Parallel Construction

Journalists can't protect their sources any more (now even TOR has been compromised), but the DEA's "SOD" [Special Operations Division] is apparently so good at protecting theirs that even judges and lawyers never know their sources existed. Vocab of the day: parallel construction: wherein investigators invent a cause for arrest where none previously existed in order to establish a legal reason to be investigating someone the NSA/DEA is already investigating. Example: "Agent Heywood Jablowme wanted to protect his informant Snitchy McPlea, and wasn't sure the warrantless GPS tracking, phone or email records he got from the DICE database would hold up, so he asked city police to pull over Pookie Green for a busted tail light when he knew Pookie was riding dirty to create a parallel construction for the bust and prosecution of the D-Bag drug crew."
Related: USA Today reported that the FBI let informants commit 5,658 crimes in 2011. 

All's well that ends.. horribly. Officer James Smith, who shot his fiancee Kendra Diggs in the back in front of police and medical crews* as she tried to escape him, has committed suicide in prison.*

Two men shot overnight in the Perkins Homes*

A city grand jury indicted James Berry III and three associates of the D-block drug crew for their roles in a revenge plot that killed seven* people

 Murderer

Scott Thompson, 47 (and not to be mistaken for the Canadian actor) was shot on Rosedale Street on Sunday and has died.*

On  March 3, 2013, the sketched  suspect  at  right  stabbed  and  murdered Twain  Robinson  in  the  3100  block of  Milford Avenue. 

Police arrested suspect Darryl Knight, who has his zip code (21234) tattooed on his face.

Jury selection began today for Karla Porter,* accused of arranging the murder of her husband William at a Towson gas station. Because of her alleged videotaped confession Porter likely would have faced the death penalty had the state not repealed it.*

Local gadfly Adam Meister escaped an attempted robbery last Friday night: 

"two black males around 16 to 18 years old approached me from the median on Eutaw as I approached Lafayette. One pulled out a gun which appeared to have a large barrel and pointed it at me as the other one said something to me that was very hard to understand because his English was so horrible ("give me...." is all I could make out). Upon seeing the weapon I instinctively turned my back to them and started sprinting north on Eutaw." 

Meiser escaped and the perps are still at large.

Remember the aspiring rapper with the weird-shaped head and tattooed eyebrows that spell "MAD MAN" whose wife stabbed a guy at the Fish Head Cantina in Halethorpe? Well,  Fish Head Cantina's been fined $2,000 for* its rowdy crowd.

The City That Breeds has a roundup of all the numbers in the Harbor Point development project/scandal. Note that Excelon is required to build in the city, so the employment numbers would be similar no matter where they built it.

Hot heels Saturday

An 18-year-old was shot* in the 1600 block of Mosher St at 3:30 p.m., sounds like he's alive. Up the street from the fatal shooting yesterday a man suffered a "minor" "lower extremity" gunshot wound near York and Woodbourne. And regarding the Homeland home invasions, police know a man is responsible for them, they just don't know which man.

Well, that doesn't look very good: Grayling Williams, the guy hired to head internal affairs after the Majestic Body Shop scandal has resigned* to take an unnamed new opportunity. This a mere day after Fenton reported that the police are looking for yet another Training Director*-- Russell out! Smith out! Buzzuro out! Maybe Williams will step in? Meanwhile, the trainer who shot the recruit is now facing assault charges; the recruit is eating through a tube.

Hot on the heels of the Planning Commission's plan to shut down law-abiding liquor stores, a "scathing" audit of the Liquor Board found that it is doing fuck-all: the board has no written policies or procedures, no record of fines or license payments, inspectors doing whatever they want with no oversight, plus reams of uninvestigated complaints, into which Ian Duncan further delves.* Still think the zoning-law changes are a horrible idea and probably illegal, but makes more sense knowing how fed up the Commission must be. Fix your Liquor Board, O'Malley!

And Jayne Miller stays on top of the Kendell Richburg case, a doozy even by Baltimore standards. Wonder how many people will get out of jail between him and Lewellen?

The 80-year-old man who died after a punch to the head was apparently the inspiration* for the 90's Fox dramedy show "Roc."

Despite vows to fight the gun law with a referendum, the MD's GOP is now apparently waiting to get advice from the NRA before proceeding, and mused Del. Neil Parrott, "You know, one of the options is not to petition at all this year." Whatever, you know you'll opt how the NRA tells you to, optimus.

Charles Knott/ sound effect

Oh, Hampden. One of those Buena Vista Avenue urchins, this one the name of Charles Knott, was arrested for threatening the B of A security guard on 36th with a pocketknife. Parent your childrens!

Well Goddamn, Harford County: police seized cocaine, pot and 400 bags of heroin at a traffic stop-- wait, no, 424, and a domestic call led to the seizure of 8 pounds of marijuana.

Oh, lawd. Towson U's Richard Vatz tried to splain away Dr. Ben Carson comparing homosexuality to bestiality by opining that the Yale-educated neurosurgeon is "is not sophisticated." Is that racist? Because I can't imagine someone saying that about a Yale-educated neurosurgeon of any other genetic heritage. That's like, what you'd say about Britney Spears not knowing how to use a car seat. Anyway, in any case, nert heeerllping.

Bumped in to Gregg Bernstein at the tattoo convention. I can report that he has not been inked... Yet.
— Ian Duncan (@iduncan) April 6, 2013

Well, maybe he should consider it to finally put those "Jewish" rumors to rest.

HoCo popo are ISO a cursing arsonist on the loose. Wait, no, they found him, he's one Alejandro Adolfo Rodriguez. He shoulda just smoked her cigarette and hushed.

And finally, the woman who bought that Renior that was stolen from the BMA at a flea market was identified as one Marcia Martha Fuqua, which also happens to be my new bar name.