Saturday, December 9, 2006

December 9

"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Violent Crime Impact Team, working with the Baltimore Police Department, dismantled a 'very violent' drug organization in the Edmondson Village area ..."

From the DR [subscription required]:
An 82-year-old Baltimore woman is suing Baltimore City, the Baltimore City Police Department and one of its officers, claiming she was handcuffed, pushed and screamed at when police responded to a call at her home in March. Juanita Cantrell filed suit Friday in Baltimore City Circuit Court, alleging assault and battery, false arrest and imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Cantrell also claims the officer threatened to charge her with assault if she reported the behavior, which she in fact did. Police arrived at Cantrell’s home on March 30, 2006, in response to an alleged dispute between the Cantrells and their neighbors.


Dirty Old Men:
Father Jerome F. "Jeff" Toohey Jr., 60, former chaplain of Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, got 8 months shaved off of his sentence by Baltimore County Circuit Judge John G. Turnbull II.
Victims (including CNN's Thomas Roberts) are furious.
gounarisThe E on Timothy Gouranis: "When an accused sexual offender can switch school districts without so much as a heads up to his future employer, heads should roll."

One of the largest steroid stashes ever was found by customs investigators in AAC.

All sorts of robbery and stolen stuff in the blotter.

ralphtylerBaltimore City Solicitor Ralph Tyler will become chief legal counsel for the new O'Malley administration. From TDR {<- TDR sub. required}:
The 59-year-old Tyler ... spent 14 years in the Office of the Attorney General after moving to Maryland in 1982 [from Illinois]. As chief of litigation, he won the landmark case of Baltimore City Department of Social Services v. Bouknight before the U.S. Supreme Court. In that case, the state’s highest court held that a mother's confinement for civil contempt for failing to produce her previously abused son violated the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The Supreme Court, however, held that the mother could not invoke that amendment to resist the court order to produce the child. In 1996, Tyler made a move to private practice at Hogan & Hartson LLP, where, among other things, he represented Maryland in an attorney'$ fee di$pute with Peter G. Angelo$ stemming from toba¢¢o litigation. In 2004, he replaced Thurman Zollicoffer Jr. as city solicitor. Tyler is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Harvard Law School.
Also From TDR: what's up with the Court of Appeals for next week.

PGC lawyer MeLinda Porcher Hodgson of Windsor Mill was disbarred after failing to tell her client that said client's divorce case had been dismissed because Hodgson didn't file a financial form. {<- - sub. required}

Friday, December 8, 2006

Have a Big Gay Weekend!

BCrime readers may seem conservative, but only 10 percent advocate leaving our laws the way they are now or killing the gays. Well, that's nice. The rest support some kind of gay rights, like adopting or fostering kids. Three voters thought gay couples should be able to foster kids but not adopt them. Only about a third of readers support actual marriage or civil unions.

More news:
A city officer was hit by a car while trying to make a drug arrest on MLKJrBlvd.

Three murder arrests in the blotter, including Donavan Troy White, 17, extradited from NC for the beating death of Joel Bradley; Darrell Barnes, 42, charged with strangling Shannon Jackson, 39 (in 2001, and leaving her body in a storm drain), and Tavon Caldwell, charged with shooting Dennis O'Neil, 38 on November 18; also a shooting in Franklin.

Worcester County's most wanted, Riley Collick, 28, of Stockton, turned himself in to US Marshalls downtown.

Burglary in Owings Mills, armed robbery in Pikesville and Randallstown, stolen shoes in Reisterstown.

A Reisterstown teenager, Kaseem Malik Ray, was charged as an adult with attempted murder, assault, burglary and reckless endangerment after being ID'd as the shooter in a County dispute.

Pathologist Todd Sheridan, charged with voluntary manslaughter, pled not guilty at arraignment today. The court scheduled a trial date of March 2 before Judge Albert J. Matricciani, Jr.

Frederick police are looking for David Allen Chambers, wanted for second degree murder, first degree assault, handgun violations and reckless endangerment.

December 8

Local shootings.
Travon Johnson, 23, was shot to death in the 3600 block of Brehms Lane in Belair-Edison (at least 252).

A 24-year-old man was (nonfatally) shot near Cherry Hill elementary school yesterday.

gondo"Baltimore police pleaded yesterday to hear again from a man who called 911 and gave them promising leads in the shooting of police officer Officer Momodu Gondo (right) before hanging up" or being disconnected.

Bad Cops.
Update: Andre Stover, a former BC police officer, was indicted for conspiring with one Natalie Mack, former claims adjuster, to commit felony theft and felony insurance fraud.
And, a week or so ago, former SE officer Terre N. Shields, accused of setting her SUV on fire for the insurance money, quit the department.

Politics.
What the?! Beloved local Socialist A. Robert Kaufman has been attacked again, by another tenant! Kaufman was hit on the head with a brick by a man whose name may be Stephen.

"Awkward," that's one way to put the situation in which Dixon has "authority over the very board charged with offering an opinion on her actions."

Well, that's nice... before sailing off into the sunset, Ehrlich created a state board to oversee crime labs.

volleyball-teacherIt's actually good news when pedophiles are brushed out from under the rug, right?
Perv du jour is Robert Borello, 52, left, accused of an 'encounter' with a 16-year-old volleyball player at Wicomico High.

The PGC minister, the late and Rev. Milton L. Moore, may not have been the victim of random violence, but targeted for "personal reasons." Wonder what that means...

"Montgomery County police have arrested three teenagers accused of shooting a 15-year-old boy with a pellet gun during an armed robbery in Chevy Chase. Police charged Jordan Terrazas, 17, of Silver Spring; Arian A. Butler, 16, of Silver Spring; and Christopher A. Tillman, 16, of the District with armed robbery, assault and theft."

HarfCo: "Deputy State Fire Marshals have charged 18-year-old Heather Reynolds of Whiteford, 18-year-old Lauren Dobbs of Forest Hill and an unidentified 16-year-old boy" with setting off two bombs at the Klein's grocery store.

Thursday, December 7, 2006

December 7 -Pearl Harbor Day

MegginsonKenneth Megginson of Finksburg, right, was arrested for the murder-by-shooting of alleged crackhead Gregory A. Welsh. Megginson, 24, allegedly shot Welsh on his parents' fron porch in the Northeast last Halloween.

From the big E:
Baltimore's crowded courts cause very long delays
and
the mess that 'Large' number of postponed trials has us in
lindsey
Baltimore's Emmett Lindsay, left, 27, has been charged with murder for killing Amy Bracht, an 18-year-old education major at Southwestern Illinois College.

Do we need a law like Maine's to protect pets? Or did Kelli Green want Robert Tomlin to set her kittens on fire?

Rodricks writes about the truck wash that employs ex-felons.
palfrey, Deb Jean
Remember this Madam, Deborah Jean Palfrey
? Lives in Valet-ho, ran a local cathouse, fond of historic restoration?
Recruited UMD students with ads in the Diamondback
? Well, party's over, the Feds have seized her assets.

Salima S. MarriottThere's a twist, we have a new Deputy Mayor!: mayor-presumptove Dixon invented a new position, Deputy Mayor for Community and Human Development, and put Salima S. Marriott (right) in the chair!
Mariott couldn't even get elected in her own district (the 40th) but now she's (surely) Baltimore's youngest-ever deputy mayor!
And YiIiiiKES, "'Dixon is taking over Baltimore at a time when the city is in good shape,'" said Andrew Frank, another Deputy Mayor (for neighborhood and economic development).
What neighborhood does he live in, I wonder?
BTW, the state investigation into city contracts that involving Dixon's sister and her former campaign chairman continues...

Wha? The Van Smith who worked on John Waters movies is not the same one who works at the CP, we assume!

From the Internets: The last link we'll ever post on the Sigma Chi "Halloween in the Hood" party.

HoCo
Donald Jones, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree rape, second-degree sex offense and child sex abuse charges in May and was sentened to 65 years yesterday. Jones raped a pre-school-age girl and recorded the crime on videotape.

AAC
Inmate Kenneth Lawrence Higgins, 37, was found guilty of killing fellow inmate Brian Wilson in January of 2005.

Michael Green, 26, was convicted of negligent homicide, DUI and other charges in a bench trial stemming from the deaths of his daughter and her half-sister in a drunken-driving crash.

Handyman Albert Givens' fifth trial for the murder of Marlene Kilpatrick ended with conviction.

In the latest Navy football rape case, the victims tested negaive for gamma-hydroxybutyrate.

PGC:
A pastor was shot to death on the steps of his church.

Wednesday, December 6, 2006

December 6 nite

Three children were home during the family shoot-out over a utility bill in the Northwest. Johnathan Brodie, on parole for a 10-year sentence for a drug dealing conviction, and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Brandy DuPreee, are in custody.

A child is dead after a hit-and-run in South Baltimore.

In White Marsh at the Park N Ride a man kidnapped and assaulted a 13-year-old girl. (Time for the local news to heap on holiday "how safe is the Park N Ride?" stories...)

Nine students are being treated for pepper-spray exposure after a cafeteria brawl at Woodlawn HS.

Baltimore rabbi Avram Reisner helped open an interpretational door to allow same-sex commitment ceremonies and the ordination of gays within Conservative Judaism ... but no backdoor action for the boys.

December 6

CP:
Murders this week: 251
Andre Alexander, 21, 4300 block of Fairfax Road;
Dennis Talley, 48, 3800 block of Towanda Avenue;
Jason Sanders, 17, 2100 block of East Biddle Street (aka "300 block of Chester street" and "1100 N. Chester");
Hamel Hurley, 25, 1500 block of Shadyside Road
Rassan Jones, 22, 300 block of West Lafayette Avenue in Bolton Hill

"Police also reported for the first time a killing Friday in Northeast Baltimore's Hillen neighborhood. The victim, Hamel Hurley, 25, called 911 about 2 p.m. from his front steps and told a dispatcher he had been shot in the upper body during a robbery attempt in the rear of his home in the 1500 block of Shadyside Road. He died nine hours later at Johns Hopkins Hospital, police said. The killings brought the city's homicide toll for the year to 251, compared with 252 at the same time in 2005..."

Lucille Thorn of Newark, Delaware is now in the custody of U.S Marshals in Baltimore after she "allegedly attempted to hire a man to kill her 83-year-old stepmother so she could get some of her late father's inheritance money."

A New Twist in the Redwood Trust Double-Murder Case

Four buildings doused with flammable liquid and torched in the Southwest.

I wonder what happened with this double shooting near eeb's mom's house? (What's that neighborhood called, anyway? Hamilton?)

Blotter: Guns, drugs and another burglary in Parkville, where former owner Muhammad R. Choudhry was shot.

They are the champions: An utterly nutty story abot HoCo neighbors whose seven-year feud has led to 13 criminal cases (so far).

"Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat" and "All This and Rabbit Stew"? Greg Kane's English class = edutainment!

bag in treeBest New Blog: Bags In Trees, devoted to (what else?) the city's native bird, Bageotus Plasticus.

Congrats to my dad, winner of the TU President's Award! Someone put that man on the Board of Regents!

Tuesday, December 5, 2006

The Poor

Lots of comments on the "why are there poor people" poll.

I was just curious to know how many people blame poor people themselves. About one-fifth, it turns out!

From YouTube:

December 5

At a hearing today, Judge John Carroll Byrnes sentenced Calvin Amos, 53, to 15 years in prison. A Baltimore City jury convicted Amos October 13 of voluntary manslaughter and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Judge Byrnes sentenced Amos to 10 years for the manslaughter and a consecutive five years without the possibility of parole for the handgun count. The case:
On March 3, 2006 Amos shot Joseph Schlick, 25, in the head at Amos' home, 2301 Herkimer St. Amos told responding officers the he had just shot Schlick. He was transported police headquarters where he gave a full confession to shooting Joseph Schlick. A search and seizure warrant was obtained and a black-powder handgun was recovered from the counter top of the kitchen. The victim was found on the kitchen floor. Investigation revealed that the victim came through the back door. Furthermore, there was no sign of forced entry. The victim and the defendant knew each other.
Very odd: A 24-year-old off-duty officer, Momodu Gondo, was shot in the back in the 5700 block of the Alameda in the Northwestern (Northwestern?!)

gounarisYooooicks! Who hired this eyeliner-wearing freaknut to teach middle school? And how did he manage to lure a 13-year-old student into his bedroom undetected for two weeks?

Three years later, the death of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna remains a mystery. (Wonder what RodJR's theory is?)

More on the criminal case against Pearson "Trey" Sunderland III, the NIH Alzheimer's researcher on the take.

"Sexual lifestyles" -- the class no one cuts!
I hope high school civics classes are showing the CSA's Big Gay Webcast today!!
(Wonder how Frank Conaway enjoys being the plaintiff in the Big Gay Lawsuit?)
Meanwhile, three conservative Maryland rabbis are part of a theological committee re-examining homosexuality and Jewish law, and in Oakland, schools are becoming more accomodating to the less "gender typical" student.
And FYI, I was sober, Mrs. Hunter ...! Tw*t!

Monday, December 4, 2006

December 4, evening

Interesting goings-on at the US Attorney's office:
  • Franklin "Dragon" Molina of the Silver Spring trout gang was sentenced to 114 months for racketeering.
  • And scientist Pearson "Trey" Sunderland, III, age 55, faces charges of taking some shady dollars from a drug organization (aka Pfizer).
  • "Wig lady," aka 54-year-old Carol Silva, was indicted for bank fraud and identity theft. Her younger friend Jacqueline Elaine Belim, 46, was indicted on the 20th.
  • Anthony Pender, 37, of Laurel got life for guns and drugs.

  • Why does no one from Baltimore City ever get some of that? (I smell a poll question)


Anon Comments from email:

(1) the Feds have better evidence rules on what they can get into evidence and (2) they have juries that usually convict and (3) [prosecutors] can't get a life sentence for any drug offense in state court, even as a fourth striker, by Maryland law ... the evidence in those cases stink since most people don't cooperate...even witnesses.

There is no lifer law for guns and drugs - if the question relates to Federal Court - there have been life sentences in the past (usually with a murder attached) but in recent times No defendant has been stupid enuff to go to trial with the usually Baltimore County-like - convict'em all juries in federal court - that's what plea bargaining is - in Fedland it means do 20-30 years without parole or get life without after trial - which is totally the opposite of what we have in State Court - which is [why prosecutors] can't get defendants to necessarily take ten years with parole or even probation sometimes on a MURDER let alone drug cases!

December 4

A gun battle near the 3400 block of Cottage Ave. in the Northwest at about 7:10 p.m. yesterday; 17-year-old Keith Holly arrested for attempted murder in a shooting witnessed by cops; a second suspect arrested for the Executive-Inn-stairway-beating murder.

Bail for BalCo hit-and-run tot killer Arellano de Hogue, 40, was set at $250,000.... Her "vehicle struck Elijah Cozart, 3, and his grandmother, 55-year-old Marjorie Thomas, as she pushed him in a stroller across Goucher Boulevard."

The gay-marriage fight has surely pushed our court into one long-thrusting thorny thicket, with everybody watching the long, slow webcast!
(At least in theory... looks like they have plenty to hear about first, like who gets to award contracts to whom)
Other hot high-court action: DC Supreme probes race and schools!)

Down in Tacoma Park, a District man was arrested for the city's fifth homicide this year.

Looks like O'Malley's down with gambling gaming after all ... just the untaxed bar-video kind.

Sunday, December 3, 2006

41st-Street Approval Index

Most-applauded Mayor's Christmas parade participants:
15. Fancy horses
14. The horse that pooped
13. Vietnam Vets
12. Ravens mini-motocycles
11. Charm City Rollergirls
10. Dulaney flag girls and band
9. Underdog as Winter Fairy
8. Steam Calliope
7. Hampden Red-Hat Ladies in Duck Boat
6. Sarbanes
5. O'Malley, wife and kids
4. Mary Pat Clarke- people love her!
2. Boumi lawn-mower-engine carpets/ Edmondson Village Steppers (tie)
and, for the fifth year in a row,
#1 most-cheered= the guys who clean up behind the horses!

"Miss Marylands" in the Parade: six
Most popular thrown candy: Tootsie rolls
"" "", populous dancers: Peruvian Bolivian puffy-sleeve dancers
Most popular media guy: Ron Matz

least popular car ... Sheila Dixon's!
Crickets!
(She looked cold and miserable, too!)
The teeming multitudes really do seem to dislike her!
Why would that be?