An agreement to overturn the put bull ban?

Is it true? If only Annie Linskey was still on the case... an Examiner is reporting that the General Assembly has come to an agreement to overturn the Pit Bull Ban. 

Very sad about the suicide of Aaron Schartz, the 26-year-old co-founder of Reddit, who was being prosecuted by the Feds for making JSTOR articles public. Here's a sorry page: the Reddit opiates forum (thnx reader)

Four people killed

So much for the New Year's lull, three people were shot to death and one stabbed last night* (and the weekend isn't even half over yet). Editorial note, I'm not going to keep a 2013 toll-- it's time consuming and also redundant since this info is available elsewhere. But if you are ISO a running homicide tally for 2013 it looks like Cham is keeping one on her page.

More deets on that Loch Raven apt-building blowtorch/flamethrower situation* from someone named Carrie Wells at the Sun (and firewall-less version from the Deuce. WMAR is pretty worthless for the local news, except on weekends, when it's actually pretty decent).

Oh fer ef's sake-- an 88-year-old robbed at gunpoint at the York Road Walgreens and Middle School students robbed on Regester Ave in the area right north of the city line on York Rd. (aka Idlewylde).

There's a gun show at the fairgrounds. Fun times.

'Makeshift flamethrower'

Life in prison for a guy who shot three officers because he didn't want to go to jail for possessing a handgun.

A barricade situation involving a "makeshift flamethrower" in a senior-living apartment complex at 6301 Loch Raven Blvd.

Fenton Tweets that while homicide has been called out to a couple of shootings, still no more homicides yet this year besides the baby(!)

The sweetest girl on MySpace

Alycia Hoffman may be the sweetest girl on MySpace, but yesterday she was the craziest byatch on four wheels, injuring three police officers in a wackadoo chase following a drug buy that started in the city and ended with a fancy police-car box-in maneuver in the county. What do you think, PCP, crack or meth?

We've "only" had one murder so far this year, but 11 shootings

Fenton has more on the Christmas Day beating and robbery of Kenni Shaw,* attacked by five men when he left a liquor store. 

A NYker article talks about the sorry state of non-science when it comes to predicting pedophiles' future behavior.

Apparently Harry Reid snuck provisions into Obamacare that prohibit wellness programs from having doctors ask about the presence of guns a house, and doesn't make exceptions for parents of young children, abused spouses or suicidal people. Doctors are also not allowed to track gunshot wounds or collect gun-injury data, which would seem to be an execution shot to JHU's Center for Gun Research.

Street life, corporate life, life sentences

"Urban terrorist"/Grand Am driving career stick-up brothers Evan and Christopher Foreman started out robbing drug dealers and illegal immigrants, likely mentored in the robbing arts by brothers Michael, 45, and Brian, 39. The fraternal team went on to stage some very thought-out robberies of check-cashing stores, cash-for-gold stores and banks. Evan was sentenced to 24 years and 6 months* in the federal system, Michael got 12 years, Brian 4 1/4 years.
  For his part, Judge James Brednar called Christopher Foreman "depraved," and quipped, "you don't dip your toe in the water of bank robbery."
  "I don't think the court knows the street life," remarked his mother Darraux Horton, 59, who started her parenting career at age 14.

One Marcus Troy Evans, left, was arrested for a Christmas-day beating of a gay man on North Milton Avenue. Apparently Evans was arrested two days after the beating on drug charges but was released on bail six days ago, in spite of the new drug charges, recent domestic violence charges and a rap sheet that includes numerous assaults, gun charges and burglaries. What dingdong of a judge made that call, I wonder? His trial will be at 8:30 a.m. on Jan 29th at 1400 N. Avenue room 3. As an aside, I see Evans' bail bondsman was Lee Dixon was an agent for Milton Tillman's Four Aces bail bonds. Now that Tillman and son are in the federal pen I see Lee Dixon's working for what's been renamed* as Global Surety and Services, but is still a subsidiary of FCS of Houston, TX. It looks like they're hiring new "agents" if you're ISO a career change. It sounds like it's pretty much like being an insurance agent, only your client is the court and gay-bashing, drug-dealing burglars are your beachfront real estate.

Speaking of gay-bashing, outspoken homohater Don Dwyer says he "sought help" following the wreck of The Legislator; he's attended AA meetings and an alcohol intervention class (like, the same class every person arrested on alcohol-related charges has to go to?).  Happiest of all, he also says he's not planning to run for re-election.

Fenton leafs through the Dead Man Inc. corporate handbook* following an evening trailing the police and a BPD-TV camera crew en route to a shooting on Mannasota Avenue, where victims were transported to the hospital by "private car." (Meaning someone didn't want to wait for the ambalance and drove them to the hospital?)

One man turned himself in and two more were arrested* on charges related to a Thanksgiving road rage incident in Owings Mills.

In PGC you can trade Tide® for crack.

O'Malley says that the DP in MD is two votes close to repeal.

First homicide of 2013 = a baby

That does not bode well. The first murder of the year was a 7-month-old baby, Kendell Brown, killed by his own father, Francois Brown. Also the first baby of 2013 was a preemie born to an obese mother.

The Phylicia Barnes sex tape will be played in open court.* Euugh.

Dead Man Inc.'s Perry "Rock" Roark was officially given life in prison.* The current leader of the gang, James Sweeney, says Roark is a "snitch," Roark's lawyers dispute this. Roark says he's "a clear product of my environment."

A robbery sting netted some BGF members*

A massive child-pornography sweep netted 245 pervs nationwide and internationally, including one Robert Marzola of Essex, left.

The third trial for Espinoza and Canela, the alleged killers of three children, will happen in March*

The city plans to replace all 83 of the $450k-worth of speed cameras* that they bought.

Pigtown Crime Data 2012

There sure was a whole lot of stealing and assault in the Southwest last year.

2012: the Year that Was

361 posts we did this year. Cray cray!

So, here's a quick recap of the year's most interesting nuggets. The 197th homicide file for 2011 was Phylicia Barnes. Her accused killer, Michael Johnson, was set to go on trial August 13 of 2012, but various postponements and motions have us started 2013 with no jury seated yet.

About this time last year, the cover was closed on the slim novella that was Adam Meister n' Frank Conaway keruffle, but not before Team Conaway brought toilets and megaphones to Meister's house, distasteful anti-Semetic sentiments were bandied about and Meister posted a classic AfrAm article that noted Frank Conaway's arrest for wife-beating 40 years ago.

DNA evidence helped bring about the conclusion of the Skateworks gang-rape trial, the leader of the crew that victimized a 12-year-old girl got 10 years.

February brought reports of drones crisscrossing the Baltimore skies, 1999 Owings Mills High grad Majid Khan pleading guilty at Gitmo and promising to snitch on other detainees (so will he be going to the 15th reunion, or what?) and the (presumably) accidental death of 13-year-old Monae Turnage, who was shot to death by a 13-year-old boy playing with a gun he found under his mom's bed. The boy, his 12-year-old friend and their mom* Vernoica Alford (like the plea!) buried Turnage's body under trash bags, and for reasons unknown city officer John Ward put the murder weapon in his car. The 13-year-old was sent to a juvie facility for >3 years.

In March, SRB told BHO that she's not going to enforce the country's immigration laws. City police officer Daniel Redd pleaded guilty to dealing heroin from the NW district police-station parking lot, in September he got 20 years. The second trial for the brothers Travers and Tremayne Johnson kicked off. The boys were accused of setting a pit bull on fire, in April a jury took an hour to find them not guilty. Travers has also faced burglary, 2nd-degree attempted murder and handgun charges, he's on probation. In August Tremayne was arrested and charged with drug possession. Saint Patrick's Day revelry lead to a caught-on-video beatdown that made national news. And charges were dropped in the case anti-abortion activists hate to love, that of two eeeeeeee NJ doctors who started late-term abortions in the Guido state and ended them in Cecil County. Where they kept a freezerful of fetuses. And three nine-year-old girls and an 8-year-old boy were removed from school in handcuffs after they tried to drown a kid.

In April, life in prison for Malcolm Pulliam, who shot the owner of the Blessed Productions hair salon in the head four times, the blessed woman's life was saved by her blessed hairdo.  ... and I wonder what happened to the blogging crackhead at The Relapse Diary, who posted for three months then stopped? Speaking of relapses, boozy-cruisy Carl Snowden was arrested -- on 4/20, no less-- puffing on a blunt in a car parked by Druid Hill Park with the windows down (and in the company of a sex offender). He was convicted on charges and got 60 days in jail (suspended, of course), and retired (meaning, departed with pension, I assume) his job as head of Gansler's Civil Rights division in the Attorney General's office last week (a no-show job if I ever heard of one). He is/was also the chairman of the Annapolis Housing Authority.

In May, TAB blogged about Towson's hipster bandit, who turned out to be one Jason Lee Hadelman, a bohunk yokel career stick-up guy from York, PA in "disguise," likely busted by his FB self-portraits. More static between certain members of the local African_american activist community and certain chosen people as the Shomrim case wrapped up, with Hebrew hammer Eliyahu Werdesheim found guilty of second-degree assault and false imprisonment * and given no jail time for hopping out of his Miata to break a suspicious-looking teenager's arm. The 15-year-old victim, Corey Ausby, refused to testify against him. Jeff Barnd was revealed as the voice behind right-wing push-poll robocalls*.

June brought the hundredth homicide of the year, and a photographer punched at HonFest by a large bald man with a pink pimp chalice (wonder if they ever found that guy?) Hampton Mansion's for a "Slave for a Day" event  was renamed after the Park Service got angry phone calls. TAB and I went and shot some guns. And Joan Pratt took the mayor to task for the purchase of $659,000 worth of video phones.

In July, a circumcised man flashed a Roland Park housewife. Gregg Bernstein's son Owen was arrested for hijinks and brawling. The 104th homicide victim was named Yarndragus. Murder charges were dropped* against the alleged co-founder of the Dead Man Inc. prison gang, Perry "Saho the Ghost" Roark, but he pleaded guilty to racketeering and other charges in exchange for life in prison. A 36-year-old HIV-positive man, Steven Podles, used the app Grindr to find and have condomless sex with a 13-year-old boy.

August brought the boozy wreck of Don Dwyer's pleasure boat, The Legislator. Pimp Daniel O'Brien kept his dirty money in a Hennessy box. Sterling Parker, 61, was killed in a dispute over some small children he was babysitting,* wonder whatever happened in that case? Trikki Rikki Spector's illegal billing of the city for her commuting costs to her own district came to light, and nobody cared. Patterson high basketball phenom, 5'7" 147 pound Aquille Carr was arrested for beating on his baby's mom. He was sentenced to some classes at the House of Ruth. Carr finished out the school year at the Princeton Day Academy in Lanham, MD, apparently didn't lose his scholarship and is settling into his dorm at Seton Hall right now.

Hood draping! Napkins as toilet paper! In September a CP cover story schooled us all on the ways of Charles Village's shady ladies. Handlebar moustaches! Pot planes! Stash houses! Scores of conspirators faced charges in the massive Nicka conspiracy. The murder of scientist Peter Marvit (still unsolved) terrified the Herring Run Park area. The police-involved killing of drug addict Anthony Anderson inflamed tensions on the East side. 

The fall seemed to bring on an uptick in crimes against women. There was the murders of Ahjee Herrod, 18-year-old Tashawna Jones and 57-year-old sedan driver Queren Thomas. In October a jogger was raped in Fell's Point. In spite of old allegations that he threw a mug at a lover, Anthony Batts was confirmed as commissioner. Tyrone Alson shot his girlfriend in the head. And 51-year-old Deborah Simon was stabbed to death in her home on Washington Blvd.

November was the election, same-sex marriage, slots and BHO, oh my! Accused child-killers Policarpio Espinoza and Adnan Canela's third trial began. Elmo's creator, Kevin Clash, faced the first of what would eventually be four underage-sex accusers. And the imprisoning of Saho the Ghost in July didn't stop some Dead Mans from harboring drugs and an alligator.

Finally, December. Congratulations for reading up to this point. The Spectator Standoff, the manhunt for the woman who drove over Delma Barnes, a "not criminally responsible" for skitzoid cannabal Alexander Kinuya... and if you want any more you'll have to read the archives yourself.

Facebook friend convicted of 1st-degree murder

A first-degree murder conviction for the killer/robber of one of 2011's #LeakinParkBodies, that of Lois Jean Vance Smyth (a 40-year-old white mother of two, apparently also known as Lois Morman). Killer Kenneth Todd Brunetti was a high school friend the victim had apparently reconnected with on Facebook, who met up with her for jogging, then robbed her, shot her, stuffed her in her own trunk and drove off in her car.

The owner of Blue Agave-- ah yes, that place, it serves the most delightful warm cheese dip!-- is charged with ... raping a patron*?! What?? 

Suspect runs into family's basement, family dog runs into yard, cop shoots and kills the family dog.
Of course the dead dog now has a Facebook page.

217

Fenton reports 2012 ended with 217 murders,* Fenton Tweets that a 24-year-old victim shot on Sunday on Bryant Ave died at 11:46 yesterday night.

Adorbz: after officiating the crabtown countdown, SRB made haste to the courthouse to perform the state's first same-sex wedding, that of a couple of sexagenarian dudes, followed by five more weddings (some quinquagenarian lesbians, some cute guys in pink shirts who, reported some station, drove up from South Carolina). Mazel tov!

A man named Sir Keith English Queen Jones was shot to death in Glen Burnie, and his killer is still on the loose.

It's all over but the kvetching for the Hal Katz insurance agency.

Woefully mismanaged Baltimore Behavioral Health has filed for bankruptcy.*

Whawhawha? Short-fingered vulgarian Sam Zell = out of the news biz and the Tribune Co.= out of bankruptcy! Luke and the Justins have now become the chattel of a passel of hedge fund managers, the most prominent of which is Oaktree Capital Management (here's their CEO's apt. at 740 Park... one of his secondary residences). Rumor has it the bankers are more about focusing on the TV business and intend to sell of the Tribune's assets, bit by bit. The Sun is also dropping the AP's stories in favor of Reuters', so no more Ben Nuckols, except via the WaPo I guess. Bew! 

2012's 217 murders

217. Unidentified man, 24, Bryant Avenue (12/31)

216. Monday Griffin, 18, 2500 block of Woodbrook Avenue (12/31)

215. Thomas Cunion, 27, 1100 block of Webb Court, Latrobe Homes (12/24)

214. Rebecca A. Coughenour, 200 block of Atholgate Lane (12/20)

213. Unidentified man, 1700 block of Gwynns Falls Pkwy. 12/18

212. Michael Randolph Robinson Jr., 26, 2800 block of Winwood Court (12/15)

211. Avon Ball, 26, 5200 block of Reistertown Road (12/14)

210. Todd Duffie, 36, 3200 block of Lyndhurst Ave (12/13)

209. Terrell Logan, 24, 1500 block of Shields Place (12/10)

208. Delma Barnes, 35, 5200 block of Frankford Ave (12/7)

207. Angelo Ward, 25, 800 block of Brooks Lane (12/8)

206. Brent Nickens, 22, 2300 block of Westwood Ave. (12/7)

205. Thomas Rawlings, 24, 1800 block of N. Fulton St. (12/7)

204. James Vincent, 55, 400 N. Duncan St (12/2)

203. Paris Russell, 2, 1400 block of Broening Hwy (12/2)

202. Kearrie Dion Ware, one month, 300 block of East 22nd Street (11/25)

201. Tremaine Johnson, 34, 500 block of N. Calhoun St. (11/25)

200. Daqwon Artis, 16, 2200 block of Barclay Ave. (11/25)

199. James Johnson, 22, 1300 block of Laurens St. (11/24)

198. Adonay Garcia-Wilson, 22, 2800 block of Boarman Ave (11/21)

197. Daniel Pearson, 16, block of 2600 Greenmount Ave. (11/20)

196. Richard Erdeck, 3900 block of Woodhaven Avenue (11/18)

195. Richard Redd, 66, 3000 block of Elgin Avenue (11/16)

194. Christopher Briggs, 18, 28th and Fenwick (11/14)

192, 193. Darian Horton, 19, and Allen Horton, 23, 2500 block of W. Lafayette Ave. (11/13)

191. Donnell Bishop, 1800 block of N. Rutland Ave (11/12)

190. Joshua Boone, 26, 5100 block of Goodnow Rd (11/9)

189. Joshua Noble, 25, 500 block of S Lomgwood St (11/6)

188. Deborah Simon, 55, 1200 block of Washington Blvd (11/5)

187. Anthony Diggs, 29, 2600 block of E. Monument St. (shot 3/17/01, d. 11/2012)

186. Lawrence M. Thomas, Jr., 26, 3125 Artaban Place

185. Terrence Seale, 29, 1200 Linworth Ave (11/4)

184. Dewey Hampton, 47, 6000 Marjorie Lane (10/31)

183. Erwin Daniels, 30, 600 block of N. Lakewood Avenue

182. William Simmons, 32, 5318 Carriage Court (11/2)

181. Michael Allen, 40, 1100 block of Homewood Ave (10/30 or 31)

180. Shawn A. Brown, 40, 700 block of N Rose St (10/26)

179. James "Eddy Kane" Utley, 26, 1400 block of E. Preston (10/24)

178. Alonzo Gladden, 24, 3700 block of Victor St. (10/24)

177. Unidentified 60-year-old man, 3100 block of E. Garrison Blvd.

176. Darius Taybron, E. Hoffman and N. Milton

175. Charles Fuller, 19, 3000 block of E Baltimore St (10/14)

174. Tashawna Jones, 18, 300 block E 26th St (10/12)

173. Merv Douglas, 51, 2300 block of N Charles (10/11)

172. Curtis Jones, 28, 600 block of Dumbarton Avenue (10/8)

171. Ahjee Harrod, 16, 6300 block of Fairlawn Avenue (10/7)

170. Dimitri Staten, 37, 1800 block ofW Lanvale St (10/3)

169. Randy Owens, 19, 200 block of N. Fulton Ave (10/3)

168. Sean Melton Sr., 43, 2800 Quantico Avenue (10/3)

167. Elliot Lee, 28, 600 block of Belnord Avenue (9/30)

166. Queren Thomas, 35, 200 block of Reedbird Avenue (9/29)

165. Nana Mensah, 19, 400 block of South Augusta Avenue (9/28)

164. David Ervin, 41, 3623 Old York Road (9/26)

163. Anthony Kasier, 45, Linwood Avenue (9/24)

162. Will Edmondson, 35, 1800 block of Mosher St. (9/25)

161. Johnny Smith, 74, 2100 Cliftwood Ave. (7/5/1997)

160. Antoine Sellers, 600 Dumbarton Ave

159. Nabil Epps, 34, 2700 W. North Avenue (9/21)

158. Tony Reese, 2700 block of Mura St.(9/23)

157. Kwame Stern, 22, 3008 Chesterfield Avenue (9/24)

156. Audie Mickens, 24, 1700 Presbury St. (9/23)

155. Clarence Ross, 200 South Pulaski St.

154. Rasheedah Shenae Muhammad, 26, 500 Old Town Mall (9/18)

153. Peter Marvit, 51, 2800 block of Chesterfield Ave (9/17)

152. Miguel Crosby, 500 block of Coventry Rd. (9/15)

Suspicious Death, Unidentified, 900 block of St. Dunstans Rd. (9/13)

151. Freddie King, 38, 2600 Kent St. (9/8)

150. Donte Harris Sr. 21, 2900 block of Rockrose Ave. (8/30)

149. Maurice McCoy, 28, 300 block of Gold St. (9/8)

148. Rudolph Horton, 36, 1400 block of E. Holbrook (9/6)

147. Sherron Small, 42, 5400 block of Seward Avenue (9/4)

146. Unidentified man, 40, 500 block of West Hoffman St. (9/4)

145. Rashawn Muhammad, 20, 2700 Beryl Ave. (9/3)

144. Damon Vaughn, 21, 2600 block of Boone St. (9/3)

143. Jose Carranza, 32, 200 block of South Eaton St. (9/3)

142. Andre Scott, 25, 5600 block of Frankford Avenue (9/3)

141. LaRelle Ashlyn Amos, 22, 4800 block of the Alameda (9/3)

140. Darrien Jackson, 1300 block of Lakewood Avenue (9/1)

139. Joseph Alexander "Alex" Ulrich, 40, 9 E. Chase St. (8/10)

138. Lindale Carrington, 33, 600 block of Brisbane Road 8/24)

137. Kristie Hufnagel, 41, (unknown date prior to 7/21)

136. Terrance Gough, 26, Mountview Road (8/23)

135. Charles Canty, 65, 1700 block of North Carey Street (8/22)

134. Lovell Spencer, 19, 1700 block of Cole Street (8/21)

133. Sterling Parker, 61, 1900 block of Wallbrook Avenue (8/20)

132. Anthony Diaz , 3200 block of Walbrook Ave. (8/20)

131. Robert Hardy Jr., 33, 4200 block of Hamilton Ave. (8/16)

130. Diane Edwards, 53 or 54, 4200 block of Hamilton Ave. (8/16)

128. and 129. Euclides and Troy Manly, 600 block of Linnard St. (8/15)

127. Joseph Alexander "Alex" Ulrich, Jr., 40, 9 E. Chase St. (8/10)

126. Anthony Cureton, 28, 2700 Giles Rd. (8/06)

125. Jeffery Thomas, 24, 3000 W Garrison Ave. (8/04)

124. Ezra Bunch, 27, 5100 Reisterstown Rd. Stabbed: (7/23/12) Added: (8/4/12)

123. Marvin Jones, 30, 3003 Rosedale Ct. (8/03)

122. Janerio Keys, 26, 4400 Parkton St. (8/02)

121. Javon Blackwell, 20, 1200 Poplar Grove St. (8/01)

120. Antwan Bryant, 20, 2400 Frederick Ave. (7/31)

119. Charles Johnson, 50, 1800 W North Ave. (7/30)

118. Jermaine Blue, 30, 1400 block of Poplar Grove St. (7/28)

117. Derian Hampton, 21, 1200 block of North Caroline St (7/27)

116. Herman Regis , 67, 5900 block of Eurith Ave. (7/27)

115. Hamin Bridges, 34, 1000 block of Evesham Ave. (7/26)

114. Franklin Morris, Jr., 34, 1500 block of Smallwood Street (7 /26)

113. Brandon Spruill, 23, 1500 block of McKean Ave (7/23)

112. Darryl Thomas, 32, 4300 block of 6th St (07/17)

111. Quintin Winder, 35, 5500 block of Lothian Rd. (07/16)

110. Vernonda Fenner, 43, 4100 W. Forest Park Ave. Shot:(01/18/01) Died:(05/04)

109. Eric Brown, 43, 3200 Spaulding Ave. (7/08)

108. Lee Lumpkin, 35, 1000 block of Leadenhall St. (7/06)

107. Andrew Davis, 27, 3400 block of Ravenwood Ave. (7/05)

106. Kenneth Williams, 35, 400 block of Laurens St. (7/05)

105. Lance Johnson, 40, 2300 block of Eutaw Place (7/05)

104. Yarndragus Stanton, 26, 1400 block of East Preston St. (7/03)

103. Neal Gaines, 41, 2100 Denison St. (6/29)

102. Lloyd Grant, 600 block of Norfolk Ave. (6/26)

101. Deangelo Bess, 25, 1000 N. Central Ave. (6/24)

100. Lewis Womack, 36, 4000 block of Boarman Ave. (6/20)

99. Tavon Whelchel, 18, 2100 block of W. Pratt St. (6/19)

98. Desmare Braxton, 1, 800 block of North Stricker St. (6/13)

97. Ronald Dawson, 28, 2600 block of W. Patapsco Ave. (6/11)

96. Vernon Williams Jr, 19, 400 block of E. 21st St. (6/08)

95. Donnie Robinson, 23, 3600 block of Beehler Ave. (6/05)

94. Thomas Mattox, 26, 4400 block of Pall Mall Rd. (6/05)

93. Leon Thornton, 22, 4400 block of Pall Mall Rd. (6/05)

92. Charles Goodman, 23, 3400 block of East Lombard St. (6/04)

91. Michael Sullivan, 55, 5514 Belair Rd. (6/04)

90. Edmond Dabney, 64, 4600 block of Pimlico Ave. (6/03)

89. Antonio Mattison, 42, 1200 block of E. Lafayette Ave. (6/02)

88. Desean Bowman, 18, 1400 E. Fayette St. (6/02)

87. Calvin Matthews, 25, 3000 block of E. Preston St. (5/31)

86. Quintin Butler, 30, 1100 Myrtle Ave. (5/29)

85. Ettice Jones, 47, 1200 block of Woodbourne Ave. (5/28)

84. Amber Brown, 24, 3100 block of Hamilton Ave. OD'd: (4/18) Added: (05/28)

83. Olivia Palmer, 6 Months,1600 block of E. Coldspring Lane (5/27)

82. Dawan Evans, 25, 600 block of Pitcher St. (5/26)

81. Lanell Ausby, 22, 2500 block of Edgecombe Circle (5/26)

80. Andre Curry, 28, 2600 block of East Preston St. (5/24)

79. James Shird, 18, 4600 block of York Rd. (5/24)

78. Jacqueline Laster, 47, 2500 block of West Fayette St.. (5/24)

77. Tavon Frederick, 35, 3300 block of Westerwald Ave. (5/23)

76. Sylvester Rodgers, 58, 600 block of N. Carey St. (5/22)

75. George Stevenson, 43, 2600 block of Matthews St. Stabbed: (04/24) Died:(5/18)

74. Dominique Barnes, 20, 2600 block of Matthews St. (5/20)

73. Jeffrey McFadden, 35, 2000 block of Frederick Ave (5/14)

72. Travis Miller, 27, 1100 block of N. Milton Ave. (5/14)

71. Lacy Lamb, 19, 1600 block of East 32nd St. (5/13)

70. Dominick Brown, 24, 200 block of Herring Ct. (5/13)

69. Derrick Lawson, 33, 4000 block of West Franklin St. (5/13)

Thomas Weddington, 34, 2600 block of Park Heights Terrace (5/13)

68. Christopher Mobley, 28, 3400 block of Piedmont Ave. (5/08)

67. Cornell Booker, 46, 300 block of Whitridge Ave. (5/08)

66. Terrence Anderson, 19, 600 block of North Eutaw St. (5/08)

65. Shavar Little, 28, 1900 block of Aisquith St. (5/08)

64. Robert Bond, 21, 3000 Oakley Ave. (5/06)

63. Quintin Poindexter, 18, 4100 Alto Rd. (5/05)

62. Cheryl Thomas, 44, 400 Cummings Ct. (5/03)

Suspicious Death, Unidentified Male, 5500 block of Belleville Ave. (4/29)

Suspicious Death, Karen Huskey, 25, 600 block of West Ostend St. (4/29)

61. Rayner Veney, 51, 3400 Ravenwood Ave. Shot: (6/20/11) Died: (04/27/12)

60. Cortez Lemon, 23, 400 W. Saratoga St. (4/27)

Michael Williams, 45, 2500 Harlem Ave. (4/25)

59. Floyd Dorsey, 59, 4100 Norfolk Ave. (4/24)

58. Mark Day, 43, 1500 W. North Ave. Shot: (08/23/10) Died: (3/14)

57. Willie Battle, 19, 2700 block of Boarman Ave. (4/23)

56. Somchanh Sipayboun, 37, 5400 block of Hillburn Ave. (4/23)

55. Derrick Smith, 33, 3200 Belair Rd. (4/18)

54. Marvin Buckson, 29, 1700 N Spring St. (4/17)

53. Torey Garrison, 34, 4700 Liberty Heights Ave. (4/16)

52. Ricardo Mabray, 27, 1300 Aisquith St. (4/16)

51. Clarence Nicholson, 31, 2000 block of Rayner Ave. (4/15)

50. Phillip Scott, 34, 1900 block of Etting St. (4/15)

49. Brandon Simms, 23, 400 block of Watty Ct. (4/13)

48. Leslie Johnson, 30, 800 Jack St. Shot:(1997) Died: (01/30)

47. Justin Marasa, 22, 1400 block of Holbrook St. (4/08)

46. Robert Laney, 33, Kirk Ave. & Fillmore St. (4/08)

45. Jermaine Shuron, 37, 1700 block of North Calhoun St. (4/07)

44. Dion Brandon, 30, 900 Belgian Ave. Shot:(2005) Died: (04/02)

43. Javell Heath, 19, 1100 E Belvedere Ave. Shot:(3/27) Died: (03/29)

42. Marcus Williams, 29, 1000 block of E. 22nd St. (4/01)

41. Chauncey Hardy, 59, 900 block of Valley St. (3/30)

40. Tyree Cypress, 19, 6200 block of Pioneer Dr. (3/27)

39. Aaron Evans, 5 Months, 3000 block of Baker St. Died:(1/30) Added: (03/27)

38. Adam Robinson, 26, 4000 block of Idaho Ave. (3/25)

37. Rodrick Burden, 18, 800 block of West Fayette St. (3/24)

36. Ronnell Chaney, 20, 500 block of E. 21st St. (3/20)

35. Jonathan Hutchinson, 24, 1600 block of Traction St. (3/21)

34. Dexter Jones Jr., 23, 2600 W North Ave. (3/20)

33. Dominic Thornton, 37, 6400 E Pratt St. (3/19)

32. Gregory Parker, 54, 2300 E Chase St. (3/16)

31. Fareed Caldwell, 25, 3500 W Belvedere Ave. (3/16)

30. Timothy Harris, 47, 900 block of N. Port St. (3/13)

29. Sherard Houston, 38, 1000 E Hoffman St. (3/10)

28. Javon Johnson, 21, 2200 W. North Ave. (3/07)

27. Steven Fields, 19, 3500 W. Mulberry St. (03/05)

26. John Edwards, 17, 3500 W. Mulberry St. (03/05)

25. Tyrice Forney, 21, 400 block of Oxford Ct. (03/04)

24. Monae Turnage, 13, 1600 block of Cliftview Ave. (03/04)

23. Terrence Joyner, 42, 4500 block of Marble Hall Rd. (03/04)

22. Oswaldo Santana, 21, 4700 Blk Windsor Mill Rd. (02/29)

21. Mya Carr, 5, 3400 block of Callaway Ave. (02/28)

20. Guy Randall, 46, 400 block of North Kenwood Ave. (02/25)

19. Thomas Atkins Jr., 32, 2200 block of North Fulton Ave. (02/23)

18. Orville Chamblee, 47, 2700 block of E. Chase St. (02/19)

Brandon Washington, 26, 1600 block of North Bond St. (02/17)

17. Jerry Isaac, 22, 2800 block of Greenmount Ave. (02/13)

16. Kyndal Staten, 27, 5200 block of Darien Rd. (02/12)

15. Johnny McFadden, 62, 2900 block of Haverford Rd. (02/09)

14. Gregory Kearney, 28, 900 E. Preston St. (02/06)

13. Corey Alexander, 31, 5700 block of Nasco Pl. (02/01)

12. Norris Conley, 26, 4300 block of Greenhill Ave. (02/01)

11. Shayvon Booker, 19, 200 block of S. Loudon Ave. (01/29)

10. Travis Spencer, 24, 4400 Park Heights Ave. (01/27)

9. Audrey Collins, 68, 3600 Cottage Ave. Died:(09/01/11)Added:(01/20)

8. Dominic Hope, 32, 1600 block of West Baltimore St. (01/20)

7. James Rice, 18, 4300 block of Cedargarden Rd. (01/18)

6. James Hunter, 30, 500 block of Edgewood St. (01/12)

5. Joseph Curtis, 65, Southwest Baltimore Alley. Died:(05/28/11)Added:(01/09)

4. Raymon Parrott, 35, 4100 block of Mariban Ct. (01/08)

3. Doral Hinton, 27, 2400 block of Ashland Ave. (01/06)

2. Mary Hines, 84, 2600 block of E. Biddle St. (01/05)

1. Bruce Royster, 62, 4000 block of Edgewood Rd. (01/03)

216

... will be the 2012 murder total, if Baltimoreans can refrain from killing anyone else for 240 more minutes. Victim 216 was killed Friday and ID'd as Monday Griffin, age 18. Last year we had 197 murders, 
2010 = 223
2009 = 237;
2008 was 234;
2007 was 291;
2006 was 274; 
2005 was 269. So while 216 isn't great, it also isn't the crazy totals we were seeing in the O'Malley mayorial years, either.

There's apparently a sex tape of Phylicia Barnes and her alleged killer,* which means even if he gets out of murder charges he could get charged with underage-sex offenses, right?

Fenton Instagram'd a picture of what you look like from the police helicopter cam, which is a sight better than the pole camera view.

Don Dwyer has (finally) been charged for his August drunken-boating boondoggle, just in time to watch gay people get married, ding ding! An 80's movie couldn't have conjured a better come-uppance (minus the  5-year-old with the fractured skull, of course).

From Salon: the NRA's war on gun-safety research. And the NYT quotes Bealefeld in a story on how the ATF's ability to share data on firearms sales has been limited.

Care to step in the wayback machine? Here's BCrime's 2005 "the year that was", 2009, and 2011. 

No Bail for the Spectator

So Judge Stewart gave Apollos James Frank MacArthur is still being held without bail. The bail hearing was already underway when I got to Mitchell 215 at exactly 8:30.

I went in to the courtroom, which was crowded with about 30 spectators, took the only empty seat on the benches in the 2nd row, took off my coat, got situated, started scribbling in a little notebook, and just when my ballpoint ink kicked in, this 6'5"+ James-Earl-Jonesish man in the brown Sheriff's-office getup tapped me on the shoulder and said, "excuse me, can I speak with you?"
"Well, sure," I said, and he gestured me off to the side and I trotted behind, fantasizing that because I looked so pro-fessional with my notebook and Pilot pen maybe was going to give me a prime viewing angle.
   "Who are you?"
   "Uhm, what?" It was such an existential question for 8:30 a.m., I was completely confused. Did he want my name? Connection to the accused?
   "I'm a ... Baltimore resident," I sputtered.
   "Well, you can't sit there."
   "Why, is it reserved?"
   "You have to go to the back."
   "But.. "  He walked to my corner of the bench, snatched up my coat and handed it at me in the back-of-the-room direction. So, with every eyeball but the judge's, lawyers' and accused watching me bundle up my coat, purse, pen and such, I slunk to the dunce's corner and perched a cheek on a spare table that had been shoved there. 
   The silverback of the sheriff's office came back.
   "No, you have to sit. Down. On. That. Bench."
  "But I can't hear what anyone's saying," I wheedled. I was not trying to be a Maverick, the problem is, one can only see the lawyers' and accused's backs and rear ends, the lawyer-teams' heads block the judge's face, and it's not always easy to hear exactly what someone's saying, or even who is talking, you just have to try to parse it out from who's jaw is moving, or, if they're facing exactly front, who's gesturing, which is not easy to see when you're short. But this apparently wasn't a conversation the large man wanted to have.
"You don't need to sit up there to hear what anyone's saying."
A white man on the back bench scooted over to let me sit, huffing, "fuckin bullshit, it's a fascist police state." I realized there were, in fact, three sheriff's deputies and three black-suited courthouse security people poised around the room, which seemed kind of excessive to protect the public from two or three shackled inmates in a room. Gotta prove your worth in a job. Or maybe the officer, presented with a large platform, wanted to put on a teachable show for the audience before some gadfly or rabblerouser felt inclined to provide their own. And picked the least physically intimidating person available to act it out with. 

  Anyway, the state, in the form of a white-haired Sandy Rosenberg type whose job it apparently was to organize the relevant paperwork, and a woman in a suit who I couldn't see or hear-- presented the case d'etat. The accused, AFJMcA, said the ASA, has a 10-year-old PBJ from Montgomery County on a weapons charge, but had no violent offenses or "CDAs"(drug charges-- for charges against the Controlled Dangerous Substances Act). There was a felony charge based on an out-of-jurisdiction "event" in California, in which he was charged with 2nd-degree assault and misdemeanors, and then the most pertinent 2008 "modified stock weapons situation," the 14-inch barrel gun for which he was on probation. Didn't catch the make and model of the new gun supposedly found at his house, and those charges are not on the JIS.
  MacArther's lawyer, not Jill Carter but a 20-30-something woman who seemed quite nervous, noted that he had no violent offenses save the out-of-jurisdiction CA "event," was a blogger who had many "people willing to vouch for his nature, he's a hometowner" and a "humanitarian."
   She asked everyone in the courtroom who was there for him to stand. About 20 people did, almost everyone in the room (including me, though really, I can't vouch for his nature). His lawyer pointed out his sister, who waved, and MacArthur surveyed the scene. He's looking very different now, with a shaved head and brown plastic glasses, transformed from a Red Maplesque fedora-and-scarf-wearing hipster with long dreadlocks to to the guy in the office who fixes everybody's computers (but in a yellow jumpsuit).
  Judge Lynn Stewart noted that he's now facing new charges of possession, that MacArthur had put a picture of the recently recovered firearm on his blog (is this true?) and ordered him to continue to be held on no bail.
   "Can I speak?" asked MacArthur.
  "No," said Judge Stewart.
   "And you call yourself a judge," MacArthur bellowed. A pair of deputies flanked him and shuffled him off.
   "We love you James!" shouted the white guy next to me.
   "Thank you all," MacArthur hollered back, as he was hustled into a tiny cutout door stage right. And that was that. Everyone rose to leave, though a man with a lanky boy of about six approached one of the security guards with a question, "guilty!" chirped the boy, zipping his coat, and they and the rest of AFJM's supporters left the courtroom.

    I stayed, though, and for the next 40 minutes four or five more jumpsuited men and their lawyers cycled through the defense table in rapt sucession. The next accused was a guy named Witherspoon who was in a wheelchair and in trouble for weapons and marijuana, 11 baggies, being held on $200k bail. Bail was lowered to $50k and he was wheeled out. Next was a guy who had been accused of being the money man for a drug gang, but had been let out of jail on bail 10 months prior, who was subsequently charged with sexual assault. His defense attorney argued that for the past 10 months he'd been going to work, the accuser was a co-worker, that both of them had been intoxicated, though noted that the accused's story kept changing after he was arrested. He also got $50,000 bail.

   One Kyle Austin was charged with assault and robbery off less than $1,000, he allegedly picked someone's pocket, an event caught on tape. The defense attorney said he graduated from the National Academy and was working for some temp agency called "Labor Finders" and was the primary caregiver of an 18-month-old son. His bail stayed the same. A guy named Derwin Stewart, 21, was charged with attempted murder, he got no bail. Finally one Seneca Rice was charged with assault and robbery, which his lawyer said was a "mutual affray." The victim claims he stole $125 and a phone, the money and phone were never found, and the SAO, said his lawyer (sharply dressed in a leopard suit and with an intensely highlighted blonde bob) said the SAO never interviewed the victim, even though she'd asked them to before he was indicted in October, and that the victim and Rice were acquainted and there's "more to the story." The Judge said she'd leave his bail the same but "encourage the state to follow up."

  And then it was all over, 45 minutes after it began the bail-hearing hour was finished, and though I still had an hour on the parking meter, I left, hugely grateful I'd opted out of law school, without a career that compelled me to process pitiful humans in a grey cube all day.
   So is there a vast conspiracy against AFJMcM? I don't know. No bail for a (generally) non-violent person who is not a sex offender, not caught up in the "controlled dangerous substance" trade seems excessive, considering there were robbers and sex assaulters able to post a bail and theoretically leave that day. And you can say we need to do this or that to fix the system, but ultimately, just a handful of judges have supreme power to decide who goes to jail and who stays home, what society will and won't tolerate.

Dopey dad's bust leads to baby barricade

Hey, a closed case! Asia Culter, 22 was charged for the murder of Donte Harris, 21,* after a woman who helped move his shot-up body from his house to the alley fessed up to police. Cutler then called 911 to say she'd found him.

Bealefeld published a sensible OpEd yesterday in the Sun*

Sexagenarian celebu-cop William J. Bratton is going to Oakland to help clean up the mess our chief Batts left behind. FWIW, Bratton was also Ed Norris' boss in NY for six years before Norris ascended to the BPD chiefship in 2000.

14 years for drug-dealing dad who used a baby as a doorstop. Which would make a great Huggies& ad. "We gave these two babies to two drug dealers. After 14 hours, only one is wearing a diaper that won't leak, even when dad uses the baby as a doorstop. This baby even stayed dry for the entire execution of the warrant. .... Huggies&. Enjoy The Ride." Press release: "Detective Phoenix Jennifer changed, fed, and cared for the infant until the child's mother arrived." ... You know, I'll bet if you're a female officer executing a warrant with a bunch of male officers, you get pretty darn tired of everybody assuming that you're going to be the one who's going to change that diaper. 

The CP has a grim feature on the demise of the Prisoner's Aid Association

Hearing about the deck being shuffled in @baltimorepolice command, including new leadership for homicide, patrol & criminal investigations..
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) December 27, 2012