February 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

February 6

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore's first dedicated domestic violence court opens today.

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

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

Internet hunting is really weird.

February 5

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

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

Vernon Evans is scheduled to die tomorrow.

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

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

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

February 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

February 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tion Jamaar Bell turned himself in to Howard County police.

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

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

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

February 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

February 1

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

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

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

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

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

Vernon Evans sent a DVD to the governor.

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

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

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

January 31

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

A city judge denied Vernon Evans' appeal.

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

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

Who knew that making counterfeit bus passes was so lucrative?

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

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

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

January 30

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 29

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

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

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

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

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

January 28

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

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

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

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

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

Robert Smith of Aberdeen was arrested for impersonating an EMT.

January 27

Two children and an adult were shot in the Southwestern.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 26

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 25

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ehrlich to immigrant children: drop dead!

January 23

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

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

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

January 22

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 21

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 20

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

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

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

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

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

January 19

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

SSQ mall murder suspect Brian K. Rose was arrested.

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

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

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

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

Dept. of Bad Sex:

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

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

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

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

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

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