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The body of a 26-year-old woman was found dumped in the parking lot next to Oldtown Mall. The mall, really just a shopping strip, is a notorious heck-hole; in 1999 it burned down, for years it's been a mostly-vacant eyesore, in 2009 it housed the China Garden restaurant from which the murderers of victim Tien Zin Wang ordered his last delivery.* The woman was shot in the torso.

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A Fenton article in the Sun and WaPo today gives more details on the life and death of scientist and dad Peter Marvit, shot to death in Belair-Edison. (thanks evaline)

David Simon and the City Paper are scandalized about what they say are "new rules" for charging homicides emanating from Gregg Berstein's office, which give the SAO "unilateral" authority to decide to charge suspects with murder. The alleged rules have allegedly tied the hands of detectives and resulted in half as many homi­cide cases being pros­e­cuted by his office than under Jessamy. Simon and Ericsson also accuse the SAO's office of doling out demotions or transfers to any detective who disagrees with the policy, and of providing misleading statistics to reporters, then, when called on it, claiming that the stats don't matter. Bernstein's office denies both that there's a new policy and that homicide prosecutions are down (no word on the retaliatory demotions). Hrm. (If the new policy exists, then surely it's for a reason-- why deny it?)

Anna Ditkoff's Murder Ink recaps last week's seven homicides

Our own little Chris Brown, Aquille Carr, will have his babymom-kicking-and-punching-related charges dropped if he completes a domestic violence program.*

A burglar burgled the offices of 43rd District Reps Maggie McIntosh, Curt Anderson and Mary Washington, making off with a laptop. The Patch notes that 6th district City Council rep Sharon Green Middleton also was burglarized a month ago. And a few blocks away a JHU security officer caught a burglar breaking in to the Moxie Hair Studio.

Police warn Canton residents of (another) string of burglaries, from a brazen thief who likes to strike between 3-11 p.m. by coming right in the front door.

Matthew Long, grandson of the murdered Peppers who drove off in their car and was found in a coma in a Weatherford, Oklahoma Travel Inn, left a note saying "sorry for what I did."

Twenty big fat federal years for Rodney "Rocco" Peters of the Gettis drug organization from Judge Motz. Peters was the 28th member of the organization to plead guilty, others have included "Captain," "Cutty Rock," and "D-Squared."

A drive-by paintball-shooting in Old Goucher

Four bald pot dealers were arrested in Glen Burnie

Police in AAC are looking for a guy who robbed a bank in Annapolis wearing a ... what is that? Charlie Sheen? Matthew Broderick? Rod Blagojevich? ...  anyway some kind of creepy mask of a white guy with a cowlick.

.. and Statistics

Overall, crime is down, police say. The reduction may not be immediately obvious however-- burglaries and car break-ins are up, and there are 9 more murders this year than there were during the same period of '08.

There's audio of Justin Fenton and JHU Prof Doug Ward talking crime numbers on WYPR.

April 14

An 11-year-old boy was shot in the shoulder yesterday at around 5 p.m. at the intersection of Baker and McKean.

Johnnie "Smurf" Toomer of the 2900 block of East Monument Street was arrested for Thursday April 12's, quadruple shooting in Broadway East, but there's still no known motive. It does seem the the 20-year-old was the target, not the kids, and the 20-year-old was a witness for the upcoming murder trial of Allen Little, who accused of shooting William Kirkpatrick, 16, and Stanley Dorsey, 31, on Belnord Street on October 18 of 2005.

It's a mockery of the bail bond system!
Defendants are ordered to post big-bucks bails, but the city's bail bondsmens' low low prices get them out on the cheap.

Fenyanga Muhammad tells Richard Sher that police shot him four times for no reason. Jablow: witnesses at the scene tell a different story.

Annie Linskey has more on the search for Terrance Randolph's three killers, including the detail that Don Papa Blake, aka Shamvoy Smith, "reached out to the Baltimore police shortly after arriving in the city in late 2005 and told them that he was from California and had plans to straighten out the city's gangs." Yesterday she detailed Jordanna/ Jiordanna Wagner 's taped testimony about how the three took Randolph to the basement of 1900 block of Division St. for "discipline."

Scary stat: Through March 31, Baltimore police reported 161 shootings in Baltimore — a 32 percent increase from the same time last year.

Spyware is letting stalkers take fucking with victims to a new level.

Once again, courthouse workers are protesting the filthy conditions.

Federal court judge Garbis: touching and tipping in PGC strip clubs doesn't lead to crime.