December 16

"... three people were shot Saturday afternoon inside a car in Northwest Baltimore, and one was killed (<259). The car was in front of Booker T. Washington Middle School."

"A 22-year-old man fatally shot in South Baltimore early yesterday (25?) was found by a patrol officer who was close enough to see muzzle flashes and hear gunshots..."

"In a highly unusual acknowledgement of dysfunction in [MD]'s prisons, the administrator in charge of security operations said vulnerable inmates -- especially jailhouse informants -- are routinely attacked even after officials move them to special cells for their protection."

Nine more plaintiffs are suing the police-- specifically regarding the Southeast "SET" team.

Parents of a Cockeysville 10-year-old are a little skeeved that they were only informed that their daughter had an armed, 54-year-old stalker after Stephen Stauffer was arrested. School police say they didnt want to compromise an ongoing investigation.

December 15

Judge Roger W. Brown sentenced Stephanie Madariaga, 27, of the 3300 block of Clarks Lane, to a five-year suspended prison term and three years probation. Madariaga pled guilty August 27, 2004 to accessory after the fact to a homicide in connection to the murder of Kevin Shields, 26. On July 12, 2003 Jason Moody killed Madariaga's ex-husband, Kevin Shields following an argument in the parking lot of Mr. Shields' apartment complex in the 3300 block of Clarks Lane. Madariaga was present at the time of this incident and fled with Moody out of the country. Authorities at Newark International Airport eventually arrested Moody and Madariaga September 10, 2003 as they were returning to the United States from the Dominican Republic. A Baltimore City jury convicted Moody September 8, 2006 of manslaughter and weapons counts and he is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence.

As part of her plea agreement, Madariaga was to cooperate as a State's witness in Moody's trial. Madariaga did testify at that trial, but the State argued at the hearing that she did not testify in accordance to the plea agreement and therefore should receive the maximum penalty, five years in prison. The state introduced into evidence records of more than 400 telephone calls Moody placed to Magariaga since Moody's arrest including a transcript in which they discussed what specific information she would testify to in her plea agreement.

Ronald N. Stewart, 29, of the 4000 block of W. Belvedere Ave. died Wednesday night. Homicide #258, says Gus (who is scheduled to be on Ed Norris this morning at 10:30 with Julie Bike-o-wits for the Friday "round" table).

In the 3700 block of Woodbine Ave. NW a woman was shot in the thigh about 8:20 p.m. yesterday.

The County PO wounded yesterday in the arm and abdomen was German-sheperd handler David T. Garner.

Police are seeking John R. Ridgley IV, 20, of Eldersburg, who stabbed a 21-year-old Kevin Mason in the neck with a knife.

The funeral yesterday for three-year-old Elija Cozart, killed by hit-and-run driver Lazara Arellano de Hogue.

Freezin hell: Jean Marbella has a piece (on Judge Rasin releasing Walter Lomax after 39 years) that only mentions herself once! (...and is even readable, in a disjointed kind of way.)

Like a dog with a bone, E just can't quit the Timothy Gounaris story.
Today's installment, in which The Goun is hired by the same principal twice.
But did the so-called former Principal of the Year knew Mr. Tim's little secret all along?
And isn't eyeliner on a bald man kind of its own flag?
Stay tuned...

Kiss-off lunches of '06:
Vozzella: "Bob Ehrlich gave a farewell luncheon-interview the other day, but only invited reporters from papers that had endorsed him in last month's election. The outgoing Gov didn't just shut out reporters from The Sun ... [but] also excluded scribes from the Associated Press and the Frederick News-Post, news organizations that don't, as a matter of policy, endorse candidates." (Last item)

'06's final Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee meeting was yesterday, but (we hear) Rod J. Rosenstein, Sviatko, old Conaway and old "Old Jerve" (left) were the only Big Names ... Hamm, Dixon, Mrs. J, and, of course, O'Malley were all no-shows ... the soup was Creamy potato and a report on gangs was released.

December 14

Examiner: As of 12 days ago, shootings are up 18 percent, robberies up 9 percent, but a 24 percent decrease in minor sex offenses equals total crime down 3 percent from last year.

ANOTHER, third (as-yet-unnamed) police officer has been shot, this time in Perry Hall in the County, and now that officer is in Shock Trauma and the suspect who shot him is holed up in a shed!

An arrest in the shooting of officer Momodu Gondo, 23. "Collin Hawkins, 24, has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and two handgun violations." No word on Gondo's condition.
But
Sloe-eyed hot cop Tfc. Eric D. Workman, shot in the lung, can sit up in bed.

Wowee, after 39 years in Jail, Walter Lomax is free.

Frederick Jones, 54, of Columbia, HoCo got life for attacking his ex, Natalyn Tart-Jones, with a machete, cutting off her fingers. Natalyn had a protective order, which Jones violated. A criminal case from two years before had been dropped by the court.

Carmelo Kiyan Anthony is giving back after his appearance in "Stop Snitching"-- he'll be in East Baltimore today to open a "youth center" at 1100 East Fayette.

Speaking of black youths... there's a stat: "For every four black men in college, there are three behind bars."
An interesting idea...
"The report ... endorses the use of more single-sex classes inside regular schools, saying research points to a rise in academic achievement among boys segregated by gender."
...And, the most alarming use of "maybe" in a sentence: "Maybe it is counterintuitive to put children and ex-offenders together. And maybe it's exactly what each one needs." YIEKS!!

Pick up the January issue of Essence magazine, featuring Mrs. J in "The Streets are Watching," an article about witness intimidation in the City.

December 13 Nite

The City Council was supposed to talk about re-opening the Clay case today... wonder what happened with that?

December 13 Evening

Joseph C. Simms, 41, was shot to death in the 3900 block of Bonner Road about 2 p.m. yesterday (256). No motive, no suspects.

Ellis Lee Hickman Jr. of Overlea will be in jail for the rest of his life without parole for the murder of Rakiyya States.

A grand jury indictment yesterday against 15 (alleged) coke dealers has Rod J. Rosenstein worried that the state won't be able to house so many defendants.

Blotter: Robert B. Wolfe, 48, charged with stabbing and beating Lauri B. Moore to death and burying her in their back yard; Marijuana in White Marsh.

I just found out, 20 hours prior, that I must (under threat of arrest- TG I don't have a Real Job) appear at the "Victim Room" of the 3rd floor of Juvie Hall tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. prepared to testify about how one Sherrod N. Lloyd yanked on my garage door and stole my bike back in June! There was a "mutual postponement, charges held in abeyance" while Sherrod was supposed to go to school and do community service or something, but apparently he didn't. So I and officer Basile of the Northern, who allegedly caught Sherrod with my "Trek 3500," get to spend some time on Gay Street trying to compel Sherrod to do right.

December 13

Theodore D. Caldwell, 29, of the 2600 block of Madison Ave., shot Monday night, and Steven Richey, 41, shot outside his home in the 3400 block of Cliftmont Ave Tuesday morning, bring the homicides YTD to 255.

Very odd story: details on the indictment of Miquel Johnson, aka Michael Jackson, accused of killing a minister with the 10,000-member Empowerment Temple, Michael Herrington Griffin, in Northwest Baltimore.

The trial of Baltimore police officer William Darrell Welch, 40, of Timonium, Maryland, is scheduled for 9:30 this morning before Judge Allen L. Schwait. The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Welch August 23 with one count of second-degree rape and three counts of misconduct in office. If convicted of the count of rape, Welch could be sentenced to imprisonment not exceeding 20 years. Misconduct in office is a common law offense that carries a period of incarceration in whatever amount a court deems is fair and reasonable. The indictment alleges that on July 16 of this year in the Southeastern District Station Welch had sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl after she had been taken into custody by another officer. Welch has been out on $50k bail. Assistant State's Attorney Temmi Rollock of the Sex Offense Division will prosecute this case.
Update: Judge Allen L Schwait issued a bench warrant this morning for William Darrell Welch for failing to appear.
Correction from Mrs. J's office: The rape trial of William Welch, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed at the request of the defense until March 13, 2007. The bench warrant issued for Welch's arrest earlier today was recalled by Judge Schwait.

Ponytail and Broadwater: "Crime goes down, and so does the number of people behind bars. That's what is occurring in New York City — but not Baltimore City."

Tough trooper Eric Workman is still alive after two surgeries.

Ink: A murder previously unmentioned by the papers-- Jarmal Dailey, 19, in the 3700 block of Flowerton Road in Edmondson Village-- and the June killing of Demone Jackson was ruled as self-defense, making the YTD homicide total 253
(and the BCrime number right for being wrong).

The Baltimore City Grand Jury has indicted Jermaine Sanders, 15, of the 2100 block of E. Biddle Street for first-degree murder in connection with the December 1, 2006 fatal stabbing of his 17 year-old brother, Jason Sanders. Jermaine followed Jason Sanders from their home and stabbed the elder brother following a verbal dispute then fled the area on foot. Jason died later at Johns Hopkins Hospital. An arraignment has been scheduled January 7, 2007, Judge Gale Rasin.

"Neither side is happy" with the Dameon Woods/Smoot 2nd-degree murder verdict. Says the E of Smoot's death: it "highlighted overcrowded conditions at Central Booking, which was built to process up to 45,000 people annually, but has been used to process more than double that number."

Unfortunately, "being an asshole" is not techincally a crime.

Bob Kaufman needs kidney, stays upbeat, wants to start youth movement.
(In one version of the story he was hit with a brick by a tenant named Stephen, here it's a random idler. Wonder which is correct?)

Not your sexy kind of story, but sill important:
MD. state Ethics Commission staff auditors have "reviewed just 2,600 of the 11,800 financial disclosure statements they received for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2004."

The Gov's father-in-law Joe Curran is still at it a month before retirement, helping bust 22 work-at-home scams in Project Fal$se Hope$.

Nat'l:
Tough times for a woman at a Lavonia, GA motel who mistook a pistol for a lighter. (My, my, those crackers sure can get ugly down that way!

Dec 12 afternoon

Judge John M. Glynn sentenced Dameon Woods to 20 years in prison today. On October 12, a Baltimore City jury convicted Woods of second-degree murder, first-degree assault and second-degree assault for the May 2005 murder of Raymond Smoot, who was in custody in his cell at Central Booking and Intake.

WTF? A woman and a baby were shot to death in Laurel, PGC.

Two home-invasion robberies, one involving sexual assault, in Columbia apartments.

Dennis James Wallace, 54, of the 3400 block of Leverton Avenue, pled guilty to second-degree murder. Under terms of the plea agreement, Judge Martin P. Welch will sentence Wallace to 17 years in prison on January 30, 2007 following a pre-sentence investigation. On July 31, 1983, police discovered William Gibson's decomposed body in a trash can which was placed in a wooden clothes locker outside a rear basement apartment located at 2221 Pratt Street. The landlord had complained of a strong foul odor coming from the apartment. Police identified Wallace as a potential suspect but 10 days after the incident he was no longer seen and his whereabouts were unknown until he was located on July 28, 2005. Wallace remains held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center.

A professor at Frostburg State University, MacGregor O'Brien, 57, was arrested Saturday on nine counts of possessing child pornography.

Survivors Against Violence Everywhere and the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office Family Bereavement Center will sponsor "an evening of Joy, Peace, Laughter, Sharing, and Healing" at 6 tonight at the Clarence Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, 110 N. Calvert Street, room 410 (Lexington Street entrance). There will be a presentation on "Dealing with Grief during the Holidays."

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that spectators at a murder trial were free to wear buttons bearing a picture of the victim in front of the jury that convicted the defendant.

December 12

A state trooper in Woodlawn shot a suspect dead last night and the Trooper, First Class Eric D. Workman, was hit in the left shoulder and is critically ill and on full life support.

A suspect is on the loose after a fatal shooting of a man at W. North Avenue and Pennsylvania (254).

Seventeen-year-old murder victim Guiliano Santos (253) had "had some trouble with fighting at Harbor City High School recently and had been suspended. On Sunday night, Santos received a call from a friend to go to the area where he was shot."

Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job:
Baltimore city's is the only regional jail that can't get defendants to court on time, wreaking havoc on the whole system.
Benjamin Brown, assistant commissioner of the state Division of Pretrial Detention and Services, says that no one has filed an official complaint.

WYPR covers the gay-union oral arguments with both verbiage and streaming audio.

The County and Beyond:
Donovan Cunningham, 38, of Randallstown, was sentenced to 110 months in prison and five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine.

RIP Mabel E. Hubbard, the first brown woman to serve as a judge of the District Court of Maryland. Hubbard genuiely enjoyed law school and was fond of sayings like "If that is true there is not a dog in Georgia" and "I wouldn't entertain my husband in his underwear in my courtroom" and "I've got to stop coming to court with my neon sign on my forehead saying 'Fool. Fool. Fool.' That way you'll be [less] inclined to spit in my face and tell me it's raining."

A County judge sentenced David F. Bias Jr., 21, and Rodney E. Gibson, 24, yesterday to 40 years in prison each in the death of 20-year-old Linton A. Wittock Jr,. who suffered a heart attack during an attempted armed robbery last year in Lansdowne.

More on suffocated child murderer Richard Spicknall II. Said his ex-wife Lisa, "a weight has been lifted from our shoulders."

Civil in Anne Arundel:
Former payroll tax supervisor Kimberly Ann Whitacre, 35, pled guilty to stealing more than $50k from her staffing-company employer in Hanover.

A federal judge has ordered the Westboro Baptist Church to pay "31-hundred-and-50 dollars" for costs and fees associated with a complaint filed by the father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed.

Da*nit, what is with these nasty old white men?! Seriously, enough!:
Perv of the day is prison guard Daniel Trader, 57, of Pocomoke City, who pled guilty to sending child pornography to an undercover officer posing as a 15-year-old girl.

MORE on Timothy Gounaris ... a former Fallston High grad says she knew he was doing an underage girl and told her parents who told the school system ... this has got to be the longest story the E has ever published!

Be True to Your School: Jada Pinkett Smith, left, donated $1 million to her alma mater, the Baltimore School for the Arts. The money will go to a new theatre named for her late classmate, Tupac.

December 11

A 17-year-old boy, Guiliano M. Santos, died after being shot last night in East Baltimore (253).

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Lataye Shyreise King, 16, of the 1900 block of E. 31st Street with first-degree murder and other counts. Court documents allege on November 7, 2006 Lataye King and three other persons approached Nicole Edmonds and her brother as they exited the MTA Light Rail Train at the W. 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. An arraignment is scheduled for January 16, 2007 before Judge Gale E. Rasin, 509 Courthouse East. Assistant State's Attorney Paul O'Connor will prosecute the case.

The Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Miquel Johnson, 25, of the 1700 block of Laurens Street on first-degree murder in connection with the stabbing death of Michael Griffin, 43. Court documents allege the stabbing occurred on November 26 in the 3900 block of Groveland Avenue following a disagreement with Johnson. An arraignment is scheduled for January 18, 2007 before Judge Rasin, 509 Courthouse East. Assistant State's Attorney Mark Cohen will prosecute this case.


City police are looking for Richard Cardell Jones, right, wanted for the assault of his 10-month-old daughter.

Child-killer Richard Spicknall, 34, left (from the AP) died after being "found unresponsive in the shower around 8 p.m. Saturday night at the Jessup Correction Institution." Spicknall murdered his two young children outside Cambridge, Md. in 1999.
The murders initiatied a state-wide outcry to merge the state's <55 domestic-violence offender databases (which still hasn't happened).

Stephen Janis has a real 'thing' for the story of Rey Rivera.
But come on now, though it's all very sad, if you were going to try to kill a 6-foot man, would you toss him off a roof?

File under Maryland News, Stop Snitching, Witness Intimidation, Iraq:
The Army Reservist who blew the whistle on Abu Ghraib, Joe Darby, is from Cumberland. He told CNN's Anderson Cooper on CBS' 60 Minutes that his accidental discovery of the naked-pyramid pics ruined his life, but he'd do it again.
He should move to the City!

Merle W. Unger Jr., convicted of shooting Officer Donald Kline in Hagtown in 1975, wants a new trial.

Int'l:
Pinochet's dead and the Chileans are freaking.

December 10

Former state pension fund manager Nathan Chapman, accused of mishandling state funds and losing billions, has won the right to be sentenced again, and could get years off.

Former Baltimore cop Steve Jones lost his job as the Police Chief of Grand Forks ND.

How touchy teacher Timothy Gounaris got a job teaching and touching teens at a Baltimore City school, and why local heads are unrollable.

A home invasion, kidnapping and robbery in Eldersburg(north of Sykesville), Baltimore County Thursday night.

Justin Uchendu, 22. of Glen Burnie was charged with first-degree assault after a road rage incident in which he allegedly followed a man to his job with a large knife.

A scary story about ground rents.

Ronald F. Dawson II, 23, of Glen Burnie was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter for the fatal shooting of AAC teenager Taveon Jawon Watson.

Police arrested Conzuella Jones, 32, of Annapolis and charged her with attempted murder. She and her male friend stabbed 37-year-old Fletcher Milburne Dec. 2.

December 9

"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Violent Crime Impact Team, working with the Baltimore Police Department, dismantled a 'very violent' drug organization in the Edmondson Village area ..."

From the DR [subscription required]:

An 82-year-old Baltimore woman is suing Baltimore City, the Baltimore City Police Department and one of its officers, claiming she was handcuffed, pushed and screamed at when police responded to a call at her home in March. Juanita Cantrell filed suit Friday in Baltimore City Circuit Court, alleging assault and battery, false arrest and imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Cantrell also claims the officer threatened to charge her with assault if she reported the behavior, which she in fact did. Police arrived at Cantrell’s home on March 30, 2006, in response to an alleged dispute between the Cantrells and their neighbors.

Dirty Old Men:
Father Jerome F. "Jeff" Toohey Jr., 60, former chaplain of Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, got 8 months shaved off of his sentence by Baltimore County Circuit Judge John G. Turnbull II.
Victims (including CNN's Thomas Roberts) are furious.
The E on Timothy Gouranis: "When an accused sexual offender can switch school districts without so much as a heads up to his future employer, heads should roll."

One of the largest steroid stashes ever was found by customs investigators in AAC.

All sorts of robbery and stolen stuff in the blotter.

Baltimore City Solicitor Ralph Tyler will become chief legal counsel for the new O'Malley administration. From TDR {<- TDR sub. required}:

The 59-year-old Tyler ... spent 14 years in the Office of the Attorney General after moving to Maryland in 1982 [from Illinois]. As chief of litigation, he won the landmark case of Baltimore City Department of Social Services v. Bouknight before the U.S. Supreme Court. In that case, the state’s highest court held that a mother's confinement for civil contempt for failing to produce her previously abused son violated the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The Supreme Court, however, held that the mother could not invoke that amendment to resist the court order to produce the child. In 1996, Tyler made a move to private practice at Hogan & Hartson LLP, where, among other things, he represented Maryland in an attorney'$ fee di$pute with Peter G. Angelo$ stemming from toba¢¢o litigation. In 2004, he replaced Thurman Zollicoffer Jr. as city solicitor. Tyler is a graduate of the University of Illinois, Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Harvard Law School.

Also From TDR: what's up with the Court of Appeals for next week.

PGC lawyer MeLinda Porcher Hodgson of Windsor Mill was disbarred after failing to tell her client that said client's divorce case had been dismissed because Hodgson didn't file a financial form. {<- - sub. required}

Have a Big Gay Weekend!

BCrime readers may seem conservative, but only 10 percent advocate leaving our laws the way they are now or killing the gays. Well, that's nice. The rest support some kind of gay rights, like adopting or fostering kids. Three voters thought gay couples should be able to foster kids but not adopt them. Only about a third of readers support actual marriage or civil unions.

More news:
A city officer was hit by a car while trying to make a drug arrest on MLKJrBlvd.

Three murder arrests in the blotter, including Donavan Troy White, 17, extradited from NC for the beating death of Joel Bradley; Darrell Barnes, 42, charged with strangling Shannon Jackson, 39 (in 2001, and leaving her body in a storm drain), and Tavon Caldwell, charged with shooting Dennis O'Neil, 38 on November 18; also a shooting in Franklin.

Worcester County's most wanted, Riley Collick, 28, of Stockton, turned himself in to US Marshalls downtown.

Burglary in Owings Mills, armed robbery in Pikesville and Randallstown, stolen shoes in Reisterstown.

A Reisterstown teenager, Kaseem Malik Ray, was charged as an adult with attempted murder, assault, burglary and reckless endangerment after being ID'd as the shooter in a County dispute.

Pathologist Todd Sheridan, charged with voluntary manslaughter, pled not guilty at arraignment today. The court scheduled a trial date of March 2 before Judge Albert J. Matricciani, Jr.

Frederick police are looking for David Allen Chambers, wanted for second degree murder, first degree assault, handgun violations and reckless endangerment.

December 8

Local shootings.
Travon Johnson, 23, was shot to death in the 3600 block of Brehms Lane in Belair-Edison (at least 252).

A 24-year-old man was (nonfatally) shot near Cherry Hill elementary school yesterday.

"Baltimore police pleaded yesterday to hear again from a man who called 911 and gave them promising leads in the shooting of police officer Officer Momodu Gondo (right) before hanging up" or being disconnected.

Bad Cops.
Update: Andre Stover, a former BC police officer, was indicted for conspiring with one Natalie Mack, former claims adjuster, to commit felony theft and felony insurance fraud.
And, a week or so ago, former SE officer Terre N. Shields, accused of setting her SUV on fire for the insurance money, quit the department.

Politics.
What the?! Beloved local Socialist A. Robert Kaufman has been attacked again, by another tenant! Kaufman was hit on the head with a brick by a man whose name may be Stephen.

"Awkward," that's one way to put the situation in which Dixon has "authority over the very board charged with offering an opinion on her actions."

Well, that's nice... before sailing off into the sunset, Ehrlich created a state board to oversee crime labs.

It's actually good news when pedophiles are brushed out from under the rug, right?
Perv du jour is Robert Borello, 52, left, accused of an 'encounter' with a 16-year-old volleyball player at Wicomico High.

The PGC minister, the late and Rev. Milton L. Moore, may not have been the victim of random violence, but targeted for "personal reasons." Wonder what that means...

"Montgomery County police have arrested three teenagers accused of shooting a 15-year-old boy with a pellet gun during an armed robbery in Chevy Chase. Police charged Jordan Terrazas, 17, of Silver Spring; Arian A. Butler, 16, of Silver Spring; and Christopher A. Tillman, 16, of the District with armed robbery, assault and theft."

HarfCo: "Deputy State Fire Marshals have charged 18-year-old Heather Reynolds of Whiteford, 18-year-old Lauren Dobbs of Forest Hill and an unidentified 16-year-old boy" with setting off two bombs at the Klein's grocery store.

December 7 -Pearl Harbor Day

Kenneth Megginson of Finksburg, right, was arrested for the murder-by-shooting of alleged crackhead Gregory A. Welsh. Megginson, 24, allegedly shot Welsh on his parents' fron porch in the Northeast last Halloween.

From the big E:
Baltimore's crowded courts cause very long delays
and
the mess that 'Large' number of postponed trials has us in

Baltimore's Emmett Lindsay, left, 27, has been charged with murder for killing Amy Bracht, an 18-year-old education major at Southwestern Illinois College.

Do we need a law like Maine's to protect pets? Or did Kelli Green want Robert Tomlin to set her kittens on fire?

Rodricks writes about the truck wash that employs ex-felons.

Remember this Madam, Deborah Jean Palfrey? Lives in Valet-ho, ran a local cathouse, fond of historic restoration?
Recruited UMD students with ads in the Diamondback
? Well, party's over, the Feds have seized her assets.

There's a twist, we have a new Deputy Mayor!: mayor-presumptove Dixon invented a new position, Deputy Mayor for Community and Human Development, and put Salima S. Marriott (right) in the chair!
Mariott couldn't even get elected in her own district (the 40th) but now she's (surely) Baltimore's youngest-ever deputy mayor!
And YiIiiiKES, "'Dixon is taking over Baltimore at a time when the city is in good shape,'" said Andrew Frank, another Deputy Mayor (for neighborhood and economic development).
What neighborhood does he live in, I wonder?
BTW, the state investigation into city contracts that involving Dixon's sister and her former campaign chairman continues...

Wha? The Van Smith who worked on John Waters movies is not the same one who works at the CP, we assume!

From the Internets: The last link we'll ever post on the Sigma Chi "Halloween in the Hood" party.

HoCo
Donald Jones, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree rape, second-degree sex offense and child sex abuse charges in May and was sentened to 65 years yesterday. Jones raped a pre-school-age girl and recorded the crime on videotape.

AAC
Inmate Kenneth Lawrence Higgins, 37, was found guilty of killing fellow inmate Brian Wilson in January of 2005.

Michael Green, 26, was convicted of negligent homicide, DUI and other charges in a bench trial stemming from the deaths of his daughter and her half-sister in a drunken-driving crash.

Handyman Albert Givens' fifth trial for the murder of Marlene Kilpatrick ended with conviction.

In the latest Navy football rape case, the victims tested negaive for gamma-hydroxybutyrate.

PGC:
A pastor was shot to death on the steps of his church.

December 6 nite

Three children were home during the family shoot-out over a utility bill in the Northwest. Johnathan Brodie, on parole for a 10-year sentence for a drug dealing conviction, and his girlfriend, 25-year-old Brandy DuPreee, are in custody.

A child is dead after a hit-and-run in South Baltimore.

In White Marsh at the Park N Ride a man kidnapped and assaulted a 13-year-old girl. (Time for the local news to heap on holiday "how safe is the Park N Ride?" stories...)

Nine students are being treated for pepper-spray exposure after a cafeteria brawl at Woodlawn HS.

Baltimore rabbi Avram Reisner helped open an interpretational door to allow same-sex commitment ceremonies and the ordination of gays within Conservative Judaism ... but no backdoor action for the boys.

December 6

CP:
Murders this week: 251
Andre Alexander, 21, 4300 block of Fairfax Road;
Dennis Talley, 48, 3800 block of Towanda Avenue;
Jason Sanders, 17, 2100 block of East Biddle Street (aka "300 block of Chester street" and "1100 N. Chester");
Hamel Hurley, 25, 1500 block of Shadyside Road
Rassan Jones, 22, 300 block of West Lafayette Avenue in Bolton Hill

"Police also reported for the first time a killing Friday in Northeast Baltimore's Hillen neighborhood. The victim, Hamel Hurley, 25, called 911 about 2 p.m. from his front steps and told a dispatcher he had been shot in the upper body during a robbery attempt in the rear of his home in the 1500 block of Shadyside Road. He died nine hours later at Johns Hopkins Hospital, police said. The killings brought the city's homicide toll for the year to 251, compared with 252 at the same time in 2005..."

Lucille Thorn of Newark, Delaware is now in the custody of U.S Marshals in Baltimore after she "allegedly attempted to hire a man to kill her 83-year-old stepmother so she could get some of her late father's inheritance money."

A New Twist in the Redwood Trust Double-Murder Case

Four buildings doused with flammable liquid and torched in the Southwest.

I wonder what happened with this double shooting near eeb's mom's house? (What's that neighborhood called, anyway? Hamilton?)

Blotter: Guns, drugs and another burglary in Parkville, where former owner Muhammad R. Choudhry was shot.

They are the champions: An utterly nutty story abot HoCo neighbors whose seven-year feud has led to 13 criminal cases (so far).

"Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat" and "All This and Rabbit Stew"? Greg Kane's English class = edutainment!

Best New Blog: Bags In Trees, devoted to (what else?) the city's native bird, Bageotus Plasticus.

Congrats to my dad, winner of the TU President's Award! Someone put that man on the Board of Regents!

The Poor

Lots of comments on the "why are there poor people" poll.

I was just curious to know how many people blame poor people themselves. About one-fifth, it turns out!

From YouTube:

December 5

At a hearing today, Judge John Carroll Byrnes sentenced Calvin Amos, 53, to 15 years in prison. A Baltimore City jury convicted Amos October 13 of voluntary manslaughter and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. Judge Byrnes sentenced Amos to 10 years for the manslaughter and a consecutive five years without the possibility of parole for the handgun count. The case:

On March 3, 2006 Amos shot Joseph Schlick, 25, in the head at Amos' home, 2301 Herkimer St. Amos told responding officers the he had just shot Schlick. He was transported police headquarters where he gave a full confession to shooting Joseph Schlick. A search and seizure warrant was obtained and a black-powder handgun was recovered from the counter top of the kitchen. The victim was found on the kitchen floor. Investigation revealed that the victim came through the back door. Furthermore, there was no sign of forced entry. The victim and the defendant knew each other.

Very odd: A 24-year-old off-duty officer, Momodu Gondo, was shot in the back in the 5700 block of the Alameda in the Northwestern (Northwestern?!)

Yooooicks! Who hired this eyeliner-wearing freaknut to teach middle school? And how did he manage to lure a 13-year-old student into his bedroom undetected for two weeks?

Three years later, the death of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna remains a mystery. (Wonder what RodJR's theory is?)

More on the criminal case against Pearson "Trey" Sunderland III, the NIH Alzheimer's researcher on the take.

"Sexual lifestyles" -- the class no one cuts!
I hope high school civics classes are showing the CSA's Big Gay Webcast today!!
(Wonder how Frank Conaway enjoys being the plaintiff in the Big Gay Lawsuit?)
Meanwhile, three conservative Maryland rabbis are part of a theological committee re-examining homosexuality and Jewish law, and in Oakland, schools are becoming more accomodating to the less "gender typical" student.
And FYI, I was sober, Mrs. Hunter ...! Tw*t!

December 4, evening

Interesting goings-on at the US Attorney's office:

• Franklin "Dragon" Molina of the Silver Spring trout gang was sentenced to 114 months for racketeering.
• And scientist Pearson "Trey" Sunderland, III, age 55, faces charges of taking some shady dollars from a drug organization (aka Pfizer).
• "Wig lady," aka 54-year-old Carol Silva, was indicted for bank fraud and identity theft. Her younger friend Jacqueline Elaine Belim, 46, was indicted on the 20th.
• Anthony Pender, 37, of Laurel got life for guns and drugs.

Why does no one from Baltimore City ever get some of that? (I smell a poll question)

Anon Comments from email:

(1) the Feds have better evidence rules on what they can get into evidence and (2) they have juries that usually convict and (3) [prosecutors] can't get a life sentence for any drug offense in state court, even as a fourth striker, by Maryland law ... the evidence in those cases stink since most people don't cooperate...even witnesses.

There is no lifer law for guns and drugs - if the question relates to Federal Court - there have been life sentences in the past (usually with a murder attached) but in recent times No defendant has been stupid enuff to go to trial with the usually Baltimore County-like - convict'em all juries in federal court - that's what plea bargaining is - in Fedland it means do 20-30 years without parole or get life without after trial - which is totally the opposite of what we have in State Court - which is [why prosecutors] can't get defendants to necessarily take ten years with parole or even probation sometimes on a MURDER let alone drug cases!

December 4

A gun battle near the 3400 block of Cottage Ave. in the Northwest at about 7:10 p.m. yesterday; 17-year-old Keith Holly arrested for attempted murder in a shooting witnessed by cops; a second suspect arrested for the Executive-Inn-stairway-beating murder.

Bail for BalCo hit-and-run tot killer Arellano de Hogue, 40, was set at $250,000.... Her "vehicle struck Elijah Cozart, 3, and his grandmother, 55-year-old Marjorie Thomas, as she pushed him in a stroller across Goucher Boulevard."

The gay-marriage fight has surely pushed our court into one long-thrusting thorny thicket, with everybody watching the long, slow webcast!
(At least in theory... looks like they have plenty to hear about first, like who gets to award contracts to whom)
Other hot high-court action: DC Supreme probes race and schools!)

Down in Tacoma Park, a District man was arrested for the city's fifth homicide this year.

Looks like O'Malley's down with gambling gaming after all ... just the untaxed bar-video kind.