Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Inquiring minds...

Update: "department sources identified the detained student as John Pontolillo, 20, of Wall, N.J."

Pontolillo is a junior, prior to Hopkins he attended the Ranney $chool in Tinton Falls, six years behind the "Marie Antoinette" actress Kirsten Dunst.

Rice has a seedier background: police say he pulled a loaded .22 on an officer in 2007.
But his sister claims her brother was "too fat" to pose a threat.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I found a couple old deleted facebook posts from Mr. Ponts in the google cache, but they seem to have more permanently disappeared in the last few hours. Kid had what appeared to be "some" anger issues, which probably would explain the whole owning a samurai sword.

Blight for All said...

John Pontolillo is a hero of the people in my book, fighting for truth justice and the Blue Jay way.

Anonymous said...

The picture of the house in some of the news stories shows the house detached from the garage with a patio between the two. Being inside the garage was not being inside the house. If you heard something, already called the police and the person is still outside your house why head outside at 1:30am with a sword? It does sound like there is possibility he wanted to revenge on whomever may have taken the 2 laptops the day beforehand. I can't blame him but this one may have gone too far and I'm someone who would shoot or stab anyone inside my residence without hesitating.
Look at the layout of the house and the blood pool outside on the patio:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bal-samaria0915-pg,0,6787309.photogallery

Maurice Bradbury said...

WBAL's pics are even more explicit
and def call into question the "backed into the corner in the garage" scenario. As does the report from the JHU newsletter that mentions blood spatters on the outside of the garage.

ppatin said...

If the Hopkins Samurai has any legal expenses is there a way we could donate a few bucks to help pay them? I'm assuming that he at least talked with a lawyer (I hope for his sake he did) so even if the SA's office quickly decides not to prosecute he'll have a few hundred bucks in bills. A hero like that shouldn't have to pay for removing a menace to society.

ppatin said...

Rice's loathsome family is a prime example of what's wrong with our society. There ought to be a sense of shame associated with having a criminal in your family. I know that if I made a career out of breaking into people homes my family would be embarrassed that I was related to them. The problem is that in "urban" culture there is no stigma associated with criminality. It's ok to have dozens of convictions, and if you get hurt in the process of violating someone's home then it's obviously not your fault.

Sean said...

From The Sun:

"He was backed up against a corner and either out of fear or out of panic, he just struck the sword with force," said Baltimore Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. "It was probably with fear for his life."

...

Pontolillo ... was released late Tuesday afternoon. Guglielmi said it would be up to the state's attorney's office to determine whether he will be charged in the incident.

Unknown said...

If this were Texas or something, there would be no question and the defender would be freed by now. I feel sorry for him and my thoughts go out to him.

At least the thief lost a hand, just like in the olden days. I think a thief would have lost his life the second time around, as well, no? And it sounds like he was returning to try and get more stuff, in the same day, no less. Well done.

ppatin said...

"If this were Texas or something, there would be no question and the defender would be freed by now."

Hell, if this were Garret County he'd be off the hook by now. Only in Baltimore...

Stewie del Gato said...

Consider what a Baltimore Jury would do to this guy.

Anonymous said...

Peggy Rice, the burglar's sister has a criminal record that mirrors her brother's.

ppatin said...

The whole family is clearly defective. There's no other way to describe some people.

Anonymous said...

While the state may not prosecute Mr. Pontolillo, you can bet that some lawyer is trying to convince the robber's family to press a wrongful death suit.

ppatin said...

"While the state may not prosecute Mr. Pontolillo, you can bet that some lawyer is trying to convince the robber's family to press a wrongful death suit."

Not necessarily. He's a student and probably has nothing for assets. No point in winning a judgment against someone you can't collect from.

Stewie del Gato said...

Plus, the Rice's family might have all of his assets already.