February 19

The Sun's Annie Linskey reports that before 22-year-old Jeff Payne was fatally shot at a party near Morgan State, he had been shot during the civil war in Liberia.

"He was young at the time," (his mother) said. "He talked about the dead bodies he had to walk though. He had to go hunting in the forest for food."

She said that Payne and his grandmother were always on the run. "They were going from one village to another," she said. "When the rebels got there, they'd have to leave again."

(His mother) tried to find Jeff and another son, but she couldn't. "They were running from to place to place. His father was trying so hard to find him. I thought he was not alive. I thought he had been taken by rebels."

At some point, during a raid, Jeff was apparently shot. His half brothers, Michael Gillies, 19, and Wilmot Daye, 25, both remembered him saying that he had been shot and showing them the scar.

City police yesterday arrested Darnell Jeter, 42, and charged him with the murder of Theresa Parker last March 25.

You've gotta love a Baltimore "high school night" where two 20-year-olds get shot, one fatally. I wonder if they were seniors yet?

A cutting in the Southeastern, and some broken flower pots in the county.

Saturday's shootout at a Laurel motel left (alleged) attempted-cop-killer Aaron Mason Lowery dead.

Timothy Marsh's German Shepherd misses him, and Annapolis' Mayor Moyer's fears that guns and drugs are "running rampant in the city." Meanwhile, WBAL uses the last paragraph in a story about Marsh to report on a non-fatal BB gun incident in Annapolis.

Alleged AAC carjacker Scott Corey Coale was arrested in California after trying his mad jacking skills in the parking lot of a motel.

Carl O. Snowden is the civil rights director for the Maryland attorney general's office; his kid, Kojo, was arrested on gun charges.

February 18

There was a double shooting at the Paradox Nightclub in the Southern that left one person in "pretty bad shape." A shooting and/or assault at Lombard and Paca might be related.
UPDATE: One of the victims has died.

A man was shot inside his car yesterday afternoon on the corner of W. Saratoga St. and Arlington Ave.

The man who was murdered in Morgan State student housing on Friday was not a Morgan student.

The Volunteers of America Comprehensive Sanction Center on E. Monument St. is apparently a pretty great place to be if you're a recently released inmate who doesn't want to bother with all of that pesky supervision.

Annapolis had its third murder of the year yesterday when Timothy Marsh was shot to death in his car in the 1300 block of Tyler Ave.

Darwin lives!

Somebody's a cranky fussypants! New footage shows Officer "I am not a dude" Rivieri kicking a remote-control car with way too much intensity. (Thanks Lucid!)

February 17

A woman (or teenager) was found fatally shot early yesterday in a vacant lot in the 3400 block of Woodland Avenue.

The man shot by police after (allegedly) stabbing Shenera Lanera Norris was identified as Dale Rodney Jones, 38.

Juanita Robinson, 27, was convicted for the murder of Andre McBride, 21. You may recall that Robinson previously served six months for killing 16-year-old Derrick Colbert. (Here's the link from the archive... though the original Sun link has departed to Internet heaven.)

PGC race neighbors: each time they called police about street races, they "heard a different story as to who was responsible for patrolling that stretch of road."

WBAL: Mover stole clients' belongings, drove drunk, ended up under 18 inches of ice.

In case you haven't noticed...

... snark and outrage are what we do best!
(thanks Colin)

February 16

Murder
Charles H. Davis and Nicholas Dudley Pinderhughes Weaver were arrested for the 2002 murder of 16-year-old David L. Baskin Jr.

Death-scene details from Annie Linskey in yesterday's murder of Shenera Norris.

"Norris ran through a neighbor's open door. The man crashed through a window to follow her, according to the witness. "I heard him say, 'I'll pay for the window, ' ... She died in her underwear, running for her life.

Drugs
Former drug dealer Fred Brooks: "when I encountered the joke of the state legal system I really felt untouchable."

Arkansas police stopped 31 pounds of cocaine en route to Baltimore.

Perversity
Remember the Liberian guy who avoided child sex abuse charges because Maryland court officials couldn't find an interpreter for him? He's being deported, at least.

Women's Wear
AG Doug Gansler has gotten David's Bridal to stop charging excessive layaway fees.

Another Murder and Skeevy Accusations

A man was shot to death at a Morgan State U. party.

Thank you Fritze! The intrepid reporter wrangled the documents revealing the accusation that got Dixon spokesman Anthony McCarthy placed on leave from his position:

... a 16-year-old boy who belonged to a Baltimore church where McCarthy preached, Unity Fellowship, told a Department of Social Services worker that McCarthy had engaged in improper sexual contact with him when he was 15.

All together now... eeeeeewwwwwww!

More ew: A grand jury indicted Roy Edward Hoover, Jr., age 37, of Baltimore, on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor to produce child pornography and possession of child pornography.

And more! Sheez! Hagtown state delegate Robert A. McKee is under investigation for child porn. He's resigning his positions as delegate and as executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County. Said McKee, "my primary focus is to get well and stay well."

Bad news for the news: the Sun plans to cut about 45 jobs in the near future, and the Tribune plans to cut about 2 percent of its total workforce overall. The NYT is also planning to cut about 100 newsroom jobs, and The Washington Post is closing its College Park production plant.

#19

A woman was stabbed to death at a Northwest apartment complex this morning, and the alleged stabber got a police bullet as a reward for his hard work.

February 15

It wasn't gang related, he hadn't stolen their girlfriend, and he didn't owe them money for drugs. Nope, looks like 16-year-old Dundalk resident Joshua Gibson was a victim of the dreaded random attack. At least it happened in the county, so perhaps the douchebags who killed him will get more than a stern talking-to.

Stephen Todd Nelson awoke from his coma and confessed to throwing his little boy off the Bay Bridge.

Leroy Wooden was arrested in the Southern and charged with murdering Barry Newman in August. The beauty of it all is that if somebody had told Leroy that he shouldn't beat up his woman, he might still be free.

A man was shot in the parking lot of the Rite-Aid on Frederick Ave. in the Southwestern. Police are looking for a heavyset male with a black shirt and blue jeans, a description that fits me perfectly.

First he beats up skateboards, now we learn he's beating up boxes.

AAC Sheriff "Flowers by Ron" Bateman is a pretty clever guy. Not so romantic, maybe, but clever.

Eric Griswold doesn't quite understand the whole drug-dealer-handshake thing.

Witness Intimidation Indictment

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Raymond Sheppard, 35, of the 1100 block of N. Carey Street for witness intimidation and harassment. Court documents allege on November 19, 2007, Raymond Sheppard threatened a witness in a pending felony criminal case. The victim reports on three subsequent occasions Sheppard threatened to kill her and family members if she gave testimony in an armed-robbery case. An arraignment is scheduled for March 7, 2008 before Judge John P. Miller, Room 428, Mitchell Courthouse East.

February 14

Shootings, shootings, everywhere! A Hopkins employee was shot outside a food store on Greenmount Ave., a man was shot in both legs on Biddle St., a teenager was shot outside a Chinese restaurant on Belair Rd., a man was shot in the foot on Herndon Ct., and some dude was robbed at gunpoint of his lottery ticket in Owings Mills (but not shot).

Four people-- three teenage boys and a girl-- were arrested for the murder of 16-year-old Joshua Gibson in Essex. The suspects and the victim did not know one another, and police say Gibson was attacked for "no apparent reason."

Headline that sounds dirty but isn't: "O'Malley urges DNA collection"

No criminal charges will be filed against Anthony McCarthy, Mayor Dixon's former communications director who was accused of "inappropriate" behavior. So we'll probably never find out what he was accused of.

The skateboarder is getting his 15 minutes.

Hey, Carl the carjacker, maybe you should'a thought about getting a lawyer before the day your trial started. Guess the courts beat you again!

The city is working with other cities to... get this... create a database! (Didn't see that coming, didja?) This time, gun offenders are the target.

A couple of New Yorkers got caught stealing in Annapolis.
Handy tip: "The women ... had 'boosting bags,' or shopping bags lined with aluminum foil, to avoid setting off security scanners at store exits."

A 12-year-old Mazda got stolen because the owner was (allegedly) too damned lazy to turn that little thingy that sits on the side of the steering column. Fortunately, the thief crashed the car almost immediately afterwards.

Wow. Unless we start doing some crimes, I'm going to be stuck linking to articles about restaurants who leave customers with useless gift cards.

February 13

What's Fred's secret? Says the Ink, "the city has had almost half as many homicides as it did at this time last year."

A teenager shot in the stomach Monday, a man shot in the leg Tuesday.

A nurse who had contact with Bryanna Harris as an infant took it upon herself to visit the family about 30 times and bring diapers and formula.
WTF?! Now, "prior to a birth, a nurse who has concerns about the future safety of an infant will be able to alert Social Services." They couldn't do that before?!

Somebody stoledid a ambalance! It was "last seen on I-495 heading into Virginia with its lights and sirens on." Whoo whoo!

Hey, Annie Linskey is back! Today finds our intrepid reporter reporting on watchers watching the watchmen.

Baltimore on the global scene! The cop v. skateboarder clip made CNN's "American Morning," (and is the fifth most-watched video of the day) and the BBC asked some choice Baltimore voters which candidates they prefer.
(thanks Simon)

Counties
County police are looking for a blurry burglary suspect.

In Towson, a man whose pit bull mauled two children got probation.

Hagtown: "Fists Swing At MD Trooper Child Porn Sentencing"

E-mail from the DNC

"The AP has reported an Anne Arundle County Judge has expanded voting hours in Maryland from 8:00pm to 9:30pm due to weather conditions."

"Arundle"?!
Well, you get the idea, anyway!

Freakonomics does The Wire, episode 6

The latest post from Sudhir Venkatesh and the Thugs is up at Freakonomics.

February 12

Nicholas Browning was indicted on four counts of murder and handgun charges. He is on special watch, and is being observed by medical staff at the Baltimore County jail. My guess is he's sad that he can't drive that sweet Expedition.

The body found in Bel Air on Saturday has been ID'd as 57-year-old Paul Michael Shupe. Cause of death hasn't been determined, but there are no outward signs of foul play.

Prison justice is alive and well.

It's a bad news day for the BPD. Officer Salvatore Rivieri got caught on YouTube harassing some of Baltimore's most dangerous criminals. Officer Christopher Vallejo was found guilty of second-degree assault for attacking a woman in Federal Hill last September when he was off-duty. A woman in Baltimore filed a $40M lawsuit because Officer Ray Woodward allegedly punched her 16-year-old son in the face and broke his jaw for no apparent reason.

It's also a bad news day for (alleged) rapists. Dwight Carter was arrested and charged with raping a 13-year-old friend of his step-sister. Thomas J. Grant was given two consecutive life sentences for the 1979 rape and murder of Sheila "Sis" Bazemore Rascoe. Cortlandt Harvey Dorsey pleaded guilty to raping a 56-year-old Kenyan tourist in 2006.

And there's been bad news for people who eat: A couple was robbed in Little Italy while taking a walk after dinner, a pizza delivery guy in Pikesville was robbed of money and pizza, and a gunman ordered food at a Dunkin Donuts on Reisterstown Rd. and then stole the contents of two cash registers. No word on whether or not he got away with any donuts.

I am Not a Dude!

It's cop v. skateboarder!
(Thanks Marc)

Here's where you can find your sample ballot for today's primary. Did you know you're also voting on judges and delegates? Who knew?

February 11

A man was standing at a corner on E. Baltimore St. early Friday morning when he was stabbed in the stomach.

There's a blue light special on homemade bombs.

"Spoiled kid" Nicholas Browning "didn't like his father because he used to always yell at him and stuff."

Allan A. Banks was charged with murdering Collin Mazyck on Tivoli Ave. last month. Mazyck's family say he was walking to a Chinese restaurant, but police are investigating the possibility that he was robbed while buying weed.

Ex-offenders are working with the Baltimore Health Department to try to stop the violence in the city.

"It's gonna take [guys] like us in the 'hood," (Donte) Barksdale, 33, was saying to a young man he met on Monument Street last week, not far from the Safe Streets office, pressing a flier into the youth's hand. "The police can't do it. It's impossible."

Aspiring criminals, be careful with that next tattoo.

The Examiner profiles Baltimore County Police Chief James Johnson.

Lawsuit: Monogamous spouse smeared as ‘swinger’

Kid's Corner!
Here's that Sun editorial that's annoying everyone: "At 15, still a kid"

WTF?! Bus-beating defendant doesn't understand the words "justified" or "initial."

A program by correctional officers scares 11-year-olds straight with the spectre of public pooping.

February 10

Prosecutors dropped all charges against Oscar Adams, the second gunman accused of murdering pregnant Ashley Harris, 19, in front of Club Choices in March of 2006.

A fire this morning in in the 1900 block of Edmondson Avenue may have been arson.

"Body Mystery In Bel Air"

Free to work 14 hours on Tuesday? You can make $150 as an election judge! <- opens .pdf

Editorials: Rodricks bitches about jury duty.

February 9

Emmanuel M. Bryant of Lansdowne was murdered in the Southwestern on Thursday afternoon.

"Turner was Stephen's world." Then maybe he shouldn't have, you know, thrown him into the damned river. (Allegedly, of course.)

Annapolis police released a sketch of a suspect in January's double murder, but the Sun didn't run it.

The kids are talking about Nick Browning on Facebook. Meanwhile the Sun's Julie Scharper and Justin Fenton report on the (alleged) motive:

"He told police that he was upset that his father forced him to attend a Boy Scout camp in Western Maryland, where the Browning family had a vacation home and frequently spent weekends. A week away from his 16th birthday, he also resented that his father told him he could not immediately use a Ford Expedition that was to be a present, a source with knowledge of the investigation said."

The music director of Sheila D's church was charged with raping a 13-year-old churchgoer.

A woman in Annapolis has been charged with pimping out her 16-year-old daughter for money and crack.

The Original Steakhouse and Sports Theater in Parkville is holding a fundraiser for the Griffin family on Monday.

"Two Farmers Convicted and Sentenced for Causing the Deaths of Three Bald Eagles and a Great Horned Owl"

A Year for Doobage

.. technically, anyway:

In a 20-minute hearing today on a defense motion to quash a 20-year-old bench warrant for failing to appear in court for sentencing on a decades old marijuana charge, the Honorable John N. Prevas sentenced Britt D. Glenn, 42, of California to one year in prison for possession of marijuana. The court continued his pending assault case for a hearing on March 17.

The Court of Special Appeals of Maryland ruled in 1986 that Britt was entitled to a new trial following a conviction for assault with intent to murder. At that time, he was also convicted, but never sentenced on the marijuana charge and never appeared for trial on the assault charge following the Court’s ruling. Judge Milton Allen issued a bench warrant when he failed to appear.

At the hearing today, prosecutors noted that Glenn has been a fugitive from justice for over 20 years and had not been sentenced for the marijuana conviction and was out on bond at the time the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland ruled in 1986. Mark Cohen, Homicide Chief, prosecuted today’s hearing.

February 8

Police are investigating the shooting death of Kamia Hair, 25, found in the 1800 block of Bolton Street by her son.

Children "in Baltimore are eight times more likely to die from homicides as children nationwide or in Maryland as a whole," and twice as likely to die of injuries.

Related: Julie B. interviews the self-described "most kindest person in the world," methadone-murder mom Vernice "Peaches" Harris.

Phillip Queen was arrested Wednesday in the death of three-year-old Jabari Stocks last June.

Charming funeral director robbed grieving families, got 4 1/2 years in federal pokey.

Three men and a woman were arrested last night during a raid in the McCulloh Homes in West Baltimore and have been charged with multiple drug violations.

Examineratorial: student protests a waste of time