BPD to Drop Unlawful Gag Order

In a stunning reversal, BPD brass decides it will comply with federal transparency laws and release the names of officers who have shot citizens.
Wonder what brought that about?

S.A. Dix, Rollergirl

Will Steal-a Man Dixon appear rinkside tonight at the Charm City Rollergirls' home opener? Says the Girls' page,

The home season opener is a celebration as the Office of Mayor Shelia Dixon and the City of Baltimore will declare this Saturday [Jan 30] Charm City Roller Girls Day in Baltimore! Join us for the awarding of the official proclamation at DuBurns Arena this Saturday starting at 6:00pm.

UPDATE: the bouts were canceled due to snow

How the mighty have fallen...

Notorious Baltimore movie star/rapper/gang leader, Rodney "Skinny Suge" Thomas is convicted in federal court on racketeering and drug charges.
Suge is notorious for producing and starring in the notorious "Stop Snitching" movies that made national headlines in 2005. Suge is facing up to 20 years in prison when sentenced.

Brotha Workitout pleaded guilty to using fraudulent identification documents.

Justified

Jessamy rules a JHU student who killed a thief was "justified"

Speaking of Scary Stalkers

... the victim's family reports that George Thompson, 37, convicted of attempting to hire someone to murder his wife less than two years ago will be out of jail next month after serving little more than a year. Says the victim's cousin,

BEWARE!!! This FELON will be back on the streets at the end of February. Most likely will attempt to do work in a trade, i.e. plumbing, electric, carpentry. He is NOT licensed!!! Do NOT let him in your home, he is a danger!!!!!!!! please repost and keep your friends and loved ones safe!

Stabby stalker shot by cops

.. outside of Union Memorial hospital. The "victim" was wanted on an attempted murder warrant after a stabbing in January outside the Royal Farms store on 36th St. in Hampden.

Murders 7 through 10 in the Ink.

A good question: if O'Malley is against the death penalty, why doesn't he commute the sentences of the five inmates on death row?

Onward & Upward with the Arts
Closing arguments in the federal case against reality star Ronnie "AIDS in Your Mouth" Thomas.

Aiiiee!! the CP's Van Smith pays a visit to the Apex.

Hermann links to Peter Barry's gallery of Baltimore memorial graffiti

Baltimore County prison crackdown

Contraband found on CO's at the Baltimore County detention center during a shift-wide search on Tuesday.

The city's Inspector General joins investigation into the sex offender who stayed on city payroll while serving time for sexually abusing a minor

New journalism takes a hit

Acorn videographers busted breaking into Senator's office Watergate style

Life + 70 for Belair Rd. Murderer

From the SAO:

At a hearing today, Judge Wanda K. Heard sentenced Dominic Brown, 29, of the 1300 block of Vida Drive to life in prison plus 70 years. A Baltimore jury convicted Brown October 30, 2009 of first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and two counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence.

Judge Hears sentenced Brown to the following: life in prison for first-degree murder, 30 years in prison for attempted second-degree murder and 40 years in prison (first five years without parole) for two counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, all consecutive.

On May 4, 2008, Sean Henderson and a group of friends were inside La’Son’s Bar and Grill located in the 3200 block of Belair Road. Henderson left the bar and spoke with two women outside the bar. Witnesses observed Dominic Brown approach Henderson and the two women. Brown began yelling at one of the women, the mother of his son. Shortly thereafter, Brown produced a handgun from his waistband and fired it at Henderson multiple times. As Henderson attempted to run southbound on Belair Road, he was struck once in the chest, once in the back, and once in the forearm. Witnesses observed Brown flee northbound on Belair Road. At approximately 1:54AM officers responded to that location for a shooting call. Upon arrival, officers found Henderson suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics transported Henderson to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:31AM. A second victim, Christopher Pinkney, suffered a single gunshot wound to the right knee and entered Johns Hopkins Hospital on his own a short time after the arrival of Henderson. The investigation revealed Pinkney was not a target but was inadvertently shot as he exited a store located next to La’Son’s Bar and Grill.

Your Tax $ at Work

HR2450, a bill going to committee, would require non-Federal prisons and correctional facilities holding Federal prisoners under a contract with the Federal Government to make the same information available to the public that Federal prisons and correctional facilities are required to make available.

As of now, "companies that run private prisons say they are not required to disclose basic information about the facilities or the inmates -- except for reports issued upon an inmate's death -- under existing FOIA law because while they receive taxpayer money, they are not public agencies."

Wonder what these agencies could possibly have to hide?

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Unidentified man, shot around 9:30 p.m. last night in the 1900 block of Aisquith Street.

"Baltimore police are investigating the rape of a woman inside her home in Reservoir Hill, and are trying to determine whether it's related to a series of other attacks in recent months."

What the? ACORN "pimp" arrested in phone-tapping scheme

and is the Obama administration really more transparent?

More on the jailed sex offender still on city payroll

Serving out a prison term for sexual abuse of a minor didn't stop Dennis McLaughlin from collecting his city pay check. Now DPW investgators are trying to find out who submitted fake leave slips from in Baltimore County lock-up on charges of impersonating a police officer.

Meanwhile, Dixon staffers are given 24 hours to submit resumes or clean out their desks.

Small world!

One of the people charged in the counterfeit money/ drug bust last week was on federal probation for her involvement in the firebombing of the home of community activist Edna McAbier. Surely you remember that one: "the leader of the area Bloods initially wanted to shoot her in the head with a shotgun, but the gang dismissed the idea as not dramatic enough."
McAbier still lives in hiding, as far as we know... unlike at least one of her would-be killers!

Need some churchin'?

Need some churchin'? Drop by the 2010 Interfaith Vigil Against Violence at 7 p.m. at the Cathedral up on Charles Street, "organizaed" by the Baltimore Interfaith Coalition

LoLz: "Baltimore PoliceDept GUN ARRESTS: BPD seizes 14 illegal guns over the weekend including one from a man impersonating a police officer at a flea market."

"Hundreds Of Shoes Found In Bags Along Md. Creek"

Don't Miss

...NPR's story on the Bail Bonds industry. All kinds of interesting!
Thnx PP

Also interesting: NYT on transgender name-changes. I wonder at what point, according to MD law, does someone undergoing a sex change officially become the other gender?

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Three men arrested for the stabbing death of Marine Pfc. Darius Ray, 20, at a house party early Saturday morning at a party at 6908 McClean Blvd.

Police "experimenting with new patrol strategies to counteract the hordes of drunken barhoppers who flood the streets at last call"

A victim's daughter talks to the reporter who wrote about her mother's murder in the NYT Fashion & Style section.

Baltimore John Watch

Page Croyder on the Guilford kidnapper: "if getting the conviction was so important that it justified probation, why didn’t they do something meaningful when [John] Couplin was arrested again while on that probation?"
Three weeks ago Croyder wrote about another John, John Miller: "Jessamy['s] attorneys clearly don’t have the records that they need, and they lack the training to recognize and properly handle threats ... This is something Jessamy could have fixed years ago and still hasn’t. Yet soon she will be running around Annapolis telling the 2010 General Assembly all the things she could do with more criminal laws."
...Jessamy was appointed (by Glendening I guess) to the Office of the State's Attorney in 1995 and has won three elections.
Fifteen years ago! And no one has ever mounted a credible threat against her for that office, ever!
Amazeballs!

No Money for Moms Day

HoCo jury won't give $700k to dirtbike mom

And no $$ for mother of Terrell Suggs' children, who asked the court to dismiss her protective order and a $70 million lawsuit ... "an attorney for the player said the couple is trying to reconcile."