Neck in neck

A man was fatally shot in the 2000 block of Baker St. in West Baltimore, bringing the murder total to 147. Last year's homicide total as of September 4 was 151.

Deputy commsioner feels it

Barksdale talks about his "feel" for the streets.

40 Years for 1st-Degree Murder & Handgun Charges

For a guy who shot his girlfriend's daughter's boyfriend. Says a SAO press release:

At a hearing yesterday Judge John N. Prevas sentenced Demetry AKA Frank Jenkins, 37, of the 1700 block of N. Washington Avenue to life suspend all but 40 years in prison and five years probation for murder and a concurrent five years without parole sentence for handgun use.

Jenkins pled guilty July 20, 2010 to first-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence after a jury had been seated and the state had presented its opening statement.

The victim’s grandmother delivered a victim impact statement to the court in which she described her grandson as a good son, grandson, brother and father noting he was not a troublemaker and that he would be dearly missed.

On February 4, 2009 at approximately 3:00AM police responded to 1724 N. Washington Avenue for a reported shooting and upon arrival found Demetrius Saulsbury, 22, lying on the sidewalk in front of the address shot once in the head. Investigation revealed that Mr. Saulsbury had been visiting his girlfriend at the home helping to take care of her because she was sick with the flu.

Jenkins was upstairs with his girlfriend, the mother of the girl, and became upset that Mr. Saulsbury was there so late and told his girlfriend to tell Mr. Saulsbury to leave, which she did. While Mr. Saulsbury was waiting for a cab a few minutes later Jenkins came downstairs and became upset seeing Mr. Saulsbury still in the house. Enraged, Jenkins ranted about how he's the man of the house and that no one respects him. Jenkins and his girlfriend's daughter argued, the sound drawing a few family members out of their bedrooms.

Meanwhile, the cab arrived and as Mr. Saulsbury was heading out the front door Jenkins said to his girlfriend's daughter, “You're gonna’ respect me now!” Jenkins walked up behind Mr. Saulsbury and shot him once in the head. Family members who saw the incident asked Jenkins why he did that and Jenkins responded, “That’s what I do,” then fled the location.

Jenkins was eventually arrested in Kinston, NC on February 17, 2009 and waived extradition. Assistant State’s Attorney Robin Wherley of the Homicide Division prosecuted this case.

Early voting

.. so this is the first time ever for early voting in Baltimore City.
I'll head to Pimlico as soon as I figure out for whom to vote for sheriff. Thoughts?

Meanwhile, here's Jessamy's ad, "Right Track."
"I'm Elijah Cummings, I'm cuddly and bald and people like me. State's Attorney Pat Jessamy wears blue suits and talks to groups of people in front of the courthouse. She also wears green suits and makes hand gestures, wears red suits and talks to white people in the park, looks at guns and drinks Starbucks, and changes into a gold suit to look in a file folder with me."
Will the Cummings endorsement be Bernstein's kiss of death?
Stay tuned ...!

Drug dealers make bad neighbors, kids bring 38 to school

Last night 3 people shot at least one killed after a neighbor unwittingly drives off with drugs stored in their wheel well.

Meanwhile, 10 and 11 year old arrested after bringing gun to school.

County bank robber arrested by city police.

The Slow, Creaky Wheels of Justice

Jury selection in the Ken Harris murder trial could take a week.

Ersatz Cop stuck in CP's Craw

Why the CP's Brian Morton won't endorse a candidate in the State's Attorney's race. Valid point, or lame wuss-out?

& your Page du Jour, the smoke and mirrors of conviction rates. Hey, math is hard!

Citizens, PETA complain to city health commissioner about conditions at the BARCS animal shelter

@GusSent Just saw pat jessamy waving at cars at corner of loch raven and alameda.

Small town!

Sen. Ulysses Currie was indicted on bribery charges, and the Sun's Laura Vozzella reports that candidate for State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein is also representing Currie against charges that he used campaign funds to pay for his defense.

Happy Thursday

Life w/o parole for Baltimore County home invasion & murder. Two accomplices in this case were also charged, but couldn't be prosecuted due to lack of evidence.

Two separate city shootings. The story makes it sound like they were both non-fatal.

Two Cecil County Detention Center inmates have been charged with starting fires in their cells.

Patricia Jessamy is launching her own TV campaign ads. Apparently her fund-raising isn't going well, because she's helping to pay for the ads herself.

An arrest has been made in the August 28th robbery of a 1st Mariner Bank branch on York Road in Cockeysville.

Shotgun intimidation

Police arrest a man who tried to kill a witness.

Harris trial could take a month

Prosecutors say, meanwhile judge rules against the defense again in pre-trial motions.

CP: Troubled Record vs. Limited Experience

The CP's Ed Ericson: "The Jury is Out: In state’s attorney race, Jessamy stands on a troubled record while Bernstein runs on reform and limited experience"
.. should this be taken to mean the CP won't be endorsing a candidate?

State Senators Behaving Badly

The Federales have indicted State Senator Ulysses Currie (D-PG County).

FOP endorses Bernstein

Police union (surprise) gives the official nod to the challenger for top prosecutor's job.

Tonight!

.. is the BCrime Happy Hour with special guest Gregg Bernstein, starting at 6 at the Falls in Mt. Washington.
... note if you can't find a parking place on Kelly Ave, there is also parking at the Light Rail Station at the end of Newbury St.
Hope to see you there!

Slew-foot Gary and the Roosting Chickens

View Larger Map
A man fatally shot at 4108 Harris Avenue, the Sun reports the victim, Nathaniel Augusto Santiago, beat murder charges twice

WTF? A Curtis Bay skateboarder arrested for fatally pushing a guy into the harbor in 2008.

Harris trial: So much for the mystery woman being called first.. but testimony from a security guard ID's two of the killers and explains the meaning of "slew footed" (... so if you are "slew-footed" you have a "slugh foot"?)

The gov wants to seize $10 million from Steven Blackwell

A Dawson relative makes a good point: "Even if the parents didn't want to budge, they should have snatched those kids up." Wonder if any threatened witnesses' kids have ever been taken by social services?

The mystery woman in Harris case to be called first

The woman in the car with councilman Ken Harris when he was shot will be the first witness to be called, prosecutors said today.

Now that Dixon's no longer mayor, should the city un-install her home security system?
How much could taxpayers possibly get for a used, three-year-old system? Might it cost more than it's worth to take it down? .. on the other hand, couldn't she come up with some semi-plausible reason for keeping it, instead of hanging up on Jayne Miller?

If you really, really care

you can vote as early as Friday in the city, if you're willing to go to one of these ghetto-azz locations

Some real 'conviction rate' numbers

See question #8-- the Sun says of the current State's Attorney's conviction rate:

478 murder cases were adjudicated in Baltimore in 2006-2008. Of those, nearly 40 percent resulted in not guilty verdicts, dropped charges or pleas or convictions on lesser charges. Among cases that went to trial, prosecutors' record of getting murder convictions was about 50-50.

... pity the intern had to pore over death's three-ring binder to crunch those numbers!

Pitcairn Memorial Removed

says Charles Villagers for Peaceful Living.
Wonder if the DPW has a policy for how long they keep up memorials, and when/if they take them down?

Angelo Dangerfield

Gregg Bernstein's new ad features Doris Dangerfield, mom of murder victim Angelo Dangerfield.
.. according to the CP, there's more to this story than Dangerfield just walking the dog; a BPD forfeiture complaint says he was also a BPD informant, though whether or not that's really true or if it played a role in his murder we may never know. Said his mom, "he wasn't a snitch."
Here's the ad:

Another Hispanic man slain?

Last night's murder victim identified as Hispanic, although court records list him otherwise.

Monday crime summary

Knucklehead steals car, leads police on a chase, crashes into MTA Mobility vehicle.

Hookers and illegal immigrants in Howard County.

When the cops tell you to drop your assault rifle it's generally a good idea to do as they tell you. I've never heard of a "22-caliber assault rifle" though, sounds like the description of the weapon is a little questionable.

Dead body in Dundalk. Supposedly there are no signs of foul play, but OCME will be doing an autopsy.

A 29-year old man was shot dead near Westside Elementary School.

A new Gregg Bernstein ad is out. This one features the mother of murder victim Angelo Dangerfield. Dangerfield's alleged killers weren't prosecuted because there was only a single witness.

Bubbles, Troubles & Nuk Nuk

Judge David Ross: DNA evidence will be admitted in trial of alleged murderers of Ken Harris. And more on how the alleged killers were caught: "Weeks after the killing of Harris, an anonymous caller said he recognized one of the men in surveillance videos from the Northwood Shopping Plaza as 'Troubles,' one [of] two brothers known as 'Bubbles' and 'Troubles.'"

Dawson Family Blame Game Cont'd

Page Croyder: The Dawson Family and its Failed Response gets a response from Ditanya Madden, "star" of Gregg Bernstein's commericals, and Adam Meister gets a (sole) pro-Jessamy response on the Sun talk forums

... and Jessamy will be on the Marc Steiner show tonight from 5-6 on 88.9

Stand up and be counted!

One day left to vote for the City Paper's Best of Baltimore... we know what the best blog is, but what's "Best CSA" (under goods & services?) I'd have to say Fiscal Year '07, under chief judge Robert Bell -- that year was certioriari-riffic!
.. who's the best print journalist, do you think?

Task force shooting probed

A shooting during a warrant raid in 2008 in now being investigated by sheriff's department internal affairs

Afternoon shoot-out

One kid on foot, another on a bike exchanged ten shots.