Broadwater has the September murder roundup.
"said University of Baltimore criminologist Jeffrey Ian Ross, 'obviously, there’s a disconnect and there’s a failure in the criminal justice system.'"
This suspended-sentence nonsense does seem to be a huge problem-- why do we allow suspended sentences, and what would it take to make judges cut that shit out?
The fine print: An adult male was listed in serious but stable condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center after he was shot in the face about 2 p.m. yesterday in the 2400 block of Wilkens Ave.; a man was stabbed in the 1700 block of Cherry Hill Road about 8 p.m. Monday; in Essex police are seeking a gunman who forced his way into a house in the 1200 block of Punjab Drive about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday and chased a man, 18, and a woman, 21, throughout the dwelling while firing a gun.
In spite of a front-page Washington Post story refuting the proliferation of human trafficking, Jessamy's holding a press conference to announce she and Gansler are launching a task force to tackle the non-problem.
Rumors Squashed: There was no, I repeat, no murder in Hampden yesterday! There was, apparently, some blood-like viscous liquid found in front of the Golden West Cafe on 36th street. This somehow spiraled into a rumor about some kind of thrill-kill gang/ serial vigilante going around shanking druggies! Not true-- no battered corpse has been found in Hampden for almost an entire two weeks (that we know of).
But thanks for writing, tipsters!
20 comments:
Well two fire trucks parked in front of Golden West, and moved somebody's body and then hosed down the sidewalk just before 7 am yesterday, because I walked right past them, and there was a decent sized morning gathering of people standing in the 7 11 parking lot watching as well.
did someone drop dead of natural causes? No police cars, right?
I called the northern district and they assured me no one had contacted them about any incident.
No one at the papers had heard anything either.
No police, no hurrying by the firemen.
Maybe they weren't dead, but somebody bled a lot, and had to be moved. I haven't seen anything in the news, and your blog is the only mention of it.
i like how people's FIRST assumption nowadays is murder.
Maybe someone had a seizure and whacked his head on the ground. Happened to someone I knew once, and the amount of blood that was spilled was quite impressive.
I know, Burg, people are freaking!
I heard some weiner on the Marc Steiner show bitching that the Media is just filling people with fear and racism.
it's like, have you seen the map?! Have you ever spent the night inside the beltway and left your hotel after dark, and heard people's stories? Gus Sentementes wasn't the guy who came in the basement window last night!
And racist, either people think that violent behavior is somehow linked to the melanin gene or they don't. They can understand the difference between race and culture or they just never thought about it and are kind of superstitious that way. Journalists tiptoe around race like crazy!
Does it make The Citizens feel better if the news doesn't report any violence at all and they just see random blood puddles and hear gunshots all night?
Douches, I'm surrounded by douches!
(Present company excluded)
Cyb,
I am a long time & avid reader of your blog. I believe this is a valuable resource you're providing the people of Baltimore- by compiling information, offering a forum for discussion and by even (dare I say it!) putting a smile on peoples faces at the same time. I love your style. I was wondering, have you given thought to redesigning the site at all?-in a manner that will streamline all the information you compile? Just curious! Kudos.
- a.g.
hey, we haven't had a murder in a nearly a week. meanwhile, there might be some weirdo in adams morgan (DC) luring gay dudes to their apartment and sneakily murdering them. that's some "law & order" type shit.
'Does it make The Citizens feel better if the news doesn't report any violence at all and they just see random blood puddles and hear gunshots all night?'
-there's actually a great play about that very phenomenon called Little Murders.
Someone on craigslist is claiming that there have been three murders in Hampden in the past ten days.
Well nothing he says is actually necessarily wrong.... he does say bodies, not murders. And everybody exaggerates, body in the ditch turns into murder victim in the back yard by the 2nd telling.
In other Hampden news, seven t-shirt Dorito kids got busted on Elm Avenue!
Thanks for the nice words AG!
I have thought about prettyin' up the blog often, but design is not really my expertise, figuring it out would be really time-consuming, I don't want to hire someone and I feel guilty spending the time on it that I do as it is! (I have 80,000 words due in 6 months! I need to focus!)
The blog would be a pretty good advertising venue too, 1,000 hits a day is pretty ok I think in the blog-o-sphere, but I don't the blog it to turn into my job, it woul dbe less fun and I really like the job I have! Hence the very lacking graphic design.
ps I'll have to check out that play. I like reading plays!
pps. will someone lend me their Criminally Yours when they're done? I'll trade you a holding of your choice from my libraries...
I contacted Golden West and got a chilly 'No comment.' Something happened, but if the Northern denied a murder, I'd bet there wasn't one. Soooo,.. I'm guessing some kinda nonfatal incident/accident.
As for the 41st Street bridge, that would be Divens. I have nothing on a body off the Avenue, but people do sometimes die of fairly natural causes. Even in Baltimore.
Again with the Dorito Boyz !!
you don't think "1200 registered sex offenders living in hampden" is incorrect? that would be like 15% of the population.
also, did jamietabb move from charles village to hampden?
hmm, bad grammar: check
caps-lock abuse: check
shrill, hysterical tone: check
exaggeration of the dangers of a relatively safe neighborhood: check
Oh well I didn't read it that closely Burgles!
yeah that would be a bit of a stretch, there's "only" 16.
Though probably 1,200 are sexually offensive.
Oh wait, it does call them 'homicides' in the title.
Ok I admit I was not reading it much at all.
also, both dudes involved in the cane-beating a few years back were in their 50's not 70's, and i have it on good authority that the dispute was about one dude taking the money the other dude was giving his granddaughter to help her out, not about one dude molesting the other's granddaughter or whatever.
also, how does a dispute between two guys that know each other in which one hits the other and due to a freak set of circumstances one of them dies somehow make the entire neighborhood dangerous to everybody? georgetown in DC has had "murders" in which a common street fight went a little too far and/or someone ended up falling at a bad angle and cracking their head on the pavement, and nobody considers that place to be incredibly dangerous.
To get back to the "suspended sentence" issue - don't blame the judges if you don't think enough time is handed down in City cases. Many of these cases are weak, thanks in part to often poorly trained and prepared cops and prosecutors. Rather than take the risk of trial, some defendants "take the deal" and that can mean probation. The State gets a conviction with the knowledge that most defendants don't make it on probation and are then forced to serve the suspended portion of the sentence.
A suspended sentence is common in more minor cases, as well - and it's always followed by probation. You can't have one without the other.
Judges can't suspend certain sentences, like a second offense drug distribution (if the State files for mandatory penalties) and felony in possession of a handgun.
I'm not ignoring this comment, I'm just meditating on it
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