April 4

Luke looks at the 22 murders in "a month marked by brutal crimes," but says that "police see signs of hope. The 50 homicides in the first three months of 2008 are the fewest in Baltimore City since 1985."

A guy got shot in the head yesterday in East Baltimore. Despite Galt's comment in yesterday's comments that the man died, there's nothing about it in today's news.

For the second time in two weeks, a body was found along the train tracks in Carroll Park. Homicide is investigating, and they say it's not one of the...

... two abducted teenage brothers who are still missing, and facts continue to trickle down to the public: a woman was sexually assaulted, the boys come from a family of convicted drug dealers and/or users, and each of the two boys has been arrested five times.

In other abduction news, some crazy-ass lady faked her own abduction.

Amy Castillo says that the court system failed her and her kids, and it sure is hard to disagree.

HarCo churches are hoping that some upcoming community events will help stop the violence in Edgewood.

Rasul Brown got 75 years for killing Marcus McDowell, a teenage boy with no criminal record who was trying to help a friend who was fighting with Brown.

17-year-old Dupree Williams pleaded guilty to murdering 18-year-old Jerome Hughes on Halloween in Annapolis.

William Floyd Crudup got 11 years for dealing crack, and he hasn't even been tried for shooting two cops in 2005.

A 19-year-old got 35 years for shooting at cops while riding his dirt bike.

PDJ: William Lee Burdette Jr. of Reisterstown pleaded guilty to distributing kiddie porn.

April 3

The kindergarteners at Forcey Christian School miss Anthony.

Jeffrey Butler was wanted by police when he was murdered. The story demonstrates both flaws in the system and the fact that, as BPD spokesman Sterling Clifford said, "It's very difficult to find these kids, and sometimes the kids don't realize that the best thing for their safety is to be in the system."

The teenage brothers who were abducted in Catonsville are still missing, and police say the two boys have a "long criminal history."

"The FBI and city robbery detectives have released photographs of a man they suspect of stealing more than $10,000 in a string of recent bank robberies." Hmmm... not that the web version of the Sun bothered to run the photos or anything.

If more people used Netflix, the dude who robbed the Blockbuster in Cockeysville would be S.O.L.

These damned teenagers today have it easy. When I was their age, kids had to walk five miles uphill through the snow to set fire to the elementary school.

Evening

A federal grand jury indicted Brian Keith Rose, 22, Tuesday in connection with the January 2006 murder of Warren Fleming, victim of an attempted carjacking. An archive of Sun stories on the case.

In PGC, a 12-year-old boy killed a man who was attacking his mother.

"The Board of Public Works has approved a $400,000 settlement in a case of alleged racial profiling by the Maryland State Police, ending a lengthy legal battle that began almost 10 years ago."

Did you know? Church's Fried Chicken is owned by an Islamic investment bank, now being sued by a BWI franchisee for their late-breaking anti-pork stance.

Meanwhile, "The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has revived the workplace discrimination claim of a Muslim man who says he endured harassing taunts, such as being called 'Taliban' and 'towel head,' while working at Sunbelt Rentals Inc. in Gaithersburg."

"I wouldn't put you on because it really did, it happened just this way
The day Angela E. Hiltz socked it to the Mt. Airy P.T.A."...

April 2

Anna D. takes on the most homicidal week of the year so far in the Ink, with nearly 20% of 2008's murders occurring (or being ruled as homicide) during the past week. Some "highlights:" April Montford's incredibly horrible death of neglect has been ruled homicide, but the State's Attorney's office has yet to decide whether or not to charge her daughters with murder; the man killed on Wilkens on 3/23 was ID'd as 18-year-old Jeffrey Butler; and the man killed in Carrollton Ridge on 3/27 was ID'd as Tyrone Bahia.

Police are looking for the man who shot Alan Zurita and left him on the side of I-95, then shot another man and drove him to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air. Zurita died about two hours after being found, and the other man survived.

There's a tribute to Zach Sowers on YouTube.

For you friends, family, and supporters of Zach, don't forget tonight's event at Sonar.

Mark Castillo is being held without bail. There's a picture of his kids with Santa Claus that just hurts to look at.

Kane has a helluva good column today.

Two teenage brothers were kidnapped early yesterday morning when six armed men invaded a "flop house" in the 600 block of Plymouth Rd. in Catonsville. As dramatic as that story sounds, something -- like the fact that other residents of the house wouldn't initially cooperate with police -- tells me there's more than meets the eye.

A man was shot twice in the stomach last night in the 2200 block of W. Lexington St.

Anthony Monroe was found guilty for murdering Milan Andrew Walker last January. He faces life plus 25 years, which in Baltimore City means he'll be out within a few years.

Beware of bearded NASCAR fans, especially if you're into cardboard cutouts.

April 1

Mark Castillo admitted to being a completely worthless human killing his own three kids, and said "I know what I did was bad." Yeah, asshole, it was.

There are lots of stories related to Castillo's triple-murder: The Sun looks at the couple's divorce record, the family legal system, and how custody battles can hurt kids. The Examiner looks at Castillo's history of mental illness. And the Washington Post says the drowner dad could face the death penalty, but prosecutors haven't decided yet if they'll go for it. This being the city, it's more than unlikely.

One man was fatally shot last night in the 2400 block of E. Hoffman St. in East Baltimore. There were two other shootings on the east side around the same time, one of which may have been related to the Hoffman St. shooting.

Another man was fatally shot this morning at a playground in the 800 block of N. Franklintown Rd. in West Baltimore.

A wounded man was found on the southbound shoulder of I-95 in HarCo early this morning. He died about an hour later. Homicide is investigating.

The man who was killed on Billie Holiday court on Sunday has been ID'd as 27-year-old Ronald Joyner.

A 20-year-old MICA student was raped by a man who offered to help her when she was locked out of her Bolton St. apartment. Police are looking for a 30-ish black man who is about 5'6", has a gap between his front teeth, and has a penchant for orange.

A 22-year-old was shot in the head in Edgewood. Police believe it was drug related.

A 6-year-old in Randallstown was packing a loaded Glock and a loaded 9mm in class yesterday.

An 80-year-old man kicked some ass in Pasadena.

Lewis Rich was found guilty for fatally stabbing Ernest Buchanan Jr. at a downtown McDonald's last year, and he got 10 years.

Seventeen people are suing the BPD for unconstitutional behavior.

Seventeen plaintiffs in a federal civil rights lawsuit filed Friday claim they were the victims of a special plainclothes unit of the Baltimore Police Department that repeatedly made arrests without good cause, executed illegal searches and seizures of the detainees’ homes and filed charges that did not result in convictions.

The 60-page lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, alleges members of an East Side Special Enforcement Team, the SET ‘B’ squad, carried out their mission to “respond to emerging violent crime problems” without regard to constitutional constraints and without objection from their superiors.

The suit also accuses the officers of filing false reports to justify unwarranted and fruitless searches.

Afternoon

From the State's Attorney's office:

This afternoon Mark Anthony Castillo, 41 of Schuylkill Road in Rockville was charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, child abuse, and child abuse resulting in death. He was held without bail by a court commissioner. A judicial bail review is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

The kids were all drowned. The Sun, the TV news (WMAR, WJZ, WBAL) and the AP all have additional details.

In other local murder news, 16-year-old Farron Tates was indicted by the Baltimore City Grand Jury.

Court documents allege Farron Tates was responsible for a shooting incident on March 1, 2008 in the 5000 block of Denmore Avenue. Anthony Underwood and Tates were engaged in an altercation when Tates produced a handgun and shot him in the head and chest. Underwood died at the scene.

An arraignment is scheduled for May 6, 2008 before Judge Lynn K. Stewart, Room 215, Mitchell Courthouse.

March 31

I wonder if Mark Castillo's three kids ever got him one of those "#1 Dad" t-shirts for Father's Day. (Also: Sun, WMAR)

Including the Castillo family, there were five murders over the weekend. At about 5:00 yesterday morning, a man was stabbed in the neck in the 1000 block of Billie Holiday Ct. Just after midnight, the soon-to-be-dead body of 19-year-old Javon King was found by a driver in the 5400 block of Nelson Ave. Neighbors heard gunshots earlier, but they were too busy doing stuff to actually call the cops in a reasonable time frame.

Looks like the same people who give out fictitious parking tickets might be going after the career of BPD Sgt. Michael Wingler.

On Friday, a man was chased and beaten on E. Federal St., a woman was robbed of $900 on E. Lombard St., and a photographer was robbed of $19,000 worth of equipment on Maryland Ave.

March 30

Today, I'm bored out of my skull we have a special haiku edition of Baltimore Crime

Pervy officer
touches the young spring blossom
bad touch, cousin cop

Levi Peterson
sold dirty pre-teen pictures
bastard copped a plea

Middle-aged man
flees cops, swallows drug baggie
Darwin strikes again

Ronald Calhoun charged
points gun at woman, Sun staff
The Alameda

Sweet flower of love
How much for that sweet booty
in Ellicott City?

Sixty-eight riots
still ripple forward today
our Baltimore "B"

March 28

A 44-year-old man was shot in the side while he was working on his car in an alley in the 5900 block of Loch Raven Blvd.

The man who was killed by police after lunging at them with a knife has been ID'd as 45-year-old Norman L. Smith.

This was almost a heroic story of a victim standing up to his robber. But then the "victim" robbed the robber, and took the robber's shotgun, and started hitting the robber over the head with the shotgun, and then the shotgun went off and hit the "victim" in the stomach, and then the "victim" died. Oops. Meanwhile, the robber was simply trying to get cash to pay his way through pharmacy school.

Robert Smith is off the hook.

19-year-old Joseph Miranda's parents are suing state and local officials for covering up facts in their son's death.

Charges against Charles Davis have been dropped in the 2002 murder of David Baskin. Nicholas Weaver, a New York college student who was extradited to Maryland recently, has been indicted in the murder.

Okay, yeah, so the HoCo teacher pulled down the boy's pants and took nude pictures of his ass, but that's not technically exploitation, right?

If you don't mind the pervy teachers and the incresed number of property crimes and the increased number of attacks on police officers, HoCo is a pretty awesome place to live.

Annapolis police officers apparently take a beating, too. Someone fleeing a suspected drug deal hit an AAC officer with his rearview mirror, then led police on a 25 mile car chase.

"A Sun reporter" might want to check his or her facts. According to the State's Attorny's office, Devere Foster is hardly a "he."

Evening

Judge Howard says Justin Fauntleroy -- who was found guilty for distribution of cocaine, handgun offenses, and first-degree assault for trying to run down a cop -- will have paid his debt to society in five years.

Meanwhile, Judge Stewart says Carl Lassiter deserves 15 years -- the first five without parole -- for a string of B&Es, none of which seemed to involve trying to mow down cops with moving vehicles. Perhaps the Honorable Judge Stewart could give the Honorable Judge Howard some tips on how to do his fucking job.

Corey Little and Devere Foster were convicted for selling smack in East Baltimore. (Smack? Do the cool kids still call it smack?)

On June 6, 2007 between 6:30 and 8:30AM at the corner of E. Lafayette and N. Caroline Streets covert police observed Ms. Foster and Little meet at the corner, stand together, and have a conversation. A short time later a vehicle pulled up, the occupants had a brief conversation with Little, and it then parked. A passenger got out approaching Little and officers observed money exchange for narcotics. Officers then heard the buyer call out to the parked vehicle “got it lets get high.” Police stopped the vehicle and recovered one gel capsule of heroin from the buyer/passenger. The stop was with in eyesight of the defendants and as a result the defendants walked out of the view of the arresting police.

When the police left the area Foster and Little then returned to the corner and again took up a position to sell narcotics. Another buyer approached Foster and Little. Little and the buyer engaged in conversation while Foster acted as lookout. The Covert officer observed US Currency exchange for Narcotics. Police were again called to stop the buyer and recovered one gel capsule of heroin. Little and Foster again observed the arrest. Little then left the view of the Officer by entering a narrow alley. Police followed Little and Foster and arrested them, recovering a snack chip bag inside of which contained seven gel capsules of heroin.

Two murder trials are scheduled to begin tomorrow: Korey Harris, who is accused of killing Christopher Wayman in the 2400 block of Seabury Rd. on April 19 of last year, and Keith Vaugh, who allegedly killed 16-year-old Antonio Brown on September 6 2006 after Brown allegedly ripped off Vaugh's moped. Because, you know, manly men totally kill over mopeds.

The murder trial for Lewis Rich began today. Rich is the guy accused of fatally stabbing Ernest Buchanan Jr. at a downtown McDonald's on April 26 of last year. It's a pretty fascinating story, and you should read it before the Sun decides to stick it in their archives where it will never again see the light of day.

A witness is actually taking the side of the cop(s) who shot and killed the knife-lunging man on Olympia Ave.

Someone stole 20 grand worth of medical supplies from Bayview, and a bunch of rain gutters were stolen from New Good Samaritan Baptist Church on Greenmount Ave.

March 27

More about Zach Sowers' death: the Sun, the Examiner, WJZ, WBAL TV, WMAR.

A 19-year-old man died this morning after being shot in the chest in the 100 block of Addison St. in Carrollton Ridge. An 18-year-old was injured in the same shooting.

Four people were shot in two separate shootings last night. In the Eastern, a woman was treated at Hopkins for a "graze wound," and three teenagers were shot on N. Gilmor St. -- including a 14-year-old girl who got shot in the face.

A man on Olympia Ave. in the Northwestern learned an important life lesson yesterday: don't lunge at cops with a knife if you don't want to get shot. He had about two hours to contemplate his mistake before he died.

Baltimore City juries aren't completely useless: (Oops. That was a Baltimore County jury. Anyway...) David Miller's jury deliberated for less than an hour before they found him guilty for killing Elizabeth Walters and their unborn baby.

Eugene Perry got two consecutive life sentences for murdering his ex-fiancee and her boyfriend. Perry was a police officer with the state Department of General Services, and his victims were both cops in the Northwestern.

In HoCo, a student testified against a teacher who allegedly took icky photos of the boy with his pants down.

Zach Sowers

From zachsowers.com:

It is with great sadness that I write to tell you that my close and wonderful friend, Zach Sowers, passed away yesterday, Tuesday, March 25, after a long and steady decline. Anna called me today to tell me that he passed away peacefully around 10 p.m. last night. Zach is now at peace after a long and treacherous battle. He was so strong and fought until the very end but it provides comfort for us all to know that he is now in heaven, watching over his friends and family.

Anna has told me that she and the family are doing as well as can be. They have a strong network of friends and family supporting them and ask that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.

From the Sun:

The teens convicted of beating Sowers could not be charged with murder because the victim hadn't died; their pleas prevent prosecutors from pursing murder charges now.

In December, Trayvon Ramos, 16, pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and robbery charges and was sentenced to life in prison with all but 40 years suspended. Three others, who agreed to testify against Ramos, received eight-year prison terms.

Anna Sowers had called the sentences "a joke."

Prosecutors said that the four teens robbed Sowers and used his credit cards to purchase gas and videos during a shopping spree over several days.

March 26

A man was shot in the head this morning in the 400 block of Laurens St. He's at Shock Trauma, but there's no word yet on his condition.

The double-murder trial of David Miller sounds like a Law & Order episode just waiting to happen. The woman who was with Elizabeth Walters when she was killed testified against Miller, an assistant state medical examiner testified that Walters' fetus could have survived outside the womb, a seasoned homicide detective cried on the stand, and Miller tried to fire his public defenders because they weren't asking questions of most of the witnesses.

Bobby Ray Stanbery had a knife, some rope, three porno vids, and had removed the rear seats from his SUV when he tried to "give a ride" to a 14-year-old girl on Woodbourne Ave. last year. For all that, he got a year.

A couple of guys wanted on handgun charges led police on a car chase from East Baltimore to the Harbour Tunnel. WMAR gave the story a big and exciting write-up with phrases like "the driver is behind bars" and "high speed chase through the streets of Baltimore;" meanwhile, the Sun stuck the story in the Blotter and described it as a "medium-speed pursuit."

Allan Clark was homeless when he murdered Michael Evans Sr.; now, it looks like he'll have a roof over his head for a very long time.

Byron Huff indictment

From the State's Attorney's office:

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Byron Huff, 43, of the 1800 block of Richfield Drive, Severn, Maryland on charges of first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and first-degree sex offense.

Court documents allege on September 3, 1996, a woman, later identified as Doris Smalls, 30, was found dead and partially nude in a bedroom basement apartment in the 2700 block of Ruscombe Lane. Ms. Smalls allegedly died from stab wounds to the chest.

In 2007, DNA evidence was retrieved and tested. The evidence from the test was matched to Byron Huff, an inmate in the custody of the Division of Corrections, and police charged Huff with murder in February 2008.

An arraignment is scheduled for April 29, 2008 before Judge John P. Miller, Room 428, Mitchell Courthouse.

March 25

The body of 36-year-old Robert Long was found next to the train tracks in Carroll Park with at least one bullet wound to the head.

The Frederick man who was killed outside the New Cathedral Cemetery in the Southwestern on March 9 has been ID'd as Levette Johnson.

The link above also mentions a 17-year-old who was shot in the back in the 2600 block of McElderry St. on Friday night.

The link above also mentions a lot of people who haven't figured out that you don't leave your $700 GPS or your $800 camera behind when you park your car. This isn't a Baltimore thing, people, it's true in any city. Don't leave shit in your car.

A 22-year-old UMBC student is in critical condition after she was severely beaten by four women at Cheerleaders sports bar in Fell's Point early Sunday morning.

David Miller's murder trial started yesterday, and it's the first time prosecutors are using Maryland's fetal homicide law.

More evidence that the war on drugs is a miserable failure.

Careful, parents, or your young huffers might end up getting beatdowns at Baby Booking.

There's a hefty dose of either racism or paranoia over in homicide.

Yesterday was a rotten day to work in an AAC pizza joint. Some dude robbed a pizza place on Somerville Rd. and carjacked their delivery driver, and three guys with a semi-automatic robbed a Pizza Boli's on Crain Highway.

In Bel Air, Deborah Turner lost two houses to arson within three months. In other Bel Air news, three teenagers were arrested and charged with vandalizing some cars and setting a trash can on fire.

Okay, I admit it. When I read the headline "Referendum on police looks likely," my first thought was, "What? Are they prohibiting mustaches?"

Afternoon

ppatin wrote it in the comments section, and it's far more eloquent than anything I could write: "The actor who plays Sevino on The Wire was stabbed in the ass last night."

March 24

The Easter Bunny brought a basket full o' killing yesterday: one man was fatally shot at 7:20 a.m. in the 3700 block of Ravenwood Ave., and another man's body was found in the 3400 block of Wilkens Ave. at 6:40 last night.

There were several unsuccessful murders over the weekend as well.

• There was a double shooting yesterday afternoon at the corner of Park Heights Ave. and Spaulding Ave.
• On Saturday afternoon, a man got shot in the leg. "The victim and a witness twice changed the stories they initially gave police. Police believe that the victim accidentally discharged his gun and shot himself while trying to escape from a robbery in the 300 block of Collins Ave. in West Baltimore.
• On Saturday morning a 21-year-old with a "long criminal record" was shot and likely paralyzed in the 500 block of N. Decker St.

On Thursday night, a 54-year-old man was shot in the right leg in the 900 block of Druid Hill Ave. Also in the Blotter, a 90-year-old woman's wedding ring was stolen.

Someone firebombed a Middle River family's home in an apparently random attack.

Why wasn't there better communication when 15-year-old Tyisha Brown disappeared?

The family of Tracey Testo is still hoping to find out what happened to their daughter when she disappeared three years ago.

Annie Linskey takes a mighty interesting look at the Southwestern Flex Squad. Meanwhile, the NAACP says former Flex Squad commander Robert Smith should be reinstated.

A man was stabbed during a fight in Finksburg, and the stabber was arrested.

The Examiner talks with Pat Jessamy about fighting crime.

Hey, HarCo: If you want the Guardian Angels, you need to step up and volunteer.

The latest issue of Harper's has the following tidbit: "Number of times that U.S. media have called John McCain a 'maverick' since 1995 : 6,757." Apparently, we have a less heralded maverick right here in Baltimore County.

March 21

April Montford died last Friday, after a non-profit agency helped move her from a nursing home to an apartment where her two daughters were paid $13/hour to take care of her. Allegedly, they didn't do a very good job. "Montford, 40, was found in bed Feb. 29 with gangrenous open wounds and bedsores with lice and maggots in them, according to police. She had a month’s worth of urine and fecal matter on her, and her uterus had fallen outside her vagina because of neglect, police said." Her daughters have been charged with vulnerable-adult abuse, first-degree assault and reckless endangerment.

The Blotter has a couple of shootings and a whole bunch of stolen electricity.

Here's a closer look at Sarah Kreager and some of the crap that police had to deal with.

The court says former Police Commissioner Kevin Clark can ask for his job back, along with a $120M raise.

The mother of a Lutherville teen who was killed at his landscaping job says her son was murdered.

An Edgewood man was charged with second-degree murder in the July death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter.

Some dude in Edgewater was keeping a pet squirrel, and in the same article but lower in priority, six people were arrested in Annapolis after "neighborhood complaints and recent crime in the area."

March 20

Curse you, Bealefeld, and your almost crime-free news days. Fortunately, I forgot to link to the Ink yesterday, so you murder junkies can get your fix with five homicides over the past week. Of particular interest to those of you who love to bandy about accusations of racism, a black man and a white man were shot outside the convenience store on Garrison Blvd. last Saturday, but only the black man died. Conspiracy???

Nicholas Browning kills like a man, but will he get tried like a little boy?

MTA regulars say our buses are hardly safe and reliable. "Sometimes kids get on the bus and your heart is pounding. ... You better keep quiet or you're going to get slammed. You pray to get off safe."

You gotta love a city where a burglary at "Tiffany Hair & Gift Shop" results in 30 stolen cartons of cigarettes. Next time I need some tequila, I'm hitting my local barber shop.

Now why in the world would Mayor Moyer think a curfew could be enforced when the current laws aren't adequately enforced? (All sarcasm aside, I'm actually glad to see she's looking at possible ways to curtail violence in her city's public housing. Besides, the quotes from the article suggest she's not a total imbecile. Thoughts?)

Actually, Mayor Moyer might want to consider building on this strategy: "An Annapolis man went to the hospital early Tuesday morning after trying twice to buy drugs in different areas and getting beaten up both times."

Carroll County school board cracker Jeffrey Morse used a naughty word. To his credit, he took full responsibility. To the Sun's discredit, this article got about 10 times more words than most murder victims get. (And to the Sun's credit, they've gotten much more thorough in their coverage since we've stopped killing each other so often.)

In really cool news that has nothing to do with crime, a 290-pound baby boy was born at the zoo last night.

March 19

Five Four teens are guilty in the Sarah Kreager beating. A fifth teen was found guilty of second-degree assault (a misdemeanor) against Kreager's boyfriend.

There's some funny business about the gun that the late Curtis Blache used in his cops vs. robbers shootout.

PDJ: Jeffrey G.A. Stimson was charged with possessing and distributing kiddie porn, and is now out on bail.