Turns out that the brother of one of the gunmen, as well as the second gunman, in the Towson Mall shooting had been involved in a robbery the previous day in Overlea.

So, let's get this straight: Lavar Clark and two of his best buds go to Overlea, and at gunpoint, steal 97 bucks and a CD player from some guy.... and then demand his PANTS. The next day, Javon Clark and John Kennedy (!!) decide "Hey, that went pretty well! Now let's go shoot some old guy at the mall!"

Boy, I'd love to meet their parents.

In legal news, a judge rejected gunshot residue evidence from the city's only gunshot analyst. This ruling, if it stands, will open up hundreds of trials for appeal. A quick Google search for cases where Harant's testimony figured importantly include the 2002 murder of Det. Thomas Newman by Jovan House, a capital case, and the conviction and life imprisonment of Jermaine Blackwell for the shooting of James Randolph in 2003.

February 23

Two murders last week bring this year's death toll to 44.

February 22nd

Courts are back from vacation so suddenly there's a ton of news..

A-hole child abuser of the week (so far) is 24-year old Scott Cromwell, who was sentenced to to 25 years in prison, with all but nine years suspended, for the assault of a three-year old child. On March 14, 2003, while Cromwell was caring for a three year-old at a home in the 6600 block of Snowberry Court when medics responded to an unresponsive child call. The child was found to be suffering from severe brain injury-- his brain was swollen with internal bleeding and there was a giant bruise on his forehead. The child suffered permanent paralysis as a result of the incident.

A second man has been arrested in the murder of Robert Gail of New Carrolton.

A judge's ruling on the definition of gunshot residue evidence has the potential to derail hundreds of cases in Baltimore city.

Thefts and a murder arrest in the blotter.

On Friday a Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Antoine Adams, 32, of Patterson Park Avenue, and Richard A. Damon, Jr., 35, of the 500 block of Force Road, on 32 counts realted to their robbery-and-murder spree last month. Court documents allege that Adams and Damon shot and killed Theresa Moore, 51, and Michael Mick, 40, inside a house in the 800 Block of Bradford Street on January 20. Adams and Damon were also indicted for first-degree murder, armed robbery, and conspiracy for the shooting death of Justin Michael Gaglione, 29, January 14 in the 300 block of East 20th Street. Both defendants are being held on a no bail status. An arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday, March 22.

A Hagerstown man has been arrested for raping two teenagers.

A pair of guys who were stopped for speeding on 95 who had the body of a man they'd beaten to death stuffed in the trunk got some mighty light-sounding sentences at a hearing today. Alberto Sanchez, 29, and Armando Rosales, 35, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and accessory to murder, respectively. Sanchez got 4 1/2 years in prison and Rosales got three.

Two boys were shot in Landsdowne this morning. The gunman remains at large.

A bail hearing is set for today for Teon Hall, the Annapolis man charged in the Ritz Cabaret shooting. According to WBAL (which seems to dish dirt way better than WJZ):

The club's former owner was convicted in 2002 of laundering money and hiring illegal immigrants, mostly Hungarians, as dancers. The club now advertises as "The New Ritz Cabaret" and bills itself as an "upscale gentlemen's club."

Personally, I always liked the Ritz. And I never saw any Hungarians there. I can recognize a Hungarian from a mile away, especially naked.

[UPDATE: Hall was given "no bail" status.]

And lucky for all of us consumerist bastards, Towson Town Center is "reviewing its security." They offer no specifics, of course. I guess they have to look like they're doing something.

And just for shits and grins, check out O'Malley's 2000 plan to drastically reduce crime in Baltimore. Ed Norris, we hardly knew ye. But man, did you have a hairy back.

A choirboy-loving perv who was apparently unsucessfully treated at Hopkins for his predilictions is dead at age 87.

Another arrest has been made in the Annaoplis Noah Jamal Jones murder case.

The City Paper covers the muder of jazz musician Lydell Honeyblue.

Still more about the prison bus murder. Newsfuckingflash, the prisoners shouldn't have been seated next to each other.

Baltimore city is trying to set up cameras to nab illegal dumpers... who for some reason think it's easier to haul a sofa to the park than call 311 or the Salvation Army.

If you're a cop looking for drugs, knocking and immediately barging your ass in is perfectly fine in Hagerstown.

February 19-21

A man was fatally shot last night in Southeast Baltimore.

An employee of the Dundalk In And Out store is in shock trauma after being shot by robbers.

Elsewhere,
Two 18-year-olds from Middle River have been arrested for murdering St. Paul's Dean of Faculty in the parking lot of Towsontown Center.

Two armed robbers stole cell phones and an office safe at Comcast.

The FBI says that the rate of bank robberies in Maryland has hit a new high, more than double the rate of the second most bank-robbed city, L.A.

February 18

A man is under arrest for murder after a double shooting early this morning in front of the Ritz Cabaret (a strip club famous for being the office of fictional kingpin Avon Barksdale in season one of The Wire)

Police are waiting for the results of lab tests before making an arrest in the Linda Trinh murder case.

A circuit court hearing is attempting to determine if a man who stabbed an elderly couple in Rosedale for heroin money in 1998 should have his death sentence overturned on the basis of incompetent counsel.

Elsewhere,
PG county police Corporal Brian Addis (aka Cuffy McNutkick) was aquitted of assaulting a suspect. The jury decided that the officer's actions were "clearly within his rights."

I just discovered the Towson University crime log.

A Chevy Chase woman who killed her landlord has been declared incompetent to stand trial. However, the guy who helped her hide the body in a barn faces five years.

Pregnant private and penal über-sadist Lynndie England's charges have been reduced for unknown reasons.

And back to the city...
Shooting, burglary, robbery etc. in the blotter.
(this makes about the 4th time this month someone's gotten assaulted on East Fayette street).

News of the in the Blackwell guilty verdict has been reported as far away as India. Says the director of a support group for abuse survivors, "Dontee could have tried to run from this, bury this, deny this and let Blackwell abuse again. He courageously chose to face this. That's why we consider him heroic." (Sun photo by Doug Kapustin, left.)

WBAL can't congratulate themselves enough for using their SkyTeam™ helicopter to help police catch a guy who was driving his minivan "like a maniac."

Good news, Chillagers... off-duty cops are now walking the beat around JHU's Homewood campus.

Elsewhere,
Another deadly domestic in Baltimore County. Twenty-four-year-old Deneen Smith is dead and her 23-year-old "boyfriend" is being held without bail. (How dare they call her his 'girlfriend'? Friends don't shoot friends with shotguns!)

Police have arrested a murder suspect in Riverdale (no, not Jughead). Lawrence Irving Green, 22, of Lanham, is suspected of being the psycho jughead who on Monday robbed three people, stole their SUV, wrecked the SUV into another car and then shot the driver of the other car, 41-year-old Robert Gail.

In Ellicott City, a man has to pay local Republicans $328.04 after hacking up pro-Bush signs.

Thursday February 17

State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy announced today that the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Bryant Thompson, 20, of the 300 Block of East 29th Street yesterday in connection with the shooting death of Damon Lamont Brooks, 34. Court documents allege that Thompson shot and killed Damon Lamont Brooks on September 26, 2004 in Brooks’ apartment. Thompson is currently being held on a no bail status. An arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday, March 15 before the Honorable Lynn K. Stewart, 215 Clarence Mitchell Courthouse, 110 North Calvert Street.

First-degree murder charges were dropped against Timothy Horne because prosecutors failed to give him a speedy trial and delayed his case nine times. Horne and his girlfriend, Camille Marie Bivins, were charged in April 2003 with the beating death of Messiah Wright, Bivins’ 20-month-old son. (You'd think this would garner a lot of media shock and outrage, but apparently not). The boy's mother pled guilty in September and is still awaiting a disposition hearing, which was originally scheduled for February 14 but was then postponed indefinitely for unknown reasons.

The Blackwell jury is apparently having a tough time reaching a verdict. BC prediction, not guilty. The jury will think, even though he probably did it, getting shot was punishment enough. Stay tuned...
Well color me wrong! A jury has convicted Maurice Blackwell on three of four child sexual abuse charges. Prosecutor Jo Anne Stanton will be available to speak with members of the media in room 134 of the Mitchell Courthouse at approximately 11:30 a.m. (as in, right now).

A murder victim was named, a pizza deliveryman was robbed an assualted, and a 16-year old was arrested for shooting a 32-year-old man in the blotter.

The suspects in the murder 19-year old of Reshawn Myers were arrested in a HoCo motel. Myers was shot in the forehead on Chinquapin parkway January 20.

Elsewhere,
In Annapolis, grand jury testimony continues regarding the murder of Noah Jones at a party. The case is being investigated for possible federal civil rights violations (aka as a potential “hate crime”).

Also in Annapolis, an 89-year-old woman was raped, beaten and robbed. According to the Sun, her assailant was on probation at the time. (Anyone else noticed that the worst stuff seems to come from Anne Arundel county? What's with that? Has it always been a cesspool of violence or is this a new thing?)

A 21-year-old Towson U student was raped and assaulted off campus in the towers formerly known as Glenmont.

Yesterday's gang-rape story (see below) has turned out to be another case of a 15-year old filing a false report.

An officer responding to a robbery call in Dundalk crashed his cruiser into a tree.

A PG county officer is on administrative leave after a domestic call turned deadly.

Another PG county officer is on trial for assaulting a handcuffed carjacking suspect with a metal baton and kicking him in the 'nads. It was all caught on tape by the camera mounted in his cruiser, and the jury got to watch it all on video yesterday. Oy vay.

A Frederick man's in the can after stealing a charity jar at WaWa.

A 15-year-old is on the way to the Hickey School for stabbing a man in the shoulder on New Year's. The youth had also previously robbed a handicapped person.

A 40-year old cleaning lady in carroll county got a suspended sentence for flashing her ta-tas at a 17-year-old while drunk on the job. She'd also been accused of activities with a 15-year-old boy. And a lady had her purse snatched at the mall.

Wednesday February 16

The City Paper has an in-depth feature on the men who were murdered in January at the Remington halfway house.

Five murders this week and we're up to 42 for the year, including six white guys, says the Murder Ink.

Detectives making references to 'other victims' in the Maurice Blackwell case may get them charged with contempt. Closing statements will begin today.

A pedestrian was killed when he was run over by a suspect fleeing police.

Homicide and robbery in the blotter.

Elsewhere,
Four stabbings in as many days has Jessup on lockdown, and wardens searching cells for weapons.

Police are looking for four men who sexually assaulted a 15-year-old in Millersville.

In Ellicott City, a man got 11 years for stabbing his girlfriend in the parking lot of Howard Community College.

Tuesday February 15

A Baltimore City jury convicted Harold Singfield, 20, of the 1200 block of Ensor Street of second-degree murder, use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and a handgun violation for the death of Wayne Fisher, 30. The verdict was returned late Friday, February 11 following three days of testimony and one day of deliberation.

In the morning hours of May 13, 2003, in the 1500 block of Argyle Avenue, Singfield, Jr. was approached by the victim concerning a drug debt owed to the victim by Singfield, Jr. An argument ensued during which Singfield, Jr. withdrew a .380 caliber handgun and shot Fisher one time. Fisher then attempted to flee but fell to the ground. Singfield, Jr. then proceeded to straddle Fisher’s prone body and shoot him five more times resulting in Fisher’s death. Singfield, Jr. then ran from the scene. Witnesses positively identified Singfield, Jr. as the shooter. Additionally, during the course of his flight from the crime scene, Singfield, Jr. disposed of certain items of clothing in close proximity to the crime scene. These items were subsequently positively matched to Singfield, Jr. by way of DNA analysis. Singfield, Jr. fled Baltimore and was ultimately apprehended in Rock Hill, South Carolina, approximately one month after the murder.

Did you read about that in the Sun? I didn't think so. Maybe tomorrow or the day after. On to more exclusives...

Tanea Bullock and Laurence Watson, charged with first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death in connection with the death of their one-month old son Joshua Watson, were arraigned this morning and pled not guilty. A jury trial was scheduled for May 13 before Judge John M. Glynn.

Shooting, robbery, burglary in the blotter.

Two men have pled guilty to federal gun crimes related to the murder of 17-year-old Shawn Elkins during the course of a robbery.

Elsewhere,
An officer in PG county is charged with assaulting a carjacking suspect.

A man in PG county stole an SUV, shot the car's owner, then proceeded to get into an accident, then shot and killed the driver of the other car. This is PG county's 21st murder this year.

A 22-year-old in Annapolis got 10 years for fatally shooting a man in the neck at a birthday party.

There's underage hookers animal cruelty and canine cannbalism in the Post's Northern Virginia Crime and Justice pages.

Monday February 14

State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy announced today that the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Samuel McFarlin, 24, of the 4700 block of Dunncannon Road, for first-degree murder and auto theft. Court documents allege that on June 6, 2004 McFarlin ran over Dwight Allen Chase, 53, with a stolen automobile. On November 10, 2004, Mr. Chase died from the injuries he received at the time of incident. The defendant is currently being held on a no bail status. An arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, March 10, 2005 before Judge John M. Glynn at the Mitchell Courthouse on 110 North Calvert Street.

Timothy Horne, 32, of Daywalt Avenue, is scheduled for trial 9:00 a.m. tomorrow before Judge David Mitchell at the Mitchell Courthouse on counts of first-degree murder, child abuse resulting in death, reckless endangerment and assault. The maximum penalty for first-degree murder is life in prison. The maximum penalty for child abuse resulting in death is 30 years. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Horne on May 8, of 2003. The indictment alleges that on October 10, 2002 Horne killed 20-month old Messiah Kahil Wright in his Daywalt Avenue apartment. A second defendant, Camille M. Bivins, the boy’s mother, pled guilty to child abuse resulting in death. Her disposition hearing, originally scheduled for yesterday, was postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date.

Another horrifying child-murder case will kick off tomorrow at 9:30 a.m, with the arraignment of Tanea Bullock, 20, and Laurence Watson, 25, also at the Mitchell Courthouse. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Bullock and Watson January 20 for first-degree murder and child abuse for the death of their one-month old infant son, Joshua Watson. Court documents allege that Bullock and Watson killed their baby on January 1, 2005 at their residence on the 4800 block of Liberty Heights Avenue.

Also at the Mitchell Courthouse, the murder trial of Darren Johnson, 22, of the 2800 block of Plainfield Road in Dundalk and Calvin McCrea, 20, of 1800 block Dover Street, is scheduled to begin 9:30 a.m. tomorrow before Judge Kaye Allison. The Baltimore City Grand jury indicted Johnson and McCrea May 5, 2004 for first-degree murder for the death of Robert Jenkins, Jr., 29. Court documents allege the defendants shot Mr. Jenkins to death on April 4, 2004 in the 1800 block of Dover Street.

Bail has ben denied for the guys who shot a physical therapist and then led police on a car chase through the northwestern 'burbs. (at left is drawing of suspect Leon Dent).

Trial continues in the Maurice Blackwell case, and news sources from Philly to Oregon have picked up the AP story. A detective's testimony that Blackwell had molested others prompted the defense to call for a mistrial.

Theft, robbery, attempted murder, etc. in the blotter.

Police officer Gregory Mussmacher was convicted of assault on Friday for beating a handcuffed teenager and spraying him with pepper spray.

Elsewhere,
Keith Clark, 48, of Baltimore was indicted for two counts of robbery in Monroe Township, New Jersey.

And it isn't a victory party in College Park unless some jackasses start fires and damage public property and get pepper-sprayed and/or arrested.

An Eastern Shore man got 22 years in the can for peddling nose candy.

A fight broke out at the civic center in Salisbury.

Hopkins reps are planning to visit the University of Pennsylvania to get tips on making the campus safer. Can you believe Hopkins contributes a paltry $85k a year to the Charles Village benefits district? The rest of the district's $750,000 operating budget comes from citizens. As a nonprofit, the university doesn't pay taxes.

Saturday Feb. 12 and Sunday Feb. 13

Some guy in Ohio has been e-mailing death threats to football player Ray Lewis.

A house owned by Baltimore School for the Arts alum Jada Pinkett has been seized by federal authorities as part of a drug-trafficking investigation.

Even more about the prison-bus stabbing.

Elsewhere,
A car chase in BoCo makes the digest. WJZ has the video.

Judges everywhere are confused by new Supreme Court sentening guidelines.

Friday February 11

Hizzoner's hijinks have made him a Republican threat and an AP story.

The States Attorney's office reports that the sentencing hearing for Camille Marie Bivins, 23, of the 5900 block of Daywalt Avenue, is scheduled for 2:00P p.m. Monday (aka Valentine's day) before Judge Roger W. Brown, 339 Courthouse East, 111 North Calvert Street. Bivins pled guilty to child abuse resulting in death September 29, 2004. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. On October 10, 2002 Bivins killed her 20-month old son Messiah Kahil Wright in her Daywalt Avenue apartment. A second defendant, Timothy Horne, is also charged in this death and is scheduled for trial February 15, 2005.

Stabbing, robbery, etc., in today's blotter.

Judge Allen L. Schwait today convicted Baltimore City police officer Gregory M. Mussmacher, 29, of Hanover, PA, of second-degree assault and misconduct in office. Testimony in this court trial concluded February 7, 2005 and Judge Schwait announced his verdict today and scheduled sentencing for March 29, 2005.

Pugalistic cop Gregory M. Mussmacher could receive a maximum prison sentence of ten years in prison for the second-degree assault count. Misconduct in Office is a common law offense, which means that Mussmacher could be sentenced to whatever period of incarceration a judge deems fair and reasonable. The conviction stems from an investigation by the Baltimore Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division and the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office of the events surrounding the arrest of a 17-year old juvenile on April 27, 2004. Mussmacher assaulted the teen by striking him in the face and with his expandable baton at the Northwest District Station on Reisterstown Road while the teen was handcuffed and shackled. The teen was treated at Sinai Hospital for a laceration to the left cheek and two nondisplaced fractures of the left sinus.

John Sachs III of Dundalk got 15 years for scamming women by pretending to be "Bmores-hottestcop."

More about the men charged in the Harwood firebombing.

More on the prison bus strangling... apparently broken interior lights on the prison bus kept corrections officers from seeing a prisoner being strangled a few feet away. Yikes.

Another Hopkins student is dead, this time it's a suicide, and there's robbery arrests in the Sun's City/County Digest.

Elsewhere,

A seven-year-old stabbing case has been reopened in Hagerstown.

A death-row inmate who wrote the governor asking to die has now changed his mind.

A Middle River man, already in the can, is now accused of trying to get his witnesses killed.

DNA evidence has implicated a serial rapist and robber in cases from the 80's.

Mob-supported car theft is the scourge of MoCo.

The Owings Mills Times' Linda Stowbridge reports that Baltimore County police have charged two men in the burglary of two Smith-Greenspring apartments and are investigating a possible link to a series of burglaries in the area.

A pedophile priest from St. Mary's Seminary has died of natural causes in Boston.

A touching essay about the journalism skills of the late and former News American reporter Lou Linley.

The NYT story about Baltimore's bittersweet streets has hit the newsstands in China and India (also see yesterday).

Thursday February 10

An assaulted officer and a shot robbery suspect in the blotter.

Jury selection has begun in the Maurice Blackwell case. "On Wednesday, Blackwell spoke publicly for the first time ... he compared himself to the biblical figure Job."

More about Ehrlich's personal rumormonger Joe Steffan.

Elsewhere,
The Big Black rapist has struck again, this time in Rosedale. Watch out for cars with tazmanian devil stickers, suburbanites.

A Baltimorean gal's dad has stolen her identity and savings and vanished.

A woman is under arrest for trying to smuggle smack into the Cumberland jail.

There's a lot of drunk drivers in Laurel.

Seven teenagers are in jail for throwing rocks, concrete and other debris at cars from an overpass.

And what does the penis pump judge have to do with Baltimore crime? Not a damn thing.

Wednesday February 9

Four murders this week, 37 so far this year, a spike that reflects two men who were beaten last year but died in January, reports Anna Ditkoff in this week's CP Murder Ink.

Owing in large part to MD's limp-dick intimidation laws, the McAbier firebombing case has gone federal.

At a hearing yesterday morning, Robert Lee Fox, Sr., 65, pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Judge John C. Themelis sentenced Fox to 10 years in prison, suspending all but four years, with two years' probation and ordered Fox to stay away from the victim’s family. On December 7, 1963 Fox murdered 3-year old Howard January by pushing him down a stairwell.

Shot three times, then defrocked, and now Maurice Blackwell is going on trial for boy-fondling. Dontee Stokes gave an interview to the Sun's Julie Bykowicz.

An inmate waltzed out of booking by switching IDs.

For some reason the Big Papers are both covering on B-more's shooty ways today. The L.A. Times published a piece today about Baltimore's "Bleak Math of Killings" (Login "fortheloveofbug", password "menot.com"). The New York Times has an excellent report on our "meaner" streets (but Charles and Pratt is "tony"?). If you're not registered at the NYT use login "downwiththis" password "holahola". And the Sun published a positive editorial about the mayor's Operation Safe Kids program.

And were the O'Malley extramarital-affair rumors started by a player-hater in the Ehrlich administration? Wouldn't surprise me a bit. But I digress...

Elsewhere...

The Rev. James J. Behan, 61, an Oblate priest who lives in Childs, Md., has pled guilty to repeatedly smoking the pole of a high-school boy.

A gun-toting 15-year-old and a mysterious death in Milford Mill in the digest.

Pistol-whipping, road rage and and sword swinging in the Annapolis police digest.

Tuesday February 8

The State's Attorney's office reports that the witness intimidation trial of Erik Johnson, 32, of the 2200 block of Orleans Street and Juan Tucker, 29, of the 700 block of West Fayette Street, is scheduled to begin 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Mitchell courthouse. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Johnson and Tucker May 14, 2004 for intimidating/corrupting/influencing a juror/witness. Court documents allege Johnson and Tucker attempted to intimidate and retaliate against a witness in a pending murder case in Baltimore City Circuit Court.

WJZ is reporting on the Fox murder trial.

And the Sun is now covering the trial of Dwayne Gibson, aka the guy who beat the guy with the crowbar and set him on fire for stumbling in to the wrong yard.

In a case worthy of "The Wire," five members of the North Avenue Boys drug gang have bargained their way into decades-long sentences for charges ranging from dealing heroin and coke to kidnapping and murder of the girlfriend of a member of a rival gang.

Police have arrested freaky-looking Kevin Johns (left) for last week's prison bus murder.

There's a homicide arrest along with the usual crimes in today's blotter.

Elsewhere...

in Annapolis, a son admitted to stabbing his mother 53 times at a Subway shop, and stashing her body in the walk-in.

And Shawn Eric Woodlin, 31, of Annapolis, pleaded guilty to the Aug. 29 shooting of a man outside an American Legion hall in Annapolis.

A man charged with molestation in Randallstown is now charged with double murder in upstate New York.

Police in Pennsylvania are investigating a murder in the Woodside Meadows suburb (wherever that is).

Monday February 7

The murder trial of Robert Lee Fox, Sr., 64, of the 3600 block of 2nd Street, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at the Mitchell Courthouse. Fox was indicted by a grand jury March 11 for murding a three-year-old boy named Howard January 43 years ago. If you've got time on your hands and want to take in a macabre trial from the cold case files, this sounds like the one to see.

The State's Attorney's Office reports that a Baltimore City jury convicted Dwayne Gibson, 20, of the 3900 block of Grantley Avenue, of first-degree murder and two weapons counts today following less than an hour of deliberation and two days of testimony. A court trial will begin at 10:45 a.m. tomorrow before Judge Wanda K. Heard to determine if Gibson is criminally responsible for the murder of Wayne Rideout, 43. On September 28, 2003 Gibson set Mr. Rideout on fire after assaulting him with a crowbar. Gibson is being held at Baltimore City Detention Center.

At a re-arraignment this morning Darryll Purefoy, charged with more than 100 counts of sexual child abuse, pled not guilty. A trial date of March 8, 2005 was set.

Assault, rape and a mugging in Canton in the blotter.

Elsewhere,

There's a big black rapist on the loose in the suburbs.

Gary Neal, a college student and basketball player from Baltimore, will soon be on trial for rape in Philadelphia.

Thanks to "America's Most Wanted" and a snitchy girlfriend, a fugitive slasher from Jersey was arrested in Baltimore.

A man was shot in the street last week on Clay Street in Annapolis, and playtime turned violent between a Glen Burnie man and his much-older girlfriend.

..hey Claire, did you know that Dashiell Hammett is from Baltimore, and dropped out of Poly? I had no idea!

Friday February 4 - Sunday February 6

The Office of the State's Attorney reports that Darryll Purefoy, 34, of the 9100 block of Liberty Road, Randallstown, is scheduled for re-arraignment tomorrow at the Mitchell Courthouse. A Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Purefoy December 6, 2004 on more than 100 counts of sexual child abuse and related other counts. Court documents allege Purefoy had sexual contact with a minor female between the years of 1995 and 2000. Purefoy remains held on $250,000 bail.

Friday, Satrina Roberts was sentenced to 40 years in prison in the child-abuse death of Ciara Jobes (left). On November 18 Roberts pleaded guilty to charges of second-degree murder and child abuse. Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Kaye A. Allison said the girl died after "months of what can only be characterized as torture."

Earlier this week a psycho prisoner murdered a fellow inmate on the bus to the Supermax prison. Outside investigators have been brought in to figure out what happened.

Police officer Gregory M. Mussmacher's trial began Friday. A Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Mussmacher July 2, 2004 with one count of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of misconduct in office. Says Jessamy's office, "The indictment stems from an investigation by the Baltimore Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division and the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office of the events surrounding the arrest of a 17-year old juvenile on April 27, 2004. It is alleged that Mussmacher assaulted this teenager in the 3800 block of Glengyle Avenue after the teen was handcuffed and placed under arrest. It is further alleged that Mussmacher once again assaulted the teen by striking him in the face with his expandable baton at the Northwest District Station on Reisterstown Road while the teen was handcuffed and shackled. The teen was treated at Sinai Hospital for a laceration to the left cheek and two nondisplaced fractures of the left sinus. Mussmacher is currently suspended with pay."

And on Friday football player Jamal Lewis reported to prison in Atlanta.

And the missing monkey has now been returned and a south Baltimore couple has been charged with monkeynapping (aka theft).

Elsewhere,

in Howard county, after two hours a jury found Walter J. Blannon, 39, guilty of participating in the robbery that ended in the death of deli owner Kwang Jun Kim, 53.

In Texas, Sgt. Javal Davis, a seven-year Reservist from Maryland's 372nd Military Police Company who claimed he had abused inmates at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison for only 10 seconds, was sentenced to six months in prison by a military jury. He is one of seven Maryland soldiers accused in the scandal.

A former Towson principal is suing students who charged him with sex abuse in the 70's.

In Harford County this week there was buttlegging and fraus, and Sen. Nancy Jacobs wants to make recruiting new gang members a crime. Jacobs' bill came two months after the shooting death in Edgewood of Derald Guess, a taxi driver and father of nine children. Jacobs said a gang initiation ritual is suspected as a motive. Wayne Lavon Bond, 17, was arrested and charged with murder in the case.

Thursday, February 3rd: Help the baby monkey!

"I feel bad for the monkey most of all because the monkey is who is gonna suffer," says Judie Harrison of the baby Capuchin monkeys stolen this week from a Glen Burnie home. Yes, stolen monkeys. They eat three times a day and if they're not fed, become quite unpredictable. A $1000 reward is offered for the return of the monkeys. Please, if you have information, call (410) 222-8610.

Marcus Byrd was arrested for the murder of Terry Street. Byrd is 20 years old. Street was 23 at the time of his death.

Welcome to Baltimore, now get over it! The story, from the godforsaken Washington Times, reads: "The killing of a Hopkins senior Jan. 23 has underscored the sense of vulnerability students feel in a city where there has been virtually a murder a day since the beginning of the new year." OK, please. One Hopkins student suddenly made the Rev. Moon aware of the murders happening all over town? Yeah, okay, you're gonna get killed while waiting for your triple latte chai at Xando. Ugh. Hopkins students. Go to East Baltimore sometime, willya? Then you can complain.

Elsewhere:

Police in Frederick say that a skull found in the middle of the street was probably stolen from a nearby cemetery.

In White Marsh, a woman was sexually assaulted at gunpoint. So much for being safe in the county.

Tuesday February 1

The murders of two teenagers in West Baltimore bring the year's homicide toll to 31.

The Sun picked up the story of the graffiti on the Arena, and tells us who the mysterious Tyrone Knox is.

An 80-year-old man (left) has pled guilty to defrauding the city school system.

The city is trying to figure out how to deal with officers injured in the line of duty.

The IRS is after the NAACP, and the Baltimore-based nonprofit is refusing to open its books.

Robbery and drug arrests in the blotter.

Elsewhere,

Witness intimidation is on the rise in Baltimore County. I wish the assistant Baltimore County state's attorney hadn't quoted Bob Dylan.

Charles Sealover, a suspect in a Baltimore County murder, has turned himself in.

A Baltimorean is under arrest for the murder of a mom and her daughter in Binghamton, NY.

Police are looking for the guy who robbed a Wachovia bank branch in Milford Mill.

A man in Easton was arrested for ramming the minivan of two moms who he thought were taking too long to order at the McDonald's drive-thru.

In Carroll County, a man and woman were arrested for stealing hillbilly heroin and other perscription drugs from the pharmacy where they worked.

The Hopkins student murder has hit the wire and has been covered from Georgia to California. The school announced plans to spend $2 million to improve security.

Monday January 31

Graffiti on the the wall of the Baltimore Arena

Trial will start tomorrow in the case of Dwayne Gibson, 20, alleged to have murdered Wayne Rideout, 43, by setting him on fire in the backyard of Gibson's home on Grantley Avenue on September 28 of 2003.

An alleged pot dealer and bad driver fleeing the law was arrested in St. Pauls North Carolina, population 2,137 (it's in the southeastern part of the state).

Shootings, stolen cars and burglary in today's blotter.

Kevin Clark's suit against the city can go on, says judge.

After a cameo in the "Stop Snitching" video, Denver Nugget Carmelo Anthony will now be shooting PSAs for the government. "He is a very nice young man," says the Governor's office.

Elsewhere,

Trial continues in the case of Ronald Deondre Evans, who at age 16 was allegedly involved in murdering 18-year-old Kozar Goode during a mugging in Parkville.

Police are looking for whoever keeps robbing hotels in PG County.

Trial starts today in the murder of a Jessup deli owner.

St. Mary's County cops had a "busy weekend", what with a catfight over a television set and a disroderly drunk at the Burger King.

Sunday January 30

Two homicides and two nonfatal shootings in the city yesterday.

Elsewhere...

fatal shootings in Towson and Camp Springs in the city/county digest.

Annapolis residents are concerned about violent assaults in the Eastport area.

The BMW involved in a fatal hit and run in Towson has been found.

The 17-year-old girl who claimed to have been assaulted near Woodbridge Elementary is now accused of filing a false report.