March 3

Get In On It! Two men shot in the 100 block of West Hamburg Street "created a raucous scene Saturday night when they turned up with multiple gunshot wounds" in the valet parking area of the Hyatt Regency on Light Street.

Prep school days:
Following the death of Isaiah Simmons, Bowling Brook Preparatory School will be closed.

CEO David McDowell Robinson is in hot water for running a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors, including Katrina victims. You know it's Baltimore when "Gilman" is in the first sentence!

Post: A PGC jury "yesterday convicted a county police corporal of assaulting four teenagers when he pepper-sprayed them last year, marking the first time in at least 12 years that a Prince George's officer has been convicted in state court for law enforcement-related use of force."

Jim Brochin of the county says Joseph Vallario is the guy standing the the way of the new Sex Offender Evidence Bill.

A bench warrant was issued last week for former Da Band rapper Young City, right, (from P. Diddy's reality show), after he missed a court appearance stemming from an arrest six years ago for robbing a man with a BB gun in Eastpoint Mall. Young City (née Kevin Barnes) is in jail in Gwinett County, GA., following an arrest for assaulting his "girlfriend."

Envigorated by the overwhelming popularity of Glowing Metal Hermaphrodite Looming Over the Train Station and those beloved, ubiquitous candy-colored giant metal curlicues, city officials hope to force all new publically funded construction costs to pay 1 percent of costs towards more public art.

The Texas oysters had their revenge on MD food-festival-goers February 9-11.

What if indeed!

Funniest! Billboard Ever!
For literally months I drove by it and assumed it was urging people to get tested for some "social disease"!
I finally noticed it's for ... the Sun.
I love how it asks and answers its own question!
"What if you didn't know?"
You'd be a Sun reader, of course!
(Wouldn't "what if you knew" be more, um, positive?)
Wonder how many thousands the Tribune paid for that powerful call to action to get news from somewhere else?

March 2

Starting Monday at the courthouse: "Reception Court."
Explains an insider: "The goal of reception court is to have all the cases for trials appear before two judges, one in each building. They will personally review all these cases then send them off to other judges who presumably will not have dockets since all the cases will be before the so called reception courts. Determinations will be made as to what cases should go forward, etc, based on how old they are, how many times they have been postponed, etc."
Fascinating!

Marc Steiner spent two hours talking about Baltimore crime, and in the modern fashion both shows are available as a two-part podcast: Hour one, hour two.

The trial of Ameer Taylor, accused of killing Samuel Richardson June 2 of 2005 behind the Rendez-Vous is scheduled begin Monday. The trial's start date has been postponed three times. The word from the office of Mrs. J:

The murder trial of Ameer Taylor, 32, of the 7400 block of Barkers Court, is scheduled for trial 9:30A a.m. Monday, March 5, 2007 before Judge David Ross, 203 Mitchell Courthouse ... A Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Taylor February 15, 2006 for first-degree murder, use of a handgun in the commission of a felony crime of violence, and handgun on person in connection with the fatal shooting of Samuel Richardson. Court documents allege that in the early morning hours of June 2, 2005 Taylor pulled up to Richardson, who was walking in the 400 block of West 26th Street, pulled a handgun and shot Richardson several times. Richardson was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

As if your girl-crush wasn't already heavy, ♥Jayne Miller♥ digs into the clusterfuck that is the bail-bonds business, and hounded the guy who posted bail for Brandon Grimes down Calvert Street.

What the?! Twenty-year-old dad Kenneth George Ryan huffed keyboard cleaner (?!), beat his 15-month-old-son Julian Woody to death.

Sign of the times: WBAL reported that three people were shot at a birthday party on the East side... and in spite of the crime scene tape, the party kept on.

Again?! Another officer has was attacked at Jessup, and the suspect is a 38-year-old convicted murderer serving a life sentence.

In the Eastern, a man shot two guys sitting in a parked car.

The man found dead in the area of Max Blobs Park Road in Jessup was ID'd as Leonard Richard Prahl, 55.

"A trooper found $300,000 in powder cocaine in a minivan with New York license plates on Interstate 95 in Cecil County during a traffic stop."

Red Light Cameras-- PSA

F your I, the Department of Transportation has added some new red light cameras. "Phase I" cameras click and flash, but the new "Phase II" cameras don't-- they just look like glass bubbles. They'll not only send you a big fat ticket and a picture, but also a code you can enter online to see a little movie of your offense!

PHASE I LOCATIONS
Northern Parkway & Falls Rd.
Northern Parkway & York Rd.
Reisterstown Road & Patterson Ave.
Eastern Avenue & Kane St.
Edmonson Avenue & Hilton St.
Edmonson Avenue & Cooks La.
Franklin Street & Pulaski St.
Orleans Street & Gay St.
President Street & Fayette St.
Russell Street N B & Hamburg St.
Russell Street SB & Hamburg St.
Light Street & Pratt Street
Pulaski Highway & Monument St.
MLK Jr. Blvd. & Washington Blvd.
Franklin Street & Franklintown Rd.
Hillen Road & Argonne Dr.
North Avenue & Howard Str.
Patapsco Avenue & 4th St.
Lombard Street & Gay St.
Reisterstown Road SB & Fallstaff Rd.
Hanover Street & Cromwell St.
Park Heights Avenue NB & Hayward Ave.
Park Heights Avenue SB & Hayward Ave.
Harford Road & North Ave.
MLK Jr. Blvd. & Pratt St.
Northern Parkway EB & Greenspring Aven.
Northern Parkway WB & Greenspring Ave.
Reisterstown Road & Menlo Dr.
Edmonson Ave. & Athol Ave./Woodridge EB Edmonson Avenue & Athol Ave.
Frederick Avenue & Catherine St.
Park Heights Avenue & Violet Ave.
Sinclair Lane & Moravia Rd.
Russell Street & Bayard St.
Wilkens Avenue & Desoto La.
Pratt Street & Howard St.
Northern Parkway & Waverly Way
Cold Spring Lane & Hillen Rd.
Liberty Heights Avenue & Dukeland St.
Hanover Street & Reedbir d Ave.
Ft. Smallwood Road & Ft. Armistead Rd.
Wabash Avenue & Garrison Blvd.
Walther Avenue & Glenmore Ave.
Franklin Street & Cathedral St.
Perring Parkway & Belvedere Ave.
Cold Spring Lane & Roland Ave.
Cold Spring Lane & Loch Raven Blvd.

PHASE II LOCATIONS

Caton Avenue NB & Benson Ave.
Caton Avenue SB & Benson Ave.
Reisterstown Road & Druid Park Dr.
Wilkens Avenue & Pine Heights Ave.
East 33rd Street EB & The Alameda
The Alameda SB & East 33rd St.
York Road & Gittings Ave.
Potee Street & Talbot St.
Gwynns Falls Pkwy & Garrison Blvd.
Charles Street & Lake Ave.
Wabash Avenue & Belvedere Ave.
Harford Road & Walther Blvd.
Orleans Street & Linwood Ave.
Erdman Avenue EB & Macon St.
Erdman Avenue WB & Macon St.
Macon Street NB & Erdman Ave.

A shooting at the Yellow Bowl, Eastern District, February 18, 1989.

March 1

What's the difference between Baltimore and Newark, NJ? Our prosecutor won't file charges in any single-witness case without "extensive forensic corroboration."
Good thing there's always lots of that lying around!

Raymond Boyer, who raped a 4'10" 90-year-old immigrant woman in Cockeysville, apologized "for everything, for the inconvenience."
Investigators matched DNA evidence from a sweatshirt Boyer left at the scene. He'd been convicted of killing a man in 1986 in the city and got 24 years.

Alton Ray Teel Jr., 42, was arrested for the murder of Daniel Savage [#40 of 2007].

Valerie Hill, mother of Rickie Tinsely, [#179 of 2006], says that "the word on the street was it was meant for someone else." Tinsley had no criminal record and left behind a 4-month-old son. There are still no suspects or motive in the killing.

"Not that attractive" Phony Romeo Hillard Jay Quint of Pikesville bilked ladies out of thou$and$.

Federal:
David C. Faison, an employee of 36 years at the Bureau of Engraving from Largo, Md., pled guilty to counterfeiting. Faison was made to explain how he did it and in exchange was sentenced to a year and a day in jail plus restitution.

AAC:
Wonder if sales are up or down at the G&M Restaurant since Jeffrey Rites got stabbed by Keith Anthony Rantin Jr. over a crab cake?

It seemed like a win-win at the time... a second woman pulled over by officer Joseph Mosmiller for a DUI has come forward to say he offered to let her out of a ticket if she'd flash her rack.

Fredneck:
Drinking, driving and killing someone has a high price in Fredneck! David Helms, 44, got seven years for negligent manslaughter and DUI.

PGC:
A traffic stop led to the arrest of Jose Gomez, a murder suspect with Guatemalan ties.

February 28 evening

Believe it, Baby! No smoking in city bars starting January 1 2008.
And $100gs of nicotine patches for the poor!

"A routine attempt to pull a car over in Baltimore County early this morning turned into a bizarre televised police chase across suburban Maryland that veered briefly into the District."

Carefree days of youth dept.
Jury selection will begin this afternoon in the case of Erik Stoddard, to be presented presently before Judge Allen Schwait, Part IV, Room 400 Mitchell Courthouse.
The backstory: On December 8, 2005 the Maryland Court of Appeals Judge Raker vacated Stoddard's second-degree murder conviction, finding that an out-of-court "utterance" made by Calen's 18-month-old cousin, Jasmine - "Is Erik going to get me?" - was impermissible hearsay."
A Baltimore City jury convicted Stoddard March 13, 2003 of second-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death for the death of Calen Faith Dirubbo, 3. Court docs say that on June 15, 2002, little Calen was pronounced dead in the home she shared with her mother and Stoddard, her new Daddy. Dirubbo died as a result of multiple beatings over a period of at least a month with the blow that fatally severed her bowel occurring June 15, 2002.

A transfer hearing for Kemoni Sterette, a juvenile charged with murder, was scheduled for this morning before Judge Welch, Part 18, Courthouse East, 111 N. Calvert Street. Court documents allege Kemoni Sterrette was seen with co-defendant Antoine Oliver moments before a shooting incident at the Unity Hair Salon in the 2200 block of Garrison Boulevard on May 13, 2006 in which the victim, Justice Georgie, was shot and killed after trying to stop the robbery. A. Robert Kaufman helped identify Sterette.

Courtney Smith, a 15-year-old witness to the slaying of a Hagtown woman, said the fatal bullet was meant for someone else.

February 28

His mom went to jail, then 17-year-old Vic Roy Fenner [46] was fatally shot in the head on Monday night on Guilford and 21st in Barclay.

Anna Ditkoff reports on the murders of Charles Pace, Darnell Cain, Brian Lessane, Andre Jones, Antonio Harris, and two unidentified victims.
Grouses a reader,

"The 2300 block of Barclay is not particularly 'near' Lovely Lane Church in any significant manner worth noting as it is closer to other establishments of familiarity. And the 1800 block of Clifton Ave is not near enough to Druid Hill Park to serve any useful purpose. The 1800 block of Clifton isn't even in a neighborhood adjacent to the park. In dense urban areas, many places are near lots of other places. The relevence of distance changes relative to the density of the area. These reference points only serve to confuse and confound..."

Robert Brazell was left to die after everyone in the HoCo high school brawl ran away. Meanwhile, police were busy busting an underage drinking party that several of Brazell's former schoolmates were attending.

Perhaps Club Choices should be renamed Club A Whole Bunch Of Kids Stabbing Each Other.

Pat Jessamy testified yesterday for better witness intimidation laws.

Three men robbed a First Mariner Bank in AAC yesterday morning.

A bucolic organic farm in Worthington Valley was the setting for a Lyme-infected love quadrangle cumulating in cuckold farmer James Dasher firing rounds at a randy farmhand ... or was simply a case of a generous herdsman tripping over a shotgun?

Sean Joseph O'Brien, a Carroll County inmate who escaped from rehab at Gaudenzia last month, was arrested after robbing two people with a BB gun.

If only all of our criminals would speed away to PGC.

February 27 evening

Rasul Malik Brown was arrested for the January 8 murder of 16-year-old Marcus McDowell [9], and Gregory Johnson Jr., 21, is being held for killing Vernon L. Carter in 2005.

At about 11 this morning, following four days of testimony and more than four of deliberations, a Baltimore City jury convicted Derrick Taylor, 27, of the Remington halfway-house triple murders; on January 10, 2005 Taylor shot and killed Nathan Gulliver, 49, Antwon Arthur, 38, and Steven Matthews, 36 in 540 block of West 27th Street and was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder committed during the commission of a felony. Taylor faces a maximum possible prison term of life without the possibility of parole (in the County Taylor would be eligible for the death penalty) and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Roger W. Brown on April 10. The jury also convicted Taylor of several handgun counts but failed to reach verdicts on first-degree murder (premeditated) and several second degree murder counts and assault counts, upom which Judge Brown declared a "mistrial." Taylor remains held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center. A second defendant in this case, Corey McMillon, is serving a prison term of life plus 20 years for a previous murder conviction and faces an April trial date for his alleged involvement.

WBAL: "Landlord Continued To Rent Deplorable Properties" (Oh, THAT guy!)

Wonder when someone was last killed with an assault weapon?

Who returned the skull of the Fredneck sheep? (JZ: "It's" leg had also been removed.)

February 27

A shooting victim was found by police last night on W. Lanvale St., and died after being taken to Shock Trauma [45].

Brian Jones' family has forgiven convicted killer Alvin Williams.

A private eye is questioning the FBI's conclusions in the death of investigator Jonathan Luna.

A former South Baltimore resident and her teenage daughter were killed in a double homicide / suicide in Upstate New York.

Last week they said Edgewood doesn't need the Guardian Angels, but today they're saying they do.

Sheila D. fought the smokers and Sheila D. won. One can only hope she'll fight the murderers, next.

February 26

Judge John M. Glynn sentenced Alvin Augustus Williams, 26, of the 6000 block of Marquette Road, Baltimore County, to 60 years in prison. Judge Glynn sentenced Williams to 30 years for the murder, 25 years for the assault and 5 years for the firearm count and ordered that the sentences run consecutively. This is the maximum penalty Williams faced under law. Assistant State's Attorney Sam Yee prosecuted, and Baltimore City jury convicted on January 12 for second-degree murder, first-degree assault and possession of a firearm. On November 12, 2005 Williams shot and killed Brian Jones, 34, of Millersville, MD in the 1100 block of South Ellwood Street. Jones was leaving a Canton nightspot with a friend when Williams approached them with a rifle and opened fire.

Ever wonder how "TheSunLies.com" managed to maintain such a shrill level of prolific vitriol for so long?
Notice how the site, archive and all, utterly vanished right after the Ehrlich defeat?
That's right, kids ... if you suspected that and "SoccerDad" were Republican inventions, you get a Gold Star (on a red Flag)!

Kane: Beef Begets Beef, so let's make hamburger.

HoCo: Kevin Francis Klink, 18, was arrested after the fatal baseball-bat-beating of Robert Brazell at Mt. Hebron High School early Sunday morning. He was HoCo's first murder of 2007.

AAC: A dead UnID'd 50-something white man was found dead in a streambed on Max Blobs Park Road.

Guvmint

Wow, here's some drama!
The City Council is going to vote tonight to decide if smoking should be banned in bars.
No one can predict how the vote will go... the tiebreaker may be cast by retired educator Sharon Green Middleton, who will be sworn in this afternoon, hours before the vote!

The Senate is expected to vote on a bill that would allow prosecutors to introduce evidence of past sex acts with children at trials of child sex offenders. A judge would have to hold a hearing to determine if the evidence could be admitted.

The General Assembly could pass a bill that would "legislate sex offenders out of Ocean City."

Ugh, that creepy Don Dwyer is still around.

February 25

Erick Wotulo pled guilty in Federal court Friday to conspiring to launder money and procure arms for the terrorist Tamil Tigers.

Baltimore police helped out the Mt. Vernon, NY PD, nabbing attempted murderer Jamar Richardson at the Roadway Inn on O'Donnell Street in Canton on Valentine's Day.