Conviction for Motel Murder of Cecil Saunders

Friday, a city jury convicted Donnell Williams, 25, of the 900 block of Woodington Road first-degree murder, first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. Judge Robert B. Kershaw scheduled sentencing for May 16, 2008. Williams faces a maximum of life in prison plus 50 years. On August 9, 2006 police identified Williams on a private, security camera beating and kicking Cecil Saunders, 28, in the head inside a stairwell at the Executive Inn in the 3600 block of Pulaski Highway. Two other men are alleged to have participated in the attack. Co-defendants Demetrius Williams and Leneal Montay Collins are charged with murder and scheduled to stand trial today. Assistant State’s Attorney Diana Smith of the Homicide Division prosecuted this case.

March 17

One of the two men who were shot outside a Northwest convenience store on Saturday night has died.

Over the past few days, we've had shotgun assaults, cutting assaults, bottle assaults, Taser assaults... it's like a buffet of sociopathic behavior!

It's been a year since Gerard "jailbird" Mungo Jr. was arrested for sitting on a dirt bike in East Baltimore.

Lots of news in AAC: A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in the same Annapolis block where Timothy Hayes Marsh was killed last month; alleged drug dealer Nicole Tamika Freeman is on the loose; George Alexander Yates really needs to stay away from gas stations; and 0.4% of people stopped at drunk driving checkpoints over the weekend were charged with DUI.

Also in Annapolis, a man was arrested and charged with sexually abusing his stepdaughter for more than 10 years. One of the girl's friends was also abused. "The stepdaughter said she was 7 years old when the abuse began and 12 when the suspect raped her for the first time in the summer of 2004. The last time her stepfather raped her was Jan. 21, before her mother found out about the abuse, according to the charging documents."

Club Choices = Portal to Hell!

Officer Anthony Jobst was shot in the foot and officer Hayden Gross was grazed by a bullet during a shootout with a suspect, Anthony Blache, after they pursued his Audi as it left the vicinity of Club Choices. Blache was wearing illegal, Omar-esque body armor but is nevertheless in critical condition at Shock Trauma.

Other Club Choices incidents:

• This month, "During a fight in Club Choices in the 1800 block of N. Charles St. about 1 a.m. Sunday [March 4], two men were stabbed and a third suffered a broken nose."
  
  
• Jamal Rowlett, 20, was shot to death December 16, 2007 after leaving the club


• "A bunch of kids stabbing each other" February 27thish of 2007 (details lost forever to a dead Sun link; a search of "Club Choices" on the Sun archives says "No Articles Found")


• Pregnant Ashley Harris, who happened to be on the sidewalk outside, was shot to death in March of 2006 after "a brawl involving as many as 40 people" inside the club continued on the street

It's the devil's disco!

Scandalous!

"Victims' fund assists felons."

A double shooting last night in the 2900 hundred block of Garrison Boulevard.

A police officer was shot in the foot this morning.

The City school system paid $123,000 to two former employees who had alleged racial discrimination.

Saturday

Thursday's murder victim was ID'd as Jamal Alphonso Harrison, 22.

A funeral was held this morning for Tyisha Brown, 15. JZ says her family reported her missing, but for reasons unknown it took three weeks for her to be identified.

County Police have arrested and charged three people-- Malcolm Lee Land of Woodholme Avenue, Brandon Christopher Smith, 28, of Flannery Lane, and Frank Antonio Jones, 23, of Brendan Avenue-- in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Marcus Ellis, stabbed to death in the Texaco parking lot in Pikesville.

A Prince George's County corrections officer accused of smuggling cellphones into the jail for inmates is a suspected member of the Bloods "and was bringing the phones to fellow gang members 'as part of an organized conspiracy' involving fellow officers, according to charging documents made public yesterday." In the past three months, six other officers at the jail have been in various kinds of trouble, including two female guards who were allegedly getting freaky with inmates.

Eight corrections officers have been suspended from Roxbury after an incident March 8 involving suspected excessive force.

Before you hire a lawyer in MD, check out the state's site of disciplined attorneys. There, one can learn tidbits such as how KWARTENG, Charles O. was reprimanded for "making a sexual gesture with his tongue at a female clerk at the Circuit Court for Baltimore County," and WARD, Kenneth S. was "suspended indefinitely for acting incompetently and sloppy."

Astonishing stupidity files: MoCo Football coach Aaron Timothy McCown, 31, pleaded guilty Friday to "knowingly receiving an explosive, that is, a loaded pistol, intending to use it to intimidate the referee at a youth football game."

March 14

An unidentified young man was shot and killed yesterday evening in the 1900 block of N. Rosedale St. He's number 37, compared to 57 at this time last year.

The man killed on Spelman St. in Cherry Hill on Wednesday was ID'd as Lemell O. Barnes. (I took a drive down Spelman St. last night. Even the bedsheets hanging on the clotheslines were red. The feds might want to go all Coumadin on that neighborhood.)

A cop who was directing traffic near the arena was run down by a douchebag who didn't want to turn. Some awesome citizens chased down the alleged douchebag and held him/her until police arrived and took him/her to Central Booking, where one can hope he/she was beaten severely.

In other news of citizens not taking any guff, alleged shoplifter Charles Andre Brown was trapped in a Dumpster by Rite-Aid employees who chased his (allegedly) thieving ass down.

In addition to road rage, we also seem to have a bad case of Metro rage.

St. Agnes was locked down yesterday afternoon, thanks to a jackass with a paintball gun.

A 14-year-old boy was beaten but not robbed on Chestnut Hill Ave.

Some charges were dropped against some of the teenagers who might have beat up some people on some bus.

Bobby Hough got 33 years for helping to paralyze a man by dropping him head-first on concrete. Meanwhile, in other concrete news, HarCo police are looking for the dumbasses who dropped a chunk of concrete onto a car from an overpass.

I could soooo make an "up the creek" joke about alleged drug dealer Thomas Creek and prison sex, but that would be tacky.

A man, who may or may not be Zorro, robbed a "convenience story". Inconvenient stories were left alone.

Holy cow! College students drink! I had no idea. We must stop this immediately.

No Death Penalty for David Miller

Remember David Lee Miller, who shot Elizabeth Walters, his 7-months-pregnant girlfriend, in the parking lot of the Home Depot strip mall off Perring Parkway? It seemed like he was going to be the first person to be charged under the new fetal-homicide law, but because the law rejected 'fetal personhood,' he won't be eligible for the big DP.

The Wall Street Journal columnist on Baltimore: the problem isn't poverty, it's crime.

These cases are so freaky. Wendi Scott, right, will plead guilty to one count of child abuse. She "had been using syringes to withdraw blood from her daughter so doctors would suspect [the daughter] had leukemia."

March 13

A 22-year-old was murdered on Spelman Rd. in Cherry Kill last night. He's the third murder victim there this year.

The person who was killed on Edgecombe Circle on Tuesday morning was 16-year-old Tavon Burks.

Let me get this straight. 15-year-old Tyisha Brown (#21) was missing for three weeks before anyone -- her teachers, her friends, her father -- thought to question where she was?

It's cases like this -- the rape trial of twice-convicted sex-offender Eugene Waller -- that make me hope there is a special place in hell for defense attorneys.

Angry and outraged yet? Pissed off at the incompetence of our government officials? Disgusted with the citizens of Baltimore? If not, try reading the story about 15-year-old Farron Tates.

Okay, now for some good news. The State's Attorney's Office hearts the BPD, and maybe you should too. "... in 2006 her prosecutors had to throw out one in three criminal charges. Last year, only about one in five cases could not go forward."

Byron Alonzo Huff was already serving 30 years for killing Holly Jean Keefe when he was matched to DNA found on 1996 murder victim Doris Smalls. Huff said he "cannot say offhand" whether or not he knew Smalls, and he doesn't know how his DNA could have gotten on her body.

Sgt. Robert Smith can have his job back if he just admits he was wrong.

Former CVS pharmacist Ramon Bautista Juta would take care of you, if you'd take care of him (wink wink, nudge nudge).

In AAC, Carlos Rice was found guilty for murdering Peach Cake. Of course, his defense attorneys said that the murder weapon was used to shoot at Rice's car, so Rice couldn't have done it. Now, forgive me for not understanding the subtle nuances of this case, but couldn't Rice have killed Mr. Cake, and then shot at his own car? Crazy, I know.

A student at Chesapeake Science Point Charter School in Hanover threatened to bring in an Uzi and kill everyone. Meanwhile, staff is getting ready to bail before anybody pees on them.

I understand, John. I always confuse lawn chairs with railroad tracks, too.

March 12

The BPD is still investigating two separate shootings that left one un-ID'd man dead and two men injured, but there don't seem to be many new developments since yesterday.

A nurse was abducted from her Parkville apartment complex as she left for work yesterday morning.

Five Tree Top Pikachus Pirus have yet to be caught in the very cleverly named Operation Coumadin.

If what Councilman Jack Young says is true, our cops are pretty rotten at framing each other.

Police found the body of alleged murderer and/or subprime lender William Buczynski.

Maybe these houses belong to some of Buczynski's former clients.

The accused Columbia pizza man / kidnapper won't be retried on false imprisonment charges, but he still faces up to 10 years for his second-degree assault conviction from last week.

"A group of Jewish advocates against sexual assault is angry over a plea deal for a Baltimore City rabbi who pleaded guilty to abusing young boys but avoided jail time." Hmmm... that sort of implies that there's a group of Jewish advocates for sexual assault who are happy about the plea deal, doesn't it?

JHU students want William Brody's replacement to "spur development without gentrifying the city." Personally, I'd like the new president to be able to shoot golden eggs out of his ass. I wonder which scenario is more realistic?

In a case of timely reporting, a 15-year-old girl has been missing from her Rockville home since Feb 24.

Tuesday Nite, Wednesday Morning

The state has rested in the bus beating case, WBAL has an interview with the bus driver ("I never thought I would see children try to kill anyone.")

The Ink covers the past week's four homicides. The victim found shot on February 15 (victim #21) was identified as 15-year-old Tyisha Brown.

He really was the total male! CP's Van Smith and Jeffrey Anderson have the tale of Shawn Green, an at-large drug trafficker, who highlights "the overlap in the city's legitimate business economy and the drug underworld."

The City Council is discussing a bill that would require scrap dealers to keep a roster of names and identifying information on people who bring in car parts. It's about freakin time, but why stop at car parts?

Teenager Convicted for Shooting at Officers

A Baltimore jury convicted Ronnie Lester, 19, of the 1300 block of Glyndon Avenue, yesterday of two counts of first-degree assault, use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, minor in possession of a controlled dangerous substance, and fleeing and eluding. Judge Wanda K. Heard scheduled sentencing for April 3, 2008. Details from the SA's office:

At approximately 8:50 p.m. on May 24, 2007 officers observed three individuals on dirt bikes traveling south in the 1300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. As the officers drove up to the individuals, one of the bikes stalled. The officers exited their vehicle and approached the individual on the stalled bike. As they did this, Lester returned on his bike, allowed the other individual on to the back of bike, and fired two shots at the officers before speeding off. The officers gave chase with assistance from Foxtrot. The chase exceeded speeds of 40mph, often going the wrong way down city streets, before the Lester was apprehended when he had to stop his bike due to a gathering of people in the street around a deadly house fire at 1903 Cecil Ave. Officers recovered a .32 caliber pistol that Lester threw off the Maryland Avenue Bridge.

Assistant State’s Attorney Brandis Marsh prosecuted this case.

Double Shooting

Two men were shot at 6:15 this morning in the 2500 block of Edgecombe Circle near Greenspring ave. One died, the other is in shock trauma.
(Thanks galt)

March 11

A man shot Saturday on in the 1800 block of E. 28th St. near Clifton Park in East Baltimore Street died Monday.

The murder/ suicide killer and victim from last Thursday were named: Latasha Harris, 30, and Jerry Bennett, 37.

Tastelessness of the week: "The driver of the city bus on which a woman was severely beaten testified yesterday that he remembered the boy who kicked her in the face but that he wasn't among the accused in the courtroom. Then, the attorney for the boy prosecutors allege kicked Sarah Kreager in the eye threw her arms up in a 'touchdown' sign."

Corrpution Corner
Maybe "The Wire" made this city look too good!
Baltimore City Police Sgt. Robert Smith claims that the city police department’s chief legal counsel told him to drop a defamation lawsuit against the department or face false rape charges.

A second guilty plea in the Utech scandal.

OMG, bitch, puhleeze! Rikki Spector's excuse for her "stupid" traffic ticket = she sent it to the DOT because they needed to know that the officer who cited her was "not dealing well with the public."

The End of "The Wire"

Thoughts?

Meanwhile, "Wire" writers on the drug war (thanks Lucid),
the NYT review, "So Many Characters, Yet So Little Resolution,"
and the very, very long farewell to The Wire from Jersey's Star-Ledger.

Can't get enough? Marc Steiner has podcasts of interviews with the actors.
... and the City Paper has an interview with David Simon.
And it's the final installment of Sudhir Venkatesh's "What Do Real Thugs Think of 'The Wire'?"

March 10

Neighbors' Night Out II coincided with Anna Sowers' 28th birthday. Of course, her husband couldn't be there to share it with her.

Cops are still looking for the man who shot rookie Pedro Perez.

Dang. They have garages in the 600 block of N. Linwood St.? No fair. (Also in the Blotter, a sexual assault in the Eastern, stolen drugs and beer kegs in Parkville, stolen trash bags in Cockeysville, and $160 of stolen cigarette lighters in Franklin, presumably to light the $250 of stolen cigars.)

Check out the specter of Rikki's disappearing traffic ticket.
UPDATE: Rikki denies all wrongdoing in a very confusing story.

Alleged PDJ: David "Dewey" Louis Vasses, of the 100 block of Kipling Court in Abingdon, charged with sexual child abuse, 4th-degree sex offense and unnatural and perverted practices. And gross and willful hair gel violations.

A suicidal man in Glen Burnie followed through on his threats as police tried to intervene.

A man from Frederick took the whole "going to the cemetery" thing a bit too literally.

In Worcestor County, a 77-year-old Pocomoke City man was murdered in his living room.

On a political note: Gloria Steinem says it's OK for women to think for themselves.

Le Week-End

Julie B. serves up the tale of the purported head of the Baltimore "Tree Top Piru" Bloods, Steve Lamont Willock, aka "Kanibal Lecktor," who rose to power while in jail in Cumberland.
Did you know? "the price of crack can be five times higher in Hagerstown than in New York."

"A mystery is developing at the Prince George's County jail: Why, twice in a single week, has an inmate turned up with a handcuff key?"

"For nearly two decades, Kellie Robinson was just another drug statistic in Baltimore. But her story is unique." ... she's middle-class and well-connected. Yawn!

The Annapolis Capital admits to being duped into printing a fauxbituary.

They may not be as bad as those pesky sex children, but Virginians are annoyed by the French kissing children nonetheless.
(compound modifiers are your friends, people!)

Officer Shot

City officer Pedro Perez was shot in the leg at about 1 a.m. this morning by a gunman hiding in some bushes.

March 8

Antwaun Sumpter was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl after trying to force his way into her house.

Two Mt. Hebron High School students are facing felony charges after the old bomb-in-a-trashcan trick.

Kelroy Williamson got two consecutive life sentences from circuit court judge Paul A. Hackner. Lots of character witnesses said Williamson is a great guy, but DNA evidence said he's a piece of shit rapist.

Three cheers for the witness who not only testified in the bus beating case, but also ran out of her house to help break up the attack.

There was a bank robbery in Towson yesterday afternoon.

March 7

A domestic murder/suicide Wednesday night in the city, fortunately the kids didn't see it. (There's no Applegate Road in the city, there's an Applegate Court in the County)
Correction: Irwin at the Sun says it's Atholgate Lane and that the couple were found yesterday, not Wednesday.

Bus-beating boyfriend Troy Ennis: no spitting, no slur.

The identity of murder victim #21 remains unknown, and police have released a spooky sketch, right.

Police are "seeking a gunman who opened fire in a Northwest Baltimore convenience store yesterday, grazing a girl and an employee."

A bad week for the PD! Two city officers are in hot water, one for debt card fraud, the other for an armed confrontation with his ex's husband... add that to the two police brutality suits filed last Friday.

Down at the Federal Courthouse: 11 indicted for running a drug-mule conspiracy; 7 1/2 years for a guy who stashed a stolen handgun in a vending machine; a guilty plea on a gun charge from an aging Pagan.

A skeleton found in Emmitsburg may belong to missing Deysi M. Benitez.

"Minnesota bars thwart smoking ban by declaring everyone an actor"
Meanwhile bartenders at Frazier's and Zissimo's are grousing that police are targeting their patrons.

Eight years for Killer of Toy Gun Stickup Man

At a hearing yesterday, Omar McGee, 18, of the 3400 block of Dupont Avenue pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Judge Timothy J. Doory sentenced McGee to eight years in prison. Details:

On August 9, 2007 McGee shot to death Troy Richardson, 30. Richardson, using a realistic toy gun, robbed a drug dealer of narcotics in an alley off of the 3400 block of Dupont Avenue at about 1:35 p.m. McGee, informed by another drug dealer of the robbery in progress, retrieved a weapon and approached Richardson, who was still brandishing the toy gun. McGee fired three shots at Richardson, hitting him twice in the leg and once in the face. The toy gun was next to the victim when paramedics and police arrived.

Assistant State’s Attorney Robin Wherley of the Homicide Division prosecuted this case.