Five Years (or less) for Murder of Christopher Clarke.

The killers of Christopher Clarke, Brandon Green and Jerome Whitaker, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges related to his murder. Green will get five years, Whitaker will get "up to" five years.
UPDATE/CORRECTION: The SAO says that the Sun's report is incorrect: Under terms of the plea, Whitaker will be sentenced to 30 years in prison, suspend all but 25 years, the first 5 years without the possibility of parole, and Green will be sentenced to 5 years.

As for the other trials that were supposed to start yesterday, from the SA's office:

Baltimore, MD – October 30, 2008 – The following five murder trials were scheduled to begin in Baltimore Circuit Court Wednesday.

The murder trial of Bryant Williams was postponed to January 26, 2009. No courts were available.

Court documents allege that on May 2, 2007 in the 2200 block of Barclay Street Derius Harmon, 19, was found fatally shot. Witnesses later identified Williams as the alleged shooter.

The murder trial of Dajuan Marshall was postponed to a date to be determined. No courts were available.

Court documents allege on June 8, 2008, Dajuan Marshall and an unknown male approached Kenneth Jones in the area of Custom House and Water Street. Marshall and the unknown male allegedly forced Jones at gunpoint into the trunk of a waiting four door sedan. The body of Mr. Jones was found on June 9 at 12:15AM in the 4500 block of Bonner Road.

The murder trial of Danny Battle was postponed to January 14, 2009. No courts were available.

Court documents allege Danny Battle was responsible for a shooting incident on January 25, 2008 in the 900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. Irvin Lawson was found suffering from gunshot wounds in the unit block. He died later at University of Maryland Shock Trauma.

The murder trial of Michael Wallace was postponed to a date to be determined. No courts were available.

Court documents allege June 12, 2007 in the 2400 block of Ellamont Ave. the victim, Sterling A. Carr, Jr., 28, was found on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper torso. Carr died the same day at Shock Trauma. Witnesses later identified Wallace as the alleged shooter.

The murder trial of Darnell Jeter was postponed to February 2, 2009. No courts were available.

Court documents allege Darnell Jeter was responsible for the death of Theresa Parker on March 25, 2007 in the 1200 block of Treeleaf Court. Parker was found dead in the second floor bedroom of a vacant dwelling at that address.

Seven murders, a stabbing and a threatening gesture

Seven murders reported this week in the Ink; #178, Kenneth Ringgold, was removed from the toll. The teenager shot on N. Clinton Street was ID'D as 17-year-old Shawn Crosby.

"17-year-old charged in stabbing at Heritage High"

Two years for witness intimidation and disorderly conduct, verbatim from Margaret Burns:

Willie Guiterrez Amaya, 26, of 8000 block of Gough Street in Baltimore was found guilty Tuesday of witness intimidation and disorderly conduct during a court trial before the Honorable Nathan Braverman. Amaya received a 2-year suspended sentence and 1-year supervised probation.Prosecutor Oana Nagy handled the case in Eastside District Court.

On August 23, 2008 at approximately 12:30 AM police received a call for a traffic accident in the 6500 block of Eastern Avenue and upon arrival Amaya was found threatening the 24-yr.old victim for calling for police assistance. The defendant failed in his attempt to negotiate a financial settlement for the accident and made hand gestures towards the victim appearing to cut his throat.

Exhibit A interviews the exec director of the MD Legal Aid Bureau.

The Gerard Mungo lawsuit is moving to HoCo.

Place Your Bets

Following, a press release from the State's Attorney's Office. Six murder trials are scheduled to start tomorrow.
How many will actually start? (All but one are scheduled for the same judge-- duh!)
How many will end in a conviction?
Let's follow together, shall we?

Baltimore, MD – October 28, 2008 – The following six murder trials are scheduled to begin in Baltimore Circuit Court tomorrow.

The murder trial of Brandon Green and Jerome Whitaker is scheduled to begin at 2:00PM tomorrow before Judge John C. Themelis, 225 Courthouse East.

Court documents allege that on March 13, 2007 Christopher Clark, 18, was caught in a crossfire and sustained a gunshot wound to the torso in the 3100 block of Cliftmont Avenue. Allegedly, Clark was shot in the crossfire when an unknown male appeared from an alley and fired a handgun at Antonio Santifer, who was standing on the sidewalk in front of his residence. Santifer was struck and taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital. The two other suspects, later identified as Jerome Whitaker and Brandon Green, were also wounded and treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Clark died from his injuries at Johns Hopkins Hospital the same day.

The murder trial of Bryant Williams is scheduled to begin 9:30AM tomorrow before Judge John A. Howard, 438 Mitchell Courthouse.

Court documents allege that on May 2, 2007 in the 2200 block of Barclay Street Derius Harmon, 19, was found fatally shot. Witnesses later identified Williams as the alleged shooter.

The murder trial of Dajuan Marshall is scheduled to begin 11:00AM tomorrow before Judge John C. Themelis, 225 Courthouse East.

Court documents allege on June 8, 2008, Dajuan Marshall and an unknown male approached Kenneth Jones in the area of Custom House and Water Street. Marshall and the unknown male allegedly forced Jones at gunpoint into the trunk of a waiting four-door sedan. The body of Mr. Jones was found on June 9 at 12:15AM in the 4500 block of Bonner Road.

The murder trial of Danny Battle is scheduled to begin 2:00PM tomorrow before Judge John C. Themelis, 225 Courthouse East.

Court documents allege Danny Battle was responsible for a shooting incident on January 25, 2008 in the 900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. Irvin Lawson was found suffering from gunshot wounds in the unit block. He died later at University of Maryland Shock Trauma.

The murder trial of Michael Wallace is scheduled to begin 2:00PM tomorrow before Judge John A. Howard, 438 Mitchell Courthouse.

Court documents allege June 12, 2007 in the 2400 block of Ellamont Ave. the victim, Sterling A. Carr, Jr., 28, was found on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper torso. Carr died the same day at Shock Trauma. Witnesses later identified Wallace as the alleged shooter.

The murder trial of Darnell Jeter is scheduled to begin 11:00AM tomorrow before Judge John A. Howard, 438 Mitchell Courthouse.

Court documents allege Darnell Jeter was responsible for the death of Theresa Parker on March 25, 2007 in the 1200 block of Treeleaf Court. Parker was found dead in the second floor bedroom of a vacant dwelling at that address.

Two years for assault & bomb threat

From the SAO
PRESS RELEASE

At a hearing today at the Wabash District Court, Waliyyuddi Fergueson, 32, of the 3700 block of Woodbine Ave, entered into a plea on one count of second degree assault and one count of threatening to explode a destructive device on a structure. After being found guilty, Judge H. Gary Bass sentenced the defendant to 2 years with all but 5 months suspended, 3 years supervised probation, and a stay away order in addition to the standard conditions of probation.

The following not guilty agreed statement of facts was read into the record by the State to support the plea:

On September 19, 2008 at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Fergueson's brother, Willie Fergueson, was found guilty by a city jury of murdering Richard Ray.

As the victim's family was returning from court in the 3700 block of Woodbine Ave some time after 5 o'clock, Waliyyuddi Fergueson approached them and said, "I'm going to throw a fucking bomb in your house." Mr. Ferguson then pulled up his shirt and displayed what appeared to be the butt of a handgun sticking out of his waistband. Fergueson entered his vehicle and left the location, but was apprehended by a Northwest District Patrol Officer a short time later. No gun was recovered.

No Jail Time for Hit and Run that Killed Toddler

From the SA's office:

At a hearing today, Donte Spencer, 22, of Burleigh Avenue plead guilty to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. Judge John C. Themelis sentenced Spencer to 5-years in prison suspended and 3-years probation. He was ordered to write a letter of apology to the victim’s family and pay a fine as conditions of probation.

At today’s hearing, attended by the many members of the victim’s family, Spencer agreed to waive his right to a trial and pleaded guilty to the following facts. On May 20, 2006 at approximately 8:30 PM family members of 2-year old Taemier Forrester were having a family cookout in the 2300 block of Lauretta Avenue. Taemier and her mother were sitting on the house steps when the child’s mother entered the house to use the restroom. Donte Spencer was driving a vehicle in the 2300 block of Lauretta Avenue when the 2-year old darted from between two parked cars into traffic. The child became trapped in the wheel well of Spencer’s car and suffered massive head injuries. Taemier died of these injuries May 21. The medical examiner ruled her death an accident. Investigators found no speeding, drugs or alcohol involved in the accident.

Despite numerous witnesses outside at the time of the accident, Spencer was not positively identified as the driver of the vehicle that hit Taemier until a witness came forward in December 2007. A paint chip from the crime scene was eventually matched to Spencer’s car.

Assistant State’s Attorney Robin Wherley of the Homicide Division prosecuted this case.

25 Years for Murderer of Christine Richardson

Press release from the SA's office:

At a hearing today Calvin Puryear, 21, of the 1900 block of Ramsay St. pled guilty to first-degree murder and openly carrying a deadly weapon with intent to injure. Judge John A. Howard sentenced Puryear to life suspend all but 25-years in prison.

On July 10, 2007 at approximately 2:10AM the mother of the victim, Christine Richardson, 15, [left] returned home from her job and discovered the back door of her home in the 300 block of S. Fulton Ave. unlocked. She found her daughter in an upstairs bedroom wearing a pink dress suffering from fatal stab wounds to the neck. She had been stabbed several times and her throat was slashed.

Police identified Puryear as a suspect and he gave police a statement indicating that he was in the house and that he held Richardson down while implicating a co-defendant, Lloyd Chase, saying he stabbed her. Police continued their investigation and questioned Chase who denied being in the house and said that Puryear confessed to him that night that he killed Christine. Chase admitted that he went by the house later to see what was going on and called police. Police were able to confirm that Chase made a 911 call.

Further investigation revealed that DNA taken from the victim matched Puryear and not Chase. No fingerprints are recovered from the scene and a murder weapon was not recovered. No motive was offered at today’s hearing.

Lloyd Chase pled guilty April 25, 2008 to accessory after the fact to murder and is pending sentencing November 6, 2008. Chase faces a maximum prison term of 3-years. Assistant State’s Attorney Cynthia Banks of the Homicide Division prosecuted this case.

Charging docs here and here

Nicholas Browning Pleaded Guilty

today to four counts of first-degree murder.

Two recent murder victims were ID'd as Derrick Phillips, 42, and Gregory Boston, 48. And apparently there was a murder Saturday in the 2400 block of Loyola Southway.

Pig-biting mad

Pigtown residents are pig-biting mad that Colin (aka Collin or Calvin) Frost DOB: 10/24/1988 has been picked up and dropped off more times than a Washington Blvd. working lady

The City Council wants to start fining parking permit fraudsters $500

That cannot possibly be legal dept: the E says Baltimore City Election Director Armstead Jones office is canceling hundreds of ex-felons’ voter registrations because the former criminals did not call his office, as per an unsigned, undated letter he sent out.

Melissa Harris: Murders may be down, but the homicide clearance rate is the second-lowest "in nearly 3 decades"

A teen was shot and "seriously injured" yesterday morning, reportedly on West Fayette and North Monroe Streets

Peter Hermann visits the ironically named Walbrook Homeland Security Academy, and he and Buz blog about a visit from LA police chief William J. Bratton (who, for head of a large organization, certainly manages to travel a lot)

Hot damn I'm psychic, indeed no daily local news source could resist the siren song of the "man caught stealing women's underwear" story

#182

"An unidentified black man was found shot in the head in the 1800 block of North Regester Ave. in East Baltimore at about 12:59 this morning, Baltimore City Police said."

JB: "Baltimore police said they recently closed a 'well-organized house of prostitution' in Upper Fells Point and a related residence in Butchers Hill" and "prosecutors say it is apparently a case of human trafficking"

Scary numbers

... from the NYT
Cost to analyse a DNA sample: $1500

And guess what % of its budget CA spends on the state corrections system? No wonder they's broke!

News of the Weird

"A bizarre case unfolded in Howard County where police say a man was breaking into apartments and stealing women's underwear."
(What you want to bet this story makes every single local news channel?)

AAC sheriff pursues criminals with flair, Pat Sajak

One Year for Witness Intimidation

from the office of Patricia C. Jessamy:

THELMA WATKINS SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR IN PRISON FOR WITNESS INTIMIDATION, OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, & CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT ASSAULT

Baltimore, MD – October 24, 2008 - In August 27, 2008 a Baltimore jury convicted Wayne Morris, 22, of the 300 block of South Calhoun Street of second-degree murder, five counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, two counts of robbery deadly weapon, two counts of attempted robbery deadly weapon, four counts of first-degree assault, and four counts of conspiracy to commit robbery deadly weapon. This conviction followed four hours of deliberation and a six day trial.

While awaiting trial, Morris made numerous phone calls from the Baltimore City Detention Center attempting to prevent testimony in the home invasion case. Morris was charged with witness intimidation, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit assault after investigators reviewed more than 36 phone calls Morris made to Thelma Watkins and others. In those phone calls, Morris commanded and directed Watkins to take action against the witnesses in the murder case in an attempt to prevent their testimony at his trial. Morris was heard in many calls, played in open court, describing how he wanted to get out of jail and come home, and needed help to eliminate witness testimony to thwart his murder case.

On or about April 26 Thelma Watkins and another woman broke into A Kuper Avenue residence to assault a witness to the home invasion. Subsequently she was indicted on charges of witness intimidation, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit second-degree assault. Thelma Watkins provided testimony in Morris’ witness intimidation trial and was sentenced this morning by the Honorable John N. Prevas to 10-years suspend all but 1-year for her role. She was also sentenced to 5-years suspend all but 1-year with 3-years probation for obstruction of justice and 10-years suspend all but 1-year with 3-years probation for conspiracy to commit second-degree assault. Ms. Watkins was out on bail prior to her sentencing this morning.

A co-defendant in the home-invasion, David Marshall, was acquitted of murder, robbery and assault charges in April 2008. Assistant State’s Attorney Theresa Shaffer of the Homicide Division has prosecuted these cases.
###

15 shootings this week

... mapped by our friends at spotcrime.

A man was shot to death in the 2700 block of Oswego Ave.

The city council has scheduled a hearing to get an update on the Ken Harris case.

More details of the Timonium kidnapping/ robbery/ assault

A new law lets city police seize dirt bikes whenever and wherever

Prostitution arrests in HoCo

#180, 181?

Another mysterious body, this in the 3500 block of Pelham Avenue in the Northeast.
(Thnx Glt)

The man shot by Coldstream Park Elementary was ID's as Dontay Monroe, 18.

Thanks to reader Dan who pointed out a numbering error in the toll-- the city has now had 180 murders. Which is still a remarkably low number.

The system works sometimes! A judge overturned Bruce Lamdin's decision to evict a domestic-violence victim at the expense of her knife-wielding husband.

Monday, police shot and wounded a man in front of Belmont Elementary School. Here's hoping it's once of those freaky city schools that doesn't have windows!

Drug dealers are getting probation, and Pigtown residents are puh-issed!

.. and speaking of, if you're transporting contraband, try going the speed limit, mkay?

Ok, time to go to bed now

Tyron Lydale Johnson of Waldorf got a year and a day for a counterfeit-check scheme that he used to pay for a Ford motor vehicle and a vacation in Georgia, U.S.A.

Ladies & gentlemen, the weirdest comment we've ever gotten.
... before I lose my digits: the SAO's office is the final say if a homicide = murder.
And "cause" and "manner" are two different things? decided by the Medical Examiner?
... what happens to #173

Two Guys, Four 'Guilty' Pleas for Murder

Press Release from the SAO, cut n pasted:

PATRICK D. WILKES PLEADS GUILTY TO THREE MURDERS OVER MONTH-LONG CRIME SPREE IN MAY 2007

CITY JURY CONVICTS HIM IN SEPARATE ARMED ROBBERY

ANTHONY WHITE PLEADS GUILTY TO ONE MURDER

Wilkes to Be Sentenced to 100 Years in Prison Suspend All But 60 Years; White to Be Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison Suspend All But 25 Years at December Sentencing Hearings

Baltimore, MD – October 22, 2008 – A Baltimore City jury convicted Patrick D. Wilkes, 24, of the 200 block of S. Bentalou St. today of robbery with a deadly weapon (armed robbery) and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence yesterday. The jury heard two days of testimony and deliberated approximately two hours before reaching its verdict.

Immediately following the guilty verdict, Wilkes pled guilty to a second armed robbery count and three counts of second-degree murder.

Judge John N. Prevas scheduled sentencing for December 5, 2008 at which time Wilkes faces a prison term of 100 years suspend all but 60 years.

The jury convicted Wilkes of the following case: At approximately 6:00AM May 21, 2007 in the 100 block of S. Pulaski St. Wilkes pulled a gun and robbed a cell phone and currency from a man on his way to work.

Wilkes pled to the following armed robbery: At approximately 6:00AM May 26, 2007 Wilkes pulled a gun and robbed a cell phone from a man on his way to work. Police respond and arrest Wilkes near the scene and recover the victim’s cell phone and the handgun. The handgun is tested and is linked to the May 5, 2007 murder of Adrian Beasley, 23.

Wilkes pled guilty to second-degree murder in connection to the May 5, 2007 shooting death of Beasley, who was found shot to death in the 1300 block of Herkimer Street.

Wilkes pled guilty to second-degree murder in connection to the April 18, 2007 shooting death of Johnny A. James, 25. James was found shot to death in the 300 block of S. Bentalou St.

Wilkes pled guilty to second-degree murder in connection to the May 15, 2007 shooting death of Deandre Salmond. Salmond was found shot to death in the 500 block of S. Smallwood St.

Following the court proceedings of Wilkes, his first-cousin Anthony White, 24, of the 200 block of S. Smallwood St. pled guilty to second-degree murder.

White pled guilty to second-degree murder in connection to the May 15, 2007 shooting death of Deandre Salmond. Salmond was found shot to death in the 500 block of S. Smallwood St.

Judge Prevas scheduled sentencing for December 12, 2008 at which time White faces a prison term of 50 years suspend all but 25 years.

Murder charges are pending against Antonio White. Those proceedings continue before Judge Prevas.

Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa Phelps prosecuted this case.

###

# 177, 178

A 17-year-old boy was shot to death in the 600 block of North Clinton St.

The body of a young man was found near Coldstream Park Elementary School this morning, and though there's no reference to the manner of death, a natural cause seems rather unlikely.
UPDATE: He was shot, and elementary-school students found him.

Kenneth Ringgold, 34, was ID'd as the man stabbed to death in the 100 block of N. Janney St.

The man shot to death Monday on Preston St. was identified as Carlton Tremain Bethea, 29, of the 2200 block of E. Chase St.; a man was shot Monday in the 2200 block of Booth St.

More in the CP from photographer Frank Klein about murder victim Clayton Oxendine, #167, "a good, decent, kind individual trapped in a hole of predetermination"

More updates and names in the Ink

The SAO has two new 'witness locators', filling positions that had been open for more than a year

After his suspension, Baltimore County District Judge Bruce S. Lamdin is back on the bench and more sensitive than ever (the old Bruce would have given the domestic-violence victim a stream of profanity before making her homeless!).

hermann: overtime and crime, street patterns and crime

CofA: If you run when you see the cops, that's reasonably suspicious