More Stupid Spending

While the city claims to not be able to afford the long-term payroll commitments that staffing the police department requires, Dixon has been able to increase the payroll of the mayor's office by nearly 15 percent since taking office in January.

May 26 Continued

Shaun Clarance Warrick, 23, a former basketball player at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore accused of shooting and/or stabbing three fellow students at off-campus housing communities in April, is in even bigger trouble after skipping a court appearance Friday for assault and burglary.

Fifty-year-old Lucille Thorn got six years in prison for trying to meet a hit man at the Maryland House Rest Area on 95 to arrange the murder of her stepmother, Or as the ABC affiliate in PA would put it, "Greed can be a powerful drug, and it led 49-year-old Lucille Thorn down the abyss of a calculated cold-blooded plot."

Good news for your lungs, bad news for Constellation: "In a major shift, Gov. Martin O'Malley's environmental agency has decided to enforce air pollution rules at coal-fired power plants that were routinely ignored under past administrations."
(Anyone out there tried to go solar with BP or Chesapeake?)

Who knew?: In February and March the U.S. Marshals Service's operation FALCON initiative (a series of large-scale fugitive sweeps) in Baltimore netted 195 offenders for crimes ranging from murder and robbery to sex crimes and narcotics offenses.

Poignant, acid-ravaged toddler celebrates his second (or third?) birthday in the hospital.

May 26

Inmate Lawrence Lannin was indicted for first-degree murder, he's accused of smothering child-killer Richard Spicknall with a rag in the shower at Jessup.

Correctional officer Lt. Perry Brook, 48, was found dead by his 12-year-old grandson in his car under the carport of his home in the 1900 block of Hillen/ Hillenwood Road around 2:30 a.m. last night.

"Violent crime is down citywide, but nowhere more so than in the Northern District. 'The Northern District is leading the city,' said Maj. Michael Pristoop, commander of the Northern District.... There have been 10 murders in the district so far this year, but they don't reflect a real danger to the district because most of the victims had no connection to north Baltimore and the locations of the murders were incidental," said Pristoop's press release.
Some of what has happened in the past 10 days: a man shot in the lower back, armed robbery, burgled perfume, jewelry, cash and so on.

Dixon has a plan: "selective increases in police overtime and the transfer of some surveillance cameras to higher-crime areas."

They Still Have SoWeBo?

Adam Meister, running for Mitchell's seat in the 11th, wrote to say he'll be at SoWeBo on Sunday (among other places). Haven't heard a word about that neighborhood in years... not since the beatdown three years ago! Wonder what fun things to expect this year?

Tony Williams to be Sentenced Tuesday

... A Baltimore City jury had convicted Williams February 10, 1999 of first-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence for the death of Dana Rochelle Drake, 33, and Williams began serving a life plus 20 years prison term. On April 14, 2006 the Maryland Court of Appeals vacated Williams' conviction, citing evidentiary issues regarding a discovery violation under the Brady law. The Court ruled that encompassing or exculpatory information known to any prosecutor in the State's Attorney’s Office must be turned over to the defense. At issue in this case was a witness who was in jail with the defendant; the trial prosecutor in 1999 did not know, and therefore did not disclose, this witness was at one point in time a paid police informant.

On February 21, 1998 at approximately 4:30 a.m. Williams went to the apartment of Dana Drake, located at 800 Dartmouth Road and shot her once in the back of the head with a .22 caliber handgun. Evidence produced at trial showed Williams had purchased a .22 caliber handgun several weeks prior to this murder and testimony revealed Williams stood to receive $100,000 from a life insurance policy. Assistant State’s Attorney Thomas Rafter of the Homicide Division prosecuted the case.

Writing Not Fighting

Anna Ditkoff is, by a four-to-one margin, leading the pack. This week she takes on her venerable Calvert Street rival, the workhorse of the warehouse...
in this corner, the Dick of the Blotter, Richard Irwin!
Ding Ding...

May 25

Three men were found dead this morning in separate incidents, reports Sentementes, and time will only tell if they all become murders:

• an unidentified man was found fatally stabbed in an alley about 6:25 a.m. in the 4000 block of Belvieu Ave. in Northwest Baltimore's West Arlington neighborhood;


• a man was found shot dead and near a handgun around the corner for a burning house on the 400 block of Mosher St.,;


• a man was found shot in a car in the 1900 block of Hillenwood Road in Northeast Baltimore's Perring Loch neighborhood at about 2:30 a.m.

Annie Linskey's article on our 114 homicides (up 10 from this time last year) is chock full of quotable quotes and nauseating facts. Sheila D. says violent crime is down, Lenny says the BPD is like a cheating husband, and a 13-year-old with a dead father says it's not safe to snitch.

Two episodes of the Blotter today. The first lists a man who was shot in the head in the 3000 block of Spaulding Ave., a Chevy that was riddled with bullets, and a woman who was arrested in the Southeastern for threatening her husband with a knife. The second lists a man who was choked and robbed on Eastern Ave. and a forced-entry robbery in Essex.


The Examiner covers the arrest of editor Frank Keegan.

18-year-old Young Gorilla Family member Eric Tate pleaded guilty to killing rival gang member Anthony Taylor Jr. and his non-gang-affiliated friend, Adrian Holiday, last September.

DNA evidence may support James Owens Jr.'s claim that he didn't murder Colleen Williar 20 years ago, in spite of testimony from a co-defendent that Owens raped and killed the woman while the co-defendent watched and masturbated.

Adrian "Dre" Maldonado was found guilty in HoCo court for fatally stabbing Marvin Walter Harding.

Suicidal drug addict William Earl Horshaw got 7 1/2 years for robbing banks.

Edwin Wright got a long-overdue 25 years.

Doug Gansler is teaching kids about the dangers of the Internet.

Drug treatment costs a whole lot of money.

May 24

Update: one of Tuesday's shooting victims has died.
An account of the Mt. Royal mowdown from "anonymous," promoted from comments:

At some point before on tuesday night before midnight (i think it was around 11:20, but I wasn’t paying attention to the time too closely), 30 to 50 shots rang out at the corner guilford and mt. royal, in front of the rehabbed firehouse, over the course of about fifteen seconds.

Two uninjured assailants fled on foot across the guilford bridge, turned right at Oliver, dumped a handgun in the back of a truck under the copycat building and continued to flee eastward. Multiple witnesses in the copycat building saw this. (a police car with flashing lights was under the JFX, parked, investigating the scene of a motorcycle fatality from the night prior, between 100 and 200 feet from the scene of the shooting).

Police, fire trucks, and paramedics responded to the scene of the shooting approximately 5 to 10 minutes later. While cordoning off the crime scene tending to the wounded, one shot in the head and the other (i think) shot in the back, police received a call from the attendant at the BP station, of two more victims at the corner of St Paul and Mt Royal. It seems, although I’m not sure, that these two victims fled scene of the shooting, and went to the BP station for help).

All told, there were 4 shooting victims. At this point, all were alive. Victims were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma. One victim, shot in the head, has since died.

Police expanded the perimeter of the investigation to include the scene of the shooting, the BP station, the guilford street bridge, under the copycat building and Oliver Street. Police helicopters scoped the area around the copycat for approx. an hour. Police detectives stayed in the area for approx. 2 hours scanning for evidence.

As of now, the police have in their possession the handgun dumped in the back of the truck (whether they have more guns: I don’t know). They do not have the assailants, although they have "promising leads,” which to me sounds like they know who they are. Now it is a matter of catching them and making the case stick.

Psycho stalker Larry Davis got life for trying to blow up his ex-girlfriend's car. And in AAC, Aubrey Mayhew of Churchton has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for strangling his estranged wife with a telephone cord.

Upon his fourth conviction, Naim Dawson, 31, got 17 1/2 federal years for guns-n-drugs.

A federal grand jury has charged Tricia Yoo Matuszak and Min Jae "Mindy" Song of Los Angeles and Yong-Mi Chang of Seoul, South Korea for conspiring to submit false labor certifications and immigration petitions on behalf of aliens applying for visas.

Joseph Monroe Green, Jr., the former manager of a Lutherville branch of Chevy Chase Bank, got 21 months and must pay restitution for stealing from the vault.

Oh no! The editor of the Examiner, Frank J. Keegan, was "arrested last night and charged with pointing a shotgun at his neighbor's family during a dispute over cigarette smoking."

CSA: Prosecutors can use evidence of gang affiliation and expert testimony about gang life to demonstrate a motive.

Now that's odd: the Sun has six paragraphs on a crack-dealing arrest near Dru Hill.

Olesker: "There’s a level of violence in parts of Baltimore that far exceeds anything ... acceptable in a civilized world."

Court of Appeals: one expert's testimony on "sick building syndome" not enough to establish validity.

The tall ship Clipper City, known for pirate-themed sails, sailing brunches and reggae-themed boat parties, was seized by U.S. Marshalls to help settle the company's $1.3 million debt; a hearing in Bankruptcy Court is scheduled for this morning.

May 23

A triple shooting outside of a Citgo station in the Southwest killed a teenage victim; also more details on the 11 shootings of the past two days, including the Mt. Royal sextuple.

The governor wants to change arrest procedures in the city, cutting out the step of having prosecutors review cases. Said he, "Prosecutorial discretion not to pursue a case is often confused with an alleged absence of probable cause, which is then spun as a supposed false arrest."

Judge John Prevas sentenced Charles Patterson, 27, of the 600 block of N. Woodington Road to 15 years in prison today for multiple counts of robbery. On March 21, 2007, a Baltimore City jury convicted Patterson and Antwan Smith, 23, of the 6800 block of Lenbern Road of three counts of Robbery with a Dangerous or Deadly Weapon and one count of Attempted Robbery with a Dangerous or Deadly Weapon. They were also acquitted of the murder of Anthony Heck, probably because Heck was found with a loaded gun in his hand. On May 3 Smith was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in these crimes. The story:

On October 23, 2005, the defendants robbed or attempted to rob Lamar Davis, James Anderson, Charlotte Johnson, and Tycara Johnson in the area of 4100 block of Cleve Court of the Brooklyn Homes in South Baltimore, Maryland. During this robbery spree, Anthony Heck came upon the defendants and shot at them from a distance. Antwan Smith allegedly returned fire, hitting and causing the death of Heck.

Judge Robert Kershaw sentenced Edwin Wright, 25, to 25 years in prison without the possibility of parole following a conviction for cocaine possession and possession with intent to distribute. Details:

On May 6, 2006, at approximately 8:40 PM, a police officer was in a covert location, using binoculars, with a clear and unobstructed view of the 1100 block of Preston Street. At that time the officer observed an unknown male approach Wright, speaking briefly with him. The conversation ended with the unknown male handing Wright U.S. currency in bill form. Wright then reached down into his right front sock and pulled out a vial containing a white substance suspected cocaine, and handed it to the male who then left the area. Search incident to arrest of Wright revealed five vials of cocaine in his right sock. At the time of this incident Wright was on probation for two other felony drug cases. Additionally, Wright is pending a second degree assault case from an October 6, 2006 incident in which he allegedly punched a police officer several times in the face during a traffic stop. Wright has an extensive violence arrest record and therefore the State asked for this enhanced penalty.

WTF? WBAL reports "two dead, 11 injured in mulitple shootings, stabbings," including:

• a man who died after being shot in the head on East 21st Street;


• a six-year-old boy caught in crossfire and shot in the ankle on West Mosher Street and Pennsylvania Avenue close to Bolton Hill;


• The woman was shot in the stomach on Roland View Avenue;


• Four shooting victims were found along Mount Royal Avenue in two separate areas and two more victims at the Mount Royal and St. Paul Street gas station


• A man shot in the wrist and arm in the 300 block of Eutaw Street around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday;

and
• three people were stabbed in the 600 block of Water Street around 2 a.m. Wednesday.

A double-shooting in the 2300 block of East Fayette outside the Morning Edition Cafe, "At Least 1 Dead."

Curran's cry for help is dead in the water.

The Ink.

Dick Irwin's got thieves galore.

HoCo police have arrested Charles David Richardson, 23, for two shootings in Columbia this month.

AAC: Two men were shotgunned while walking along Elvaton Road in Glen Burnie.

Can the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant revive the apathetic masses?

Towson OB David C. McCarus agreed to repay $300k to the government to settle his billing-fraud case.

Perverterium:
The DOJ called the case against Patrick Bogan of Edgewood "one of the most significant child pornography cases ever prosecuted in Maryland due to the sheer volume of child pornography possessed by the defendant." The gymnastics instructor had 800 videotapes, a hard-drive with alphabetized and categorized folders, 21 pairs of girls' underpants, a storage locker... anyway, Bogan has pled guilty.

Jury selection began today in HoCo for the trial of Baltimore County pastor Gerald Fitroy Griffith, accused of engaging in sexual acts with a teenage parishioner (gender unknown) in Columbia hotels in 2004 and 2005.

Loitering around a snowball stand has cost "the Roland Park perv" Kenneth Barnes his freedom. Well fer Pete's sake, is not the pursuit of happiness a fundamental right promised by our nation's own Declaration of Independence?

May 22

19-year-old Tray Allen was found dead in a Columbia townhouse yesterday afternoon, in what may be HoCo's third homicide of the year.

Morgan State shooting "victim" David Briggs was arrested for lying to the police.

A 15-year-old boy was charged with shooting three people outside a Frederick County community center on Saturday.

Perv du jour: A Yellow Cab driver allegedly raped a 12-year-old girl who was riding in his cab. Oh wait, whoops, never mind!

Homeless pervs du jour: Missing sex offenders Ronald Roland Ellison and Thomas Joseph Gauthier are both in police custody.

Payton Potochney continues his recovery after being burned by acid that was poured on a slide.

In the Blotter: a 37-year-old man was hit in the face with a brick while gassing up his scooter, and a 49-year-old woman was knocked to the ground by thieves who stole her car.

Beware of groups of young Edgewood men bearing BB guns and knives.

Kudos to BPD officer Anthony Jobst for capturing a repeat burglar.

A blurry white dude is wanted for repeatedly robbing convenience stores in Baltimore County.

Robert Curran withdrew his request for partial martial crime time.

DOJ to Baltimore City: No more craptastic youth detention facilities.

JHU student financial services director Ellen Frishberg has resigned amidst allegations of some sketchy financial favors from student loan companies.

I hope you've taken your blood-pressure meds today and have the puke bucket handy, Galt ...

The city has a $19 million budget surplus, and not a plug nickel will go towards staffing or supporting the police department... or for that matter anything that could even vaguely be construed as helpful (other than maybe the 3% allotted to help feed the homeless)
Instead of ---> It's
Picking up litter --> billboards against litter
Alleviating pain --> painfully shiteous public art
Education for our kids --> a fountain with "five rows of jets and lights" for kids to run through
Attempting to determine how more than 1,000+ potential crime victims died --> erecting statue "honoring" long-dead mayor

If you feel the need to complain to your city councilperson about this obscene waste of your money, you can find out who they are at this site.

Reader Letter

Hi, I live in Canton on the corner of Ellwood and O'donnell. Around 2 in the morning this past Saturday a drunk person in a van hit a pedestrian and then hit 2 or 3 cars and sped off. A lot of police and ambulance came immediately and I couldnt see if the victim was really hurt... because they whisked him away so fast. Do you know anything on this story?

I don't. Any readers know about this?

May 21

On Friday the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Nicholas Brunson, 20, of the 2600 block of W. Cold Spring Lane on charges of first-degree murder, deadly weapon and first-degree arson. Court documents allege on April 12, 2007 Nicholas Brunson was identified as the suspect in the murder and arson incident. The body of an unknown male, later identified as 16-year-old Brent Flanagan, was found beaten, stabbed and body partially dismembered in a house fire in the 2600 block of W. Cold Spring Lane. It is alleged the two had an altercation during the morning hours that later escalated to the incident. It is also alleged both Flanagan and Brunson are "Bloods" gang members.

A 16-year-old girl is being sought for stabbing another girl in the gut on E. Chase Street, a dognapping, a carjacking and an attempted murder arrest in the Blotter.

Alvin Parson died nine days after he was run down by a van driven by two men with whom he was arguing.

The end of an era: beaten, stabbed socialist A. Robert Kaufman is moving out of Walbrook to a condo complex with a pool.

Examiner: "High police overtime doesn't surprise O'Malley"
Meanwhile "brutal" Detective Albert "Mad Dog" Marcus claimed incredible 3,695 overtime hours last year, the equivalent of working 18-22 hours a day.
Says Hamm, "Publishing the names and salaries of every member of the Baltimore Police Department — as The Examiner did two days ago — is perhaps the most irresponsible, ill-informed and mean-spirited act that I have ever known a news organization to commit," and accuses the paper of compromising "dozens of undercover officers."

AAC kids steal car, crash it into house.

Three AAC twentysomethings, Thomas Sparacino, Randy Garner and Brittney Pheobus, were arrested for a drive-by shooting in Friendship (the intended victim wasn't hurt). When police went to arrest the trio they also found firearms, including an assault rifle, and child pornography.

Marilyn St. Louis Walkes apparently thought "taking care of a developmentally disabled woman" meant stealing her money.

Baltimore County thieves are breaking into garages and stealing dirt bikes.

Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant wants murderers and gang members to stop sinning.

Three people were shot outside a community center in Frederick County.

Eazy-E Op-Ed: "no one [in city government] understands the real needs of each [city] department. It allows lazy planning and makes it easy to hide waste and fraud."

An autopsy will be performed on a Chesapeake Bay floater found by a boater, and JZ illustrates the story with a visual of ... the shadow of a giant gingerbread man looming over a mountain, of course!

May 20

Two incidents or one? Either way Wednesday Last week was extra-bad at Jessup: a basketball-court shanking and a prisoner fight that injured six correctional officers.

Word: Bernard Kerik, former NYC commissioner, on the Curran Baltimore curfew proposal: "I really don't know what happened between the time that Eddie Norris was commissioner and what's happening today ... take it back to crime-fighting mechanisms and let [police] do their job."

NYker: in spite of what's on CSI, hair and fiber analysis is so inaccurate as to be worse-than-useless.

Your man Rodericks: "O'Malley's veto a big setback to drug reform"

Atlanta lawyer Manny Arora defended Ray Ray, able to communicate on athlete's level, "whatever it is."
And congrats to all the new law school grads-- now get to work!