So much for that lull... two more murders, unid'd:
7:45 a.m. in the 3700 block of Lyndale Ave.
and an 18-year-old man 1:30 a.m. in the 2400 block of Marbourne Ave in Lakeland.
The Sun's 187 and 188 = our 192 & 193.

Court of Appeals: the state needs to try harder to comply with convicted rapists’ and murderers’ requests for post-conviction DNA testing, checking the police evidence-control unit isn't enough.

A third suspect was arrested today in the Carl Lackl case, Marcus Antwan Pearson, 26. Also in custody are Johnathan Ryan Cordish, 15 of the 300 block N. Monroe St., and Ronald Wendell Williams, 21. Though it's clear Pearson and the 15-year-old gunboy targeted Lackl, police say there's no evidence that the killing was motivated by Lackl's planned testimony in the Patrick Byers murder trial.

Blotter: A man was shot in the shoulder by robbers in the Northwest; a man was shot in the upper right leg trying to flee an altercation with two other men in the 3300 block of E. Fayette St. about 3 a.m. Sunday, a woman was punched in the face at a gas station in the 2200 block of Linden Ave.; police are seeking several teenage females who attacked two other females, one 19 and the other 16, in the 2100 block of N. Pulaski St. late Saturday night.

Beware the sound of a saw in your driveway: stealing catalytic converters is a profitable and low-risk activity for thieves.

Notable quotable: "Baltimore is a safe city." - Mayor Dixon
Was our mayor lying to our people in uniform?
(Or did she mean relative to Iraq?!)

Notable quotable II: "I'm goin to the hairdresser, I can't do it this way!" - Sheila Dixon, last two seconds of Fox's "Raw News" Mayor Dixon Crime Plan Press Conference
The "officer sentenced" video with the reporter chasing down Joseph Mosmiller and his slouchy lawyer is also a hoot:
"Why would you take pictures of women's breasts? Get ahead of him! She says she's been damaged forever emotionally! You have nothing to say to her? What about to fellow police officers! Fellow police officers!"

The media frenzy surrounding the OC fetus house has prompted police patrols. And no word from police or the prosecutors since Monday, when he told reporters that Freeman caused her baby to be stillborn. (How is that possible? Said a police spokesman, "use your imagination.")

August 2

In the case of murdered witness Carl Lackl, there's been a third arrest: Marcus Antwan Pearson has been charged with first degree murder:

Pearson made telephone calls to Lackl about a car that the Rosedale man was selling to lure him outside of his home, county police said. Pearson was in a vehicle in front of the shooter's car, and pointed out Lackl as they drove by, police said.

Suspects in the Lackl case so far are:
Marcus Antwan Pearson, 26,
Johnathan Ryan Cordish, 15
of the 300 block N. Monroe St., and
Ronald Wendell Williams, 21,

Guard your car's catalytic converter, although I don't think your dealership's repair shop is going to mind too much if they've gotta replace 'em for you.

Awful: the rape and robbery of an 88-year old cancer patient in Southeast Baltimore.

Mayor Sheila Dixon demands accountability from the police:

On Wednesday, the mayor said this isn't the first time she's heard complaints of crimes that hadn't been written up. She called the practice unacceptable in her administration.

Jesus God! Hasn't the misreporting or underreporting or whatever-reporting-of-crime been a big complaint against the police department and the mayor's office for, um, quite some time now? Hopefully, if there's one silver lining from this tragic shooting, it'll be an overhaul of how the police report crimes (and, hopefully, a police department with the balls to stand up to any political pressure it might get to do so).

August 1

A man was fatally shot in the 1200 block of Nanticoke St in Pigtown, South Baltimore.

The man who ran to the mayor's West Baltimore house after being shot has died.

At a hearing today Judge Allen L. Schwait sentenced Antonio Dana Rogers, 28, of the 100 block of Cherryhill Road to life in prison for attempted first degree murder and an additional 25 years in prison, consecutive, for use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and prohibited possession of a handgun counts. A Baltimore City jury convicted Rogers June 5, 2007. The story:

On August 23, 2005 at approximately 11:00PM the victim was walking in the 2000 block of McCullough toward the 400 block of W. Presstman St. when she became engaged in an argument with Rogers. As the victim continued toward her home, Rogers followed and pulled out a small caliber handgun, shooting the victim two times – once in the abdomen and once in the arm. When officers arrived the victim told police that “Dana” shot her and that he stays in the Cherry Hill area of the city. Rogers was eventually apprehended and was identified by both the victim and other witnesses. The victim suffered permanent injuries due to the shooting and now has to walk with a cane. She has undergone 14 surgeries since the shooting due to the injuries she suffered.

Today the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Rodney Fray, 39, of the 1800 block of E. Pratt St. for first-degree murder and deadly weapon. Court documents allege that Rodney Fray was responsible for an incident on July 7, 2007 when Ashley Bellosi, 23, was found suffering from head and neck injuries in her apartment in the 800 block of St Paul St. Fray allegedly fought with Bellosi, knocked her unconscious and then left the scene. Bellosi died later at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Hospital. Fray was reportedly Bellosi’s boyfriend.

Domestic Horrors!
An 88-year-old woman was raped in her home by a 20-something black male in South Baltimore.

The family of murder victim Anna Bergman are outraged that she wasn't granted a restraining order. The court commissioner in Catonsville says that Bergman claimed that Ryan Bulter threatened her new boyfriend, not herself. and she was told that he should apply for his own order.

WTF?!: In Frederick County, Donna Jean Compton, 46, pled guilty to transmitting images of her 14-year-old daughter “in various stages of undress” to a "juvenile acquaintance."

The Murder Ink details homicides from July 23 to 27, and fills in Conrad Strange, 25, killed July 15 on North Gay Street.

In this week's CP, in a "classic" from 1984, John Waters interviews "kinky Gary Gilmore" Arthur Frederick Goode III, "one Maryland native we'd all rather forget."

Fredneck gun-weilding teenager Tia Janae Moore was found guilty of masterminding a 90-minute robbery spree that struck a Wendy's, a Dunkin Donuts and a Domino's deliveryperson. Said Assistant State's Attorney Teresa R. Bean, "Apparently they needed money for shoes."

A good question: "If you have a miscarriage at home, what are you supposed to do with the fetus?"
Not being legally human yet it can't make human remains, so that would fall under "medical waste" and the MDE, right?
Well, the MDE says:

Household waste is exempted from being regulated as hazardous waste. Nevertheless, it should not be disposed of indiscriminately. If you no longer have use for a hazardous product, try to find someone who can use it [an embryologist at Hopkins, perhaps?]. Failing that, contact your county governemt (sic) to determine if they have a household hazardous waste collection day scheduled."

Fun Quiz!

By the Sun's John Fritze: "Here are the mayoral candidates' verbatim answers (trimmed only when their words were not clear; offered in the order that they spoke) to the following question: 'Baltimore has one of the highest murder rates in the country. ... What are your plans to ensure that citizens enjoy a safer Baltimore?'"

Match the candiate to the quotes:

a. "We don't compromise when it comes to our religion, we don't compromise when it comes to our Lord and our God -- we cannot compromise when it comes to leadership."

b. "I've called for a federal program to treat drugs as a public health issue. Addict goes to a clinic, gets what they're addicted to. All the money we've saved on the cops and the courts and the prisons and the low morale in the police because all of this can be used for treatment on demand and a federal jobs program. It would probably cost us far less than what we're spending now."

c. "A wise old owl sat on an oak. The more he heard the less he spoke. The less he spoke the more he heard. I'll try to be like that wise old bird."

d. "This afternoon I had the opportunity to visit one of the officers at shock trauma who was shot last night. I looked in the faces of her parents and I went to visit her. We need more police officers on our streets. We are short."

answers
Further reading: the Sun's Baltimore election blog.

We all knew Brandon Grimes, right, should have been in jail long before he killed officer Troy Chesley Jr., but it gets worse. Grimes apparently carjacked someone days before the shooting, but police "declared the carjacking report unfounded. As a result, there was no follow-up investigation and no lookout was posted for the green van." Not the first time Jayne's reported police dismissing carjacking victims.
Dixon's tepid response: "We really need to find out what happened and why, and make some folks accountable. It's unacceptable."
Yeah, you like, totally do. Good idea. Let me know how that goes!

Former Prince George's County homeland security official Keith A. Washington was indicted yesterday on charges of murder and attempted murder for shooting two unarmed furniture delivery men, Brandon D. Clark and Robert White, in his Accokeek home in January. Washington cried self-defense, but looks like the grand jury decided he meant it.

Ranard D. Brown, 26, was arrested yesterday for shooting the two female officers on Monday.

An unnamed man died Saturday, four months after being shot in the 2900 block of Mosher St.

Who wrote secreted?!
WBAL version of an AP story: "Investigators working on the case of a Maryland mother who allegedly secreted dead fetuses around her home have a task that could stretch the bounds of even fictional forensic specialists on a television show."
("Hid" is used in the in the Capitol's version)

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July 31

A man was shot around 11 p.m. Monday night just a few blocks from mayor Dixon's home on Swann Avenue in West Baltimore; the bleeding man drove himself to her security car for help.

Also: "A man, 25, was shot in the chest about 11:15 p.m. Sunday in the 4500 block of Farring Court," "Three men were fighting in the 3300 block of E. Fayette St. about 3 a.m. Sunday when one man pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and shot another man, 31, in the upper right leg, shattering the hip bone." and a man in the 1400 block of N. Broadway Sunday was struck "several times over the head and body with a piece of wood."

Shot suspect: that was a popsicle in my mouth, not drugs.

The female officers shot yesterday were ID'd as Loretta L. Francis, 34, a member of the force for 14 years, and Karen Brzowsky, 29, an officer for 5 years. Sun: "A source close to the investigation -- who is not named because the source is not permitted to talk to the media -- said the two officers were responding to a call for men gambling in or near the 200 block of N. Port when they were shot." The story also reports that as of Monday there were 445 non-fatal shootings, up from 338 last year.

Serial bank robber Craig Joseph Mills got 6 1/2 years in federal prison.

It's only the second use of MD's fetal homicide law, and Worcester County State's Attorney Joel J. Todd's application is highly irregular, to say the least. First of all, the OC fetuses were all preterm and not born alive. And, if even if Christy Freeman somehow caused her own late-term abortion, that wouldn't be against the new law. One of the bill's sponsors says that the exemption doesn't apply to "wanton or reckless behavior," but, well, the law doesn't actually say anything about that, and it isn't especially illegal to smoke crack while you're pregnant in MD.

July 30

Demetris Downing Sr. (Sr?!) , 25, was shot to death Saturday night in the 2100 block of McHenry St. shortly before 7 p.m., a block from his house.

Two police officers were shot at Orleans Street and Port Streets. both are alive ... and female!

What is going on?! Four horrible domestic murders in two days. Jeremy and Justin Herring, 18 and 20 years old, were murdered by their father in MoCo.

And the third MD dad-on-mom murder in the past three weeks: "Police said Anna Bergman, 20, was shot in the head by her 3-year-old son's father, whose name has not been released, in the 300 block of Westshire Road on Monday morning. Bergman was pronounced dead at the scene." Update: a court commissioner had refused to grant Anna Bergman a restraining order Friday night. The three-year-old, also Ryan Butler, is in custody of the murderer's parents.

The story of Christy Freeman, the taxi-company-owner and Ocean-City-baby-body-collector, is grey-area and getting creepier. WBAL says "four infant cadavers have been found since last week" (a very peculiar word choice, almost always used to describe a body being used for educational purposes), and goes on to say that all of the babies were pre-term and stillborn. Nevertheless, the prosecutor down there says he plans to charge her under the fetal homicide law.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury today indicted Lontona Maria Webb, 38, of the 3600 block of Clarinth Rd., Michael Moore, 26, of the 3600 block of Clarinth Rd. and Latoya Renee James, 24, of the 1300 block of Dalton Rd. on July 26, 2007 in an alleged theft scheme involving the property of detainees at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Facility (CBIF). The indictments allege that the incidents occurred at CBIF between November 2006 and March 2007. Details from the SA's office:

After hearing testimony, the Grand Jury returned a total of 32 indictments, alleging credit card theft, identity fraud, conspiracy to commit theft and misconduct in office involving 8 victims who were arrested and transported to the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Facility (CBIF) for processing. Webb is charged in 22 separate indictments, Moore in 7 indictments and James in 3 indictments.

Webb is a former Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Correctional Officer. James is still a Correctional Officer.

Court documents allege that between November 2006 and March 2007 various defendants were processed at Central Booking and Intake Facility (CBIF) and reported their credit cards stolen and used during their period of incarceration. Investigation showed that defendant Lontona Webb, who was employed as a correctional officer during this time, and Michael Moore, of the same address, conspired to use the cards to purchase items in both Baltimore City & County. Lontona James worked the same shift at CBIF as Webb, and also allegedly took a credit card and used it in Baltimore County.

Baltimore County police said they've arrested four men and charged them in the shooting of 24-year-old student Herve Massaba, who is now paralyzed from the chest down.

More on the suicide of murderer Donald Webb Jr. and his victims. The Sun reports that the 13-year-old boy is recovering at Johns Hopkins Children's Center after surgery for multiple bullet wounds.

There was another male-on-female domestic murder/suicide 15 days ago in Arbutus; Donta Antwon Gross, 30, shot Tashema Tameka Fitzgerald, 21, then himself in the 4800 block of Westland Blvd.

In Ocean City, 37-year-old Cindy Freeman was charged with the murder of an infant and "Maryland investigators have found three tiny bodies" in her home.

Three MD and DC metro stations were shut down and the FBI was called in after a pest-control contractor neglected to clean up some dead birds. The Takoma station shut down for almost four hours awaiting NIH clearance.

Remember AAC's Officer Joseph Francis Mosmiller, who photographed himself honking a teenage motorist's boob?
He pled guilty to misconduct and will spend six days in jail.

July 29, Evening

Taming a Violent City - The Baltimore Sun asks an "array of experts" on how, exactly, to do that. Interesting, but why no prosecutors or ex-police *cough*Ed*cough* chiefs on the list?

24-year old Brandon Reed mugged a woman fifty years his senior and was apparently so overcome by shame that he allegedly hung himself in a HoCo jail cell, the fourth person to do so since 1999.

July 29

Donald Webb Jr., 48, who killed his wife and shot his stepson Friday night, is still at large! was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in upstate New York.
Webb is was a chubby corrections officer, shown at right & last seen in a blue 2006 Chevrolet pickup with Maryland license plate 24R856.

A crime wave has hit the Roland Park subdivision of Evergreen, with cars broken into and houses robbed in broad daylight on Wilmslow and Cable Streets. Lock your doors & windows, especially in the daytime when you're at home!

"The fault line between work and family” is “precisely where sex-based overgeneralization has been and remains strongest." -- says the Chief Justice in the NYT Mag article "Family Leave Values"

Julie Bykowicz answers our voir dire questions.
(Schwait turned over a conviction because of his own error? Wacky!)
From law.com: "Jury practices vary widely across the Nation"

"An apparent Sinful Secret was Exposed in Harford County Last Night ... Mike Hellgren has the disturbing allegations ... A warning, though, for some of you, this is very graphic stuff ... Deacon Kevin Glenn ... groin area ... buttocks... feeling up ... played a game called hide the money ... cash ... undergarmets ... and when one of the girls confronted him, he read her Scriptures."

July 28

Horrid. Donald Webb Jr. shot his 13-year-old son and his wife, wounding to the boy and killing his mother in the 900 block of West Lombard Street.

Nathaniel Treat, a 27-year-old Annapolis man was recovering at Johns Hopkins Hospital yesterday after he was stabbed three times in the stomach while trying to save someone he saw being beaten in Charles Village.

One instance and one quote is no argument for any kind of trend, but it does give Greg Kane the opportunity to bitch about that perinneal Baltimore juror, The Lady Who Won't Convict The Black Man.

This should be good! Mayoral candidate Del. Jill Carter will co-host the Ed Norris Show this Monday from 11-1.

City council candidate Adam Meister will be guest-bartending upstairs at the Ottobar tonight from 5:30-8:30, with tips going to the campaign. Downstairs, a collection of "the wildest, weirdest, most obscene bands".

Evening

Today a Baltimore City jury convicted Elliott McLain, 31, of the 5200 block of St. Charles Ave. of first degree murder, conspiracy and other related handgun counts. The jury deliberated for approximately one day following four days of testimony. Judge Robert Kershaw will sentence McLain October 3, 2007. He faces a maximum possible term of life plus life plus 25 years in prison. Details from the SA's office, edited for clarity:

On June 1, 2004 at approximately 1 a.m. in the 600 block of Hazel Street, McLain and co-defendant Kevin Fletcher approach the victim, Tidell Harris, on the street. They each pulled a gun. Fifteen shots were fired and the victim was hit five times, twice in the chest and three in the face and head. Harris was pronounced dead at the scene. Fletcher confessed and had a plea deal in which he was to testify against McLain (Life, suspend all but 25 years). But Fletcher refused to testify in January when called to the stand during a pretrial motions hearing, so the court sentenced Fletcher to life in prison plus 20 years. Fletcher did testify in this case but his court testimony was inconsistent with his taped police confession, which was played in court. Assistant State’s Attorney Tonya LaPolla of the FIVE Division prosecuted this case.

Thirty-four-year-old Ida Susan Robinson pled guilty and got 20 years for stabbing her shack-up boyfriend to death in front of his eight-year-old son in Woodlawn.

An eagle-eyed PA trooper apprehended Lorenzo Presha II, wanted for rape in the county.

Whatever did they talk about? Dixon and Ed Norris met privately at a Hunt Valley hotel bar.
('on the QT'? What does that stand for?)

July 27 - the 1,000th post

Samuel Epps, 30, was chased and then shot to death at about 2:15 a.m. in the 1700 block of W. Baltimore Street.
And the victim found in the trunk of the car was indeed a homicide, killed by blunt-force trauma.

J'heart Judge Brooke Murdock! Not only did she shoot down the state's same-sex marraige ban, but she Reservoir Hill drug dealer Omar Parker the full 20 years for witness intimidation.

This week's Ink provides names and more details for last week's victims.

Maryland's Court of Appeals ruled that says that police officers can be sued for libel if they make false statements to obtain a search warrant.

Eleven boys have come forward to accuse Dundalk perv Robert Paul Layton of various sex offenses. He also faces federal indictment on child pornography charges. Gross. You may remember Layton as the guy with a pool table in his basement who plied young boys with booze and weed (<- WBAL audio link from last February).

In HoCo, Pastor Gerald Griffith, 41, got 15 years yesterday on two counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

Following the Michael Vick business, Baltimore is stepping up its investigaton of dogfights.

Some half-baked and twisted Chubby Hubbies broke three glass windows at the Inner Harbor Ben & Jerry's.

July 26

Baltimore City has identified five of its schools as "perpetually dangerous": 'to get on the list, 2 1/2 percent of its student body must have been suspended for arson, possessing a weapon or drugs, assaulting a teacher or other student, or sexual assault.' The list includes 'Calverton Middle School, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Dr. Roland Patterson Academy, Dr. W.E.B DuBois Senior High School and the Liberal Arts Academy at Walbrook Campus'. The really amazing thing? Fewer than 200 students have transfered out of those schools, despite the fact that the designation allows any student who wishes to transfer.

A Lot of Jays: Jarrett Johnson, 22; Jerard Kane, 20; and Jonathan Kane, 21, identified as the three men who shot and wounded a man early yesterday morning.

So much for that murder-free streak: Body Found in Trunk. I guess the question is when, and how, he died. (I mean, if he was playing hide-and-seek and couldn't get back out of the trunk...)

Those thugs who acid-burned a toddler are to be tried as juveniles. Big surprise, the victim's mother wasn't happy and

broke into tears and walked out of the courtroom.

"I hope you guys are happy," the mother, Carol Duschl, later yelled at the defendants as they walked down a hallway. "A slap on the wrist. It's OK."

Drowning victim? Maybe the water in the Patapsco River is so polluted the river itself wants to get in on the homicide action!

AACo: South River High teacher gets charged for enjoying too much touching his underage students.

The Baltimore County Police Department's version of the Vietnam Memorial is "inaccessible". Wait, does Baltimore City PD have their own memorial to fallen officers? Because if Baltimore County = Vietnam, then Baltimore City = ______?

Rear Windowesque: the video of a street drug deal/robbery/shooting is on YouTube (and you can read the article, too).

An armed robbery of a Korean grocery is reported in the blogosphere after being ignored by the mass media: "Yesterday. July 25, at about 1:30 PM, three men came in to the store with handguns, and pointed them at customer's heads demanding money, cell phones, credit cards, etc.. but a BPD unit happened to be out front a few moments later (they were not alerted - just on rounds), and they captured the assailants. Today, [the owner] looked quiet, scared, sad, and uncertain. Mostly traumatized. This needs to stop - now." Amen.

July 25

The Baltimore branch of the NAACP wants citizens to get windowastic to display their outrage over the city's homicide rate.

Yesterday, I posted about a potential plan to create a gun registry, similar to the sex registry which already exists. Orlando Yarborough can be on both registries! What a lucky guy, huh?

CNN: Processed cheese stands in for a bomb during a possible terrorist dry-run in Baltimore, and other fun news from an unclassified TSA advisory.

Either I'm confused or WJZ is confused (or maybe we're both confused): isn't a "home invasion" generally a rather violent event which happens when the family is home? Because that's sort of always how I've taken to understand the phrase. I guess it's just another way of saying "burglary", and hopefully a.) no one gets hurt and b.) they get the dog back.

Baltimore City might take lessons from Baltimore County's squadPolice CAT Squad:

"A soft-spoken guy, Martin explains how the CAT Squad operates. "You throw a rock in some water, the rock is concentrated action there,” he says. “It disperses the water. We try to do the same thing with crime, by dispersing the crime, reducing the crime and get it out of different areas."

Hey, the headline writes the blurb: Pressures dictate plea deals, But sentences in city homicide cases aren't necessarily a bargain for the convicted.

A friend of mine once said Baltimore City was a lot like Mexico City: if you stick to the touristy areas, you'll be fine. Not quite so much -- three arrested in a shooting that left a man wounded in downtown last night.

There's a tidbit in that above article: "the city's last homicide occurred Thursday afternoon." Is this deserving of a celebration or just the result of dumb luck?

July 24

The City Police Union likes Mitchell for mayor, a decision that

the city's rank and file is dissatisfied with her policing decisions.

"We believe we will see change and progress under him," Blair [president of the city's police union] said. "And he'll be a mayor that realizes that law enforcement is very critical in the city and would make it his top priority that we're properly staffed and given the proper equipment and leadership."

Ouch.

Speaking of "new leadership", ex-commish Kevin Clark wants his old job back.

“As I see it, the city is in crisis, but I could turn this around in no time ... It’s my job.”

Continuing the theme of "new leadership" ... some of the "old leadership" is getting canned (er, sorry, "retiring.")

A busy weekend for police in AACo, and a bad weekend for dangerous fugitives!

There's only one thing you should be doing behind the wheel of a car: not text messaging, not reading the paper, not playing with yourself or receiving favors from your loved one leaning over from the passenger seat (remember that scene in Parenthood?). Not even daydreaming! Nope, the only thing you should be doing behind the wheel of a car is paying attention. This is a lesson Christopher Austin Carey, 17, will hopefully be more aware of in the future.

In a case of car v bike, the car wins --

An 8-year-old boy riding a bicycle was struck by a car in Southwest Baltimore shortly before 2:30 p.m. Monday and was taken to the Johns Hopkins Hospital's pediatric intensive care unit for treatment of a minor head injury, police said.

I don't think it's going too far out on a limb to say the driver "wasn't paying attention." Also: don't play in the streets, kids.

Mayor Dixon Proposes Public Registry of Gun Offenders: Too far? Or not far enough? I guess we'll know if the NRA gets itself involved.

A Baltimore resident, and member of MS-13, is off to jail. I wonder how the accommodations are?

Timothy Hartlove's sentence revisited: four years for "conspiring to distribute methamphetamine worth about $50,000." His original sentence was six years.

Former state Senator Bromwell pleads guilty for racketeering and tax evasion. A guilty politician? Perish the thought.

July 23

Maybe they've been throwing out seafood in the department's dumpster? Have you ever smelled a dumpster full of rotting fish? Gag on a stick! Seriously:

Something at the Baltimore City Police Department smells fishy to mayoral candidate Keiffer Mitchell, who on Sunday called for a federal audit of the city’s crime statistics.

The Baltimore City councilman will deliver a letter today asking for a Federal Bureau of Investigation audit, he said.

Mayoral candidate Del. Jill Carter has called for an independent audit of the city’s crime statistics, which show a 16 percent increase in homicides and a 32 percent increase in shootings, but a 17 percent decrease in violent crime.

In response, Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon’s spokesman Anthony McCarthy said, “If we can find a third party to audit crime statistics, we’re all for it.”

A long time ago I worked at a place where we made "soda missiles." We'd take bottles of soda, shake them up, stand at the top of the parking lot, and hurtle them towards the dumpster down the hill. When they hit, they'd explode. We did this when no one was around, of course (because they would've told on us). However, "soda bombs" are a bit more serious, even if hearing the term makes me chuckle:

“It’s nothing like a pipe bomb or dynamite, ... but it’s still in that category,” said Jason Mowbray, deputy chief state fire marshal.

What do the members of MADD do at a police checkpoint? Smack the drunks with rolled up pamphlets? They should!

In the blotter, lots of break-ins. Be on the lookout for the landscaper thief:

A lawnmower, three ladders, a gas-operated leaf blower and two hedge trimmers were stolen over the weekend...

Brief Update: Dan Roderick has reprinted an anonymous e-mail from a Baltimore City Police Detective regarding the state -- or lack thereof -- of police leadership in the department:

First of all, "Zero Tolerance" is not currently the "Mission Statement" of the Baltimore City Police Department. I can't tell you what the Mission Statement is, because I don't know. Many of us in the rank and file do not. I don't really even think there is one. Oh, sure, we have had "pep talks" given by then Deputy Commissioner Bealefeld (now Acting Commissioner) and by Mayor Dixon, but those speeches focused on a general idea of what needs to happen in the City. There was no clear plan laid out... just ideas such as "omnipresence" and "getting back into the community."

Before I go, I must say I hope that Mangalore Chetan (or wait, is Mangalore a place?) will write more essays about our city that go into greater depth than "A City Called Baltimore - Pride Owner of Great Ethnic Variety"

Some of the streets of Baltimore give you a feeling of being in the outskirts of Mumbai, with tiny houses, lack of hygiene, people loitering about doing nothing. ... But how did it all happen? Just in the neighborhood of the Capital of United States, such a misery?

July 22, Evening

Hey'all! While Cybrarian's away on vay-kay-shun, I'm holding down the fort here at Bawlmerkram until her return (don't worry, she'll be back Thursday, so I won't have many opportunities to screw up, hopefully).

In AACo, guns and alcohol don't mix. Or, to be specific, badges and alcohol don't mix.

Very To Be Mildly Confusing Word Order, JayZee!, in Very Censorship Disturbing? In future, for great controversy avoidance, perhaps for to be arresting for when not anti-Bush buttons selling. (Am I overdoing it? For surely!)

July 22

A gunfight at round 2 .am. last night near Power Point Live, and 25-year-old 25-year-old army Corporal Alexander Larkin lost to a city cop.

Friday, brand-new commissioner Bealefeld took the genius step of firing notoriously unhelpful police spokesman Matt Jablow, replacing him with one Sterling Clifford. Said the CP of Jablow last September,

"he's declared himself an obstructionist to some of [the CP staff], saying we can only get information from him at the end of the statutory limits of the Maryland Public Information Act. He chalked this line for us in a threat, issued to try to keep us from printing on-the-record comments of his that he regretted. Then he took to ignoring some of our calls altogether."

Rodericks: give zero-tolerance a chance

Stat of the Day: "Blacks in the United States are imprisoned at more than five times the rate of whites, and Hispanics are locked up at nearly double the white rate," according to a study released Wednesday by the Sentencing Project, a "think tank" that opposes mandatory minimum prison terms.

July 21

Was the killing of Rosedale resident Carl Lackl really because he was planning to testify in a murder case? "Or was his death a drive-by shooting for no other reason than the shooter’s desire to do something 'crazy?'"

The city police pension board may have let Marcus Brown's million-something retirement payoff stand, but Chairman of the Police Pension Board, Steven Fugate, is still fuming, calling Marcus Brown a "crooked cop."

Former Senator Thomas "I don't use the N-word, but he was an N" Bromwell pled guilty to federal racketeering and tax crimes, "ending one of the state's largest corruption investigations in many years."
Will he soon resign from the board of First Mariner Bank?

In MoCo, a Liberian immigrant raped and molested a 7-year-old relative, but because of the difficulties finding an interpreter, after three years the case was dismissed.

July 20 evening edition

Monday the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Tracy* Asbury, 37, of the 4800 block of Pennington Avenue for first-degree murder and other charges. Police arrested Asbury in Talbot County today. Court documents allege Tracy Asbury and two other co-defendants were responsible for an incident on June 20, 2007 in which the body of Phillip Calvin Airey Jr. was found in a burning car on Route 295 in Linthicum. Airey had been beaten and stabbed before the car was set on fire. Robert Speake and Michael Martin were indicted on the same charges. An arraignment is scheduled for August 17, 2007 before Judge John M. Glynn, Room 236, Mitchell Courthouse. Homicide Division Chief and Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Cohen will prosecute this case.
* A male name in the South and a girl's name to Yankees, so could be male or female.

Two dead baby stories in one day! Sarah Wolf, 20, of Baltimore, was charged in VA with with improper disposal of a dead body after putting her newborn in a Dumpster after giving birth in a public restroom.

Sherman Kemp, featured in "Stop Fucking Snitching," was indicted on cocaine-related charges.

Two non-fatal shootings this afternoon in Northeast Baltimore: a man was shot in the back in the 1600 block of Ramblewood St., and a man was shot in the side in the 3500 block of East Northern Parkway.

July 20

A man was shot to the death in the 3100 block of Belair Road, and a man was shot in the Northwest.

An acquaintence of the comatose Zach Sowers recounts how the teenaged suspects smirked and laughed during the arraignment.

Another prolicide case goes to court: Megan Patria, 17, who presumably sucessfully hid her pregnancy from the world, gave birth on a toilet and threw the baby away in a plastic bag. The next day, says the SA, "she showed off her slimmed figure, watched a movie at home with a friend and went out to dinner with family and friends."

"Mr. Hamm could be excused for feeling a bit of whiplash; an absurd moment came this summer when 85 homicide detectives in this homicide-burdened city were taken off the job and dispatched, temporarily, to augment street patrols."
Whose decision were the foot patrols? Boo, passive voice!

How many times do we have to tell you people, if you're driving with 30 pounds of drugs in the car, watch the road!!

AAC caught itself an airport hooker.
(A most popular & lucrative profession)

A woman died after falling off the 65-foot roof of the Museum of Industry as she tried to climb onto a neon sign.

Evening

Meet the new commissioner (for now), Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who will likely keep the job until at least after the election. Will he have a plan of his own, or be expected to work his way through Dixon's PowerPoint? (Or was it his PowerPoint all along?)
Her Honor said nothing about the Brown pension scandal, the missing documents or the murder rate, but instead attributes the resignation she says that she asked for was because she "wasn't feeling the results" and "wasn't feeling that drive like I wanted to" and that the decision was difficult, but not because of Keiffer telling me to do this."
Yeah, well, I for one don't buy it... I don't think she had a clue!
She was just talking a month ago about what a bad idea a change of leadership would be!

Madison Smartt Bell has a piece about his Baltimore jury duty experience (MD vs. Crudup) in the Oxford American (a regional-interest magazine that slants itself as "the Southern New Yorker")

Jessamy: Dixon Wants my Opinion!

Jessamy's office released a statement on the Hamm resignation:

“It appears that the failed policing strategies of the O’Malley years have finally come to an end. For the first time, after a succession of eight police commissioners serving the Mayor O’Malley administration, Mayor Dixon has sought my opinion and counsel on how we can work together in the best interest of our citizens. I believe that this type of partnership will make a difference and end this deadly grip of violence on our city.

In a period of almost eight years, the former mayor never sought my input on any crime strategy or plan, technology or legislation that would help reduce crime in Baltimore. It is a refreshing and welcome change that Mayor Dixon sees the importance of such a collaboration. I am energized by the Mayor’s vision and optimistic that this commitment will yield results for our citizens and I pledge my support to her efforts. I believe in Baltimore. I want what is best for our citizens.

I am delighted that Mayor Dixon has asked for my participation in the Mayor’s national search efforts. I am happy to serve in this capacity.

Finally, I applaud the many hard working police officers who put their lives on the line every day and I stand by their efforts to make our citizens safe. They deserve our full appreciation and support.”

Patricia C. Jessamy, Baltimore City State’s Attorney
July 19, 2007

July 19

On Tuesday, a 29-year-old man was shot in the neck died in the 6100 block of Fortview Way.
Wednesday, Steven Brandon Sr., 41, was shot in the head about 5 p.m. in the 2800 block of Round Road in Cherry Hill and died a short time later at Harbor Hospital.

More on the Hamm story. The Sun reports that Dixon asked him to resign Tuesday night.

"Bupe" works okay, but not as well as methodone.

Why didst God smite the Baptist Church? Probably for buying a $150k Bentley Arnage with church funds rather than by paying their hefty debts!
(Then again, maybe the insurance check is God's way of repaying them for their abundant faith!)

Speaking of abundant faith, nervy candidate Jill Carter will be spending the night tonight at the crime-ridden intersection of Milton and East Biddle Streets, and tomorrow she'll be at Fayette and Monroe. Says Carter, "It is sending a message that we will not accept that our corners will be taken over."

This just in...

Hamm = out!
...but is it at Dixon's request? Sounds like she didn't even know he was planning to resign until JZ leaked the news!

At a hearing today James Summerville, 18, of the 800 block of N. Arlington Ave. pled guilty to second-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon (knife). Judge Lynn K. Stewart sentenced Summerville to 30 years in prison suspending all but 20 and four years probation. On March 3, 2007 in a house on the 700 block of N. Carey Street, Summerville assaulted Artesha Moses, 19, his girlfriend and the mother of his two-year old son. On March 27, 2007 Summerville fatally stabbed Moses at the same location, seven days after she sought a restraining order. Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa Phelps prosecuted this case.

As expected, the four alleged assailants of Zach Sowers pled not guilty today.

July 18

An unidentified 29-year-old man was killed shortly after 11 p.m. in the 6100 block of Fortview Way in O'Donnell Heights.

The City Paper covers this week's murders and has updates:

• Christine Richardson, 15


• Clayborn Johnson, 59


• Ashley Bellosi, 23


• an unidentified man in an alley in the 200 block of Herring Court near Fells Point


• Jerry Crosby, 24


• Yemel McMillian, 20


• an unidentified man shot several times in the 1800 block of North Gay Street


• Wayne White, 24


• Maurice White, 22


• Earl Williams, 26

Blotter: Two teenage boys and a girl were shot in the chest, a man was slashed in the chest, plenty of break-ins.
(The Sun has a new look, but the Blotter is still in progress!)

A convicted cat stomper has been freed after being sexually abused in jail.

“It reminded me to buy Mace again,” said Katherine Kunkel of Burtonsville of the Columbia mall stalking/fondling incident.

More on the Cummings/PJ request for $90 million for U.S. Marshals to protect witnesses (the current Baltimore City witness assistence program consists of two people, I believe).
Like the new "comments"!

O'Malley is endorsing Stephanie for City Council President.

O'Malley's endorsement of Stephanie Rawlings-Blake...	... makes me more likely to vote for her ... makes me less likely to vote for her ... doesn't matter because I would never vote for that bitch reminds me of why I fell in love with her in the first place
	Current Results

Today a city jury convicted Myron Merrill Gladney, 20, of the 1600 block of Shady Side Road, of attempted first-degree murder, use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and witness intimidation. The jury deliberated approximately 1:40 following one day of testimony. Judge John C. Themelis scheduled sentencing for September 5, 2007 and Gladney faces a possible maximum prison term of life plus 25 years. Details...

Evidence introduced at trial proved that Gladney approached Stephen Arrington as he waited for a bus in the 3400 block of The Alameda on April 6, 2005 and told him not to come to court. Arrington was scheduled to testify against Gladney’s brother in a homicide trial the next day. Myron Gladney left the area then returned a few minutes later with a handgun and chased Arrington across The Alameda where he eventually shot him in the back.

Arrington eventually did testify in Anthony Gladney’s murder trial and Anthony Gladney was acquitted of murder by a city jury July 20, 2005. Arrington also testified this week and positively identified Myron Gladney as the man who shot him.

Assistant State’s Attorney Lisa Phelps said calling this case “witness intimidation does not adequately describe the horrific and brazen nature of what Gladney did to the victim in this case.”

Congressman Elijah Cummings plans to ask Congress for $90 million to help the city fight witness intimidation, he recently met with Alberto Gonzales to talk about the issue.

July 17

A man was shot to death last night in the 3400 block of St. Ambrose Ave. in the NW (#181).

More witness intimidation: Myron Gladney, brother of murder suspect Anthony Gladney, is accused of shooting a witness while he waited for a bus on The Alameda.

With four suspects expected to plead not guilty to attempted murder tomorrow, Zach Sowers remains in a coma. Family and friends have organized a "Neighbors Night Out Against Crime" in various bars for August 5 to help raise money for Sowers' medical bills.

Kevin "Chopper" Barnes, former star of the MTV reality show "Making the Band 2" pleaded guilty to robbing a couple with a BB gun six years ago when he was 16. Now a judge has issued a bench warrant for his arrest for failing to meet with his probation officer.

Clothing confiscated from a police officer accused of sexually assaulting a teenager at a precinct house has gone missing from the police department's evidence control unit.

History corner: Baltimore's most murderous year was 1993during the Schmoke Years, when, with a population of about 724,000, 353 people were killed. As the body count piles up for 2007, Dixon blames the judiciary, and Judge Glynn blames The People: "If the citizens want to know what the problem is, I suggest they look at themselves. And, of course, the politicians are no better than citizens. But the heart of this problem lies with the citizens of Baltimore. They commit the crimes. They don't testify against the criminals. And they don't vote to convict the guilty."

The City Council race is "neck-and-neck" between the two 'legacy' candidates.

Tune in...

.... I'll be on the Marc Steiner show on 88.1 FM at noon tomorrow.

July 16

It was, they say, one of the deadliest weekends of the year, with five murders:

• Earl Thomas Williams, 26, lying in the middle of the street in the 2100 block of Koko Lane, in West Baltimore's Panway/Braddish Avenue neighborhood;


• Maurice G. White, 22, and Wayne G. White, 24, who were not related, killed in the 5700 block of Radecke Ave. in the NE;


• An UnID'd 24-year-old man, shot in the 1800 block of N. Gay St.;


• and Yemel McMillian, 20, was shot several times in the 2800 block of Boarman Ave. in Northwest Baltimore

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Michael Martin, 28, of the 200 block of Allwood Road and Robert Speake, 19, of the 4900 block of Brookwood Road for first-degree murder and other charges. Court documents allege Michael Martin and Robert Speake are the suspects responsible for an incident on June 20, 2007. The body of Phillip Calvin Airey Jr. was found in a burning car on Route 295 in Linthicum. Airey had been beaten and stabbed before the car was set on fire. An arraignment is scheduled for August 17, 2007 before Judge John M. Glynn.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Maurice Crosby, 19, of the 5200 block of Ready Avenue and Erica Ammenhauser, 21, of the 200 block of Durham Street for first-degree murder and other charges. Court document allege that Maurice Crosby and Erica Ammenhauser was responsible for a stabbing incident on June 10, 2007 in the unit block of S. Chapel Street. Michael Simms, 19, was involved in an altercation with the two individuals when he was stabbed. He died later at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

A relative of a female witness to the Christine Richardson murder tells the Examiner that neighbors have driven her out of the city with violent threats.

PG County had their second-deadliest weekend this year, with three murders in six hours.

Montgomery County also had a violent weekend, with a man shot in Rockville and another guy stabbed in his Silver Spring condo.

City Solicitor George A. Nilson said Marcus Brown's sweetheart pension deal was "within both the letter and the spirit" of the law.

What the?!! "Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon holds a formidable lead over her rivals in this year's Democratic primary campaign, even though nearly half the voters surveyed believe the city is on the wrong track."

Near Elkton, Maryland's second patricide in a week: Eugene Pritchard Junior, 30, was arrested after his van crashed into a tree, with Eugene senior, 69, murdered inside (?).

In the county, a man was stabbed in the stomach at Delli's Bar in the Golden Ring area.

WBAL and Fox alarmed early-morning viewers with a "loud beep" and fake Amber alert.

July 15

Pollsters: Baltimoreans are "obsessed" with crime.

Bastille Day

Baltimore police said yesterday they had obtained an arrest warrant for a man accused of fatally beating Ashley Marie Bellosi, 23, in her apartment in the 800 block of St. Paul St. in Mt. Vernon on July 7. Bellosi died Wednesday the 11th.

DNA testing and the Cold Case Squad solved the 18-year-old murder of Lisa Barselou, found dead in her Bolton Hill bathtub.

Suburbs
In the county, creepy Timothy Gounaris, left, got 18 months for sexually abusing a student.

WashCo.: former Klavern head Gordon C. Young was acquitted of charges that he sexually assaulted his 15-year-old adopted sister.

Anne Arundel County police have charged 42-year-old John Bealefeld in the death of his father, 78-year-old Maurice Bealefeld.

In honor of the Wig ladies, the Post compiles a list of other nicknamed bandits.

In Cecil Co., Bonnie dumped douche Charles Azain, who then sought revenge by writing the 54-page "Bonnie Chronicles" and sending it to everyone she knew.

July 13

Two murders on the East side last night: a man was stabbed to death near the Perkins Homes, a man was shot in the 400 block of North Bouldin Street at about 7:30 p.m. Also on the East side, Clayborn Johnson, 59, died Tuesday after being beaten on Sunday in the 2000 block of North Bentalou Street. And in the Western, a man on his stoop was shot in the arm.

Wanted:
City police are seeking Black "Gorilla"* Kevin Armstead, 24, of the 700 block of E. 43rd St., in the fatal shooting of Ricardo Paige, 54, whose body was found in a vacant house in Pen Lucy. (Thanks for the picture Durham)
*Er, shouldn't that be "black guerrilla family" ?

A robber is following elderly people home from the bank.

Like a beached fish with ADD, "Just a week after she indicated that police retention is a more pressing problem than recruitment, Mayor Sheila Dixon yesterday announced a series of steps to enhance police recruitment while mentioning no concrete plans for improving retention rates," which the spokescop of the police union says depend on "working conditions, leadership, equipment and, at the very end, wages."
Meanwhile, Mitchell's campaigning on a 15% across-the-board pay raise for the police.

A boy was shot in the leg near Milford Mill Academy, an 18-year-old woman hit a 25-year-old with a plank in the SE, and plenty of robbing and burgling in the Blotter.

Yesterday Judge John C. Themelis sentenced Leshawn Calvin Greene, 24, of the 2500 block of North Edgecomb Court to Life plus 95 consecutive years in prison for the murder and attempted murders of four juveniles in a shoot-out in a pizza shop on July, 16, 2005 in the 1300 block of Poplar Grove. Details:

A city jury convicted Greene on May 10, 2007 of entering the pizza shop and shooting at the victims as they were waiting for their food order. Mr. Javon Lee, 16, died from his injuries; the other three victims suffered non-life threatening injuries: Renard Hunt, 16, of 3100 Westmont Court, James King, 17, of 1400 Poplar Grove and Marvin Williams, 17, of 1200 Ashburton Street.

During the course of the trial, an identifying witness, Pharoah Carr, and a close friend of Greene, left Maryland to avoid testifying at trial. Prosecutor Diana Smith successfully used a provision in the new witness intimidation passed by the legislature in 2005 that allowed her to offer Carr’s photo identification and taped statement despite Carr’s absence. After the Court granted the State’s motion to allow the photo array and taped statements into evidence, Carr appeared for trial.

In a most unusual move (for a non-election year), the SA's office and the Mayor's office issued a joint press release on the Greene conviction.

First "Little" Al Gore, now the son of the civil rights director for the Maryland attorney general's office, Kojo Snowden, is having drug problems: he and 11 others were charged with selling the doobage. Little S and friends face a broad gamut of potential penalties: something between a year in jail and $1,000, to five years and a $15,000 fine.

You Might be a Redneck If ... you're a 41-year-old former KKK leader on trial for sexually assaulting your 15-year-old sister.

We'll soon be bidding a sad adieu to the Magnet Bar, best known as the quintessential dive near North Avenue where local service workers can grab an after-work quaff at 4 a.m. But the shell of the Chesapeake on Charles and E. Lanvale, an eyesore for 30+ years, gets to stay an eyesore.

July 12

The tragic tale of stabbed teen Christine Richardson is becoming clearer: the suspect, Calvin Puryear, 19, was not her current 22-year-old boyfriend, but rather her ex-boyfriend who was upset about the breakup. Puryear had perviously threatened Richardson with violence, telling her mom "If I can't have her, I'm gonna hurt her." However, police say, Puryear claims it was family friend Lloyd Chase (as seen interviewed on television and himself Richardson's "brother" to a Sun reporter) who fatally stabbed her (but mom believes Chase is innocent.)
And why isn't Puryear being charged with rape?

WYPR: "Optimist" Jessamy "Unfazed by Baltimore's Ranking as Nation's Most-Violent City"
Remarks the top prosecutor, "crime is really kind of cyclical. It goes up. And some years, it goes down," but goes on to say,

About 10 years ago, if you had asked a group of children, if you had 30 young people, and you had asked them if anyone had witnessed a violent act, if anyone ever had a loved one become the victim of a violent act, or who had been killed as the result of a homicide, you might have had five or 10 of those kids to raise their hands. Now, you have 20.

Jessamy goes on to blame the City's parents, saying Baltimore's grownups "need to shoulder their responsibilities as adults to help prevent crime before it starts."

A 16-year-old and a 23-year-old survived after they were shot while stooping in the SW.

The Ink provides some names for the unknown and notes that one Mario Mauro, a 53-year-old white man, has been added to the homicide tally.

A "Wig Lady" grifter, 47-year-old Jacqueline Elaine Belim (the younger friend of Carol Silva), got 61 months in federal prison.

July 11

UPDATE: Calvin Puryear, 19, and 17-year-old Lloyd Chase have been arrested for 15-year-old Christine Richardson's murder. Puryear claims Lloyd Chase actually stabbed Richardson after they both had consentual sex with her, and Puryear held her down.
More details.
Her mother's theory as of yesterday: it was not the boyfriend whom the victim met "four years ago" (she was 11?), but rather local junkies who were demanding to do drugs in the house.
(What the Sun story above hints at but doesn't say: Richardson was multiracial with a white mom and a "#1" dad... wonder how the city will classify her?)

A 16-year-old was shot on Dulaney Street last night.

The first-degree murder trial of Patrick Byers was postponed yesterday as police investigate a possible link between that city case and the shooting death of its main witness, Carl Stanley Lackl.

Blotterata: A woman was stabbed in the neck on the 6100 block of Eastern Avenue; a 14-year-old-boy selling water on the side of the road was robbed by an older man with a knife.
A 24-year-old woman is wanted for stabbing a 20-year-old in the stomach; murder and rape arrests; Shantel, Sharon and Tnesha were arrested on Lexington and Greene for illegal gun possession.

Yesterday the Baltimore Grand Jury indicted Charles Brockington for second-degree murder. Brockington shot a man who he believed had stolen rims from his Mercedes.

Dixon: we need a weekend court session.
Jessamy's office: don't hold your breath.

Thieves: Harford County pawn shops are your best bet!

Camp counselor Dion Harvey Montgomery, 18, was arrested over the weekend in Gaithersburg in a string of robberies and sex assaults that targeted Latino women.

Rodricks = being his usual fucking annoying self.

God Smites Baptist Church

July 10

A 14- or possibly 15-year-old girl named Christine was found dead in a house in the 300 block of S. Fulton Ave. in "hardscrabble" Southwest Baltimore, shortly after 2 a.m. this morning.

A Randallstown male counselor at a home for troubled boys was shot in the stomach and isn't doing too well. More details

Death penalty supporters are annoyed by the governor's "de facto moratorium" ass-draggage.

How flaccid is Team Dixon? She tried to have a felon released for his son's funeral, but wasn't able to use her Mayorial pull to get him out of the state-run Central Booking. Now she says she never should have tried in the first place, because the guy's got a scary criminal record (well he is in jail!). Someone teach that woman to use the "JIS"!

Olesker reports on that great Baltimore pastime, stoopin and watching the shit go down.

"Heroin County" is turning to coke.

Christopher Gary, accused of fatally shooting his mother in Prince George's County, committed suicide by cop in PGC.

I wonder how much the Annapolis Mast Thieves would charge to get rid of the blight in front of the train station?

Afternoon

Herve Massaba must take great comfort in the political posturing about how the only people affected by crime in Baltimore are the people who are involved in crime in Baltimore. Of course, this happened in Baltimore County, so maybe things are different out there. Interestingly, the article in the Sun did not mention the woman who was paralyzed after being shot in the neck in Fells Point a few days before Massaba was shot.

The reckless endangerment trial against Shanda Harris has been postponed until September 5. Harris is the mother of 11-year-old Irvin Harris, who was allegedly murdered by babysitter / convicted sex offender Melvin Jones.

The first-degree murder trial against Melvin "Tight Rope" Faulkner is scheduled to begin tomorrow. Faulkner is accused of murdering Pierre Alston at 3620 Edmondson Ave. on May 5, 2006.

Kevin Warren was arrested during a traffic stop on July 6, shortly after being featured on America's Most Wanted. Warren was charged with first- and second-degree murder for killing 13-year-old Briona Porter during a robbery of her family's new ice cream truck.

July 9

The man who was fatally shot in a triple shooting on Friday night was identified as 25-year-old George Thomas Johnson. The shooting was originally reported as being in the 1900 block of E. Lafayette Ave., but is now listed around the corner in the 800 block of N. Payson St.

A 27-year-old man is suspected in a fatal domestic shooting in Bowie that left the man's mother dead.

There was a shooting this morning in the 3700 block of Offutt Rd. in Randallstown. Last night, two men were injured in two separate shootings, one in the 700 block of N. Rose St., and one in the 2000 block of Westwood Ave.

Two bottle bombs blew up in a Harford County parking lot on Sunday morning, and two undetonated bombs required bomb squad intervention.

HoCo PD's school resource officers have kept busy this year, with everything from stolen gift cards to kids carrying assault weapons (to protect themselves from gangs, of course).

Don't mess with the Girl Scouts.

July 7

Sorry for the Sun-heavy post today; with the exception of the Harford hammer beater, you might as well just go read the Sun.

The body of Phyllis S. Johnson was found by her son in her home in the 1700 block of N. Broadway in Oliver. She had been stabbed and was lying in a pool of blood. Also in Oliver, the man whose body was found in a garbage bag behind a house in the 1500 block of N. Bond St. has been ID'd as 52-year-old Christopher M. Barrett.

An unidentified man was fatally shot in the head last night in the 1900 block of W. Lafayette Ave. Another man and a woman were also shot at the same time.

In Harford County, 17-year-old Andrew E. Bogris allegedly attacked another 17-year-old with a hammer after arguing over a girl.

Kelly Schreck was arrested after five dead dogs, four starving dogs, and four starving cats were found in her Glen Burnie house. She's being held on $800,000 bail, the highest amount ever for an animal cruelty case in AAC.

The BPD, Hopkins, and the people of Charles Village are all a bit freaked out about the attempted abduction of a 29-year-old JHU grad student.

Joseph C. Schultz was given $1.3M after getting shot in the face by an FBI agent in 2002.

Sheila D. fought to allow Charles Murel out of jail long enough to attend his son's funeral. His son was the 3-year-old boy who was hit by a car on June 30 on W. Lanvale St.

July 6

Police found the car that fatally struck Pedro Colon on Dundalk Ave. early Wednesday morning, but they haven't located the driver.

Two men in a black SUV tried to abduct a Hopkins student in the 100 block of W. 29th St. yesterday morning, but fled when she screamed and witnesses ran to help her.

More on the drive-by yesterday morning in a downtown parking garage.

Bryant Mitchell Johnson is wanted for a whole bunch of bank robberies.

Vandals targeted 15 cars and a house in Hamilton.

A push for $2M to recruit city cops is falling on deaf ears. Sheila D. says we're meeting our recruiting goals (despite having at least 140 unfilled positions), and we shouldn't use the city's "rainy day fund" for this. Meanwhile, there are a paltry 21,000 open city warrants (that's the conservative number) and 79 officers to work on them. (Baltimore Crime loves us some math: if each officer closes a measly 53 warrants per day, and no new crimes are committed, we'd have a clean slate in a week!)

Two more dismissals of BCFD fire commanders for negligence and incompetence.

Darryl E. Green got two consecutive life sentences plus 40 years for killing Vanessa and Bianca Price in 1992.

The Examiner has a homicide Q&A for HoCo State's Attorney Tim McCrone.

Cory Booker

There's an interesting article about Cory Booker and his first year as mayor of Newark, NJ, in the Newark Star-Ledger (June 24, 2007, "Booker redirects his anger at the war on drugs"). His words almost sound like Mayor Dixon's, but Booker claims he's willing to go to jail to make things change. Sitting in jail is a far cry from riding around on a garbage truck.

"I'm going to battle on this," the mayor says. "We're going to start doing it the gentlemanly way. And then we're going to do the civil disobedience way. Because this is absurd ... I'm talking about marches. I'm talking about sit-ins at the state capital. I'm talking about whatever it takes."

There's also a series of articles in the New York Times on Booker's first year as mayor. The most recent part of the series details dissent in Newark, some from supporters of former mayor Sharpe James, and some from people who feel Booker has broken campaign promises.