Love and marriage ...

Seven weeks after the shootings of Sean Gamble and Officer William Torbit, SRB has assembled a kind-of-independent review board.

Brian Lee Wonsom, accused of killing teacher Hannah Wheeling at Cheltenham when he was 13, will be tried as an adult.

A man shot in the chest at Coldspring Lane and Marble Hill Road drove himself to the hospital.

More on the Williams guilty verdict. (Witness on Williams: "he's a bug I'd like to squash"). Also on Friday, another conviction

in a killing that had also been preceded by a woman's request for protection. Gregory Tooson, 46, who was accused of strangling his girlfriend, Melonie Smith, in April 2009, was found guilty by a jury of second-degree murder. Days before her death, Smith had been granted a temporary protective order against Tooson, who prosecutors said was sending her threatening e-mails. Smith was found dead in her home in the 700 block of Yale Ave. after she had failed to show up for work.

And in AAC, Patrick Rhys gets 23 years of hots and cots for killing his 'girlfriend' by stabbing her 27 times

WBAL has your Friday same-sex-marriage-debate recap. Intriguing: Anne Arundel County Republican Delegate Don Dwyer "has sent out mailings ... [that] include samples of school curriculum that Dwyer feels will be taught in schools if same sex marriage is legalized. One lawmaker who received the mailings told Collins the mailings were 'graphic.'"

Williams guilty of 1st-degree murder

way to work it out, long-suffering jury

Pervy Thursday

Cleaven Williams' poor jury is still deliberating away after four days

From the Women's Law Center, some major changes to family law legislation being mulled over in the House, including a shorter separation period for divorce, a judicial preference for "equal parenting time" child custody (a horrible, horrible idea) and allowing court-ordered grandparent visitation.

Ten years for "Sonny" the crack dealer

Robbers who targeted pizza & video-game stores busted in the county, confessed to 19 robberies. (Aleks Katz, you really oughter wear a hairnet)

An insperminated Glen Arm hairron addict charged with burglarizing her own parents

O.C. man indicted on child porn charges for four images, Essex's Gary Lee Walden gets 70 months after his taking pictures of kids at the pool led detectives to his pornful computer; a guilty plea from "predatormike1203," no bail for CA woman charged with raping a 13-year-old Bel Air boy she met via Xbox game

Infrared cameras: not just for finding pot plants any more. AAC police used them to track down an elderly man.

More illegal rockfish nets. Mmm, PCB-a-licious.

In the Baltimore Guide blotter, a man who shot at a car, lots of domestic violence and barfights and a woman's purse stolen while she was in labor at Bayview.

In case you were wondering, it's not legal to stand on the courthouse steps passing out pamphlets that say jurors should ignore the law if they don't agree with it. (And in this town it's also not necessary)

Not crime, but annoying: if you can't make transportation or parking workable or safe in this town, there is no point to building anything new, much less $100 million worth of projects to be funded by future taxes. (No point for citizens, anyway-- plenty for SRB & the city council's developer buddies to like.)

Update on semen squirter sentencing

"Law-abiding and churchgoing member of the community" (and part-time DNA spreader) Michael Wayne Edwards Jr. gets 3 years probation. Apparently, "Edwards' actions were the result of misplaced anger after breaking up with a girlfriend." Ya think?

Although maybe he was just trying to spread good cheer (as well as his seeed).

Cheers!

"Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill"

Thugs with badges

An arrest in the bus-stop murder of Joshua Matthews (#22)

In 1956, it was a very good year, a year for city cops and private lots with kick-back shops, to which the tow-truck driver would drive... also in 1965...

Also "Towing leader says she was arrested after complaining about accused company" and dirty cops called themselves "untouchables" & their filthy lucre = "coffee"

On the blog, still a lot of interest in the Erik Stoddard case.

Pastor Joel Kurz: "too many of our city's police officers are simply thugs with badges."

Have you seen this elementary-school burglar?

Oh JZ, I love you. Baltimore's cutest station reports that the same-sex marriage debate has been "hot and longer than expected". And Nancy Jacobs' piehole, the gift that keeps on giving: "Love between a man and woman that may lead to children is the only love that government has the right to recognize." Good for you, giving up all claims to your husband's 401k when your eggs dry up.

The Supreme Court heard a case yesterday on whether revised federal crack cocaine sentencing guidelines should affect binding plea agreements.

The question arises again, who should own public information?

City paid sex offender says no to pay back

The DPW employee who collected sick pay from the city while serving out a brief stint in jail for abusing a minor says he's not going to pay the city back...period

Duck and cover!

Semen squirter sentenced soon.

17 officers charged with extortion

and are facing 20 years for allegations of taking kickbacks from dirty towing company.
Jayne Miller: "one source said it's not the crime of the century, but it's not pretty."

Senate approves same-sex marriage

a 3rd and final vote is scheduled for tomorrow.
Also, "The Obama administration says it will no longer defend the constitutionality of a federal law that bans recognition of same-sex marriage."

BPD and the feds

R-rod has scheduled a press conference to discuss BPD corruption.

.. does this have something to do with the impound lot? Here's a link to WBAL's stream if you want to listen live to the press conference at 3. Officers arrested, oh my!-- MB

Birth, school, work, death

Relatives mourn Anthony "Tyra" Trent

Relatives mourn Brandon Jackson

Dead body found near county elementary school ID'd as that of 20-year-old Vincent I. Thomas

The Ink details last week's five murders and notes that four homicides have been closed by arrest so far this year.

"The state Senate has just one bill on its agenda Wednesday: the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Act." The Post is live-blogging it and the CP has a same-sex marriage infographic.
(Mind-bogglingly assholic quote from Republican Nancy Jacobs, who opposes the bill: "We all love our gay friends in the House and the Senate ... I hope and pray that this does not get personal and does not get taken personally." )

"Prosecutors have dropped all charges against Douglas A. Hicks-Bey, the chief executive of a faith-based mentoring program, who was accused last month of raping a 15-year-old girl." And in HoCo charges dropped against Charles Ray Moore, accused of rape, tried in November but jurors were deadlocked.

CP on the state of Maryland's animal cruelty laws

A PBJ for gun-toting Edwin Hale

Tax evader with cancer sent back to jail

Bullets are bad for ya health! Client at Bally's in White Marsh robbed, shot at

Edgemere arson suspect arrested

Armed with babies and dogs, "Pigtown neighbors beat back Bohager-linked bar" (Bar's lawyer to residents: "What else do you want? Blood?")

Still searching

NPR joins the search for Phylicia Barnes

Williams case to jury

says Tricia Bishop

WMAR's cold case files: The Jeffersons

Fenton follies:
"City police say a 25-year-old transgender woman was found dead in a vacant building over the weekend"

"A 16-year-old boy killed last June in Reservoir Hill was shot by a friend in a dispute over a dice game"

and G-Black was arrested for killing Kevin "Chuck" Anderson with a shot in the back.

Really, JZ?

Man shot on Cliftview Ave Id'd as Mark Saunders, 23

County homicide victim ID'd as 18-year-old high school student Brandon Jackson.

Page Croyder takes on Dan Rodricks' "life means life" column

Yesterday family members of William Torbit Jr., plus talk show host Daren Muhammad, marched from the Select Lounge to city hall ("Almost 100 people," really, JZ?). Here's some shaky-camera'd video of people shouting the same thing over and over, and an Examiner post by Hassan Giordano reports that "The Fraternal Order of Police President Robert Cherry has taken a more criticle approach to the matter"

"Baltimore taken to task over police beard ban"

And a hearing today in Annapolis on decriminalizing small amounts of marijuanica

"Searching for Details Online, Lawyers Facebook the Jury." Would you "friend" the DA's office in exchange for free access to the court's wi-fi network?

AAC police arrested two winners for a shooting outside of a 16-year-old's birthday party in Glen Burnie

ps., watch out for that "whether mix" out there!

Fractured families

One murder in the city this weekend and six shootings, and two murders in the county

Judge allows lawsuit from inmate who claims he was attacked on orders from a gang-tied correctional officer

Have you ever heard of Dead Men Inc.? That Perry "Rocky" Roark certainly has an intense gaze....

"New daddy" goes to jail ... 30 years for Brian Savage, accused of beating his girlfriend's toddler son to death.

Readers gag as Dan Rodricks reports that Parris Glendening now regrets his "life means life" stance.

Lt. Col. Michael J. Andrew, who leaked a memo to the Sun, retired with "no regrets"

The aunt of murder victim Warren Wilmer writes about their fractured family

Irate letters dept: "Sun misleads in sensationalized Werdesheim coverage" and other screeds opinions
Related: WSJ's Robbie Whelan: "Past in Crown Heights Is Baltimore’s Present"

Ponzi schemers convicted of fraud conspiracy and money laundering; they ripped off victims to ride around in chauffeured luxury cars and attend sporting events

Public defender Nancy Forster's wrongful-termination lawsuit was dismissed. More about this here, though still no dirt on what really happened...

WTF?! Poll of Americans says Ronald Reagan was the best president ever, and they admire George W. Bush more than Thomas Jefferson. Related: "Md. gets a C for teaching of U.S. history"

Motorcyclists give city sherriff the finger

Mayhem, and charges ensue (maybe not mayhem, just a some gun pointing)

$10 million lawsuit

Marlow Humbert (I know, right?) former suspect in a series of Charles Village rapes, is suing the police department

Babies and dogs

Things are indeed seldom what they seem in this burg. Remember William Bozman (or Bozeman), 68, who shot muy gordo armed intruder Marvin Cook Jr. last year, then Cook bled all over Bozamn's bed? Apparently Cook was conspiring with Bozman's own son, who was arrested in Florida. "Fun" fact, Cook also once tried to rob and shoot FOP spokesman Bob Cherry and had been sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder, but "good time" had him sprung sooner. He was also arrested "for two misdemeanors after his release ... but a judge decided not to order Cook to serve the remainder of that 2001 attempted murder sentence."

WTF? "A Baltimore City Circuit Court jury convicted Anita M. Jones, 39, of Baltimore of first-degree child abuse, second-degree child abuse, and second-degree assault for attacking an 18-day-old infant."
In other child-abuse news, "Shaken-Baby Syndrome Faces New Questions in Court"

WBAL has more video of the Werdesheim rally/protest. (Whoa, Susan Green, Huggy Bear wants his coat back. And hey look, at 2:11 it's the first tv appearance of Bernstein's new communications director Mark Cheshire.)

Man shot in head at Catonsville gas station

Stats be darned, septuagenarian spitfire Helen Vello really likes Ellwood Park

Have you seen a white Ford Econoline van with the imprint of 29-year-old Jason Cheslik in the front grill? Call crimestoppers...

O'Malley nominates his wife for a 2nd term as judge

More teens in trouble for animal abuse-- is there an epidemic, or are we just hearing more about this lately? Now two 16-year-olds from Severn are facing animal cruelty charges after they were busted at a dogfight.

21, 22

A man stabbed to death in the neck at the bus stop at E. North and Greenmount Avenues

Martez Anthony Hall, 22, was found shot to death in a home in the 1600 block of 31st Street at about 11 p.m. last night

Cleaven Williams, accused of stabbing his wife after she filed a restraining order against him, testified in his own defense and couldn't stand to look at the autopsy pictures. And srsly? "four days before the killing, Williams had tried to turn himself in at the Eastern District precinct in response to a warrant charging him with assaulting his wife, but the warrant could not be located and Williams was told to leave." And the witness who cradled Veronica Williams as she died testified that Cleaven was trying to commit "suicide by cop." And the Sun has creepy pictures of the knives and notes.

More on the Shomrim protest/rally by Nick Madigan... don't miss the awesome video. Looks like the vast majority were Shomrim supporters.