"Detectives may walk beat in Baltimore" sounds like an encouraging headline, but ... "detectives" includes the city's mere 42 (?!?!?!) homicide detectives, who, in addition to the corpses du jour spend one week a month working on some of the 1,065 unsolved murder cases (according to Janis) that remain unsolved from the past nine years.
Meanwhile, in case you missed it, the homicide closure rate for 2007 is 23.4 percent so far.
The aptly named, Robert Looney, wanted by authorities on an attempted-murder charge, was arrested at about 8 a.m. today after he barricaded himself inside a house on the 2800 block of Gatehouse Drive in West Baltimore.
A reader at the U of MD downtown wrote to ask, "Have you heard anything about a group of teens knocking on doors in Ridgley’s Delight on Monday morning around 10 a.m.? Supposedly, someone in the group shot at the front door of one home, hitting the occupant." Later today she forwarded this warning from the police:
This morning (Monday), there was an attempted home invasion on Fremont Street near South Paca Street. The suspects were seen earlier knocking on doors in the area. It is also believed that they were involved in a shooting on Scott Street in Barre Circle last week.
What can you do?
If somebody knocks on your door, do not open it before checking to see who is there [gee, rilly?!]. If you see people matching the following descriptions knocking on doors, please call 911 immediately and tell the operator that you see suspects matching the description of the shooting in Ridgely's Delight.
Suspect #1
Age: 16 - 19
Race: African American
Skin Tone: Brown/Medium
Sex: Male.
Build: Medium
Height: 5'6"
Hair: Dread locks (shoulder length)
Clothing: Blue and red polo shirt with grey sweatpants
Suspect #2
Age: 16 - 19
Race: African American
Skin tone: Dark
Sex: Male
Build: Medium
Height: 5"6"
Hair: Short curly hair
Clothing: Dark colored hooded sweat shirt
Suspect(s) are known to be armed with a long barreled handgun, possibly a [.]22 caliber. Suspect fled on foot across MLK toward Pigtown. The University of Maryland police are also assisting with the investigation.
Attorney for Roland Park's local perv, Kenneth Barnes (left): let my pervert go!WJZ: illegal dirt bikes and ATVs are wild on the streets and police won't chase them down, creating a "real stew of trouble."
In the County, John Gaumer's trial for the murder of Hampden's Josie Brown began. The Sun's Jennifer McMenamin has details about the process of the investigation, but Broadwater at the Examiner lets loose with the horrific details that will have you groping for a puke bucket. As reports of horrific murders should, right?
Jamaal K. Abeokuto's death sentence was reduced today to life without parole for the 2002 kidnapping and death of eight-year-old Marciana Ringo.
Better late than never dept: the Gov. signed a bill apologizing for slavery in Maryland. On that note, quote of the day from former slave about mealtime at Hampton Mansion up in Towson: There was a trough out in the yard where the poured in mush and milk, and us children and the dogs would all crowd 'round and eat it together. We children had homemade wooden paddles to eat with, and we sure had to be in a hurry about it, because the dogs would get it all if we didn't.And a recollection by a man who'd seen his sister beaten for accidentally breaking a clock:
My old marster took her and tied a rope around her neck-- just long enough to keep it from choking her-- and tied her up in the back yard and whipped her I don't know how long. There stood mother, there stood father, and there stood all the children and none could come to her rescue."(from James Loewen's excellent Lies Across America, quoting slave narratives collected in the 1930s). Overseers, including the Ridgelys of Hampton, were also known to rub salt into whip wounds, castrate males who ran away, and sell parents of young children to farway plantations, never to be seen again. Gone With the Wind it wasn't!
13 comments:
Initially I was torn on the report of Barnes (the "pervert" who showed up at a snowball stand and was arrested after stayaing in his car there for an hour or more). I'm not a parent and wonder if I'd feel differently. There has been nothing in the reports indicating he approached any children, said anything to children, etc. That's when my stronger feelings about ensuring civil liberties hts kicked in.
Have we hit the age of sci-fi movies when police have the ability to foresee a crime and stop it? No, we're not there yet. No police have the ability to foresee that.
Would there have been anything wrong with tailing the guy or asking him to move along? No. But to arrest him? It's an egregious violation civil liberties, even for a convicted sex offender.
I think the idea is that he's on parole, which is framed as a privilege, not a right. If you misbehave, it can be revoked without much due process.
On another subject, the shootings in NW are here.
Expect a very serious case of the munchies around Northeast District police headquarters.
Lotsa shootings in today's blotter.
Yes, he is on parole. How is going to a snowball stand misbehaving or breaking his parole?
If he approached or spoke to children there, I'd understand. Reports say all he did was sit there (and look creepy because, let's face it, that guy does look creepy). Parole or not, you can't arrest someone for thinking he might do something illegal.
You can't arrest someone for thinking that he might do something illegal? Maybe in the United States of America, but not in the United Bush Emirates. Jose Padilla ring any bells? Picked up in Chicago and held, without charge and without access to lawyers, for two years because the authorities thought he might be thinking bad thoughts? Subjected to psychological torture until he is incapable of participating in his own defense? You most certainly can be arrested for doing nothing other than being creepy nowadays.
so anna ditkoff says rocky bottoms (great name, btw) was killed on fayette street in front of douglass homes, within which is the 200 block of NORTH spring court (coincidentally the housing project i park my car in or next to every day and currently visible through the window to my left). thanks for nothing, Sun.
Burger, I don't know if Cybrarian has talked to you, but I'm out of commission until next Wednesday. Can you do posts for the next week? Chuck
starting when? today?
Patin, did you catch this on Sheila D. ?
Yeah I'm totally confused about the Rocky Bottoms Jr. story.
Burg, can you collect the bad news starting tomorrow maybe? I would have e-mailed directly but I lost all of my addresses when my Outlook Express database bit it...
... if you can't, well, everybody will still be dead next week!
A friend told me that crime reports in 21230 aren't being reported as they should be, in order to keep real estate prices high west of MLK. His house was broken into and another nieghbor's house was ransacked, and no reports were filed after the police showed up. They poked around and left, leaving one with a broken alarm and another with a ransacked house. Neither can file a claim with their insurance companies.
Shootings, stabbings, muggings, and break-ins in the 21230 zip? I never thought I'd see the day!
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