Wednesday, January 18, 2006

January 18

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

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

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

2005 in Review: Happy First Birthday, Bcrime!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

May: Monique Baldwin got 25 years for her role in the beating death of 12-year old Nicole Townes and five years for the abuse of her sister, Brenda Bailey, 11. Kenya Keene, 25, who delayed calling an ambulance, got six years. Former mom Monalisa Mackey pled guilty to killing her 18-month-old daughter Alicia. Ed Norris was working at a soap store in a Florida mall, and six officers were placed on leave after the death of inmate Raymond Smoot. Two policemen were accused of robbing drug dealers and selling the drugs themselves. Says policecrimes.com:
... a federal grand jury indicted Officers William King, 35, of Baltimore, and Antonio Murray, 34, of Abingdon. The five-count indictment alleges that the officers took part in alleged conspiracy to rob drug dealers of their drugs and money beginning last August to the present. Prosecutors said authorities had also bugged the officers' police car. They said that in those recorded conversations, the two officers allegedly asked drug dealers how much money and drugs they had on supply. Miller reported prosecutors' claims that the officers told drug dealers they wouldn't face arrest or prosecution so long as they kept supplying the drugs. In one case, prosecutors said, the officers sold drugs to an FBI agent.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 17

The FBI is asking the public to help track down Lamont "Jamar" Jones and Javon Brewer, the latter of whom has a distinctive tattoo of a man lamping at Baltimore & Gilmor {sic}.

The murder trial of Tamall Parker, 19, and Tracy Love, 21, is scheduled to begin 9:30a.m. tomorrow before Judge Sylvester Cox. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Parker and Love for first-degree murder November 23, 2004 for the shooting death of James Wise, Jr., 30. Court documents allege that on October 13, 2004 Parker and Love shot Mr. Wise 13 times in the 1000 block of Bonaparte Ave.

"Mickey" Hughes, wanted for beating a toddler and put him in scalding water, turned herself in. Not answered: why his mom was living in the Towson Ramada Inn and going to work at 10 p.m.,

Baltimore police identified Jose Mendoza, 40, as the employee shot dead duting a robbery the restaurant La Bahia (not Baha).

A Baltimore City jury convicted Martinez Brown, 26, of the 2300 block of East Chase Street, for the first-degree murder of Kelvin Knight, 18, and sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. tomorrow. The jury also convicted Brown of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. In the early morning hours of December 7, 2003 the victim, Kelvin Knight, was ordering take-out from New Land Chinese Carry Out at the corner of Montford and Biddle Streets in East Baltimore when he observed Brown arguing with a woman. Upon hearing the victim laugh, Brown turned to the victim and said, "Do you think I am playing?" He then pulled out a handgun, put it to the victim's forehead, and shot him three times in the head and once in the chest. As Brown ran from the scene after the murder, an eyewitness disabled him by striking him with his car, thereby allowing police to arrest him at the scene. Another eyewitness identified him at the scene.

What was Darnell Brown involved with before he was shot and left dead on the campus of Saint John's college in Annapolis?

Monday, January 16, 2006

January 16

Hamm: officers will now get rotated out of special units in three years, because that's "the amount of time that helps stop corruption from coming in."

Hagerstown prison's on lockdown after a fight in the yard sent four inmates to the hospital.

A 38-year-old inmate died of a heart attack at the Corrections Center in Glen Burnie. Also in AAC, four generic-sounding robbers on the loose.

Two unidentified men were shot to death in East Baltimore on Friday night, an unidentified man died early yesterday morning after being beaten in West Baltimore on Saturday afternoon, an unidentified man was fatally shot in West Baltimore yesterday afternoon, and a restaurant worker in the Southeastern's Greektown neighborhood was killed when seven people robbed Restaurante La Baha on Sunday night.

A heartwarming MLKJr.'s day tale: the real-life Penny and Seaweed! Shirley Billy got locked up in the Pines Street Jail for Women for having a halfie baby. Her mom bailed her out, she challenged Maryland's miscegenation laws, and she and her husband have now been married for 50 years.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

January 15

What the ?!?!! The only word for the story out of the Southwestern is unfuckinggddamnedbelievable! Scores of city police officers were up to everything, and I do mean everything. Sex in offices with prisoners, stashing drugs on people, stealing cell phones .. a mind-blowing 375 cases will have to be thrown out. Only a handful of officers will be prosecuted by the city for the drug charges, the rest of the cops face federal charges because you can't have a cop testifying against a cop. So RJ's the knocker now... and maybe the bust at the Owl's Nest was not all total BS after all.

Graham D. Buckmaster, 57, was captured in the Cumberland gap. He was wanted for shooting his ex-girlfriend, Lisa Moore, to death, on New Year's Eve .

A woman was shot during a robbery at the Salvo Auto Parts in Woodlawn.

A man's body was found near a mysterious fire at an Essex used-car dealership.

Good news, ladies! The Sun says that even if Roe is overturned, we'll always have legal 'borshuns in our state.

And at my mysteries; take your revenge.
Thus as he spake, he made o'er earth and sky
To spread a fiery blaze of awful light.
Silence was in the heavens, in the green glen
Not a leaf whispered, and all beasts were still.

Stop the presses: a 17-year-old girl bought a beer at the Fuddrucker's in Columbia.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

January 14

Two men were fatally shot in East Baltimore near Aiken and Curtain.

Not to be Confused with Mr. Loverman:shabbaburkeshabbaranksDennis 'Shabba' Burke is back in West Virginia. He was wanted for a murder in Oak Hill WVa. for 11 years and was found in December by Baltimore Police during a Stop-and-Frisk.

Dexter Bert Tyson, 31, had the bad fortune to face federal drug charges for his fifth crack-related felony. He got life without parole. Last week, extremely lucky William Nicholson got just three years for making a living as a cocaine kingpin.

A University of Maryland basketball player, Travis Garrison, is charged with triple ass-grabbery and improper backhanding of a lady at the Cornerstone Grill in PG County.

Nauseating Child Abuse Dept
hughesPolice are seeking 21-year-old Minita "Mickey" Genneetta Hughes, left, accused of scalding a two-year-old boy and fracturing his skull at the Towson Ramada Inn.

Loren Williams, 45, will serve 15 years in prison for videotaping himself sexually abusing a boy in Ocean City.

Friday, January 13, 2006

January 13

Mayor O'Malley was unable to attend a Planned Parenthood event due to the fact that his father, Thomas M. O'Malley, died of a lung ailment January 5. A mass of Catholic burial was held in Rockville.

More than 300 criminal cases in the Southwestern may be dismissed beacuse of the Flex Squad scandal.

It's alleged that Mathaddues Rozier, 25, shot a 15-year-old boy and then his 79-year-old father. And then there's some guy named Gerald Reed involved. I don't know, it's confusing.

The skeletal remains found in Jessup appear to have been homicided.

Robert C. Griffin, 71, is scheduled for a hearing at 2 p.m. today before Circuit Judge Gale E. Rasin. Griffin was found guilty in 1986 of stabbing and strangling 20-year-old Annie Cruse behind the Reptile House in Druid Hill Park. This past November, Judge Raisin granted a motion for new trial due to the results from a recent DNA test.

How retarded: documents from the NSA detail how agents, via a unit of the Baltimore Police, spied on people who were taking children (maybe even disabled children, 4800 York rd is BARC) to Washington DC for the 4th of July. The probable cause: "advised protestors would be demonstrating with 'against the war' signs."

Police Blotter: "a sampling of crimes."

Things got un-bucolic in Carroll County when police shot 23-year-old Jason Woodward.. oh wait, oh wait, no, they didn't... as he pressed a knife into the throat of a 21-year-old woman he'd dragged behind the route 140 Hess station. Or not. Seriously, what is going on at JZ?

Soon, entry-level prison guards may make more than Daily Record reporters.

Aleksandr Dzhanasvili of Pikesville got arrested for posing as a doctor and trying to steal a morphine patch from a patient at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center.

SSQ mall shooting suspect Brian Keith Rose, 21, had also been convicted of stealing a police car.

Maryland's new bill requiring employers with <10k employees to spend 8 percent of payrolls on health insurance has made national news, as has our governor's blatant canoodling with a certain naughty corporation. Next on the liberal agenda: gay wedding reception packages at the Marriott Waterfront and health insurance for everybody.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

January 12

In Greenbelt, James Everett Flood III, 28, got life in prison. Flood was accused of kidnapping and killing Eric Hayes II, a police officer's son.

A shooting, arrests, and a man robbed the "7-Elevent" in the Sun blotter.

Brian Keith RoseBrian Keith Rose, left, is still on the lam, wanted for the carjacking/murder of 31-year-old Warren Fleming. The Sun reveals that Rose was previously charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder three years ago, when he was accused of trying to crash a vehicle head-on into a police car. Those charges were, however, dismissed.

The mean girl who stabbed 15-year-old Kanisha Neal outside of Blake High School in Rockville will be detained for five years as a juvenile.

On the Hill Cafe & Market on John and Mosher in Bolton Hill was robbed last night. Theives broke a door frame and removed the cash drawer. Jessica claims to have sucked it up as a part of Baltimore living but says George muttered something about how much safer things are in Boston.

Here's the lowdown according to Edward Ericson Jr. on the hearing at the War Memorial that went down on January 4. O'Malley gave a speech then left the hearing, pissing off the crowd. Jessamy blasted the police for arresting people without probable cause, noting that in August 408 drug cases fit under the "could not prove" category, and there were 845 loitering cases clogging up t he system. Leonard Hamm made everyone uncomfortable when he was asked to define the 5th amendment and got it wrong. Ralph Tyler, the "Ralph" from yesterday's meeting who is ostensibly acting in loco Mayoris this month, eventually prompted him. Close readers will note that in the handout distributed at the CJCC meeting a week later, the hilarious gaffe still was not corrected. Even funnier: yesterday, before this story was out or I'd even heard about the hearing, my cell phone went off in the middle of the CJCC meeting, playing "Push It". Then after some guy from the police department was like, "was that your ring tone?" and I said, "I plead the fifth!" HA!

Raymond...speaking of a reduction in crime, there's been no response as to why Greg Raymond, the drunk-driving lacrosse coach who skewered his friend's skull on a pole at the Guilford street exit ramp, has yet to be charged with manslaughter.

An editorial by Stephen Crockett in a Maine paper accuses Ehrlich of abusing power and points out that though certain news reporters "are Maryland residents, they cannot talk to their own state government by order of the crazed Republican Governor."

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

January 11

The actions of the police "flex squad" will mean victory for the criminals in dozens of cases in the Southwestern. Meanwhile the police union chief Lt. Frederick V. Roussey (who remarked to the Sun that Police were under pressure from top management to meet arrest quotas) says he feels "like Serpico."

A manhunt is on for Brian Keith Rose, 21, wanted in the Security Square Mall carjacking/shooting death of one Warren Fleming, 31.

Parts of a 26-year-old hispanic man were found along I-95, and now investigators are now looking for a link between that man and a double-murder Sunday morning in Arbutus.

"Murder Ink" covers 12 Baltimore City murders: the last six of 2005 and the first six of 2006.

In one of the most horrific stories recently (even by Baltimore standards), the 18-month-old girl who was killed in Annapolis was beaten to death by her mother's boyfriend, Gerald E. Parker.

David Barnhill, the father who forgot his son was in the backseat of the car, received 18 months probation for the child's death.

A home invasion and sexual assault on an elderly woman in Columbia.

The Annapolis city council is working to expand drug-free zones beyond schools. (Does the idea of a drug-free school in Baltimore inspire cynical laughter in anyone besides me?)

Kevin Delmar Foster was arrested for bank robbery after writing a note to the teller on the back of a business card for a finance company he patronized.

Ahhh... to live in sweet, sweet Carroll County, where banned books get more press than murder, rape, and drug addiction.

The preliminary hearing of Tyrone Bonner, 29, was scheduled for this morning. Court documents allege that on December 15, 2005 Bonner approached the victim of an assault under investigation, verbally threatened the witness and assaulted him with an attempt to intimidate. Based on "statements" Bonner made during the assault the witness identified Bonner as a friend of the suspect in the assault investigation.

Don't miss the new BET reality series, "L'il Kim: Countdown to Lockdown."

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

January 10

Police Behaving Badly Dept.

January 6 a Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted three Baltimore police officers, Jemini Jones, 28, Brian Shaffer, 31 and Steven Hatley, 27, for first-degree rape, conspiracy to violate the rape laws and misconduct in office following an independent investigation. Jurors heard evidence and witness testimony during secret proceedings [as under Maryland law] before returning indictments.

The allegations occurred on December 27, 2005 following an investigation by Officers Jones, Shaffer and Hatley involving two women, aged 22 and 18, near Old Frederick Road. It is alleged the officers transported the women back to Southwest Police District where an officer allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 22-year old female in an office of the Southwest District station located at 424 Font Hill Avenue. Pre-set bails are $100,000 for each defendant. The boys were on something called the "flex squad," which has since dissolved. Local blowhard Warren Brown is involved.
The Southwestern district is struggling to replace officers in the wake of the suspensions.


Things that make you say "No Wonder" Dept.
From today's Daily Record, by Ostrovsky:
"In the wake of public criticism over allegedly unlawful arrests, the Baltimore City Police Department today is set to begin a comprehensive program to educate approximately 2,600 officers on the ins and outs of Fourth and Fifth Amendment law - everything from proper stop-and-frisk tactics to common errors at Central Booking. While such issues are normally covered in some fashion in the officers' mandatory annual in-service training of 35 hours per officer per year (staggered over 42 weeks) this year's program will have a key difference ... in the past major portions of the legal curriculum were conducted by specially trained police officers - not lawyers ... The most significant part of that curriculum is four hours dedicated exclusively to the law and practical applications of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments... from 8 a.m. today ... the Attorney General's office will provide an overview of the Fourth Amendment." --only 35 hours a year to teach 20-something law-enforcement officers about the law?

Two murders in the city yesterday: 33-year-old Ronald Kinzer was shot in West Baltimore while washing his car at a gas station, and 23-year-old Cornell Lemon was shot at a house on Monastery Ave in Southwest Baltimore.

21-year-old Brian Keith Rose (a.k.a. Mitchell Kemp) has been identified as a suspect in the murder of Warren T. Fleming, the man who was shot to death in his car last week at Security Square Mall.

Gerald Edwin Parker was arrested yesterday and charged with homicide in the death of a baby girl. Parker was babysitting the 18-month-old in Annapolis on Saturday when she died.

Cyrus Duvall Robertson, the alleged shooter in Timothy Morris' murder at TGIFriday's in Owings Mills last Friday night, was denied bail.

At the very bottom of the Metro Digest, an article reports that 19-year-old Daniel Allen Brown is being held without bail on an attempted murder charge stemming from last week's shooting at White Marsh Mall. Jonathan Derrell Parks and Travin Rashaad West, both 19, were granted bail.

A Lehighton, PA man named Thomas Moser was found guilty for soliciting sex from minors on the Internet.

Southeast Baltimore drug lord William Nicholson received a three year prison sentence yesterday after prosecutors reportedly broke an agreement they'd made with him.

The Southwestern district is struggling to replace its "flex squad" (the officers that target violence and drugs) in the wake of five suspensions since November.

Maryland Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman asked State Prosecutor Robert A. Rohrbaugh to investigate the "legality of the links" between Gov. Ehrlich's Deputy Chief of Staff Edward Miller and Jack Abramoff.

Monday, January 9, 2006

January 9

The two men who were found dead near a school in Arbutus have been identified as 29-year-old Youani Alvares and 27-year-old Joel Gonzales, both of the 2600 block of Virginia Ave. in Baltimore. The men both died from multiple stab wounds.

The northbound lanes of I-95 were closed for seven hours today due to "a great scattering of the body parts over a wide range of area of the interstate." At about 4:30am, a person was either pushed from a car or walked onto the highway and was hit by multiple cars, none of which stopped.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge John G. Turnbill II signed a death warrant that states Vernon Evans will be executed within a five-day period beginning Feb. 6. Evans was paid $9,000 to kill Scott Piechowicz and his sister-in-law Susan Kennedy in 1983 to prevent them from testifying against drug dealer Anthony Grandison. Kennedy was mistakenly killed in place of Piechowicz' wife.

25-year-old Howard County resident Fallah Johnson has been charged with second-degree rape and "various sex offense and assault charges" for raping a 12-year-old girl in the laundry room of her apartment complex. (Sorry for the editorial comment, but second-degree rape for going after a 12-year-old? WTF?)

WJZ reports on attorney Warren Brown's statement that there's a lack of substance to the rape charges against three Baltimore City police officers. At one point, Brown asked, "What is it--the State's Attorney's Office trying to make the Mayor and the Police Department look bad?"

Dan Rodricks asks men to step up and be mentors to men who are trying to break the cycle of "drugs-crime-incarceration-unemployment."

An implied armed robbery, a real armed robbery (of a 14-year-old boy), and a couple of shootings make up the city's contributions to the Blotter; all the county has to offer is a stolen bench, 2 stolen rocking chairs, and a broken window. (But for what it's worth, there have been at least four killings in the county since the last one was reported in the city.)

Those stragglers who haven't been rounded up under loitering and public nuisance laws had better be careful where they park.

I do Believe that The Greatest City In America's search for a new slogan warranted a nice, long article in the Christian Science Monitor.

Sunday, January 8, 2006

January 8

The two dead men that were found this morning at a baseball field in Baltimore County are being treated as homicide victims.

A human skeleton was found by hunters in a wooded area near Jessup on Saturday morning. Howard County police have not determined a cause of death, but they said the remains appear to be several weeks old.

The Sun has a Department of Justice report that details "serious misconduct" by the FBI in the way they investigated the death of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna.

Saturday, January 7, 2006

January 7

A man fatally shot an acquaintance in the parking lot of the TGIFriday's in Owings Mills at 11:00pm last night. An off-duty VA police officer witnessed the shooting and confronted the assailant, who then exchanged gunfire with the officer. The attacker hid and was sniffed out by a police dog.

On Saturday morning, a prisoner at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center, uh, "escaped by walking off".

Friday, January 6, 2006

January 6

Warren Fleming, the man killed yesterday at Security Square mall, was "described as a role model for aspiring young African-American entrepreneurs." He owned the Cingular Wireless store in the mall, as well as a Cingular store in Catonsville. He left behind his wife, a 7-year-old son, and a 5-year-old daughter. Police are investigating the act as a possible carjacking. A car that witnesses spotted at the scene was found at the Owings Mills Metro station with its engine running. As of 8:00 tonight, no arrests have been made in the murder.

34-year-old Raymont Hopewell is being held without bail on charges including five counts of first-degree murder and three counts of first-degree rape. Hopewell is accused of murdering 82-year-old Carlton Crawford in August, 78-year-old Lydia Wingfield (also in August), 78-year-old Sadie Mack in May, 88-year-old Sarah Shannon in 2002, and 60-year-old Constance Wills in 1999. There is no word on whether Hopewell was involved in last year's murders of Jessie Lee Jr (74), Robert Little (88), or Shirley Chisley (64), but investigators are reviewing cases for possible connections.

Dwight Watson has been identified as the cab driver who was murdered by two teenagers on New Year's Eve.

There is some suspicion of murder in the July 2005 death of Army Sgt. Juwan L. Johnson, a Baltimore resident who was finishing out his active duty in Germany before returning home to his pregnant wife. The Purple Heart recipient had survived a mine attack in Iraq, but according to his family he died from traumatic force to the upper torso.

Unique Coleman remained in critical condition at Shock Trauma last night after being shot 11 times and then giving birth. Her boyfriend, Marcel Foster, was shot once in the buttocks during the alleged carjacking.

Three of the four officers who were suspended with pay from the Southwestern district have been indicted on rape charges related to a woman's claim they forced her to have sex with them after arresting her as part of a drug investigation.

A 40-year-old man was arrested after a 36-year-old woman claimed she escaped from a motel room after being tied up for three days.

In the wake of a September 13 incident where a 21-year-old registered sex offender attempted to randomly pick up a child at Glen Burnie Elementary School (charges were later dropped), Gov. Ehrlich has proposed tough new restrictions against sex offenders.

The second Baltimore County mall shooting of the day occurred yesterday at White Marsh Mall. A group of three men got in a fight with a group of four men, and a shot was fired. No one was hurt, the group of three men was arrested, and the gun was recovered.

30-year-old Baltimore City resident Ian McDonald was sentenced to 20 years in prison for carrying crack, pot, and a loaded gun. He was sentenced in federal court, which is part of a strategy that should go into effect within a month and should result in stronger convictions and sentences. McDonald described himself as "an idiot" for breaking the law, and U.S. Attorney for Maryland Rod Rosenstein agreed with the assessment.

The family that cooks together books together: 39-year-old Sheila Beil was charged yesterday with running a meth lab in Millersville, one day after her husband, Michael Don Beil, was charged.

Baltimore has been named The Country's Fittest City by Men's Fitness magazine. It must be all of the heroin addiction and bullet holes that keeps us looking so fabulous.

Thursday, January 5, 2006

January 5

Police are seeking the person who fatally shot 25-year-old Gregory "Gotti" Ball at about 12:30am Tuesday in the 1300 block of Booth St.

The body of a 15-year-old boy from a North Baltimore group home was found in a railroad tunnel beneath the 2600 block of Greenmount. Vatell Antonio Murray was shot to death and had been dead for several hours when his body was found on Tuesday night. Police have no suspects or motive.

(For those of you who are counting, that makes six murders in the first three days of the year. It took us five whole days to kill six people last year.)

In the area's first shopping mall killing of 2006, 31-year-old Warren Fleming was fatally shot as he stepped out of his car at the Security Square mall in Baltimore County. Fleming was found near the Hecht's entrance at about 10:30 this morning. Police are searching for a silver 2002 Dodge Intrepid (Maryland tags MWH 755).

A 23-year-old pregnant woman who was shot early this morning has been taken to Shock Trauma in grave condition. Doctors are working to save the unborn child, who was due to be born in a few weeks. The woman was found in a car on an I-95 exit ramp after her boyfriend called police from a motel to report that they had been carjacked and he had been shot.

Identities of two New Year's Day murder victims in the Blotter: 16-year-old Ronny Martin was identified as the person found in a parked car on the 2600 block of Marbourne Ave. in Southwestern Baltimore, and 20-year-old Dahun Javon Jones is the man whose body was found in woods on the 3400 block of Spelman Rd. in South Baltimore's Cherry Hill. (Jones had been dead for 1 - 2 days, but his murder counts to the 2006 number.)

Also in the Blotter, a 22-year-old man was shot in the stomach, and a robber held a box cutter to the throat of a female clothing store employee in Canton.

Dan Rodricks profiles Alvester Rozier, the 79-year-old man who was shot to death because his son was involved in a drug dispute. Rodricks comes to an interesting conclusion for Baltimore: no one is to blame for Rozier's death "but punks from the drug life with guns."

Graham Buckmaster was captured as he drove through the Cumberland Gap into Tennessee. Buckmaster is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the New Year's Eve shooting death of 40-year-old Lisa Moore.

Ross Telp was sentenced to 33 years for stabbing his mother to death over an argument about scuffed hubcaps on her car.

The lawyers for dead convicted murderer Stefan Tyson Bell are trying to have his conviction overturned because he was waiting for an appeal when he died. Bell was sentenced to life for beating Joseph Demarest and then burying him alive.

The owner of Keeper's Market in Northeast Baltimore was shot during a robbery. He shot two of the three assailants, who are facing charges of attempted murder and armed robbery.

Police believe eight Harford County armed robberies might be connected.

In Frederick County, 51-year-old Patricia Nicholson was charged with 244 counts of animal abuse. 119 cats and three dogs were taken from her home, along with 184 dead cats. Contact the Frederick County animal control if you're interested in adopting.

In the "Stupid Companies who Make Identity Theft Really Easy" department, H&R Block sent out mailers that contained the recipient's name, address, and Social Security number on the outside of the envelope. The company played down their mistake by claiming it only happened on 3% of the mailings, and it won't happen again. No official word on whether it was "only" 3% of 10 envelopes or 3% of 6,000,000.

Michael Dronet was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison for an illegal house-flipping business.

Air bags have been stolen from 16 Honda Civics between Ellicott City and Laurel.

And last but not least, there are some interesting comments under yesterday's post from Galt, who attended the public meeting on the BPD's arrest policies. The Sun also summarizes the meeting, stating Mayor O'Malley and Commissioner Hamm appeared before a "mostly defiant crowd".

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

January 4

Sun columnist and longtime Baltimore writer Michael Olesker has resigned under suspicion of plagiarism. I'm usually infuriated by cases involving lying and/or inept journalists, but on the surface this looks like a witch hunt to me.

Kevin J. Johns Jr., the man accused of strangling Philip E. Parker Jr. on a prison bus travelling from Hagerstown to Baltimore, will be tried in Baltimore County. Johns' attorneys were hoping for a Howard County trial since prosecutors there don't seek the death penalty as often as those in Baltimore County.

Joseph John DiAngelo Jr. pleaded guilty to assault and witness intimidation charges after paying two men $50 each to beat witness Vincent Harmon with table legs. One of the attackers was fatally injured when Harmon fought back. The initial crime stemmed from a roofing dispute regarding a duplex that was owned by the DiAngelo and Harmon families.

A public hearing is scheduled at 4:30pm today regarding the Baltimore Police Department's policies of arresting people on minor offenses yet never charging them with a crime.

A look at "Justice Monday" and difficulties facing former inmates as they attempt to re-enter society.

Four BPD officers have been suspended after allegations about illegal drugs and sex in the Southwestern District.

Christopher Marshall pleaded not guilty to running a meth lab in Anne Arundel County. He has been released and must report to a 28-day drug program.

Information in the Sun on corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff's ties to a company founded by Gov. Ehrlich's Deputy Chief of Staff Edward Miller. (I originally listed the company as being founded by Gov. Ehrlich. My mistake.)

In the Sun's Metro Digest, a 24-year-old drunk driver hit an ambulance with her Honda Civic, and a 77-year-old woman was conned out of $1,400 in a phone scam.

Montgomery County Circuit Court judge John Debelius ruled yesterday that mooning people is not illegal. However, Debelius was quoted as saying the the trial could have gone differently had defendant Raymond McNealy been charged with "being a jerk."

"Murder Ink" is missing from this week's City Paper, but the editors promise it will be back next week.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

January 3

Work continues on a plan to imprison violent felons who carry guns in the city.

On that note, the Metro Digest reports a 20-year-old was shot in the stomach in Southwest Baltimore; his name and condition are unknown, and there is no known motive or suspect in the case. In the Blotter, an unidentified man in his mid-20s was in serious condition after being shot at 3:00pm on New Year's Day, and police are seeking information.

An officer at the Library of Congress shot his wife and was involved in a four-hour standoff with police in AccoKeek, MD.

Baltimore police have made four arrests in last week's home invasion and rape in Woodlawn.

ABC2 reports that Calvert County police are seeking a white GMC pickup (Maryland tags 85N235) owned by Graham Buckmaster in relation to the shooting death of Buckmaster's ex-girlfriend, Lisa Moore.

Montgomery county is working on legislation that will make driving without a license punishable by jail time. An advocate says the bill unfairly targets illegal immigrants.

Crimes against Annapolis' population of Hispanic immigrants appear to be on the rise.

Police continue to investigate the church robbery in Harford County, and a reward for information leading to an arrest has been established.

Monday, January 2, 2006

January 2

I just returned from vacation and will begin updating the site. Thanks for the offers to send me info. Chuck

A big start for 2006 with four murders between 1:45am and 9:30pm on January 1. 21-year-old Stephanie Mills was shot as she tried to break up a fight; 49-year-old Michelle Denton's throat was cut by her boyfriend; an unidentified man's body was found in Cherry Hill (it appears he was killed on Friday or Saturday, but his death will go on the record for 2006); and another unidentified man was shot and killed in Southwest Baltimore. It took four days for Baltimore City to reach four homicide victims last year.

The article above also mentions murder #269 for 2005: an unidentified taxi driver was fatally stabbed by two teenagers in West Baltimore on New Year's Eve.

It seems like the "Baltimore's Murder Rate Dropped!" articles are already starting to appear. I understand that nine less deaths is a big deal, but from the little I know of statistics, a 3% movement in either direction can be considered more of a statistical anomaly than a true change.

A 20-year-old man in Howard County killed his father, who was attacking the man's mother. The Sun's article briefly looks into gender issues in Chinese culture.

In Calvert County, 40-year-old Lisa Moore was shot to death by her 57-year-old ex-boyfriend, Graham Buckmaster. A protective order was in place, but Moore's family claim's police officers didn't enforce it since Buckmaster's family is prominent in Calvert County.

26-year-old Gerald Reed has been arrested for the attempted murder of 25-year-old Mathaddues Rozier and for the murder of Rozier's 79-year-old father.

New Year's day robbers in Harford County held about 50 attendees of a church service at gunpoint and stole their cash and valuables.

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke is pushing for legislation that will allow police to close corner convenience stores in drug-infested neighborhoods for up to six hours each day. Dealing is usually heavy around the local stores, and the six-hour timeslot would be determined by when dealers are busiest in a neighborhood.

Two shootings and a whole lot of robbery in the Police Blotter.

An interesting article in the Sun about Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein and what his office is doing to combat crime in Baltimore.

Thursday, December 29, 2005

December 30 - January 10

The head cybrarian is on vacation. Please leave a message.

December 29

Early this week, says Gus, was one of the deadliest 24-hour periods of the year, bringing the murder total to 267 (and if it's really that low, it's not from a lack of trying). Fatalities included Alvester Rozier, 79 and Travis Harris, 15.

The man on fire on Christmas Eve on 83 in Hereford been identified as Wesley Cleon Person, 26, of PA.

WJZ: "Croften" teen Thomas Reimann opened fire on parents with semiautomatic.

Dennis "Shabba" Burke, aka Tyrone Blackwell, was arrested in Baltimore for the 1994 murder of 22-year-old Richard Jones of Oak Hill, WVa.

In Columbia, a man named Harsh Thakkar was shot in the parking lot of Bennigan's.

A 24-year-old woman was sexually assaulted during a home invasion in Woodlawn.

An 18-year-old is being charged with manslaughter after a drunk driving wreck that killed teens Zachary Ondrish and Keith Flem.

A man was arrested for running a meth lab in the 'deener

A variegated plethora of east-side criminal activity in the Dundalk Eagle "Crime and Punishment 2005" feature.

Post: Crime reduction is "O'Malley's biggest accomplishment". Mmmkay... well... anyway... the story does go on to have some interesting tidbits: more than four-fifths of the year's murder victims had criminal records, and the victims had been arrested on drug charges an average of 3.5 times. And for some reason Doug Duncan passed out a flier about the guy who was beaten to death with a cane (most smacked-out city in America, indeed).