Friday, December 9, 2011

Man shot at 29th & Calvert

A man was shot in the head at Calvert and 29th streets in Charles Village at 11 p.m. last night. UPDATE: he was ID'd as Brandon Hudson, 22*, shot while sitting on a couch in the first floor of an apartment.

and Police Tweet, "Triple Shooting, 1800 Blk Maryland Ave (Central District), 12:58am, adult males shot."

Fenton Tweets that 1992 shooting victim Ronald Watkins had been hanging out at Odell's nightclub. (Remember Odell's? That place was awesome). Apparently this story was written just two weeks before Watkins' shooting-- the armed guards must have not done much good. The club was owned by Milton Tillman, Jr., of bail bonds fame, and defended by his lawyer, Elijah Cummings. Heh heh, Doo Doo Brown.

Ten years for an Edgewood cocaine dealer, whose slang term for crack was "the Jolly Rancher."

A 12th officer, Rafael Feliciano Jr., has pleaded guilty in the towing scandal

More speed cameras have gone up around town for a total of 142 (!!) -- noticed a new one on North Charles St. southbound at Blythewood (by Loyola) when some Speedy McJerkwad in front of me got the flash, a location that notably not on this list. Not a bad idea to check the list-- then drive like a grandma anyway.

A new e-book about Ed Norris is out, focusing on his investigation of the shooting death of Jew­ish Defense League founder Rabbi Mier Kahan while with the NYPD. If you're interested, you can download it for Kindlefor less than a buck.

A Federal court judge ruled bloggers aren't entitled to journalists' legal protections that allow them to shield sources. In other words, bloggers, if you allege something expect to have to prove it's true. &@%#!!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Plain clothes cops speak plainly

BPD caught on tape being less than polite during a traffic stop.

186, 187

Why so stabby, Baltimore? Another fatal stabbing, this time a 45-year-old man in the NW*; in the 3500 block of Woodland Ave. Update: Fenton ID's the man as Christopher Gilliam, and says a female "of interest" is in custody but not charged.

Ronald Watkins, shot 19 years ago at the corner of North Ave and Charles Street, has died from his injuries and been added to this year's homicide toll.

A suspiciously dead body that is either male or female-- or is it two bodies? was found in Remington. WMAR clears up the mystery-- it's a body that police first reported was a woman, then decided was male. Ok then.

A woman was robbed of her cell phone by a guy driving a Cadillac and wielding a baseball bat; in Abell a would-be robber was disarmed by employees; a 7-Eleven robbed in Remington in the North Baltimore Patch blotter.

The Country Club of Maryland was burglarized and thieves made off with $2,000 of stuff-- aka one-third of one member's initiation dues.

Today in bad sex news, two officers are are on leave following an alleged public threesome; a Glen Burnie teacher is in trouble for having sex with three students.

Here's a theory to ponder: trust in government leading to a lower crime rate, with the decline in crime the past few years a result of "the Obama effect."

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

185

A man stabbed to death on Eastern Avenue Northeast N. East Avenue

A man shot multiple times at 12:39 p.m. in the 700 block of Willow Avenue, mere blocks (but worlds away) from Guilford

A second week with only one murder (that we know of). The unfortunate victim was Kenneth Davis, 29.

Attorneys need to stop releasing information about who's snitching cooperating with law enforcement, said RJR* following the indictments of Tavon Dameon Davis, 24, and Bruce Eric Byrd, 26, for conspiring and committing murder for hire, murdering a witness and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Tyrone Jackson, 52, pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing $488,572.50 in forged checks and 327 videos and 779 photos of pornographic images of children (why do the pedo guys always have so many damn images?).

Assault victim Christy Lee Polis was charged with disorderly conduct after reporting a robbery in the county.

Eastern District commander is owner of a run-down vacant that he's too broke* to fix up, reports the Sun's Scott Calvert

Deposed fraudster Belinda Conaway attended her last City Council meeting on Monday night, as did Nick D'Adamo, who serenaded the venerable council with a parody tune.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Schurick Guilty on all Four Counts

Tweeted Luke Broadwater

Update, here's the Sun story*, the WBAL story (featuring an old clip that includes character witness John Heath: "the Paul Schurick that I know was a person who went in the hood ... and he hung out in Old York Road with the brothers.")

.. and down in PGC, seven years in the slammer for Jack "put it in your panties" Johnson.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Deputy shot in the line of duty may be fired

He took a bullet while serving a murder warrant, now he may take a fall for speaking to the media.

Meanwhile, no end in sight to the city worker turned criminal turned tax payer funded pensioner (aka The Dixon rule)

'never thought he'd do something like that to a friend'

Hampden went on lockdown yesterday due to the report of a roving armed loonybird

Three people reported shot this weekend, Tweeted the BPD: two adult males at Vancouver & Markham, and a woman shot in the 900 block of Jack Street.

Paul Schurick's robocall case is expected to go to the jury today; he faces a maximum of 12-16 years in jail if convicted on three conspiracy charges and failure to supply an authority line. (WJZ says 12 years, the WaPo says 5 years for 3 counts plus one year for the authority line thing... who's right?). Henson's trial is scheduled for February.

Trial postponed for Dante Parrish, a convicted murderer accused of killing teenager Jason Mattison, right. "The family told 11 News at the time of the slaying that Parrish was a friend and that they knew he was a convicted murderer but never thought he'd do something like that to a friend."

Stolen copper gutters, yes, latest trend, no. In spite of feeble legal attempts to crack down on the sale of stolen metal, homeowners are still getting (literally) ripped off... exacerbating the suck, homeowner's associations are forcing some residents to re-purchase the luxury gutters.

National: D.E.A. launders millions of dollars in drug money to find out who's laundering money. Ps., happy 78th Repeal Day! Have some fun facts about prohibition. ("In Los Angeles, a jury that had heard a bootlegging case was itself put on trial after it drank the evidence"). There are still more than 100 dry communities in the U.S., but none in Maryland, where no municipality is allowed to have an ordinance more strict than state law. Though you'd think MD's annoying prohibition against buying booze on Sunday dates back to the Volstead act, it actually doesn't-- it apparently dates all the way back to pre-colonial times.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Hordiculous

There really needs to be a word that combines ridiculous and horrible. Ridorrible? Horriculous? Whatever you call it, it was bountiful Friday at the robocall trial, with the defense calling somewhere between nine and 18"character" witnesses* to testify to the general awesomeness of Ehrlich's campaign manager, Paul Shurick. How their platitudes could be material to the facts I can't imagine, but anyway, the beacons of virtue hand-picked to testify included executive director of the Maryland Coal Association, a firefighter, and Michael Steele, now best known for presiding over the Republican party as it wooed donors with bottle service at a bondage club. Oh, and also former governor Marvin Mandel, now 92 years old and best known as MD's first (and only) convicted-felon governor, who spent 19 months in jail on various fraud charges. And Schurick testified for his own defense, blaming it all on his underling. "I recall saying to Julius, 'I’m paying you $16,000 a month, give us a plan." Adding to the ridiculorribleness, beloved dykon Jayne Miller broke her ankle on a city shitty sidewalk while covering the case. And BTW and p.s., after testifying that he had never heard the robocall, on Friday a special agent basically proved that he had. Then he admitted it. D'oh!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

#BlackMan'sRights??

Good Jeebuz! Three men were arrested last night after a four-hour, two-county crime spree that involved 12 victims, including a man stripped naked, another man shot in the eye and the leg, and a wrecked Lincoln Continental.

A third murder at Perkins Hospital? Really?

The prosecution rested yesterday in the robo-call case, after Julius Henson's employee Rhonda Russell, who recorded the "relax, everything's fine" message, offered the lamest excuses ev. er., testifying that the calls were "reverse psychology ... I was told this call would stimulate whoever wanted to vote for Mr. Ehrlich." Never mind that the calls went only to Democrats or that Russell's notes included the phrase "suppress turnout in black communities." Not every member of the black community is horrified by this, though. Wrote Mr. Hassan MrPolitics Giordano on the Facebooks, "First their aim was at Julius (Henson), and still is quite frankly; now they're looking 2 hang Frank Conaway?! I guess an outspoken black man who doesn't have 2 rely on them 2 gain fortune & fame better learn their place huh?! SMDH...#BlackMan'sRights??"

Speaking of, the Sun has posted the police report from the Conaway/Meister kerfuffle... oh my, not very flattering to either one of them! The report says Adam Scott attempted a karate kick, and Frank Melvin was indeed on the sidewalk with his gun. Oh, my.

Stephanie Lynn Schwab, the "Blonde Bandit," the Thanksgiving carjacker, the potato-chinned MS-13 mom, was nabbed on the D.C. beltway after robbing a bank in McLean, VA.

More good news: Fenton tweets that November ended with "only" 10 homicides: the lowest level in 40 years. A man who allegedly home-invaded the elderly in Pikesville has been arrested. So relax. Everything is fine. The only thing left is to watch it on TV tonight. Congratulations, and thank you.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Sixth time's a charm?

Drug dealer, convicted double-murderer and amateur lawyer Anthony Grandison is headed to the Court of Appeals* for the sixth time. Grandison is currently on death row for hiring Vernon Evans to kill David Piechowicz and Susan Kennedy in April of 1983.

184

Fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man on the 500 block of South Bentalou Street; a carjacking at Dru Hill and Whitelock.

The Ink details last week's single homicide, and the fifth fatal police-involved shooting of the year.

The defense and prosecution agreed yesterday that Ehrlich's campaign manager, Paul Schurick, personally approved the "relax" robocalls, and prosecutors described a desperate and panicked election eve for the Republican campaign. Fun fact: the Sun's Justin Fenton was the sleuth who traced the calls to the Ehrlich campaign.

Fenton and Hermann follow up on TAB's tip that Darnell Kinlaw, charged with car theft in the Annie McCann case as a teenager, has now been arrested for killing Lakeisha Player and stealing her car*. Kinlaw was apparently out of jail due to the magic of concurrent sentences and credit for time served.

And another murder arrest, Jerome Burgess Jr.*, 19, has been charged in the murder of 25-year-old Tavon Toney, who was robbed and killed walking on Franklin St. Incredibly, reports Fenton, this is Burgess' fifth arrest this year.

The special prosecutor for the Meister vs. Conaway kerfuffle has been appointed*, one Steven I. Kroll, head of the Maryland State Attorney's Association. Don't know if he shares Meister and Bernstein's "commonality of their religion*" (Kroll is a German name, with a family crest of two crossed bird feet), but surely Conaway's lawyer will squawk regardless.

Occupy Baltimore permit = denied! Didn't that happen already, you say? Indeed it did, in October the group applied for a permit and was denied then, too, but nothing came of it. Parks & Rec. also adds that "assemblies of more than 150 are prohibited." Isn't that kind of, like, a violation of the 1st Amendment?

Greenmount Avenue merchants worry about crime. Remember when you could go there after dark, get a Pupu platter at Uncle Lee's and browse for books at the bookstore across the street? Old person sigh ...

Sonja Sohn on violence

Wire actress talked about the impact of growing up in a violent home at a summit in Baltimore.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Policing the police

The city's Civilian Review Board investigated but didn't want to talk about a whole bunch of complaints against city officers.

Murder Arrests, Identifications...

32-year-old Steven Pennington has been Id'd as the man shot to death at the intersection of Moreland Ave. and Presbury St. on Nov. 14.

This week's Murder Ink gives more details of the robbery-murder of 25-year-old Tavon Toney, allegedly committed by Jerome Burgess Jr, 19.

The Sun has updates on another murder arrest alongside that of Jerome Burgess Jr. Arrested for the murder of Lakeisha Player was Darnell Kinlaw Jr., 21. *

If the name Darnell Kinlaw sounds familiar, it might be because of his peculiar involvement in the Annie McCann case. McCann, if you don't remember, was a 16-year-old girl who ran away from her Virgina home, only to end up dead in a trash can in Southeast Baltimore. Kinlaw's involvement in the case only revolved around his having been charged with stealing her car. Those charges were later dropped, much to the chagrin of McCann's parents.

One has to wonder if a man already accused of a murder of one woman might have had a larger-than-thought-of role in the death of Annie McCann. That is, of course, all speculation. What isn't speculation is the fact that Darnell Kinlaw was in no way supposed to be free at the time of the alleged murder of Player. He had been sentenced to 3 years and 4 years, respectively, in two different cases in January of 2011. Even with prior time served and parole after having served half of his sentence, there is still no reason why he would be released any earlier than early-to-mid 2012. A shame all around.

Finally, a gas leak turned up a lot more than the broken gas valve: instead a grow-op was found in this McElderry St. row-home.

Three escapes, a scapegoat and a zebra

Good grief, $107k to settle two more police-misconduct lawsuits, reports the Brew. Has Bealefeld decided that lawsuits are cheaper than training?

Fenton writes about the changes to the crack-sentencing law that will eventually allow for the release of about 50 Maryland inmates*

Police say a lady carjacker (and MS-13 member) may be in the area; keep your eyes peeled for one Stephanie Lynn Schwab. She's a mom of two, and has a neck tattoo and a potato chin.

Also keep an eye out for Cornelius Moore, who police say escaped home detention. Also Nathan Cockrel, who was accidentally released from Central Booking. Oopsies!

A Poly student is in caliente agua after allegedly bringing a gun to school*

One duplicate conspiracy charge was thrown out today against Paul Schurick in the robocall case, but by the end of the day both the defense and prosecution agree that he approved the calls.

Oh, look, the lawyer repping Frank Conaway Sr., J. Wyndal Gordon, is also defending Tiffany Alston (D- PGC) against allegations of campaign-finance violations (specifically, using campaign $$ to finance her wedding) ... and guess which group Gordon is scapegoating for her charges?

... and who knew that while the circus was in town in 2008, two zebras escaped?

* Sun link

Monday, November 28, 2011

"things happen differently"

... so what did I miss, Baltimore?
It looks like police arrested one Alvin Ray Wright Sr.*, 48, for the rape of a 13-year-old girl in an abandoned rowhouse on N. Caroline Street in October. He doesn't have a record of prior sex offenses, just drug and car-theft charges, but DNA evidence implicated his evil ass after his sample was given high priority in the testing queue.

A woman robbed with a toy gun in Roland Park and a shootout in the 5400 block of York Road in the North Baltimore Patch Blotter

The Conaway/Meister drama continues, and here's a nugget that will make you crap a book on how to puke: Conaway's lawyer J. Wyndal Gordon says Conaway is being investigated because both Meister and Bernstein are Jewish*: "When you have a situation where you have a Jewish victim and an African-American male, you have things happen differently than if it happened to be a regular case ... perhaps because of their commonality in their religion."

Ehrlich aides' robocall trial kicks off today. Hilariously, the wife of the judge in the case got one of the calls, but Judge Lawrence Fletcher Hill says that won't affect his judgment.

Bernstein has hired a young hotshot to do some prosecutin' up in the state's attorney's office*, heading up a division that is "new" and "major." His notable achievements so far include attending basketball games, making a baby, and encouraging prosecutors to paint their offices (with coveralls over their suits, one hopes).

WTF?! County man committed suicide by setting himself on fire in front of cops

ps. this is weird, the Sun reported yesterday* that James L. Owens is suing the city of Baltimore for $15 million ... but the suit was filed (and widely reported) on October 12. A worthwhile story to be sure, but why write about it now?

* Sun link ... I'll try to warn you from here on out so you can save your monthly clicks!

Friday, November 25, 2011

Scrappy city workers

Brazen DPW workers discuss ripping of the city with the cameras rolling

The Turkey's Not the Only One Getting Stabbed

A thanksgiving stabbing in Milford Mill. A 51-year-old man spotted a very intoxicated man, identified as Gilberto Mendez, 24, in the middle of the street. While trying to get him him out of the street Mendez took it upon himself to break a bottle and stab the 51-year-old. What a wonderful time of year.

Police have id'd the knife wielding man shot to death by police as 52-year-old Anthony Stoakley.

Dundalk resident Mason Smith, 19, is in a whole lot of trouble after striking a cop with his car while fleeing arrest.

Baltimore County Police have come to the conclusion that the person who killed Russian woman Yulia Pogrebenko was her federal-prisoner son

A missing person in Hunt Valley may be the same woman pulled from a burning car.

Finally, over in Aruba, a judge has decreed that 50-year-old Gary Giordano is to be released from custody.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

27 Shotings = 20 Years

The case against notorious drug kingpin Stephen Blackwell has come to a somewhat anti-climactic ending when Blackwell (Pictured right in the first picture I've ever seen of him) pled guilty to heroin conspiracy charges as well as a variety of other non-violent crimes.

While Blackwell was never charged with any of the violence that threw him into the spotlight, he was believed to have been at the head of an organization that engaged in a violent war, resulting in the shootings of 27 people. All of the violence started with the April 2008 abduction of brothers Stephon and Sterling Blackwell. Interestingly enough, young Stephon is already following in his older brothers footsteps, with an early 2012 trial for drug dealing and a conviction for prescription drug fraud already on his record.

This abduction set off a war between the Stephen Blackwell organization and the Terrell Allen group. Allen, 38, is also serving a federal prison sentence for possession of ammunition. No end-all prison fight between the two drug leaders will likely occur due to Terrell Allen likely being released in January.

Throughout this long ordeal there were many shootings and several notable homicides including: Omar Spriggs; one of the men responsible for the abduction of the Blackwell brothers, Tony Allen; who was Terrell Allen's dad and was shot alongside his son and Spriggs, as well as Quinton Hogan and Donell Rogers. Also killed were Troy Wilson and Demarco Brown Jr; the two men believed to be responsible for the Hogan & Rogers murder, Anthony Izzard, and kidnapping/murder victim Eric Pendergrass Jr.
Thanks to Justin Fenton and the Baltimore Sun as well as City Paper for all the information found here.

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The news keeps coming in the Adam Meister-Frank Conaway yard scuffle case. Now an outside prosecutor is going to be handling the case. This is a pretty good move, since an unbiased prosecution is nearly impossible to get with this case.

A city police officer fatally shot an man armed with two knives at the 3300 block of Edmonson Ave.

50 Years in prison for Michael Hunter, 20, for shooting 72-year-old security guard Charles Bowman in the often-dangerous Yau Brothers Chinese take-out restaurant.

A Windsor Mill teen is in serious condition after being shot by two unknown males while walking to a 7-11.

Occupy Baltimore protestors are giving it another shot to obtain a park permit.

54-year-old Russia teacher Yulia Pogrebenko, who was found dead in the Chesapeake Bay after having gone missing during a trip to Maryland has been officially deemed a homicide victim. No charges have been filed as of yet.

Baltimore County police are citing pedestrian error for the death of 74-year-old William Norton, Jr.

Finally, a Dundalk couple are in the hospital after both somehow getting doused in flammable liquid before catching on fire.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

183

As-of-yet-unidentified man shot in the head at the 900 block of Franklin St.

This weeks' murder ink notes several homicide arrests as well as two cases closed by exception; the death of Earl Brown, who was shot in 1999, and the murder of 1-year-old Davon Booth Jr.

Still no info on the body found in the World Trade Center Monday morning.

The story of how a traffic stop in Louisiana led to a drug arrest in Baltimore.

An apparent arrest in a triple stabbing in White Marsh, though the suspect wasn't id'd.

Flash mobs strike again in Montgomery County.

Glen Burnie murder suspect Cornelius Keith Johnson, 24, inadvertently turns himself in.

Finally, 12 years in federal prison for now thrice-convicted Baltimore drug dealer Stephen Johnson, 31.

So... apparently they didn't kick out the wall street protestors?