May 13

Dusty Shuck's mother says that the murdered 24-year-old suffered from schizophrenia and had walked away from a treatment facility in New Mexico.

Dundalker Steven Liller Jr. spent two months in jail for carjacking and assault in what turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.

Two shockingly stupid Montgomery County teens are charged with setting 17 fires after posting pictures of their handiwork on Myspace.

Crazy shit, yo: A 57-year-old woman in Harford County hoarded more than 100 pets in conditions so squalid a hazardous materials response team shut off electricity for fear that the methane could cause an explosion.

May 12

Stephan Vaughn, 27 (or Baughan, if you're JZ), got 20 years in prison for counts related to a burglary, police chase and accident that ended in the deaths of Avon Holman, 15, and Denis Jurkiewicz Jr., 24. Said the state,

On July 29, 2005 at 4:53 a.m. police observed and pursued a black BMW 325i being driven at excessive speed and failing to stop for red lights on Broadway in Fells Point. The BMW crashed into a Mitsubishi Galant killing its driver, Denis Jurkiewicz, 24, a nearby resident who was on his way home from work. Both vehicles then struck a parked Chrysler Concorde, traveled up onto the sidewalk and into a tree, totaling both vehicles. The driver of the BMW, later identified as Stephan Vaughn, was observed to exit through the driver's side window and run into an apartment building at 3 N Broadway where he was eventually apprehended after forcing his way into an apartment. Further investigation revealed that the BMW had been reported stolen. Found inside was the deceased body of Avon Holman, 15. Also recovered were three plasma TVs and two cash registers which had just been reported stolen from a commercial establishment, the Red Fish, located at 845 South Montford Ave.Vaughn has a previous conviction in Baltimore County and could face 15 years additional prison time. More than 50 family members and victims were in court this morning and many offered victim impact statements.

A Baltimore City jury convicted Damien Whitaker, 26, of attempted second-degree assault and carrying a dangerous weapon with the intent to injure. Judge Shirley Watts sentenced Whitaker to five years plus three years of probation. Says the State:

On May 26, 2005, Damien Whitaker, along with other unknown associates, allegedly to held a woman and her grandson hostage inside their home in the 2800 block of Hilldale Avenue for several hours. Mr. Whitaker threatened to kill someone if he couldn't find his money and his "stuff" which he alleged was stolen from him the day before. Mr. Whitaker lay in wait at the residence until the woman's son returned home. When the son returned to the house, he was assaulted with a baseball bat and beaten by Whitaker and two of his associates. The victim's car keys and money were taken from his pockets and Mr. Whitaker forced the victim to drive to a motel on North Avenue to find the person Mr. Whitaker believed stole his property. The victim was eventually able to escape Mr. Whitaker and called 911.

A Baltimore City jury late last night convicted Herbert Wyche, 55, of West Saratoga Street, of attempted first-degree murder and a related handgun count, but acquitted Wyche of first-degree murder in the death of William Staten, 60. The jury deliberated approximately three hours following two days of testimony. Sentencing is scheduled for July 12. Court docs allege that on April 21, 2004 Staten was cleaning the steps andsidewalk area in front of his home at 1031 N. Stricker St. when Wyche dropped some orange peels on the sidewalk, angering Mr. Staten. The two began to argue and Mr. Staten hit Wyche in the head with a bottle. Wyche then pulled out a gun and shot the victim once in the abdomen. Mr. Staten died 15 months later.

The murder trial of Nathaniel Broadway, scheduled to begin today, has been postponed until August 3 before Judge Schwait. The defendant had indicated to the court he was going to plead guilty in this case but changed his mind.

The Capital: Four members of the MD PSC, Kenneth D. Schisler, Allen M. Freifeld, Charles "Kinky Boots" Boutin and Karen A. Smith violated the law when they secretly met with the governor's staff regarding the BGE rate hike (weren't they supposed to have been fired already?).

The Sun catches up with last week's murder news and misreports the age of murder victim Zion Clemmons, who died from blunt-force trauma at the age of 16 months, 3 days.

Bitch, please: Melissa Harton plans to appeal her 10-year sentence today, claiming her chock-full-o-lies police interview should not have been used against her.

AAC police are seeking the public's help in finding some shotgun-toting convenience-store robbers.

Donald Handy of QAC got 17 1/2 years for selling the crack, Timothy Fisher of HC got 13 years for being a felon with a gun (and crack, and cocaine, and ammunition).

The Sykesville perv is described as fat, bearded and driving a blue compact car. And a Rockville school bus aide has been accused of groping a 9-year-old.

Banks have been robbed in Westminister and Fallston.

May 10

Daughters of a 62-year-old rape victim have taken it upon themselves to publish a sketch of the suspect (left) who attacked their mother in the driveway of her Northwest home with a barbecue fork. They claim police have "discouraged" them from publicizing the sketch.

Officer Rodney Price, who pled guilty in 2002 to the first-degree murder of Tristan Little (who was having an affair with Price's wife), asked the court to reduce his 50-year sentence.

The murder and child abuse trial of Nathaniel Broadway, 26, of E. 31st Street, is scheduled to begin at 9 tomorrow morning before Judge Allen L. Schwait. On June 7, 2004 Broadway and Sierra Swann, the parents of infant twin girls, were indicted for first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the death of their one-month-old twins. The indictment charges them with the murders of Emmoney Broadway and Emmonea Broadway on May 11, 2004 at their residence. On February 13 Sierra Swann pled guilty to two counts of child abuse resulting in death and she is scheduled to be sentenced on May 30. Nathaniel Broadway and Sierra Swann are being held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center.

The judge in the case of Terry Jones, a 24-year-old man accused of beating his 15-year-old girlfriend to death has reversed her decision and now will allow DNA evidence (warning: story rife with typos). Meanwhile, during jury selection this afternoon, defendant Jones became ill and was transported to the hospital for medical care. The matter has been continued until tomorrow and will be heard in Administrative Court.

The Police Blotter has been suspiciously absent this week. Maybe Richard Irwin is on vacation, which would explain why three of the five deaths in "Murder Ink" -- including that of an 18-month-old child -- weren't covered in the Sun.

I think I'm getting this one right, but it seems too absurd to be true: David Allen Cullum was charged with first degree murder for shooting his stepsister's boyfriend yesterday. The boyfriend, Billy Wayne Corbitt, had beaten her, threatened to kill her, come to Cullum's house with a gun, and continued to advance on Cullum even after he had fired a warning shot. I guess Cullum was supposed to stand there and watch his sister get murdered by Corbitt.

An 18-year-old was injured and a 25-year-old man was shot to death in Northwest Baltimore.

A military hearing began yesterday in Iceland for the accused murderer of Airman 1st Class Ashley Turner, a resident of Frederick.

A Carroll County pervert has been offering middle school girls rides to school.

Dusty Shuck may have been killed by a trucker.

A 69-year-old woman who owned an assisted-living facility was sentenced to 18 months house arrest for patient neglect. One patient died after being found with bedsores on 40% of her body, gangrene in one foot, and maggots in the other.

Robert Nicholas Pyle will do three years for stealing a truckload of plasma TVs.

A man who cheated the Social Security Administration for over $20,000 was sentenced to 366 days in prison.

Utech, the employer of City Council President Sheila Dixon's sister, cannot contract with the city for at least two years.

May 9

A man was shot to death at 6:00 Tuesday evening in Bowley's Quarters, and Baltimore County police have made one arrest.

Police are seeking Darryl "Day Day" Bolling, 18, for shooting into a crowd of people at an Essex bus stop, wounding a 16-year-old boy.

BAL covers three child sex abuse cases today.

One of the surviving robbers who attacked Mark Beckwith at the Village of Cross Keys pleaded not guilty. Beckwith defended himself against the would-be robbers and killed one of them in the process.

Leroy Young faces up to 50 years for killing Terrence Smith last year.

An assault and robbery occurred outside of a Westminster hair salon last night.

Unshocking report: MD's joovy halls are poorly managed hellholes.

Howard county schools are getting tough on bullies.

The 6th grade teacher is out to get you.

After being held for 51 days, a misidentified carjacking suspect was released from jail.

Kids at Chinquapin Middle School in Northeast Baltimore were off yesterday because someone vandalized the school over the weekend.

Police in Aberdeen met with local residents to teach them about gangs.

May 8

From now until Thursday, I'll be posting updates in the early evenings. Please check back then.

Octavius Savage, 20, of Waldorf, was charged with first-degree murder of the grody, bisected, burnt remains.

Three men were arrested for breaking into Melissa Lynn Lowery's Abingdon home last night. The men, including her ex-boyfriend Richard C. Schofield Jr., attacked her and attempted to cut off the legs of Marc Edward Travers. Schofield and Lowery dated last year and had a history of domestic violence, including several reported threats against her and people she knew.

Police in Hagerstown are using a flashing yellow roadside sign that reads "HOMICIDE HERE" in hopes of learning information in the death of Dusty Shuck, whose body was found alongside I-70 on May 4.

BGE, Verizon, and Comcast all deny responsibility for the electrocution of 14-year-old Deanna Green during a softball game on Friday night.

A man in his 60s was attacked, cut, and robbed by two men while attempting to make a bank deposit in Crofton. One of the men used a large knife, possibly a machete.

A man was shot in the stomach three blocks away from Mondawmin Mall on Monday.

The best way to avoid getting shot by the Annapolis police? Don't hide drugs in your mouth, drag an officer behind your car, steal his partner's gun, then threaten to start shooting at police.

There was an appeals court hearing today regarding the death sentence of Vernon Lee Evans Jr.

Arvel D. Williams was stopped for a traffic violation and arrested for possessing a pound of pot, 100 grams of crack, and 127 grams of cocaine.

53-year-old Michael Zemanick of Ellicott City was charged with robbing his local branch of the Bradford Bank on February 15.

New Pikesville digs for the Baltimore County police. Perhaps the commander of the newly created Precinct 4 will be given an inadequate staff and then relocated when crime goes up. Not that anything like that would ever happen in, say, the city's Northern District.