewell entered the home of Lydia Wingfield, 78, 2701 Mount Holly Avenue and burglarized it. He then raped and murdered Ms. Wingfield.

Hopewell is currently in the Baltimore City Detention Center held without bail.

Hon. Althea Handy: Murder charges against Jason Moody can charge on.

Warren Young got more than 12 years for dealing crack. And an MTA officer was indicted for insurance fraud.

Police officer's son: cops stole $20k.

Two missing Egyptian students were found in Dundalk.

It appears police have found that guy who kept robbing the Family Dollar stores.

Blotter: Dice game robbed; lots of stealing, people arrested for various crimes.

Baltimore Circuit Judge John N. Prevas received a public reprimand for, among other things, losing his temper and calling a defendant a jerk.

Paula Johnson Branch, City Council representative for the 13th district, saved the butt of a former campaign worker.

There's 53 fewer Crips in the sticks.

Pervert Roundup:
Three sick perverts have disappeared from a Carroll County city, and several sick pigs have disappeared from a Carroll County farm.
The FBI is looking for victims of a Canuck pedophile.
A teenage babysitter testified against her 30-year-old pastor.

Attorney General candidate Tom Perez is going after manufacturers of lead paint.

The forced marriage of Old Navy and Baltimore DIY punk.

Napping and parking don't mix.

Smoke crack in Baltimore, but don't beat your fetus in DC:
The Court of Appeals held it's not reckless endangerment to smoke crack while pregnant ("'Such ordinary things as skiing or horseback riding could produce criminal liability,' Judge Alan M. Wilner wrote for the court.") The DC Court, on the other hand, decided attacking a pregnant mother = cruelty to children.

August 10

A man was found beaten to death in the stairway of the Executive Inn Motel on Pulaski Highway (#169).

A judge will decide today if murder suspect Jason Moody can be set free because his right to a speedy trial was violated.

The family of drug suspect Cheryl Noel, shot to death during the execution of a warrant, are suing the police department.

Warren Brown: Mark Beckwith may not have acted in self-defense.

"I don't believe [that] individuals that urinate on the street are a threat to our peace."

A rash of robberies in the Sun blotter, many stolen license plates and one purloined teddy bear in the Messenger.

August 9

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Antoine Oliver, 22, for first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery. Court documents allege witnesses saw Kemoni Sterrette and Antoine Oliver moments before a shooting incident at the Unity Hair Salon in the 2200 block of Garrison Boulevard on May 13 in which the victim, Justice Georgie, was shot and killed while trying to stop the robbery. The Baltimore Grand Jury indicted Sterrette July 17 for first-degree murder. Sterrette is held on $250,000 bail at the Baltimore Detention Center. Oliver is held on $750,000 bail.

Six murders this week, plus new information on Gary Shipman. Also, William Gibson's 1983 death on E. Pratt St. has been added to this year's homicide count (#168), and Dennis James Wallace of Highlandtown was arrested for the crime.

Dewayne Blanche Jones Jr., the man who was shot to death in Middle River yesterday morning, was a well-liked middle-school teacher.

A very strange shooting on Liberty Rd. this morning.

Fox 45 reports on a racial attack at the exclusive St. Paul's School in Baltimore County last spring. The two white students who chased a black student with a noose, put it around his neck, and attempted to pull him into the air claimed they were just joking. (Unfortunately, there's not a useable link on Fox's site yet, but for now try this link.)

Interviews with jurors from the Canela/Espinoza trial.

Now is a bad time to be a prison guard.

Donald Gladden was arrested for 19 recent armed robberies.

You mean "full service" means sex???

A man was charged with raping his 67-year-old neighbor nine years ago.

Former school teacher/principal Daniel Harner was convicted for being a perv.

Applications for search warrants are apparently immune from libel.

A former Hagerstown cop admitted to "terrorizing the city he once served."

An Elkton teen was arrested for setting fire to cars in a movie theater parking lot.

Lots of people are helping find Oxter.

ABC2 apparently needs a new proofreader: "Viral Video’s; feature films of the online world"

August 8

Gregory Moore, shot during the course of a robbery in the Northwest, was #167.

The jurors have announced a verdict in the retrial of Policarpio Espoinoza and Adan Canela ... GUILTY!! Judge David Mitchell ordered a pre-sentence investigation and scheduled sentencing for September 21, 2006.
For backstory, Julie Bykowicz has a guide to the case.

In the Western, a man was shot in the head and a teen was stabbed in the back.

Dewayne Blanche Jones Jr. was shot to death in Middle River.

Dennis James Wallace, 52, was arrested for the 1983 murder of William Gibson.

From Sunday's Post-- "The general public has no idea, and I mean no idea, about the messed-up lives these kids lead until they're dead. The public has no idea about the neglect, the foster homes, the violent acting out, the filth, the mother's boyfriend that abuses them -- the public doesn't know. Doesn't want to know."

Weathered windbag Dan Rodericks blogs about the case in which Judge Schwait accepted a "softie deal" which resulted in 7 months in prison for the pedophile who (allegedly) later stabbed 11-year-old Irvin Harris to death.

A high-school football coach pimped a 15-year-old student to a D.C. police officer, who is now out of jail.

Black widow Josephine Grey, rumored to have used voodoo to intimidate witnesses, was resentenced to 40 years for insurance fraud.

Boozehound Dwayne S. Williams, who killed a woman in a drunk-driving accident, also had a criminal record.

You'll shoot your eye out ... because the gun is just too cute!

WTF? A Forest Hill man assaulted his neighbor with a leaf blower and BB gun.

Former Ehrlich homeslice Joe Steffen, who'd previously agreed to cooperate with investigators, is fighting a subpoena to testify before the legislature. Update-- Judge to Steffen: T.S.

Still into "The Wire"? Cast, writers and crew will be signing copies of the third-season DVD tonight at 7 at Sound Garden.