February 16

If you voted Ehrlich you need to send this girl a get-well card and an apology. (right, Michael Williamson).

A man shot in PG County was identified as 20-year-old Tayvonne Bell of Laurel.

Jason Wells, 23, moved to Cape Cod to escape Baltimore's violence, then met his end in Sandwich at the hands of Daniel Prunty in a crazy drama.

Remember Emily Cagal? Her ex-boyfriend was sentenced to life for her murder.

Karja Hansen, 21, was shocked to find out that a guy she dated was not just 'a little bit of a jerk' but the (allegedly) homicidal jerk Christopher Gaumer.

A Jessup man was arrested for the second time in three days for trying to choke the same woman.

Kelley Briggs, the Harford County mom whose child overdosed on methadone, will serve five years.

Bobby Wayne Rhoades was arrested for tampering with baby formula.

The pills-for sex doctor is now also facing a $5 million lawsuit.

Sheila Warham: Hey sluts, you had the chance to be responsible before you took off the pants.

Unshockingly, Duncan is in favor of the crime audit.

A black market for golf gear in Towson?

Thank heaven for little girls, and that Schaefer's ogling was caught on tape! And you can stop the video on individual frames! You can her WillDon say "oh my... "! See the woman to Ehrlich's left bite her nails and look away quickly, and the woman in beige start laughing like, "There goes crazy grandpa again!" Coffeegirl, 24, has her hair down and has on this white sweater that's so tight her boobs are like a front fender, and she sticks her rack right in the old man's face. Ehrlich hugs himself and rocks like a mental patient. A stunning mediation on the frailty of the human connection and the ravages of age. Hello, Murrow.

Power Law.

February 15

Ink: "Only" two murders* last week, both on the west side of town. Lamont Smith was shot on West Lombard Street, and the body of Linwood Thomas, 48, was discovered in a house near Gwynns Falls Park.

How many books could a book cook cook if a book cook could cook books?

More turmoil in cop-land: the union board of directors ousted their elected leader, Lt. Frederick V. Roussey, and assigned him to the most disheartening job available, liason to the Juvenile Justice Center.

Reginald Williams pled not guilty at his arraignment this morning. A jury trial was scheduled for May 5 before Judge Watts.

Jemini Jones, Brian J. Shaffer and Steven P. Hatley pled not guilty at their arraignment this morning. A jury trial was scheduled for May 31, also before Judge Watts. (Why does Shirley have to do everything around there?)

Rouge SW flex officer Vicki L. Mengel was fined $150 for gambling.

William D. Schaefer, 84, caused a fracas when he ogled one of Ehrlich's office girls as she served him coffee during a Public Works meeting.

News from Far-Flung Regions:
A body believed to once have belonged to an AA County armed robbery suspect was found in the woods near College Park.

A man was shot in downtown Annapolis.

There was a second arrest in the case of the only shooting in Carroll County last year. Also out that way, Kristen Wright, 26-year-old teacher, was charged with heroin posession. (Unless that's a typo, she's one hard-driving junkie to get a Master's degree and start teaching high-school English by 21.)

Twenty-six-year-old Michael Ketterman was found guilty of inviting a 40-year-old neighbor to his house for a beer, then raping her.

*Sun murder reportage score: 1/2 = 50 percent, a solid F. Their quarterly averege so far is a D-minus, which eerily matches the Tribune Co.'s stock valuation. Other bad news for the Sun: the paper's lawsuit against the governor was rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

February 14

BAL: Police reported 269 homicides for 2005, but the medical examiner's office reported 275.

Baltimore's 35th homicide victim was a 29-year-old man shot in the 2500 block of W. Baltimore Street.

Abdul Karim Alvez-El, 20, was arrested for the murders of Ricky Medley, 19, and Martrell Brown, 16 (finally Martrell gets in the Sun). Also, Devon B. Harrod, 22, was arrested Friday and charged with attempted murder in the Feb. 4 shooting of 21-year-old Erica Harris.

Sierra Swann, now 19, pled guilty to the starvation deaths of her one-month-old twin daughters.

Valentines in the wrong box Dept: There's Glen-Burnie-area high school employee Henry Mouzon, 34, who got two months in jail for sex with a 16-year-old student. And James Mark Blankenship, accused of sexual contact with a 13-year-old student at Dundalk MIddle School.
Down Ellicott City way, a six-year-old boy claims he was fondled in a Chick-Fil-A bathroom by a blond man with a goatee who drove a yellow Hummer. And Happy V-Day to all the cheaters out there-- don't get busted!

Are there gangs in Harford County not founded by cows? Sheriffs say so...

The gaming trial of John Anthony Allen, Joshua Timothy Barley, Vicki Lynn Mengel, Michael James Stewart and James Bradley Lukens was scheduled to begin 1:30 this afternoon in courtroom one, North Avenue District Court.

Arraignment is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning for Baltimore police officers Jemini Jones, 28, Brian Shaffer, 31 and Steven Hatley, 27, before Judge Lynn K. Stewart, 215 Mitchell Courthouse. The BCGJ indicted Jones, Shaffer and Hatley January 6 following an independent Grand Jury investigation. It's alleged that on December 27, 2005 following some kind of an investigation by Officers Jones, Shaffer and Hatley involving two women, ages 22 and 18, the officers transported the women back to Southwestern Police District where one officer allegedly had sexual intercourse with the 22-year old female in an office of the District station and the two others did nothing to stop it.

Judge Stewart is also shceduled to preside over the arraignment for Reginald Martinez Williams, 35, also scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow. (Who is in charge of the docket, and why do they keep double-booking this woman?) The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Williams January 23 for first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sex offense and three counts of second-degree assault. Court documents allege that between December 20-23, 2005 Williams raped and sexually assaulted three victims. Williams allegedly pulled a gun on police officers on December 23, 2005 while they were arresting him and the indictment charges him with three counts of second-degree assault in connection to that incident.

Duncan: Fauxnuts?

The Duncan ABC/Afro forum (right-- and the kid on his shoulder was a coincidence!) was sleepy and only had like 50 people including the cameraman, a homeless guy sleeping in the back row and about 12 Morgan students who were probably there for the extra credit.
Duncan was actually heart-tuggingly compelling when he said that he was one of 13 kids and had five of his own and his dad was a teacher and his mother believed that religious life was the highest calling and civil service the next-highest and that education was the key to most of the state's social ills. His delivery was extremely well-paced ("who's looking out for" ... two-beat-drop ... "the kids?"). But the only time he got any cadence up was in the intro when he was like, "more than 40 percent of kids in the city don't graduate from high school, and that's just. not. good. enough." Al Sharpton he is not. Then he took about 10 audience questions. The highlight was some 20-year-old wide boy from Silver Spring who rambled about an identity thief who stole his grandma's house which caused the family to become homeless and how he sent some letter to Duncan's office and never got a response.

Not much said about crime, I guess he'd already commented on it earlier in the day and his main platform points are in the Post.

The O'Malley ABC 'fro forum is March 14.

February 13

The man on death row accused of killing eight-year-old Marciana Ringo has just been granted a new sentencing hearing by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

In the blotter, a 27-year-old man was stabbed in the back North of Patterson Park, and a Hopkins student was robbed of a laptop by a man with a kitchen knife while walking less than a mile away in Butcher's Hill.

It's really touching, the sacrifices police officers make for the public good.

Dan Rodericks is all like, LaFawn, get off the reefer.

Skip the Simpsons and tent your own fingers at the Scary-Mommy show: Jayne Miller willl be grilling Hamm re. the crime numbers controversy on tonight's 6 p.m. WBAL newscast. Meanwhile, fecund fomenter Doug Duncan jumped on the city crime issue with both feet on the Eddie Norris show, and scored the endorsement of top prosecutor Mrs. J., though she did concede that she still finds the mayor "cute."

With support like that: "Supporters say Dixon's survived ethics questions before"

Did you know? Maryland's law defining marriage as only being valid between a man and a woman went undramatically into effect 33 years ago.

February 12

Trendwatch '06:
"Dis"-related homicides
Power Law
Reality Economics
Duncan explaining the Issues Affecting the African-American Community for free.
Dirty Doctors

News
O'Malley: "No one's ever come forward with reams of crime reports that were dropped in a Dumpster."

HowCo Jury: 26 "Tickle Me Elmos" + one strangled doctoral student= Involutary Manslaughter

A tale in which for the second-in-a week Radio Shack robbery suspect came to meet an unfortunate end.

February 10

Erik Barksdale, 25, was arrested and charged with the murder of 15-year-old Antania Mills.

Major Nicholas Palmeri, commander of the Southwestern, is being reassigned to a desk job.

What's up with this video? All we know is some group of guys in "Police" shirts beat the tar out of BGE employee De'Andre Jones.

Prosecutors have submitted new DNA evidence in the Canela/Espinoza case, which will delay the retrial.

Two fifty-something guys, Gregory Banks and Oliver Hudson, are headed to federal prison for selling hillbilly heroin. The half-brothers made national "news of the weird" for acting ... weird.

If you get shot and want the local news to care, it's better to be a dog than a dark-skinned teenager.

Baltimore County has a new Circuit Court judge, H. Patrick Stringer Jr. Stringer specializes in business torts and (yawn) insurance law.

Brian Lynn McCarty, 23, of Essex, Md, got seven years for stabbing Christopher Tipton, 22, in Ocean City.

Note to political speechwriters: when shopping for a metaphor, steer clear of the Holocaust.

February 9

Two men were shot in the Southeastern. The man who died robbing the Radio Shack was ID'd as William C. Hooks, 28.

Yes, there it is, the accused murderer's Myspace profile (thanks, anon). Not only does he brag about being shaved from head to toe, but you can navigate there directly by going to http://www.myspace.com/bigthickdude. Ueeeuuuch.

A Baltimore City jury yesterday convicted Martin Michael Morgan, 18, of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury deliberated for approximately two days following three days of testimony. Judge Shirley Watts scheduled sentencing for March 29. On March 12, 2004 Morgan shot to death Wade Walker, 32, inside a carryout in the 3700 block of West Belvedere Avenue. A co-defendant in this case, James Murphy, pled guilty January 10, 2005 to second-degree murder and is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence. Morgan is also charged with the attempted first-degree murder of a 16-year old victim who was shot on March 6, 2004 in the 3700 block of Beehler Avenue. That trial is pending.

Charles Dennis, 21, Michael T. Parker, 23, and Donte Miller, 27, have been charged with first-degree murder following the death of Lamont Smith, 21.

Dr. Nelson Hendler of the Mensana clinic in Stevenson is accused of trading pain medication for sex.

Another stickup in Charles Village and plenty of stolen tools and cash in the Messenger crime log.

A new bill would allow testimony about other victims to be admitted in child sex-abuse cases.

The City Council is considering a bill that would allow people who are arrested but not charged with a crime to have the arrest expunged from their records. In other Council news, the Sun, like, totally busted Sheila Dixon (left, pants on fire not pictured).

Baltimore's new mentoring program called "Winning Teams" will be the subject of a reality show/ documentary filmed by Morgan State students and sponsored by 92Q. You just can't make that kind of thing up. The program will begin with a Talent Showcase at Harlem Park Middle School tonight at 5.

In Rockville/Landover, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old were abducted and forced to rob banks.
(Post username: pokemon@pokemon.com, password: pokemon)

In Annapolis, the death of a newborn boy found in a trash can was ruled a homicide.

Crime-infested heck-holism in Howard County, and the Harton jury is deliberating.

The FBI arrested a member of the Hagerstown police department, Jeffrey Scott Shifler, for making crazed threats via phone and mail to various public officials.

Police are seeking a man who robbed a Provident bank branch inside an Abingdon Wal-Mart.

JZ loves it some police chase action.

How fucking depressing/disgraceful: the White House knew about the levee breaking in New Orleans almost as soon as it happened. (Login: 999999999 password: 999999999)

February 8

The defense rested in the Melissa Harton/Natasha Bacchus Magee case.

The name of the woman whose body was found in Catonsville was Josie P. Brown of Buena Vista Lane in Hampden. The main suspect in the case is Christopher Gaumer, 22, who reportedly met the victim on Myspace.com.

Robin Lee Welshons, 34, was shot to death at Ken's Motel in Aberdeen.

The first-degree murder trial of Kevin Johns Jr., accused of strangling inmate Philip Parker on a prison bus, will be held in Worcester County. Prosecutors will seek the death penalty.

Ink: There were four murders last week, bringing the city's total to 33. Ricky Medley, 19; Martrell Brown, 16; Kurt Bowie, 22; and Mitchell Briggs Jr., 33, all died of gunshot wounds. (The Sun reported three of the four, earning a solid "C.") Also, the death of Richard Lee Witherspoon, who died of injuries from a 1990 beating last November, was ruled a homicide, bringing 2005's murder total to 270.

Police in New Jersey are seeking Tyleek Baker, 25, for the murder of Francisco J. Olivares, 21. Baker has ties to Baltimore.

Nathaniel Bosley was arrested for the murder of Rashard Thomas. DNA helped solve a 15-year-old rape case. A man was shot in the hand in the Western. The Blotter ran that burning paper scrap item again.

In Cecil County, Justin Wright, 17, was convicted of stabbing Theodore Carter, 18, to death with a novelty Samurai sword.

Sixteen-year-old Christopher Watts, aka Hakim Veney, was arrested for an armed carjacking in Charles Village. Poor Keith Slaughter, who works for Catholic Charities, was forced into the trunk of his car but managed to escape.

Pikesville psychiatrist Roman Ostrovsky is accused of swindling Medicaid out of $300k.

Four thieves stole a security vehicle and an ATM machine from Annapolis Mall ... says this story ... that has a lot of ellipses ... for no apparent reason ...

February 7

WTF is wrong with Catonsville? Another body found off 95, this time a woman.

Forty-three-year-old Daniel Harp is accused of stabbing his 68-year-old mother, Nancy.

After pre-trial motions and just before jury selection was to begin, George Dobson, 42 (not to be confused with Fudgie), pled guilty to first-degree sex offense and first-degree assault. Dobson was sentenced to life in prison suspend all but 30 years, three years' probation, ordered him to have no contact with the victim, to undergo sex offender counseling and to register with the Maryland sex offense registry. On April 10, 2000 at approximately 2 a.m. Dobson attempted to rob the victim at 12 Mount Vernon Place, cut her throat and forcibly sodomized her. The victim was taken to Johns Hopkins hospital where a Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) was performed. No suspects were identified at that time and the case was suspended. In October 2003 police received information from the Maryland State Police that Dobson's DNA matched the DNA collected in the SAFE exam.

Pedophile priest Jerome "Father Jeff" Toohey will serve 18 months in prison for sexually abusing a boy at Calvert Hall College in 1987. The victim, now a news anchor with CNN Headline News, was interviewed on JZ.

Dick Moore is one special pervert: the legislature changed the law just for him, making it illegal to travel across state lines to molest a make-believe minor. He pled guilty and will be sentenced May 12.

JZ's got video of Melissa Harton's confession.

Godfrey Bonsu, 44, and his wife, Victoria Boateng, 42 of Bowie were convicted of recruiting couriers from Ghana to bring heroin into the U.S. via their colons. Blech.

Dixon to Sun reporter: "Maybe sometime what you should do ... is to find out what the motives are from people who come to you."

A girl-on-girl knife attack in Woodlawn, an inmate kindling a fire in an air vent at Central Booking and plenty of armed and attempted robbery in the Blotter.

A suspect robbed the Reisterstown Road Radio Shack, crashed into a police car, got arrested, dropped dead.

Thirty-two-year-old Harold Greene could get life in prison from federal drug and gun charges.

An inmate was stabbed at Jessup. Meanwhile, correctional officers are planning to rally in Annapolis for security improvements following the death of Officer Jeffery A. Wroten.

The body found in Severn was identified as that of 25-year-old Johnathan Proctor.

Phillip Akbar Schabazz got a three-year prison term for stealing library books and selling them on the street.

February 6

The Court of Appeals has been asked to reinstate the death penalty for Lawrence Borchardt, accused of killing elderly couple Joseph and Bernice Ohler on Thanksgiving Day in 1998 for drug money.

The Court of Appeals has issued Vernon Evans a stay of execution. Meanwhile, more details about the murders.

Bad apples don't fall far from the tree Dept.: Rose Peterson, an officer at Central Booking, is charged with assault and witness intimidation for threatening a witness in the first-degree murder case against her son, Anthony Dickson. Dickson is accused of fatally shooting Ronny "Butch" Antoine Martin in the back seat of a Dodge parked in the Southern District on January 1. The witnesses' identities were withheld from the charging documents in an attempt to prevent tampering and intimidation, but that feeble effort was, apparently, no match for a mother's love. Dickson is scheduled to be arraigned February 23.

Oh, Sheila. Sounds like the City Council President violated a city ethics law when she used a council committee hearing to pressure a city contractor to award more work to the firm that employs her sister.

The BCGJ indicted Mathaddues Rozier, 25, for two counts of first-degree murder. Court documents allege that on December 27, 2005 Mathaddues Rozier shot and killed his father Alvester Rozier, 79, at their home on North Kenwood Avenue, and later that same day shot and killed Travis Harris, 15, in the 500 block of North Glover Street.

The trial of the Central Booking officers charged in the death of Raymond Smoot has been postponed until May 22.

A body was found on the lawn of a townhouse in Severn.

Baltimore's first dedicated domestic violence court opens today.

Here's the card trick and here's the story.

And here's more about the Harton/Magee case. Natasha started talking "gibberish," Harton opened the door and Natasha "just fell out." Yeah, like they say in Ape-town, whatever.

Internet hunting is really weird.

February 5

One man was wounded and another shot to death on Potee Street in Brooklyn.

Thirty-three-year-old Mitchell Briggs Jr was shot to death while playing video poker in Yom's Food Market in Waverly.

Vernon Evans is scheduled to die tomorrow.

Great, wow, $52 million to hire 192 new cops! Oh wait, that's Harford County.

Horrible details of abuse in the Calvert County case of Graham Buckmaster, accused of murdering Lisa Moore on New Year's Eve.

Me fail English? That non-possible Dept.: Ehrlich bemoans "the dysfunctionality" of the city school system.

February 4

There was a fatal shooting last night in Brooklyn near the extremely gay-sounding Club Mate & Lounge.

Guilford resident to Hamm: "You're just chasing Jell-O®."

Looks like the Natasha Bacchus Magee case is going to get the total White Girl Treatment. And though I'm offended in principle, it's tough to resist the siren song of alleged lesbianism, sluttiness and roadside straddling and the promise of videotape.

A gunman shot a man in the shoulder in the Belvedere area. Also, muggings in the Charles Village area.

The Court of Appeals has overturned the rioting conviction of John Ryan Schlamp.

No suspects in a series of 17 Pikesville-area window-smashings.

Kane: "That must have gone over like a swarm of Nazis crashing a stoned soul picnic."

February 3

Following two days of jury selection and just before opening statements were scheduled to begin, Tavon Wilson, 20, pled guilty to the second-degree murder of 13-month-old Dajah Mckoy, who died on February 24, 2004. Under terms of the plea agreement, announced in open court, Judge David Ross will sentence Wilson on April 14 to somewhere between 12 and 20 years.

A man was found dead of gunshot wounds in a wrecked car on Coldspring Lane.

Two members of the gang involved in the firebombing of Edna McAbier's house were sentenced by a federal judge. Nakie Harris, 30, got 84 years and five months, and Richard Royal, 21, left, got 60 years for conspiracy to commit witness tampering.

David A. Williamson, the Baltimore police officer whose wife tried to pawn stolen jewels he'd seized will face no criminal charges in exchange for testifying against the alleged jewel thieves.

Corey Grant of the North Avenue Boys was sentenced to 20 years on carjacking, drug trafficking and weapons charges.

The woman killed in a hostage standoff in Lutherville was ID'd as Theresa Reed Watson, 41.

There was an eight-hour standoff in Harford County, and father of three Michael Kelly was evenutally taken into custody. (a-m.?)

A city jury awarded 69-year-old grandfather Joseph Lyle $1 million for false arrest. The city has paid out $8.5 million in judgements and settlements against the BPD since 2004.

Burglary, arrests and a 16-year-old-boy hit in the head with a brick in the Blotter.

Animal cruelty, nine crack dealers facing federal drug charges and PG County's 11th homicide in the Post Crime & Justice pages.

Tion Jamaar Bell turned himself in to Howard County police.

The Catholics have appealed to Ehlich to grant clemency Vernon Evans.

The Senate is considering a bill to prevent private schools from hiring violent and/or pervy ex-cons. The impetus was the case of the Community Initiatives Acedemy, which knowingly hired convicted murderer Charles Carroll ("give this man a second chance," said the principal) who went on to grope two students and rape a 13-year-old.

A 17-year-old in Woodmont (wherever that is) may face charges after killing a mother bear whose cubs died of exposure.

February 2

The Post has more on the strange murder of Natasha Bacchus (left).

At a hearing today, Walter Robinson, Jr., 28, pled guilty to third-degree sex offense. Judge Sylvester Cox sentenced him to 10 years in prison suspending all but the time served, four years probation, ordered him to have no contact with the victim, have no unsupervised contact with children under 18, to undergo sex offender counseling and to register with the Maryland sex offense registry. Walter Robinson was a teacher's aide at Benjamin Franklin Junior High School where he sexually abused a 15-year-old student between August to October 2005 at the school.

Southeastern officers Mike Brassell and Jack Odem are accused of drunkenly assaulting a man in Federal Hill while they were off-duty.

The top investigator for the state prison system admitted chucking key evidence from the scene of the death of 51-year-old inmate Ifeanyi A. Iko, including a videotape.

Blotter: Narcotics, theft, burglary, assault, robbery, burglary, robbery...

A second man, Patrick Sisk, has been arrested in a construction-fraud scheme that soaked UMBC for $100k.

In Baltimore County, police found a woman's body inside a home in Lutherville.

BoCo police are seeking two guys who robbed the 7-11.

HoCo police opened fire on De Carlo Jonney Jacobs, 21, after he pulled a gun on them.

PG police are looking for a teenager who shot at a school bus.

Northern district theives just love license plates, video games and power tools.

Ristorante Italiano del Aldo della poca Italia dovrà pagare i $20,000 contro un operaio nero che ha protestato l'abuso razziale verbale.

February 1

There were "only" three murders last week: Temitayo Olowolayemo (who identical twin brother was shot in the face and survived), Augustus Venable and James Wright. (The Sun reported two of the three, earning a reporting score of 66% -- a solid "D").

Four stabbings in the Blotter... a 35-year-old man was stabbed by two guys on bikes trying to rob him. A 20-year-old man stabbed his "girlfriend" in the stomach with a fork. A 20-year-old woman was stabbed in the leg and face with a fountain pen. And a guy named "Bo," still at large, stabbed a man in the back with a steak knife on Guilford Ave.

HoCo popos have a name and face for the shooter whose stray bullet struck a four-year-old. They're now ISO Tion Jamaar Bell, 18 (left).

Way to go, honor system: Maurice, the short, pudgy rapist turned himself in.

Police suspect that the murderers of Neil Rivers of Essex may be the same people who have been stealing scooters, bikes and ATVs recently.

Vernon Evans sent a DVD to the governor.

BC answers the question on everybody's lips: who would elect that Dwyer guy? Why, neo-Nazis, of course! Turns out Don Dwyer's District has more reported hate crimes than the whole state of Mississippi. The Klan in AAC is so active that six years ago they tried to adopt a stretch of highway (the county abolished the program rather than take the "Invincible Realm" to court), and last month a neo-Nazi group ran recruiting ads on local television and distributed recruiting packets to residents' driveways.

Van Smith digs the dirt on upheaval at the Liquor Board.

Watch out, cyber-hos... the Baltimore County police are wise to your euphemisms.

January 31

A man who was being held on unrelated charges is now charged with the murder of Jerome Hooks, 26. And police are seeking a woman who rounded up a posse of four guys to shoot a man after a traffic accident.

A city judge denied Vernon Evans' appeal.

Thanks to support from Rod J. Rosenstein, we may get a new federal prison in Baltimore.

Are there going to be height markers on church doorways following a flagrant armed robbery during a service in HarfCo?

Who knew that making counterfeit bus passes was so lucrative?

"Hewwo, pwincipal.. we're gonna bwow up the thchool!"

Sounds like the gov. is a real ass of an employer.

Delegate Don Dwyer: if it's not in "concert with the laws of nature and of nature of God, and I would hold that, therefore, it is no law at all."
(Wonder what God said to Dwyer about the gay penguins and lesbian swans).

January 30

At a hearing today, John William Smith, 40, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Judge Wanda K. Heard sentenced Smith to eight years in prison. On June 18, 2005 Smith stabbed Rodney Dickerson, 42, once in the chest at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. Smith and Dickerson began arguing in the church's dining area while eating dinner.

A man was shot in the stomach during a robbery in the Western. Also, robbery at a White Marsh McDonald's and attempted robbery at the Little Tavern on Eastern Avenue.

In HoCo jury selection is underway in the first-degree murder trial of Melissa Harton, accused of strangling fellow grad student Natasha Bacchus.

An inmate hanged himself in a police holding cell in Annapolis.

A preliminary hearing for Michael Anthony Jolin, 28, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. tomorrow. Court documents allege that the victim of Jolin's intimidation was also the victim of a robbery in December 2005. Since the date of the robbery incident, the witness reports that Jolin has continuously threatened to kill he, his family, his girlfriend and three children if the robbery was reported to the police.

Mayor: The violent crime rate is at its lowest point since the 60's.

January 29

There may be new evidence that death row inmate Vernon Evans Jr. wasn't the man who pulled the trigger, killing Scott Pahowitz and Susan Kennedy at a motel in Pikesville in 1983. Meanwhile, lawyers also claim that Evans' veins are so damaged from injecting heroin that trying to execute him by lethal injection might be a big mess.

The Friday night triple shooting in the Southwest of two men and a boy was reportedly caught on camera.

Victim's mom: "Ronald Kinzer was shot at 3:30 in the afternoon in broad daylight in front of a bus full of school children and the killer never disguised himself, but there are still no witnesses... if this victim had been 'blond and blue-eyed' it would have brought the wrath of the media and community upon the streets and upon the Mayor!"

Hamm and Dixon addressed residents of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay yesterday to talk about how to reduce crime ("report criminal activity to the police." Gee, rilly?) City Council President Sheila Dixon said people shouldn't judge the Police Department based on "one bad apple," and neglected to specify how many apples citizens should endure before forming an opinion.

In Greenbelt, 21-year-old Tywon Renwick is accused of beating is girlfriend's 13-month-old daughter, Angela Coleman, to death,

January 28

Correctional officer Jeffery Alan Wroten, shot in the face by an inmate, has died.

The Sun has more bullet points on the Central Booking recommendations.

William English, 24, got 15 years for firearm possession.

A former Baltimore firefighter, Carl Kus, got two years for bringing 150 pounds of pot up from Texas.

The good news: the Department of Juvenile Services has a ten-year plan to build detention centers. The bad news: construction won't start until 2011, there'll be fewer beds than before and there may not be enough money in the budget to actually make the plan happen.

Robert Smith of Aberdeen was arrested for impersonating an EMT.

January 27

Two children and an adult were shot in the Southwestern.

Two Baltimore officers, Hadyn D. Gross and Anita C. Pitts, are being investigated for perjury.

The murder trial of John William Smith, 40, aka the guy who stabbed the guy at a dinner for the homeless, is scheduled for 9:30 Monday morning before Judge Wanda K. Heard. The BCGJ indicted Smith July 25, 2005 for first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and weapons counts. Court documents allege that on June 18, 2005 Smith stabbed Rodney Dickerson, 42, once in the chest at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. Smith and Dickerson allegedly began arguing in the church's dining area while eating dinner.

The murder trial of Martin Michael Morgan, 18, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 Monday morning before Judge Wanda K. Heard (yes, Wanda's got two trials at once, so expect postponements). Morgan was indicted April 7, 2004 for the shooting death of Wade Walker, 32, on March 12, 2004 inside a carryout in the 3700 block of W. Belvedere Avenue. The Grand Jury also indicted Morgan for the attempted first-degree murder of Tavon Jennings, 16, who was shot on March 6, 2004 in the 3700 block Beehler Avenue. Morgan remains held on a no-bail status at the Baltimore City Detention Center. A co-defendant in this case, James Murphy, pled guilty January 10 of last year to second-degree murder and is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence.

Edward Johnson, 21, pled guilty today to second-degree murder. Judge Lynn K. Stewart sentenced Johnson to 18 years in prison. On April 30, 2005, Johnson stabbed Henry Trociuk, 41, to death at Ditto's Bar on Hudson Street during physical altercation.

The Associated Press managed to get an un-censored copy of the Florida consultant's report about the problems at Central Booking. The conclusions: Stop arresting people for crimes that won't result in charges, reduce paperwork, provide more phones and TVs to inmates so they stop getting bored and wrecking shit, have medical staff conduct medical screenings instead of corrections officers. The story also hints at backstory of the mess: Schmoke had the state take over Central Booking in 1991, and then "a lack of sustained accountability throughout the booking process created conditions that led to frequent violations of a state law."

Temitayo Olowolayemo was fatally shot during a robbery in the Northwestern. James Ronald Wright, 31, was identified as the shooting victim found at GreenMount School.

A witness who was shot to prevent him from taking the stand showed up and took the stand anyway in the murder case against brothers Tracy Love and Tamall Parker, who are accused of shooting James Wise for robbing drug dealers. The trial is going on now before the Honorable Judge Cox, Part 27, Room 407, Mitchell Courthouse.

In AACo, a Severn teenager was convicted of killing 52-year-old EMT David Brown, who was taking a walk in the park. Said Terry Cooks Jr., "I went to the park to shoot someone... I felt sorry for him at first, but then I didn't worry about it."

Condemned inmate Vernon Evans Jr. has a blog and is taking questions.

The trial of Gregory A. Alston, 20, (you'll remember him as the carjacker who reported his stolen car stolen) is scheduled for 9:30 Monday morning before Judge John M. Glynn. A BCGJ indicted Alston June 16, 2005 with two counts of carjacking, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of second-degree assault, one count of theft under $500, one count of theft over $500, one count of car theft and one count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. If convicted on all counts, Alston could receive a maximum prison sentence of 144 years.

An MTA officer fired shots at armed robbery suspects in Hopkins Plaza.

A 45-year-old Texas woman, Lan Dang, got 12 federal years for a cocaine posession/distribution charge in HarfCo.

Loyola has stepped up patrols following three muggings so far this school year.

Some students in Frederick made their own $10 bills on the computer... and got caught, of course.

Editorial: Time for Ehrlich to come clean about his relationship with felon Jack Abramoff. Meanwhile, buckle your seatbelts for a dirty race: Ehrlich has hired a campaign manager notorious in GA for airing ads comparing a Vietnam-vet triple-amputee to Osama Bin Laden.

January 26

In Glen Burnie, police are seeking the driver of a blue Honda that hit an 18-year-old and sped off.

In Hagerstown, a correctional officer was shot in the face by 20-year-old inmate Brandon Morris.

There's a plan: "Phase 1, get weapons. Phase 2, kill the hillbilly."

Lanora Lucas, the Thurmont mom who drove around with three children locked in the trunk of her Volvo, won't have to serve any time.

HarfCo police arrested an Edgewood man who may have robbed 11 convenience stores.

Homicides may have been down in the city in '04, but the county had the highest number of killings in 13 years... 40.

Keith Mills' charging documents reveal he may have been stealing from his neighbor for more than two years... but she didn't turn him in because she felt sorry for his family.

January 25

There will be a hearing Friday in federal court regarding the intended execution of Vernon L. Evans Jr. The Supreme Court said today that it would hear arguements in a Florida case that the three-drug combination used for lethal injection (also used here)= cruel, unusual.

An unidentified man found dead with a gunshot wound to the head behind the GreenMount* School in Remington was city homicide 28.

Troy Smith was arrested January 20 for the fatal stabbing of Terrance J. Williams last September.

In the Ink: shot to death, Johnny Evans, 43; Gary Rideout, 41; Raymond Williams, 35; Mervyn Beckles, 23; Fernandez Woodson, 23; Karlee Blackwell, 14; Gregory Hopewell, 21; Kayla Baker, 12; Lemuel Davis, 48; Clyde Tatum, 18; Antwoine Armstead, 21. Stabbed to death: Kristopher Reinhard, 16, two unnamed males, 15 and 20.

Your tax dollars at work: the city has already paid out $187,000 to settle brutality claims in three separate incidents involving flex squad alleged rapist Jemini Jones. Meanwhile, flex squad officer Michael Nelson has been reassigned.

Crazed ex-boyfriend Jose Padilla-Colin pled guilty to kidnapping 19-year-old Delmy Beatriz Rivera in Frederick last July.

A rally was held at the SSq mall scene of the murder of Warren Fleming.

A second adult, Clyde Colmes Jr., has been charged in the daycare shooting, and the boy's dad, John Linwood, is a felon with a "criminal record that dates to the 1960s."

What the ?! Channel 2 sportscaster Keith Mills was charged with two counts of burglarly. Apparently our short sporty friend has some kind of problem with Vicodin, admitting "the rush and euphoria was real good." ED: Isn't Vicodin what you get from the dentist after your wisdom teeth get pulled out? Wouldn't a bag of frozen peas work just as well?

More tumult at the liquor board: now the head of the agency, Nathan Irby, has been suspended.

Good point: why are we debating slots when we already have video poker?

CP reader Maggie Blom: "the city has left-winged itself right into its own hell."

*It really is spelled as one word with an uppercase M in the middle. Weird.

January 24

The murder trial of Bryant Thompson, 20, of the 300 Block of East 29th Street, is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning before Judge John P. Miller. The BCGJ indicted Thompson on February 17, 2005 for first-degree murder. Court documents allege that Thompson shot and killed Damon Lamont Brooks on September 26, 2004 in Brooks' apartment in the 300 block of East 23rd Street.

There have been 27 murders so far this year, incluing six juvenile victims.

Two men shot to death in the Eastern were identified as Gary Rideout, 41, and Raymond Williamson, 35. And in the Northern, a man was shot on Loyola Southway (a man was shot on Loyola Northway Dec. 12). Also in the Blotter, stolen beef, 130 pounds of shrimp, giant TVs, Chinese food, Acuras, some shop vacs, a gas truck, electrical wiring.

Jeffrey A. Ziegler, now 29, got a three-year prison term for the hit-and-run auto manslaughter of William Ruffin, 42. Ziegler is the horrible human being who hit a highway-construction worker with such force it sent his body flying 100 feet. According to witnesses, Ziegler then stopped, checked his car for damage, and sped off.

The family members shot by James Lydell Ray were identified as Kayla Baker, 12, Travon Baker, 16, Devin Baker, 15, and family friend Michelle Hickson, 39.

Money laundering, hooker parties, underage drinking, gambling, a police detective shot to death out front, tax evasion, mafia ties... it was once a helluva establishment, but after 50 years, Joe's Tavern on Dundalk Avenue is being shut down by the Liquor Board for selling booze to snitchy teen cadets.

Speaking of hookers, more on naughty women's studies prof. Brandy Britton.

WTF? In Montgomery County a 7-year-old girl was shot at a before-school daycare center by an 8-year-old boy.

In Rosedale, robbers tied up one employee of the Mars supermarket, assaulted two others and took money.

Greyhound: Another mugging strikes Loyola. [Is that correct? Can a mugging strike? Where my grammar bitches at?]

Crimes against occupational safety: Benjamin Kirk Locust died after falling into a 25-foot-deep hole at BWI.

Here's the story about Samuel Mercer, the guy who stole $325k from the Museum of Industry.

An idiot teenager led police on a high-speed chase in Hagerstown.

Ehrlich to immigrant children: drop dead!

January 23

The murder trial of Jerome McCardell, 33, of 5100 block of Frederick Avenue, is scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow before Judge John M. Glynn. The Baltimore City Grand jury indicted McCardell for first-degree murder February 7 for the December 9, 1991 shooting death of Thomas Robert Pratt, 26, in the 4700 block of Delaware Avenue. McCardell is currently being held on a no bail status.

The BC Grand Jury indicted Reginald Martinez Williams, 35, of the 600 block of North Carrollton Avenue, for first-degree rape, four counts of first-degree sex offense and three counts of second-degree assault. Court documents allege that between December 20-23, 2005 Williams raped and sexually assaulted three victims (news sources put the count at 9). Williams allegedly pulled a gun on police officers on December 23, 2005 while they were arresting him and the indictment charges him with three counts of second-degree assault in connection to that incident.

The BCGJ indicted Alvin Augustus Williams, 25, of the 6000 block of Marquette Road, Baltimore County, for first-degree murder and attempted robbery. Court documents allege that in the early morning hours of November 12, 2005 Williams shot and killed Brian Jones, 34, of Millersville, MD in the 1100 block of South Ellwood Street. Williams is currently held in the Baltimore City Detention Center without bail. An arraignment is scheduled for February 15, 2006 before Judge Martin P. Welch.

January 22

Sun: Five unrelated homicides in the last 24 hours have brough the murder total to 23.

Details on the cases of some violent, lucky criminals who will be roaming free in the Southwestern. Add those to dozens of cases jeapordized when Southern district detectives Clarence Grear and Kevin E. Jones were charged with perjury, and you have... the entire lower 2/3rds of the city being completely uninhabitable*.

James Lydell Ray died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the home of Bernard and Linda Ganoe. He shot and killed a 12-year-old girl and wounded four other people on Sherwood Avenue ealy yesterday morning.

More details on the shootingn of Islam Fahad, the four-year-old wounded by a stray bullet in a Columbia "Hot Spot."

Three men with the oddest names you ever did hear were arrested for shooting James Rivers on his lawn in Essex: Chaunisty Terrell Wallace, 26, John Louise Williams, 21, and Deandre Lamont Williams, 17.

Joseph Schroen, 20, is accused of kidnapping and biting his ex-girlfriend in Sykesville.

The lawsuit brought by relatives of the late Noah Jamahl Jones saw their $1m lawsuit dimissed. Judge Paul Harris faulted the victim for going to the home where there were armed boys and starting a fight.

Graphic backstory from HoCo: troopers took down Paul Banville after his SUV was tracked using LoJack. Now he's awaiting extradition to MA for strangling his 17-year-old neice to death with a dog lead.

Post editorialist abuses horse metaphors, gripes that MD 'crat race is "glum".

Ehrlich is not happy about the results of the big gay lawsuit. JZ reports his omnious and awkwardly transcribed response: "Maryland is in the lime light {sic} nationally, and it's not a positive story, and we'll do what we can to correct the situation." That should come as good news to the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, which plans to stage a protest at the funeral of Sgt. Michael McMullen, 25, a soldier from Salisbury who died in Iraq. Church members and its leader, Fred Phelps, are famous for protesting the funeral of Matthew Sheppard with "God Hates Fags" signs, and multiple interviews on the Howard Stern Show.

I can't believe I missed this: In March, while a jury was in judge Prevas' courtoom listening to testimony in a murder case, the jury room was burgled. Jurors were robbed of cell phones, cash and car keys. "They were angry, hot, livid," said Warren A. Brown.

*If you look at a map, it's really shocking how much space the "good" neighborhoods take up! Like less than a fourth of the city land!

January 21

There have been (at least) 18 murders so far in 2006.

Thirty-four-year-old James Lydell Ray went on a shooting rampage, killing a 12-year-old girl and wounding his 15 and 16-year-old sons and his girlfriend. And he's on the loose, police are seeking a 2005 Black Elantra with the license plate 2BCP57. (Note to JZ, there is no Shirwood Avenue in Baltimore.)

Deaontae Fleming, 16, was arrested and charged as an adult for attempted murder (of whom it doesn't say).

There's nothing safe about the suburbs:
James Rivers Jr., 20, of Essex, was shot to death after confronting two suspicious men on his property.

A four-year-old boy was hit by a stray bullet in Columbia.

There are a lot of break-ins and robberies in the news from the Northwestern burbs, and a cluster of street robberies in Owings Mills.

Restraining orders and peace orders are becoming ever-more popular.

January 20

The family of Raymond Smoot (left), an inmate beaten to death by guards at Central Booking, is suing the State for $130 million.

Reporters, mark your calendars, photographers, shine your kneepads: an arraignment date has been scheduled for dirty flex cops Jemini Jones, Steven Hately, and Brian Shaffer at February 15, 2006 9:30 a.m. before Judge Lynn Stewart. (O'Malley makes a point: the arrests are a sign that he and Hamm are doing their jobs.)

Gentrification will be all that's spreading after Chubbies gentleman's club sells its Adult Entertainment license back to the city.

A judge has ruled MD's anti-homo-marriage statute unconstitutional. Ehrlich is pleading "for both parties to come together to protect traditional marriage" and a delegate Don Dwyer (who appears to represent people from the Glen Burnie/ Severna Park area) wants the House to try to pass a constitutional amendment.

Speaking of Senators (and though we don't like to be political, legislators make laws, and laws make criminals who commit the crimes of which we blog), I finally found a map of Maryland districts that's easy to use. I'm very happy to hear that Paul Sarbanes' son John P. is running in the 3rd so the former ABC-2 reporter Andy Barth isn't unopposed.

January 19

Reports the Catholic Reporter in an article about how "blighted" Baltimore is, in 2005 there was a weekly average of five murders, 14 shootings, 72 robberies, 116 aggravated assaults, 107 burglaries, 299 larcenies, 119 auto thefts, 340 misdemeanor narcotics arrests, and 105 felony narcotics arrests.

SSQ mall murder suspect Brian K. Rose was arrested.

In Harford County, Frank Rainey, who admitted to killing Crystal Busta three months after they met on the Internet, will serve a life sentence. He also admitted to three other murders in DC. Yikes.

Millersville meth-making marrieds Michael and Sheila Beil face four criminal methamphetamine possession and intent-to-distribute counts.

Police are seeking a late 90's burgundy Dodge minivan with plates that say "BARK 68"-something in connection with the Jan. 9 hit-and-run of Antionio Martinez on I-95.

A 40-year-old man was wounded by police in East Baltimore during the response to an armed robbery.

Dept. of Bad Sex:

Kristopher Reinhard, 16, died of stab wounds following a fight which may have "stemmed from unflattering remarks about a girl."

Graphic details about exactly what Warren Brown's client Jemini Jones is accused of doing to a 22-year-old woman in an office in the Southwestern (Brown: "She's a big fat liar.") Meanwhile, two members of the flex squad had been "flagged" as potential bad apples in 2003. Here's more on the investigation against Vicki Mengel.

If a Maryland corrections officer settles for $250,000, it'll be one of the largest sexual harrassment settlements in MD history (and boy did this woman deserve it).

There is a such thing as too many of the wrong kind of details in a news story. For example, this BAL story about a women's studies professor charged with prostitution. (Is it necessary to specify "personal" lubricant?) The Sun story is just so much richer: we learn Brandy owned pot-bellied pigs, liked to garden in a bikini, worked on a task force with KK Townsend, and claimed her husband tried to cut ther throat.

In Sykesville, a retired middle school teacher was arrested for having child pornography on his state-issued laptop.

Ehrlich to gays: civil rights on your deathbeds... but not a minute sooner!

January 18

Go-getter U.S. (Federal) Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein plans to expand the local office of the prosecutor. During last fiscal year his office brought 565 criminal cases, up from 490. Interesting paragraph: "Mr. Rosenstein and Mayor Martin O'Malley had planned for the city to give $200,000 directly to federal prosecutors to go after criminals who use firearms to commit crimes. But Baltimore State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy threatened to recall a city prosecutor assigned to the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the plan was abandoned."

The CP talks 2005 homicide by the numbers and reports the murder clearance rate at 55 percent.

2005 in Review: Happy First Birthday, Bcrime!

Two-double-oh-five... we learned so much. I started the blog to try to answer a basic question: how safe are you in Baltimore City? At the end of the project the conclusion is: it depends on who you are.

(Police claim that) 90 percent of murder victims have criminal histories, with an average of eight arrests each. And almost all of the victims are male, and the majority are African-American and young. If you're a female not involved in the drug trade, you don't have much to worry much about, unless you have a jealous spouse, violent boyfriend, stalker friend-of-a-neighbor (see Linda Trinh), or encounter a drunk driver.

If you're a male, don't buy, sell or use the white drugs and stay away from the drink, barfights and other people's wives and girlfriends, stay alert to your surroundings and don't talk to or provoke strangers. And everyone should stay extra observant in mall parking lots (or shop Hampden). These simple rules will keep you safe much of the time. But the thrill of Baltimore living is that there are always roving wild cards of death: the bad babysitter, the serial mugger/rapist, the burglar or nurse who preys on the elderly, the speeding cop car. So while you may be safe most of the time, you're never safe all of the time, no matter what your demographic. And what the hell, sooner or later death comes for all Baltimoreans.

Anyhoo, we kicked off 2005 with a 26 murders in the first 20 days of the year, and Marcus Brown was promoted to Deputy. But it was Baltimorean-cum-Nugget Carmelo Anthony who scored biggest in the 01-05. His cameo in the notorious Stop Snitchin led to endorsements with Nike and Hallmark cards.

In February, Dontee Stokes, represented by Warren Brown, became an international hero for the victims of Catholic-priest-predators when pedophile Maurice Blackwell was convicted. But the victory was short-lived. Judges ruled that a witness' reference to other victims warranted a new trial, Jessamy refused to grant one, and Roussey, now head of the police union, said he believed the state's attorney's office had been looking for a way to avoid prosecuting Blackwell ever since Stokes came forward 13 years ago. The FBI released stats showing that Baltimore has the highest rate of bank robberies in the nation: more than double the rate of the second-most-bank-robbed city, L.A. And the blog got its first regular reader, plucky former Southwestern student (now a Towson U. student, I think,) Chris Bilal!

March kicked off with the start of the drug-kingpin trial of William Nicholson. Nine months later, Nicholson got a three-year sentence. Police officially filed the murder of Hopkins student and South Carolina native Chris Elser, left, under "cold." 50 cent released a song in which "Baltimore" was synonymous with "heroin." The blog added another regular customer, Jay.

And the blog's most searched-for story to date, and certainly the most unusual of the year, broke in March: that's the girl-on-girl psych-doctal-student on psych-doctal-student case of Natasha Bacchus, strangled by her (possibly lesbian) friend Melissa B. Harton after a night of drinking exactly one week before Bacchanalia.

In April an 11-year-old boy was arrested for dealing heroin, revealing the disturbing trend of drug gangs using juveniles for their dirty work. Donta Allen was indicted for murdering Hopkins student Linda Trinh, and two students were grazed with gunfire at Bowie state. O'Malley made Time magazine's "Five Best Mayors" list under the unfortunate banner Wonk N' Roller. The Baltimore police were sued for $30 million for shooting a 30-year-old man in the back. This great site summarizes the year's Maryland police misconduct news. The witness intimidation bill passed. In Annapolis, a midshipman fell from a window --the second incident in three years. Unregistered sex offender Kenneth Barnes was caught in Roland Park, spurring new vows of anti-perv measures from local top brass.

May: Monique Baldwin got 25 years for her role in the beating death of 12-year old Nicole Townes and five years for the abuse of her sister, Brenda Bailey, 11. Kenya Keene, 25, who delayed calling an ambulance, got six years. Former mom Monalisa Mackey pled guilty to killing her 18-month-old daughter Alicia. Ed Norris was working at a soap store in a Florida mall, and six officers were placed on leave after the death of inmate Raymond Smoot. Two policemen were accused of robbing drug dealers and selling the drugs themselves. Says policecrimes.com:

... a federal grand jury indicted Officers William King, 35, of Baltimore, and Antonio Murray, 34, of Abingdon. The five-count indictment alleges that the officers took part in alleged conspiracy to rob drug dealers of their drugs and money beginning last August to the present. Prosecutors said authorities had also bugged the officers' police car. They said that in those recorded conversations, the two officers allegedly asked drug dealers how much money and drugs they had on supply. Miller reported prosecutors' claims that the officers told drug dealers they wouldn't face arrest or prosecution so long as they kept supplying the drugs. In one case, prosecutors said, the officers sold drugs to an FBI agent.

June brought the death of Samuel Richardson, shot while walking with his girlfriend near the Rendez-Vous.
Ross Talp was convicted of killing his mother.
Allegations of police misconduct were rife: cop Brent Allen Gates was accused of stealing $1,400 from a man during a traffic stop, and Gregory Mussmacher was convicted for assault and miconduct after beating up a handcuffed, shacked juvenile. At the Dept. of Corrections, secretary Mary Ann Saar said everything was going fine, even after officer Sherman Lawrence was charged with conspiring to help prison inmates shank a peer. Employee complaints about foul and unhealthy conditions in the ancient Mitchell Courthouse and problems at Central Booking were met with silence from government officials.

In July the FBI released stats showing violent crime up in Baltimore by 4.2 percent, and the Post published a story called "Maryland reports surplus of $1 billion." Attorney General Joe Curran refused to join in a lawsuit with the City (and his son-in-law) against the state over the conditions at Central Booking, and squarely blamed the police. He also got a threatening note written on a clipped obituray of dead businessman Robert Clay.

The case of the three beheaded Mexican children seemed to point to snakeheads, but DNA pointed to the children's uncle.

In August, Commissioner Hamm's daughter Nicole Sisker was outed as a steetwalking addict. Albert G. Antonelli of Queenstown got just three years for auto manslaughter for a hit-and-run on Route 50 that killed officer Duke G. Aaron III. Trial began for the accused murderers of William Bassett, the St. Paul's dean shot in the Towson Town Center mall parking lot. A man tied up traffic around BWI after he kidnapped a woman in Arbutus. Somebody named "tif" objected to the term Big Black Rapist. On the last day of August, the Espinoza/Canela trial ended in a hung jury.

In September, the State rejected Death Row inmate Vernon Evans Jr.'s claims of racial and geographic bias (a death warrant was recently issued for Feb. 6). Seventy-nine year old Lydia Wingfield was murdered, and CP reported: "Wingfield is the third African-American women to be asphyxiated this year. All three women were over 60 years old and found at home, but the Baltimore Police Department does not believe the homicides are connected." (Turns out they were, of course).

Transit police and federal agents have made 23 arrests of people selling prescription drugs at transit stations.Police dogs started getting sick, and by the end of the year, five had died mysteriously. Two Baltimore judges in separate rulings said they don't believe the police officers who investigated gun cases, prompting prosecutors to dismiss charges. And we were joined by a new Jay... a self-labeled-conservative then going by the nom de blog Publius.

In October, accusations of "ethical breaches" in Ehrlich's officehit the fan. First there was the Joe Steffan "Prince of Darkness" thing. Then, the Sun (and Scott Huffines) reported employees testifying about right-wing thought police firing people who weren't "Republican" enough.

Artist Myron "Terry" Koenig was killed and his house was set on fire in Waverly. Antoine Adams, 32, got life in prison for his third killing, Penelope Medina. Three people escaped from Central Booking in one week, and galt started ranting.

In November, Fletcher Worrell, 58, has been implicated by DNA in at least 24 unsolved rapes in Maryland and New Jersey. A probation officer, Yolanda Johnson, got 18 months in prison for extorting money from the cons she was supposed to be supervising. Ehrlich signed the death warrant for Wesley Baker. In the largest gambling raid in decades, police arrested 80 people at the Owl's Nest near Camden Yards. Authorities seized more than $25,000 in cash and cases of illegal liquor, then dismissed charges (but netted at least one officer from the Southwestern). And Alvin Kotz, 70, got three years for running a gambling operation out of Timpano's Italian Chop House in Rockville. And Liz's husband was arrested for littering-- never mind that Booking and Intake has been operating at 135 % capacity. And we were joined by team member Chuck!

As December began there were still no leads on the murder of Jeryl Singleterry, the kidnapping victim who was found dead after his family paid over $10,000 in ransom. A West Baltimore grandmother was tied up, her son stabbed and her Christmas tree set on fire by three home invaders. The wife of police officer David A. Williamson tried to pawn jewelry stolen from jewelry thieves who had been stopped by her husband. Serial killer Raymond Hopewell was caught, ans so was serial rapist Reginald Williams. Officers Leslie Holiday and Adam Vasquez were shot to death.

And the year ended with an official 269 murders, though only 137 were reported by the preliminary FBI crime stats.