Short, Rich and Gone

El Chapo

Didja read this one? Didja hear about it? Sinaloa Cartel capo "El Chapo" (which translates to "corn pudding" or "shorty") aka Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, was arrested at a Mexican beach resort. At some point the cartel had/has tendrils that stretched to Baltimore, with eight locals (one of whom had a tie to city comptroller Joan Pratt ) arrested on assorted drug charges during "Operation Xcellerator" from 2006-2008. In addition to his shortness, Chapo is famous for escaping prison in the laundry like Little Orphan Annie, being named Chicago's Most Wanted in spite of never setting foot in Chicago, looking kind of like a cross-eyed John Ritter at a young age and for his decades-younger mistress boldly birthing their little twin chapos at an L.A. hospital.

Speaking of cash crops, marijuana bills are on the Senate's agenda this week.

Overnight Shooting: 2400 Block of Wilgrey Ct. Adult male shot in the back. Homicide Detectives investigating. Dispatched time: 12:06 AM
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) February 24, 2014

Shooting: 5100 Block of Cordelia Ave. A male is reported to be shot in the head. Homicide Detectives responding. Dispatched time: 8:11 PM
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) February 24, 2014

Shooting: 2100 block of Koko Lane. Adult male reported to be shot in the leg.  District Detectives investigating. Dispatched time: 5:51 PM
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) February 23, 2014

In what may be the last Van Smith story for the City Paper, coverage about the beating death of inmate Kenneth Davis in state custody.

May be second-to-last: how drug dealer Richard Anthony "Richie Rich" Wolford played himself by pissing off his own lawyer. .
.. Q for anyone: Is there any way to download the City Paper archives before the Sun assumes ownership? Also, how is the Tribune Co. able to buy anything just a year after getting out of bankruptcy?

And another dumb Raven, this time Deonte Thompson, got his dumb self arrested for poking smot in a car on public roads. Meanwhile police say they have video of Ray Rice knocking his fiancee out in a NJ elevator. And O'Malley himself was on TMZ, expressing his "tremendous amount of disappointment." Disappointment, really? I guess after having drug dealers burn a family to death it takes a lot to achieve "horrifying." 

The Waste of Your Pants

Sixteen months ago Tammy Brown, director of O'Malley's office of Crime Control and Prevention, told me there was no DNA backlog.* Now apparently the backlog is a year long.

Jason Bulmer, one of a pair who allegedly killed HoCo blogger Dennis Lane, has pleaded guilty.*

The Daily Mail of the UK explored Baltimore's "people of the woods."

Ugh, these twits. Starve-a-me Galling-Flake is "appalled" by the "disproportionate high" arrest rates for black pot possessors, but refuses to offer an explanation for why police are arresting so many people, a plan or support for decriminalization or lower penalties.
     Meanwhile Anthony Brown has clawed back his announced support for decriminalization.  "He said he is advocating a 'slow-as-we-go" approach.' 'I'm at the red light checking the intersection.'" Could that man have any less personality or backbone?
   And Bernstein has been focusing on diversion,* so good on him for that. But how do we arrest fewer people?
    Can you imagine how much we'd make if it was a $100 ticket? Well, you don't have to, 1,800 people arrested a year = $18,000. Hellz, make it a $1,000 ticket. But it would still pale in how much we'd get from the feds for treatment centers, for the extra inmates at the jail ($40,000 an inmate), not to mention all the lobbying $ the house and senate get from defense attorneys and the like, I guess.

Read more here: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2014/02/21/3490655/brown-discusses-measures-on-marijuana.html#storylink=cpy

disproportionate high

Read More at: http://foxbaltimore.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/baltimore-mayor-appalled-at-disproportionate-marijuana-arrest-rates-african-americans-25690.shtml#.Uwf0BV7UVAJ arrest rate   

No good, very bad and horrible: The Tribune Company vis a vis the Baltimore Sun Media Group has bought the City Paper, the city's last non-niche independent newspaper and the last indie to be unloaded by Times-Shamrock of Scranton, PA. Everyone will be fired and the re-hires will be decamped to Calvert Street, and if they don't rehire Van Smith I will cut a bitch. Forecast calls for layoffs, shrinkage and lame attempts as being BuzzFeed.

@CTAssaaf

Wow, we haven't had a shooting in a week! Oh wait, here's a police-involved shooting. And, wait,

Shooting: 400 block E. Patterson Park Avenue. Man reported to be shot. Homicide Detectives called to the scene. PIO responding.
— Baltimore Police (@BaltimorePolice) February 21, 2014

Bystanders say victim is a homeless man known as "CJ." (The shelter is right here) They say 4-6 shots were fired
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) February 21, 2014

Another update; Victim from N Patterson Park Ave shooting has died; no name, age provided yet
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) February 21, 2014

A Digital Harbor nee Southern High School student was pistol-whipped, robbed by classmates.

Anthony Hopkins convicted in August 2012 Light Rail shooting of an unidentified "target." A witness said: "it appeared Hopkins had a handgun tucked into the waste of his pants"