Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Best Buy Cares Indeed!

So I had a washing machine delivered this morning from the Timonium Best Buy, and on the way out the delivery guy have me this card requesting that I "please take a few minutes to answer some questions" regarding my "delivery experience" ... and he told me that if he didn't get at least two customers to go online every day to delivery.bestbuycares.com and fill out the survey then Best Buy would dock his paycheck!!

That can't be legal, can it?

Monday, December 29, 2008

County police need help to ID gunshot victim

"Baltimore County Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the body of an adult male, believed to be Hispanic, discovered deceased in the roadway. His body was found in the eastbound lanes of Pulaski Highway east of Stevens Road, 21162 in Precinct 11/Essex."

No S, no M in quintuple shooting

A quintuple shooting: "some of the victims were found Sunday along Wheeler Avenue near West Fayette Street. More victims were found along North Gorman Avenue and in the 100 block of North Benatalou Street." Three victims were female, one was a 16-year-old boy. No suspects, no motive.

The 22-year-old woman found shot to death in Canton last weekend was identified as Alaina Ciara High, apparently a frequent and habitual drug user.

"I have to kill someone for my family," said a 13-year old boy who broke into a woman's home at 10 in the morning, armed with a knife

Police are searching for two missing Landsdowne teens, one of them is suicidal

"Community activists and families of people whose deaths remained unclassified are planning to hold a candlelight vigil outside the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore on Wednesday evening. The vigil, scheduled for 6 p.m., is being held to honor the hundreds of people in Baltimore whose deaths have been ruled 'undetermined' during the past decade."

Take a guess: how many MD law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty so far in '08?

Under-trained OB/GYNs lead to a deadly c-section rate in MD

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Prison-Industrial Complex

"... the fastest-growing, least-examined type of incarceration in America, an industry that detains half a million people a year, up from a few thousand just 15 years ago. The system operates without the rules that protect criminal suspects, and has grown up with little oversight, often in the backyards of communities desperate for any source of money and work."

Related Rodricks: Immigrants pay taxes

Friday, December 26, 2008

The good, the evil and the stupid

Early this morning two people were shot at Club 410 at Belair & Moravia Rds. in the NE.

"Police have relocated an 87-year-old after a firebombing attempt on her home in the Walbrook neighborhood, authorities said yesterday. The incident occurred early Saturday morning, two days before she was to appear in court to face her alleged attacker in a March home invasion."

Hermann: "Adrian McFadden was pointing a black six-shot revolver at Avon Ball Jr.'s face and threatening to pull the trigger. Ball's foster brother, George T. Johnson, stared back at the gunman and pleaded, 'Don't shoot him, shoot me.' The gunman obliged ..."

A man was shot at E. Monument and N. Port streets.

Tales of the stupid: A Baltimore man stopped for speeding in Easton was arrested for impersonating a police officer after flashing a defunct Loyola College security badge.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

228

An unidentified man was shot in the head at North Fremont Avenue and Bennett Place.

Hermann follows up on the story of Carlos Woods, a boy caught in crossfire at age 3, now 10 years old.

Trooper fired after getting drunk, kidnapping man, subjecting him to white-knuckle ride in Towson

Three gun-toting felons got some Rod time, including Jermaine Bell, accused of paying $45k for the murders of three harewin-trade rivals (and the DOJ is now publishing press releases as PDFs, how annoying)

Media blabber: Tim Franklin, editor and VP of The Sun, has jumped ship. His successor will be the guy who was the mastermind behind the launch of that wildly popular paragon of intellectual progress, "b." And only good can come of that.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Hearth and Home

More details on the murder of Travis Makofski/Mafoski, 28: he was shot during the course of a home invasion, in which a gun was held to his mother's head. No word on if the suspects were caught (but odds are they haven't been).
Especially between now and Christmas, don't open the door to anyone if you're not sure who it is! It's the most dangerous time of the year right now!

"Police advise crime victim to move"

"Two veteran Baltimore city homicide detectives are facing an internal investigation after allegedly refusing to cooperate in attempts to evict a public housing tenant."

"A Goucher College student who allegedly was sexually assaulted has come forward but is not cooperating with Baltimore County police, police said."

What the?! Dept:
"A man who was convicted of four sex offenses involving a 14-year-old girl is entitled to a new trial because of the way the last member of the jury was chosen, the Court of Appeals held."

"A Prince George's County police lieutenant charged four times this year with driving under the influence passed out behind the wheel of a running police cruiser in one incident, had to be Tasered and pepper-sprayed in another and was at fault in a hit-and-run in a third"

Saturday, December 20, 2008

227

Thaddeus McCauley, 19, was shot to death in the 1400 block of Homestead.

In the county, a man stabbed his "girlfriend" to death

A guy was shot in the leg near City College

LOLZ!! "Chief judge exempts other judges from pay cuts"

In better news, the Medical Examiner's office has complied with the Freedom of Information Act and released information on unclassified deaths as requested by the Examiner.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The futility of it all

An excellent, very depressing CP article about Anna Sowers: "one woman's futile attempt to confront a city's most entrenched problems."

Murder news updates in the Ink, and a sobering stat: if we had NYC's homicide rate, we would have had 38 murders this year (!!)

Why does MD keep hiring other state's rejects? The latest prize pick is deputy secretary for Behavioral Health and Disabilities Renata Henry, run out of Delaware on a rail for her alleged mismanagement of the state's psychiatric hospital.

Arrests for the murder of Rubin Nelson.

What the?! The MVA hired a man convicted of stealing cars, who then allegedly proceeded to ... steal cars.

What the #2?! City police executed a search warrant on the home of Bealefeld's father-in-law.. ISO child porn!

The Innocence Project has filed a complaint with the State Police against the problem-plagued city crime lab

Melanie Blevins, mother of the baby found dead behind St. John's church, was officially charged with murder. Charging docs say the baby may have also experienced "pressure to the neck." Sigh.

QTD: "Honey ... your ex-boyfriend needs an attitude adjustment. The kind given in the workshop sponsored by those famous and esteemed Americans Mssrs. Smith and Wesson."

Report challenges conventional wisdom: Postponements have little effect on conviction rates.

Seven students were arrested after a brawl at Overlea High, and a student's father was arrested for interfering while his child was being arrested. He should hook up with this lady.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Total male in total jail

Fugitive Shawn Green was arrested in PA.

224, 225, 226

A fatal shooting this morning near Pimlico race course

A fatal shooting yesterday evening on the east side at North Lakewood Avenue and East Chase Street

A man was shot to death last night on Fairlawn Ave., reportedly the 3rd person this year to be killed near the Rogers Avenue metro station.

The man stabbed to death on Jack St. last week was ID'd as Larry Gaither, 44.

What the?! A mother was taken to Central Booking and her son and another boy were hauled to juvie after a fracas with a school police officer

Police have obtained a warrant seeking the arrest of two alleged accomplices of Juwann Smith in connection with the theft of cars from the city's impound lot.

it's nice to see someone being exposed to literature

Monday, December 15, 2008

The drama!

A rooftop chase in Washington Village led to the arrests of two attempted robbers

Not one but two idiots incidents in the blotter in which would-be victims grabbed the guns of would be-robbers.

Good news: police report that violence against prostitutes has gone down

Sunday, December 14, 2008

'Domestic incidents'

Dashia Jones-Jenkins, 20, was shot in the 1900 block of Madison Avenue, police say it was a 'domestic incident'

The tragic story of Veronica Williams, killed by her abusive husband in front of the North Ave. courthouse

The Sun reports that the tough economy can "push frustrated men into acts of violence."Quinzell Tyrell Covington

Have you seen Quinzell Tyrell Covington, left, wanted for first-degree murder? Note giant teardrop tattoo.

A man shot in the eye; a man shot in the leg

Chinese Cuisine shooting victim Marvin Edmonds to Luke Broadwater: 'I felt like a piece of nothing'

College students and an employee of the state's attorney's office busted on hairron conspiracy charges

Good point, Greg "Kan": what happened to that $58 million?