41st-Street Approval Index

Most-applauded Mayor's Christmas parade participants:
15. Fancy horses
14. The horse that pooped
13. Vietnam Vets
12. Ravens mini-motocycles
11. Charm City Rollergirls
10. Dulaney flag girls and band
9. Underdog as Winter Fairy
8. Steam Calliope
7. Hampden Red-Hat Ladies in Duck Boat
6. Sarbanes
5. O'Malley, wife and kids
4. Mary Pat Clarke- people love her!
2. Boumi lawn-mower-engine carpets/ Edmondson Village Steppers (tie)
and, for the fifth year in a row,
#1 most-cheered= the guys who clean up behind the horses!

"Miss Marylands" in the Parade: six
Most popular thrown candy: Tootsie rolls
"" "", populous dancers: Peruvian Bolivian puffy-sleeve dancers
Most popular media guy: Ron Matz

least popular car ... Sheila Dixon's!
Crickets!
(She looked cold and miserable, too!)
The teeming multitudes really do seem to dislike her!
Why would that be?

December 2

A man was shot near Monroe Street and Penrose Avenue; a 13-year-old girl cut off a teenage boy's thumb; a woman was abducted from a gas station in he 1400 block of Washington Blvd. and raped.

A Federal Judge refused to dismiss the NAACP/ACLU lawsuit against the police department.

Judge Heard yesterday denied a motion to have rape charges dropped against two members of the "flex squad."

Godfrey Bonsu and wife, Victoria Boateng were sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison, and 11 years three months in prison, respectively, with each sentence followed by five years of supervised release, for running a drug-courier business from the Takoma Park Quality Inn.

Rabbi David Kaye, featured on "Dateline NBC," got 6 1/2 years in prison for trying to solicit sex from (someone he thought was) a 13-year-old boy (but was really a 26-year-old worker from Perverted Justice).

Lots of stolen cars, bikes and $s in the Northern.

Yay! Underdog will be at the parade tomorrow!

December 1

John Gaumer's statements will be allowed in court.

A five-month-old Cecil County boy was murdered.

Sad: a hit-and-run driver hit and killed a child in a stroller.

Police have arrested a 15-year-old boy for allegedly stabbing his 17-year-old brother to death this morning in East Baltimore [249]. The 17-year-old stumbled out of the house, collapsed and died on the 1100 block of North Chester.

At arraignment today, Shanda R. Harris pled not guilty to reckless endangerment. Court documents allege that between July 1, 2005 and July 30, 2006 Harris allowed convicted child sex offender Melvin Jones access to her children after being notified that he was a registered child sex offender. The decomposed body of her 15-yar-old son, Irvin, was found July 31 in a wooded area at Clifton Park Golf Course after he'd been missing for three days. Shanda Harris remains held at the Baltimore Detention Center on $50,000 bail. A jury trial is scheduled for February 15, 2007 before Judge Allen L. Schwait.

The U.S. prison population has hit a record high, with 7 million people in jail or on probation or parole.

Samuel Pounds, 30, of the 2800 block of Sanafae Avenue, pled guilty today to one count of reckless endangerment. Judge Kaplan sentenced Pounds to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised probation, and ordered Pounds to complete a parenting, submit to drug and alcohol screening, complete an anger management course and to stay away from the victim and the victim's family. On October 27, 2006 a co-defendant in this case, Tia Whitehead, pled guilty to one count of reckless endangerment. The court set a sentencing date of December 27. Reckless endangerment carries a maximum prison term of five years. On June 16 Pounds chained a 15-year-old-girl to a bed in an upstairs bedroom at a house in the 3200 block of Beehler Avenue. The girl was not discovered until three days later.

A double shooting on the 3000 block of White Avenue and Harford Road, a shooting on the 1000 block of West Lanvale, a shooting on the first block of South Conkling; no one was killed. Also a murder arrest, a boy shot with a paintball gun and lots of robbery.

Can I get a witness? With only two people working the relocation program, and many witnesses refusing protection or to stay out of their old neighborhoods, knocking off witnesses can be remarkably easy.

A fourth teen was arrested for stabbing Paul Jones. A fifth suspect, 16-year-old Antoine Martin, is still at large.

A 16-year-old Glen Burnie boy was stabbed in a fight over a cell phone.

Michael Sapko of Arbutus pled guilty to possession of 86 images of sadistic child porn.

A police-involved auto accident on Fulton and Pratt last night.

Sun: criminals are becoming more forensic-science saavy.

November 30

A man was found shot to death on the 3800 block of Towanda Avenue early this morning (248).

The City Grand Jury indicted Kendrick McCain, 15, of the 700 block of McCabe Avenue. for first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and conspiracy to commit robbery. Court documents allege on November 7 Kendrick McCain and three other persons approached Nicole Edmonds and her brother as they exited the MTA Light Rail Train at the West North Avenue station. Nicole's brother was thrown to the ground and a jacket was pulled over his head and that as Nicole ran away, she was chased, caught and fatally stabbed by McCain. McCain is held without bail at the Baltimore Detention Center.

The family of Josie P. Brown had to listen to a tape of UMBC student John C. Gaumer recounting how he sexually assaulted her, beat her to death and then dismembered her to cover his tracks, like he learned on CSI. Her beating death was also recorded on her cell phone. But, Gaumer says, he beat her with his head turned because "I don't have a good stomach for blood."

Ameer Taylor's first-degree murder trial was scheduled to start this morning... no word yet on if it actually did.
Update: Postponed until March 1 of next year.

A 17-year-old was shot in the back and died in Landover.

The drunk Mexican who killed Marine Cpl. Brian Mathews on Thanksgiving is an illegal immigrant.

A dice game may have been behind the stabbing of Paul Jones at Southwestern High. Three teenagers have been arrested and charged as adults.

In Upper Marlboro, the 13-year-old who killed his mother Katrina Powe and brother Mystery Hillian with a knife and ax handle pled "involved."

HoCoPoPo are looking for two pervs: a flasher in a grey car and a man who tried to grope a 13-year-old girl.

Also in HoCo:
A former firefighter, Joseph Schroen, pled guilty to arson.

There may be liquor in the front, but no poker in the rear.

November 29

Andre Alexander, 21, was shot to death on the front steps of his home on the 4300 block of Fairfax Road in the Northwest (247).

The Ink: Five murders last week, 246.

• Tereem Tayor, 21, 1700 block of W. Saratoga Street
• John Dowery, 38, 700 block of Bartlett Avenue (more on that story in the Sun today)
• Shawn Reed, 32, 400 block of East 22nd Street
• Undentified man; age unknown, 5100 block of Reisterstown Road
• Bernard Simon, 14, 1200 block of Shellbanks Road.

Paul Jones (!), a 20-year-old student at Southwestern High (?) was stabbed behind the school in the chest by an 18-year-old, who's still on the lam.

Demetrious Williams, 18, was charged in the beating death of Cecil Saunders, 28, an employee of Executive Inn Motel in the 3600 block of Pulaski Highway.

More details about the murder of one-month-old Joshua Watson. Warning: deeply depressing.

A man was shot in the wrist in the parking lot of Waverly Shopping Center; a man was shot in the back and arm in the 600 block of Mosher Street.

A Reisterstown Road jewelry store is allegedly a front for a drug-money laundromat. Owner Eugene Petasky was arrested Monday night. Petasky, 56, lives in Pikesville and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Children's Cancer Foundation.

What a great idea: Frederick police are posting open arrest warrants on their Web site.

W. David Stoffregen, former president of mechanical contracting firm Poole and Kent Co, pled guilty yesterday to racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and filing a false tax return, and has agreed to testify against his codefendant, former state senator Thomas L. Bromwell.

More on the death of HoCo Marine Cpl. Brian Mathews, killed by a drunk driver a day after he returned from Iraq.

Ew, ew, ewie ew. A Westminister housewife, Melissa Lynn Kozimor, 27, got five years of probation (14 years suspended) for sexually abusing two teenage girls and having intercourse with a teenage boy while her husband and daughters were sleeping upstairs. She blames alcohol and PPD. Speaking of sexually offensive females, what the hell's going on with Britney and all the clam shots? Three in one week! (Warning: don't open that link at work .. or if you're easily offended!) But seriously, if she was an old man, she'd be in jail!

Speaking of grody flashers: County police arrested peeping tom/flasher Clinton Gardner, 38 (left). How much would you freak out if you saw that guy out your window?!

Headline of the day: "Md. Residents Say Dead Cat Smell Remains"

Greg Kane uses the word "Brobdingnagian" in a timely essay about the selective application of racial sensitivity.
Here's my question: as my 5-year-old pointed out, nobody actually has black skin, so why do we use that term?
And what's up with "African-American"? Doesn't that imply someone is only half an American, a recent immigrant?

ps. I'll be on the Ed Norris show on 105.7 this Friday from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Tune in!

November 28

Tannea Bullock and Lawrence Watson plead guilty today in connection with the January 2005 death of their one-month old infant son, Joshua. Bullock plead to manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and child abuse resulting in death, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. Lawrence plead guilty to reckless endangerment and was sentenced to time served. In accordance with the terms of the plea agreement announced in open Court, Bullock is scheduled to be sentenced January 30, 2007. She faces a maximum sentence of 20 tears with a referral to Patuxent Institution. Statement of Facts:

On January 5, 2005 at their residence in the 4800 block of Liberty Heights Avenue, Bullock and Watson said that they awakened at 5 a.m. and found Joshua cold and unresponsive. Watson called 911. Emergency operators performed CPR and rushed Joshua to Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner found loop-shaped scars and signs of blunt force trauma to the right side of Joshua's body, skull fractures, hemorrhaging and contusions of the brain and 27 healing fractures to his torso. Bullock later admitted "the baby was crying and I just snapped."

Philip Carter, 18, pled guilty to robbing and beating Sun reporter Carl Schoettler, and another, less-famous old man.

More on the triple-shooting of teenagers in Cherry Hill. Says the Sun, Bernard Simon, 14, was the city's 246th murder.

A woman stabbed her babydaddy to death in Woodlawn.

The Court of Appeals is going to start Webcasting arguments, so we'll all get to watch the gay marraige thing go down.

In AAC, Albert Givens is going on trial for murder for the fifth time.

The big fat convenience-store robber turned himself in. Joseph Gregory, 33, claims to be a crackhead (I thought that made you skinny?)

Here's part two of the Benjamin Garris story.

The Tribune Co. has turned down he offer by a group of local investors to buy the Calvert Street birdcage-liner factory.

How much does Mrs. J hate the gov-to-be? She wished jury duty upon him!

November 27 evening

Correction: the person who told us about the 6th season was full of it! Sorry! Number five is the end!

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Stephens Zukael, 19, for first-degree murder, deadly weapon, reckless endangerment and first-degree arson in connection with the beating death of Marcus Rogers. Court documents allege Zukael was last seen with the victim on surveillance camera prior to his death. An arraignment is scheduled December 20, before Judge John P. Miller, 428 Mitchell Courthouse. Assistant State's Attorney Dianna Smith will prosecute this case.

We love a conspiracy!

So, about 19 of BCrime readers polled think that the unclassified 341 deaths from 2004 are the result of some kind of incompetence, while 18 believe it's a political conspiracy. That seems to be giving everyone downtown a whole lot of credit. But if it was one, guess it worked!

November 27

Three teenage boys were shot last night in Cherry Hill; one has died. (244)

In Harford County outside the VFW, Rondale Guy of Havre de Grace was shot twice and a woman was assaulted.

Fake $100 bills from South Ossetia, Georgia have been found in Baltimore (as well as NY, Newark and Buffalo).

A fat white guy with a ponytail and a dark red pickup truck robbed four convenience stores in one day.

Theft, robbery, burglary. Yawn.

The governor-to-be is due at the courthouse this morning ... for jury duty! Hizzoner has also served once before, serving as foreman in the case of "an unemployed flutist who complained of being squeezed in the door of a bus while trying to catch a ride to a pet store to buy fish food."

November 26

Indeed, James Dowery was a witness in the murder trial of two men, Tamall Parker and Tracy Love. Dowery had been threatened and had been shot before, but testified anyway.

An off-duty officer shot two men who tried to rob him in South Baltimore.

A 20-year-old man was found dead in the parking lot of the Panera Bread Co. on York Road in Lutherville. Also, someone apparently had plans to burn down apartment buildings near TU.

Kids these days...

Rodricks: "The 16-year-old and the 15-year-old accused in the killing of the 17-year-old did not appear out of thin air." Meanwhile, Jessamy plans to study our young "street urchins."

For the second time in a week, a teenager was shot in Anne Arundel County.

The Feds are trying to revoke $2.5 million of school money because officials can't prove funds were spent appropriately. Speaking of school, today the NYT has a story about the achievement gap between poor and middle-class students. Interesting tidbit: a study found that professional parents talk to their kids almost three times more than parents on welfare.

The Frederick News-Post tells the tale of Benjamin Garris, who at the age of 16 murdered psychiatric nurse Sharon Edwards.

The Cordish Co. is being sued in New York for various torts related to their Tiki Bob's bar allowing underage drinking.

That's some killer office furniture ... Maryland Correctional Enterprises sold $42.8 million worth of goods last year without an internet presence ($3.8 million in sales were from license plates).

November 24

John Dowrey, 38, was shot to death on Thanksgiving at the Kozy Korner bar (243).

November 22

Ink: Three murders last week, 241 this year.
Alfred Williams, 26; Lamont Jackson, 21; Dennis O'Neil Bryant, 38.

A 19-year-old man was shot to death last night. (242?)

Murders committed by juveniles are up. or, as JZ puts it,
'This allegation We cannot continue to loose so many of our future leaders to such senseless violence. Our community cannot accept these numbers. added Marty Burns'

"Sometimes you make some crazy mistakes."
That's as close as Carl Preston Evans Jr. (left, from mugshots.com) has come to explaining why he stabbed, beat and strangled his 13-year-old stepdaughter to death, then set the family's Essex rowhouse on fire. Evans got life plus two 15-year-sentences.

Police cameras led to an arrest for the October 22 murder of Joel Bradley.

Ciara Jobes' grandmother won a $15 million lawsuit against Jobes' murderer, Satrina Roberts. Roberts is serving 40 years for second-degree murder and child abuse.

Since the two rape allegations against officers this year,
male officers aren't supposed to be left alone with female suspects, and the City Council wants cameras in interrogation rooms.

Gregory Kane reminds us (like anyone living this town could forget) there's no such thing as the right not to be offended. But how great it would be if there were ...

November 21

Mums went tits-to-the-wind at BWI to defend the right to breastfeed.

"It's always like this, the columnist coming in after the funeral."
(... unless, of course, you're one of 2006's 236+ murdered citizens ignored by columnists).

"New, chilling details" in the shooting of brother and sister Marcus and Nicole Edmonds, 16 and 17. The siblings were shot by two teenagers for their cell phones; Nicole died from her injuries.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Tavon Berson Tyner, 22, of the 2500 block of W. Lanvale Street, and Donte Lamont Tyner, 22, of the 3700 block of Brownbrook Court, for first-degree murder of Darrell Artis. LaTosca Octavia McCullough, 26, of the 3400 block of Gaither Road, was indicted for accessory after the fact in connection with the homicide. Court documents allege that on September 7, 2006, a Nissan Quest Van driven by LaTosca McCullough was parked on a parking lot in the 7100 block of McClean Boulevard along with Darrell Artis, Tavon and Donte Tyner. An argument started between Artis and Donte Tyner, which escalated to a fistfight. Donte Tyner produced a handgun and shot Darrell Artis several times, then fled the scene along with Tavon Tyner and LaTosca McCullough. Artis died from his injuries the same day. An arraignment is scheduled for December 15, 2006 before Judge John P. Miller.

Question: what happens if you need an ambulance, fire truck or cop in Israel on a Friday night or Saturday? Do a bunch of Shabbos goys work one day a week, or what? I guess the question is, do the Orthodox make allowances for first responders a la , David Brown?

November 20th

Simon Fitzgerald was kind enough to pick up my slack today. For all the stuff he wrote, please check the comments section for the November 18th entry. Actually updating this blog every day is turning out to be a lot tougher than I expected. When does Mrs. Cybrarian come home again?

A couple of things I wanted to add to Simon's stuff:

Two guys have been arrested for an October murder in Annapolis. One thing I noticed is that Hometown Annapolis asserts that "Johnson's death was the seventh homicide in the city this year and the 19th in the county. Since his death, one more person, Jay Steven Fayne, 52, from Severna Park, was killed," even though there has been at least one more homicide, possibly two, in AAC since Fayne (Joel Young, whose killing may or may not considered justified, I haven't read anything about a decision being made on this; and an as-yet unidentified guy killed in Brooklyn Park). PLUS, multiple news sources keep repeated this "seven murders in Annapolis this year" figure. I've only ever read about six, plus one guy killed by Annapolis Police, which we should all know by now is not supposed to count towards the official murder tally.

And, in keeping with my favorite theme ("all the local news outlets around here totally suck"), WUSA's article about the Annapolis mall shooting doesn't add anything to the Sun article that Simon posted, but is entitled "Mall Shooting Started At Nearby High School," which implies that there was actually shooting occurring at Annapolis High, when in fact what started there was the argument which eventually culminated in the shooting, which was wholly confined to the mall. Sigh.

November 18th

In Metro Digest (after the food bank story), a guy was shot to death in Upton and another guy was shot a bunch of times and may or may not be dead or dying in Ellwood Park.

One of the four people believed to be responsible for the stabbing death of a 17-year-old girl at a light rail stop has been apprehended.

Here are a few more details in the other day's murder-suicide in Sparks.

A woman in Glen Burnie was convicted of shaking her 15 day old baby to death last year.

Kids in Annapolis just can't get enough of fighting in school.

Brian Doyle, the Homeland Security internet pervert, has been sentenced to 5 years in Florida.

Another Maryland pervert has been arrested down south, this one for murder.

Good old ABC7 doesn't realize that there are Caroline Counties in both Maryland and Virginia. This incident obviously took place in Virginia, and even has "Va." in the headline, but when you click on the "Maryland" tab on their front news page, this article is listed in there.

More November 16th

A fatal shooting in Brooklyn Park last night brings Anne Arundel County's murder total for the year up to 16 (I think). Please note this does not include Annapolis, since they have their own police force that handles its own murder investigations, or any of the prisoners/prison guards that have been killed in Jessup this year, since that's state property.

Also, a double shooting at a business park in Sparks, north of Hunt Valley. WJZ is calling it a "double homicide," but WBAL and The Sun only say "double shooting" and don't know the conditions of the victims. So far, the Baltimore County Police Dept.'s press releases page has nothing about it.

UPDATE: Less than ten minutes after I posted that, WJZ changed their article from "double homicide" to "murder/suicide." Still the same link, though.

Last night during a robbery in West Baltimore, a cab driver was shot in the balls.

I always forget to check the Examiner. Galt brought this article about the undetermined deaths thing to my attention. It's not very in-depth or anything, but it's at least interesting for the breakdown of the causes of death in these cases.

November 16th

Donta Allen surprised everybody yesterday by pleading guilty to the murder of Linda Trinh.

The owner of Club Malibu is sick of the cops and the liquor board constantly harassing him over trivial matters like having too much dried blood on the dancefloor and his patrons engaging in 200-person brawls, and he hilariously suggests that some rival bar is behind it. Matt Jablow: "I don't even want to dignify that remark."

Crime is up in the County.

OK, everybody, now you can start running stories about the fourth body found in Harford County being ID'd.

Our oldest murder suspect this year has died in jail before ever coming close to making it to trial.

Today's rather bare-boned police blotter details the closing of two of this year's other murder cases.

Resident reaction to Tuesday's murder in Salisbury. I'm pretty much only including this because it very briefly mentions Baltimore, and I found it interesting that this year Salisbury has tied its previous record for most murders in a year ever.

In Calvert County, crime consists of drunk driving, smoking weed, stealing beer, and throwing pumpkins at mailboxes.

Good news, homeless sex offenders! You don't have to register!

Why wasn't it like this when I was a kid?

Once again, this is DC news, not Maryland news, but when I read it, I thought I was losing my mind.

November 15th

So, The Sun's murder count was (sort of) right, there was another murder that was never reported until today, even though it happened a week and a half ago. The catch is that it wasn't until more recently that anybody realized that the victim was wanted for a shooting in Columbia. Nobody cares if another person dies in Baltimore, but everyone cares about Howard County!

Other than that one, according to Murder Ink the Sun got all the other ones. Anna Ditkoff points out that her records indicate that there have been 240 official murders this year, but the police (and The Sun) say 238. For a minute I thought she was counting the two people killed by police that are listed this week, but I just checked my own spreadsheet and she's right. Hmm.

UPDATE: Wait, I take it back, she's wrong. Two of the murders in my spreadsheet that I was counting were people getting shivved at the City Detention Center, meaning they were wards of the state at the time of death, so it's not within the city police's jurisdiction. And, I just noticed that she had the right number last week, so she DID count the two people shot by cops (one incident it wasn't even a city cop, it was an MTA cop). Doesn't she know, after 2+ years of doing Murder Ink, that isn't how it works? Why isn't she including the other four people that have been killed by police in the city this year?

In today's blotter, a weird burglary in Roland Park and a shooting in CHM, among other things. Yesterday's blotter has the identity of Saturday's murder in Mount Holly (you say Walbrook, the Baltimore Dept. of Planning says "to-mah-to"), shootings in Poppleton and Milton-Montford and a lot of robberies and stuff.

Salisbury had its sixth murder of the year last night. They had one last year.

That's all for now. I'm definitely going to do at least one more update today, I just thought I should throw something up here real quick since I didn't post anything yesterday.

WTF was that?

So I was on Coldspring Lane going east a few minutes ago, coming off of 83, waiting at the light on Falls Road with Grandma Cybrarian on the passenger side, and the lady in the car next to me, which was a gold Chevy of some kind started leaning on the horn. I was like, "Mom! No! Don't roll down the window!" but she's from Georgia so she did, and the lady driving held out (what looked like but who knows, from 15 feet away in the dark) a police badge and motioned for us to pull over. I was like, "sorry, no, I'll follow you to the Northern back there, but I'm not going to pull over." And she said, "okay, well, you need to slow it down on the driving," and I said okay, and she sped off.

So was it really an undercover cop in an unmarked car, or did we almost get jacked?!
I don't know, but either way ... know where your local police stations are and don't pull over for anyone in the city if you're not sure who they are!

November 13th, evening edition

Mrs. Cybrarian forwarded me some press releases today from the State's Attorney's Office:

Baltimore, MD - November 13, 2006 - The murder trial of Donta Maurice Allen, 28, of the 3000 block of Matthews Street, is scheduled for 9:30 AM tomorrow before Judge Roger W. Brown, 406 Mitchell Courthouse East, 110 North Calvert Street. Jury selection is expected to begin at that time followed by pre trial motions. Opening statements are expected to begin 2:00PM Wednesday.

The Baltimore Grand Jury indicted Allen on April 15, 2005 for first-degree murder and first-degree burglary.

The indictment charges Allen with the murder of Linda Trinh, 21. Trinh, a Johns Hopkins University student, was found dead in her off campus apartment, 3333 North Charles Street, January 23, 2005.

Allen remains held at the Baltimore City Detention Center without bail. Assistant State's Attorney Matthew B. Fraling, III will prosecute this case.

[There have been several articles in the past few days about how this is almost definitely going to be postponed for a third time.]

Baltimore, MD - November 13, 2006 - Patricia C. Jessamy announced that the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Renato Cawthorne, 38, unknown address, for first-degree murder and other counts.

Court documents allege on December 16, 2005 a witness identified Cawthorne as the person responsible for the death of Jonathan Dwight Coles, 24. Mr. Coles was robbed at gunpoint and fatally shot in the 1700 block of E. Preston Street. He succumbed to his injuries the following day at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

An arraignment is scheduled for December 5, 2006, Judge John P. Miller, Room 428 Mitchell Courthouse. Assistant State's Attorney Don Giblin will prosecute this case.

Baltimore, MD - November 13, 2006 - At a hearing today, Judge Althea Handy sentenced Malik Vandiver, 18, of the 2900 block of Parkwood Avenue, to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder and 20 years in prison, consecutive, for a handgun count.

A Baltimore City jury convicted Vandiver August 29, 2006 of second-degree murder and use of a handgun in the commission of a felony or crime of violence.

On January 8, 2005 Vandiver shot to death of Bayonna Cox, 29, of the 2500 block of Francis Street. Testimony at trial proved that witnesses heard gunfire early that morning and saw Vandiver leaving the Francis Street residence with a gun. The murder weapon was found later that morning at the home of the defendant's friend in the 4600 block of Homer Avenue.

Assistant State's Attorney Mary-Ann Burkhart prosecuted this case.

And lastly, I just want to call attention to the story about that body being identified in Harford County. Now WBAL suddenly has it as their top story, as if it's breaking news or something. And when I was watching the local news at 4 on WJZ they said something like "coming up: a body found in a Harford County field in September has been identified. Could the person responsible already be in custody?" YES! They're already in custody! We've known that since September! I was pissed off a few days ago when a cat stuck in a tree and a deer with a plastic jack-o-lantern stuck on its face were big stories, but this might be worse. Don't shove some old-ass news in my face and act like you've got a big scoop! Argh!

(Sorry, you said "no partisan rants," not "no rants of any kind.")