May 31

Fascinating! FBI agents have searched the home of MD Senate Budget Committee Chair Ulysses Currie.

"Three people were shot, including one by police, during a spate of unrelated violence late Thursday and early yesterday in the northeastern and downtown areas"

Broadwater reports that new charges were filed last week against Brandon Grimes; the alleged cop-killer also allegedly assaulted a jail employee. And he also allegedly has a girlfriend-- how depressing is it to hear that if you're a single guy ISO love!

Do I detect cynicism, Ms. Linskey? "Christopher Shaw has avoided prosecution three times. In November, prosecutors dropped a drug-distribution case. Four years ago, they dropped a charge of murder; two years before that, it was an assault charge that was dropped. But this time, prosecutors say, it will be different."

Never a dull moment at Casa del Garmin: 17 years for Hollins Market hair-ron; jail for a crooked yearbook salesman; an MTA officer headed to the hoosegow for burning his own car. And, of course, the PDJ.

HarfCo is investigating the death of a jail inmate, 25-year-old Justin Eugene Bolden.

Brandon Grimes Not Guilty of Gun Charges

From the SA's office:

Late today a Baltimore jury found Brandon Grimes, 23, of the 800 block of Cator Avenue, Baltimore not guilty of handgun crimes, including prohibited possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, following less than 2 hours of deliberation.

The counts against Grimes originated early afternoon on April 13, 2006 after a car stop near his home. The allegations included that Grimes tossed a handgun into an adjacent yard after exiting his vehicle and entering his home on Cator Avenue, following a car stop by officers on routine patrol.

Grimes was found not guilty on all counts following a jury trial before Judge Wanda Heard.

Castillo Re-Arraignment Explained

From the SA's office:

Today the State filed formal written notice of its intent to seek an enhanced penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole in the case of Mark Castillo, 42, of Rockville, MD.

Under Maryland law, the State must file notice of its intention to seek enhanced penalties 30 days or more before the first trial date; his trial date is Aug. 22, 2008. A decision as to whether or not to file for the death penalty has not been made at this time. That decision will be made by State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy. She is reviewing all the pertinent court papers in this case and is also awaiting the court medical evaluation. There is no timeline other than meeting the 30-day requirement as mandated by law.

May 30

Michael S. Falls was arrested and charged with killing his 63-year-old girlfriend, Josephine House, in her N. Port St. home on Tuesday.

The body of 18-year-old Steven Parrish was found at a Baltimore County cemetery. Police have no motive or suspects in the murder.

21-year-old Christen Hawkins' beaten body was found behind a pool in Laurel.

Shannon Dudley is the guy who got stabbed at a bus stop on Charles and Baltimore on Tuesday night. It sounds like his only crime was waiting for the bus. Safe and reliable, baby, safe and reliable.

There's a whole lotta shootin' goin' on. And stabbin', and carjackin', and other assorted misbehavin', too! (WMAR's got video about the police shooting in the Southeastern.)

Shawn Lee Gray says 'Reds' was driving the car that hit and killed a Dundalk biker, but police say Shawn's a liar.

Damn. The Examiner isn't pulling any punches with this one: "Man accused of raping teen sentenced to 20 years - Not even her mother believed she was raped."

1.5 years for kiddie porn? Is Balto County getting soft on pervs?

The Frednecks don't put up with kiddie porn, though: Larry Cordell got 25 years for "making videos of sex acts with boys and distributing them through the Internet and elsewhere." This is his second conviction for child sex abuse. I can't even put in writing what I hope happens to his ass in prison, but let's just say it involves lit firecrackers and watermelons.

In HoCo, a kid was gonna bring a gun to school, but then he played hookie instead. In almost equally exciting news, I was gonna vacuum my house last night, but then I talked to one of my friends on the phone instead.

Crackheads and stockbrokers alike reported great excitement at the headline "Clean Air Act means healthier coke production." Then they read the story and didn't care.

There were probably some sort of fancy schmancy shenanigans going on with the sale of the Paramount Hotel on N. Howard St., but even after reading the article, I don't understand what the hell any of it means. White collar crime is, like, totally hard.

What's a Re- Arraignment?

A re-arraignment in the case of allegedly demented dad Mark Castillo is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow before the Honorable Gale E. Rasin, Room 509, Courthouse East.

The first arraignment didn't take?

May 29

Thanks for the stories*, readers...
Ppatin notes that:
Omar Spriggs, who was injured in a quadruple shooting on May 15, has died.

Attempted murder charges against Brandon Allen have been dropped because the only witness against him was murdered a couple of weeks ago.

The ME has found that 63-year old Josephine House was strangled to death. Police say there were no other signs of foul play, and they have no potential suspect or motive.

And the trial of Brandon Grimes, alleged killer of Detective Troy Lamont Chesley Sr., has been postponed.
Here's more on the story from last year.
The P and I don't often agree, but I'm also puzzled as to why the SA's office didn't pursue the big D in this case. If there's any case that would seem to "merit" it, this would be it. (Though in a way it's an argument against the DP, because it's glaring, neon proof that the application is very inconsistent.)

More on the Tuesday-night stabbing at Baltimore and Charles. The victim, Shannon Dudley, "weighs less than 100 pounds and is passionate about being a barber."

Rodericks blogs on the 10-year sentence of the drunken Mexican who killed Marine Cpl. Brian Mathews and his lady, pointing out that while the victims' families were outraged, the 10 years is the heftiest drunk-driving sentence to be handed down in recent memory.

Enjoy troubling images? "The WBAL TV 11 News I-Team obtained photos that have never been seen by the public that raise troubling questions" about the now-closed Lower Shore Drill Academy in Wicomico County.

*I'm reprinting to put the links in "TinyUrl" so they won't be lost.

Talk amongst yourselves

I've got no time to post today, but there's lots of stuff on our favorite news sites. If you can find something interesting, share it with the BC gang down in the comments section. Snark and outrage are welcome and encouraged. Empathy doesn't hurt either.

The Baltimore FBI has a new division chief, Amy Jo Lyons. She's the third person to hold the job in three years.

Octogenarian absconder Willie Parker returned to Baltimore last week, three months after his arrest in NC.

The city wants to ban the sale of single cigars. But just the cheap ones, because rich people don't get cancer.

Sometimes, I enjoy posting links to inappropriate YouTube videos, just because I can.

Afternoon Update: Two Guilty Pleas

Ew. Timothy D. Price III, the 31-year-old former music director of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, pleaded guilty today to second-degree rape for having sex with a 12-year-old parishioner (the same age as his own kid, double yuk!). The Sun has an interview in which Price discusses healing through music.

At a hearing today, Darius Bacote, 17, of the 500 block of Orchard Street, pleaded guilty to Attempted Second-Degree Murder, Handgun Use in commission of a Crime of Violence and Wear Carry Transport. Judge Gale E. Rasin sentenced Bacote to 30 years, suspend all but 12 years, the first five without parole and five years of supervised probation upon his release. In February 2008 a motion to transfer the case to Juvenile Court was denied by Judge Rasin. Details:

Bacote [pled] to the following statement of facts. On November 9, 2007 in the 1300 block of West North Avenue at 9:24 p.m., Darius Bacote was observed firing a handgun by Officer Gregory Fisher who was operating an unmarked vehicle. The officer observed five muzzle flashes. The officer gave chase to Bacote and ordered him to the ground. Recovered from Bacote’s pocket was a .38 special handgun. Later that night Bacote provided a taped confession to Baltimore City detectives and confessed to shooting at Kevin Morgan because of an ongoing dispute. Initially officers were not certain if a victim or anyone had been struck but a hospital canvas revealed that a walk-in shooting victim shot in the 1300 block of West North Avenue location was admitted. Kevin Morgan was located at Shock Trauma suffering from a gunshot wound to his back. He was later released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. Darius Bacote was 16-years old at the time of the shooting. Assistant State’s Attorney Andrew Kowalczyk prosecuted this case.

May 28

A man got stabbed last night at Charles St. and Baltimore St., and another man was shot in the back yesterday about "50 paces" from where Ronald Crowell was killed over the weekend. Good to see the Sun is using ancient Roman units of measure.

Meanwhile, the 16-year-old girl and the 19-year-old man who were shot in South Baltimore and Remington, respectively, are both still in the hospital. No word yet on whether the fine doctors at Shock Trauma and Hopkins are being credited with the city's continually dropping murder rate.

Speaking of the dropping murder rate, Anna D. reports only one murder this week, the death of Carlos Cervantes on S. Broadway near E. Pratt St. Anna's poetic closing sentence says it all: "He was dead." There've been 77 murders so far this year, compared to six for the same week last year and 116 total at this time in 2007.

Whoever writes the Examiner's Blotter isn't quite clear on the difference between a theft and a robbery.

The drug biz ain't the only business that's being hit by a 'no parking' zone on Pennsylvania Ave. Of course, something tells me the dealers will bounce back easier than the legit small business owners.

I think I remember Pembleton telling Bayliss that the only people who sleep in the interrogation room are the guilty ones. Looks like Vaughn Garris is guilty, then. (His confession certainly makes it look that way, too.)

Here's a closer look at the impounded video poker games in Baltimore County.

No Clarking Zone

The City's lawyer has filed a motion to block the reinstatement of Kevin Clark to the police commissioner's job. The C of A had deemed his firing illegal in March. O'Malley had claimed that Clark was fired because his wife threw a phone at him a decade ago; rumors had it that Clark was canned after he refused to go along with various shady goings-on in the mayor's administration.
... or maybe it was Clark who was sketchy, all along.

Not Baltimore, but I know some of you have been following the case in PGC of Keith Washington, convicted of shooting two Marlo Furniture deliverymen, Brandon Clark and Robert White. Washington was sentenced today to 45 years.

Funniest. Typo. Ever. (Here's the closeup)

Indictment in Murder of Sean Michael Henderson

Today the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Dominic Brown, 27, of the 1300 block of Vida Drive for first-degree murder and attempted murder. Details from Jessamy's office:

Court documents allege that on May 4, 2008, Brown was responsible for shooting two victims in the 3200 block of Belair Road. The first victim, Sean Michael Henderson, 36, was escorting two females to their vehicles from an establishment in the unit block when Brown approached the trio and engaged in a brief conversation. Shortly afterward, Brown produced a handgun and began firing at the victim striking him several times. Henderson died from his injuries at Johns Hopkins Hospital. A second victim was shot in the leg and survived his injuries. An arraignment is scheduled for June 28, 2008 before Judge Sylvester Cox, Room 203 Mitchell Courthouse.

May 27

Ronald Crowell's (or Cromwell's, depending which Sun article you believe) death on Normal Ave. leaves only six men alive from five generations of their family. (The article features a good photo of his family creating a makeshift memorial.)

A 16-year-old girl was shot in the face in South Baltimore.

A 19-year-old man was shot in the head in Remington early this morning.

A tall, bald, well-dressed black man robbed a 1st Mariner Bank on N. Charles St. on Sunday morning.

Somehow, it's fitting that a Waffle House would appear in a story about a family that's this screwed up.

The Balto County PD has posted some crime prevention tips on their web site. I'd make fun of how obvious some of the tips are, but every Blotter makes it clear how many people haven't learned to take their GPS and their iPod (and Viagra) with them when they park.

May 25

WBAL reports murder #77 is a 19-year-old man shot to death in the 1100 block of E. North Avenue.

Murder #76 is an unidentified man shot in the 1600 block of Normal Avenue.
(Thanks non)

Annals of Juvenile Justice: Gay St. facility a "poorly configured monstrosity," "a failure," "a powder keg," "out of control," and "a bleak place that breeds hopelessness" that's "worsening." And the architecture sucks, too.

Selling bacon? The police are conducting customer satisfaction surveys.

Say what now? In Parkville, "Man Shot Just Before Car Crash Dies."

WBAL has a pic of Federal Hill beatdown suspect Ashley Zion, left.

And police have arrested a suspect in the light rail stabbing, one 17-year-old Chiffone Frazier, who was ID'd as the assailant who held the victim's hair (then, apparently, she glued the tufts onto her own head).

A judge has nullified a $1.5 million judgment awarded to a woman in a defamation suit against D! M! X! The woman was sperminated by the "star" in a local hotel room.

Guilty Verdict in Philip Airey Murder

Michael Martin, 28, of the 200 block of Allwood Road was found guilty late Friday afternoon May 23 of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and assault and deadly weapon charges before the Honorable John Addison Howard. The maximum sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled August 14, 2008. Details from the SA's office:

On June 20, 2007 Anne Arundel County Fire Department responded to the scene of a car fire in the field off a ramp leading to West Nursery Road off of I-295. The firefighters noticed the 1993 Chevrolet Prism gas cap was missing, license plates were missing and the area around the car was also burned. When fire officials popped the trunk they found decomposed remains of a body later identified as Philip Calvin Airey Jr., 36.

Statement of facts. Philip Airey had been reported missing by his mother on June 19, 2007. She last saw her son on June 18 just before he left to meet Tracy Asbury at a local bar. According to witness statements, Airey arrived alone, ordered two drinks before Asbury showed up at the bar. The two were observed by witnesses having drinks and playing pool together for several hours before Asbury left the bar alone at midnight. Asbury was observed on her cell phone as she left the bar. Cell phone records revealed that Asbury was calling Michael Martin and Robert Speake. Airey ordered his last drink after Asbury left at 12:07 a.m. Cell phone records indicate Asbury made several cell phone calls to Airey between 12:40 and 12:42 a.m. Shortly after that time Airey arrived at the house on Pennington Avenue. According to witnesses, upon his entrance to the house he was met with fists, kicks and punches in the living room. The fight moved down into the basement where he was further assaulted and ultimately stabbed to death. Witnesses at the house at the time of the assault gave statements that they saw Michael Martin, Tracy Asbury and Robert Speake assault Airey and later saw a body wrapped in a blanket and a sleeping bag in the basement of the house. Another witness gave a statement that the next day, in the early morning, he saw Philip Airey’s prism in the alley and that Tracy Asbury was standing next to the vehicle and the trunk of the car was open. Witnesses gave statements that Asbury had spoken openly about an elaborate plan to assault Airey over the course of several weeks.

Speake, 19, [pleaded] guilty April 7, 2008 to second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault and use of a deadly weapon (knife) with intent to injure. Under terms of the plea agreement Speake was to testify truthfully in the Asbury trial. and will receive a prison term of 58-years suspend all but 43-years at a later date.

Tracy Asbury plead[ed] guilty May 14 to second-degree murder and conspiracy to assault before the Honorable John Addison Howard. As part of her plea agreement with the state, Asbury will receive a sentence of 55-years suspend all but 33-years and a 5-year probation term. Sentencing has been held sub-curia until the Martin case concluded.

Michael Martin is the last co-defendant to be convicted.

Assistant State’s Attorney Theresa Shaffer of the Homicide Division prosecuted this case.

May 23

The Blotter reports four shootings this week on or near Monument St. in East Baltimore.

What happened to the good ol' days, when armed teenagers on PCP would steal muscle cars instead of mini vans? (One of the alleged thieves' middle name is Delorean. Somebody's parents musta had a thing for Michael J. Fox.)

Fake water inspectors may be trying to steal your shit.

Maybe by the time Victor William Kunst Jr. gets out of kiddie porn jail, he'll be too old to get it up.

Someone snitched on cameraman extraordinaire Akiba Matthews, who was found guilty and now faces 30 years on federal drug and gun charges.

Prosecutors are fighting gangs with the theatre arts.

12 Years for 6 Corpses

The good news: in this week's edition of "Murders Revisited," three out of six adults charged with murder faced some sort of consequence. The bad news: none of the sentences for the three men charged exceeded five years.

There was an armed robbery on campus at UMBC.
(thanks Jeff!)

May 21

Six more murders this week, compared to five in last year's (5/23/07) issue of Murder Ink.

Why is this buried in the Blotter? "A woman, 23, told police she was standing on South Broadway about 2 a.m. Friday and waiting for a ride when a man forced her into a nearby alley and raped her. The woman reported the incident Sunday and was taken to a hospital."

Sunday's bloody melee (I love that word, melee!) in Federal Hill is all over the print news, but TV doesn't seem so interested: The Sun, The Examiner, The Examiner blog (Now With Comments!), and b (along with the question "Would we care if it happened in a different ZIP code?" Looking at the number of fights in the Blotter, I think the answer is a resounding "no").

No bail for Queen Antoinette or her 20-year-old daughter, Trevia Williams. Hmmmm... would that mean Williams is Princess Trevia?

'Rock' was arrested for the weekend murder in Columbia. The victim was a known member of the Long Reach Crew, a Columbia gang known for drugs, assaults, and all the other fun things for which stupid suburban HoCo kids celebrate gang culture.

Joshua Rice got 30 years for strangling west-side hooker Jennifer Fishbach with a coat hanger in 2004.

If three kids and grandma were running amok and kicking the principal on a show on the Disney Channel, we'd all think it was cute.

Looks like we're finally snitching again.

Police stopped a van that was carrying more than 500 pair of fake Nikes.

The dude who threatened to "choke the life out of O'Malley" is off of house detention. So here's a question: If the government arrested everyone who had a similar thought about either O'Malley or Dixon, how much of our population would be in jail?

May 20

A man got killed at S. Broadway and Gough in Fells Point last night at about 9:00.

GBHS sophomore Christian J. Schellenschlager Jr. was arrested for killing a 49-year-old man with a bat. Schellenschlager was arrested after his mom ratted him out. So what do you think? Did his mom do the right thing? Could you rat out your kid, knowing it might mean many years in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison?

A body that might have ties to Maryland was found in the trunk of a car in Morrisville, PA.

We can add Tony Allen to the list of dead doppelgangers in Baltimore. (The Wikipedia entry for those of you who've missed the other Tony Allen's mighty drumming skills.)

Alleged priestjacker Angelo Parker is on trial after he and his mother refused a plea deal that would have gotten him 12 years. Mama Parker says that she's leaving Angelo's fate in God's hands, which maybe isn't such a good idea for a dude who robs the clergy.

Too bad young Mr. Parker didn't go after Jeff Toohey, who was finally dismissed from the priesthood three years after pleading guilty to getting it on with a young man.

PDJ: Juan R. Payz Reyes likes 'em young and he like 'em crazy, but he likes 'em best when he gets off with a slap on the wrist.

In Annapolis, a man slammed a 14-year-old boy's head into the wall, then shot at him with what can only be described as rotten aim.

Damn, I didn't realize Queen Antoinette was in custody already! Police want no bail for her and two of her subjects, all of whom were nabbed in New York.

Carroll County hearts Oxycodone!

If I had a cheesy moustache like this dude, I probably would've turned to a life of crime too.