Afternoon shoot-out

One kid on foot, another on a bike exchanged ten shots.

Classy!

How tough is Walbrook High? One Carrington McNutt was murdered and at least eight people were injured after a huge brawl broke out at the reunion and a guy went on a "stabbing rampage"
Update: stabbing rampage guy was ID'd as James Dixon

Another "possible homicide" in South Baltimore

A 17-year-old girl shot through the front door of her home on Belair Rd

Former pastor Kevin Pushia pled guilty to killing blind, disabled Lemuel Wallace to steal his life insurance money. Said his defense attorney, "Mr. Pushia made some poor decisions"

Quality reportage from WMAR: "Folks in Roland Park like to walk....that's how the neighborhood is sort of set up."

Farther afield: melee at Folsom Prison

Van Smith on the race for city sheriff

Go f-youself

So said 14-year-old murder suspect Arteesha Holt to a school police officer, according to a police report.

Some chutzpah!

Politicians in the Jessamy camp call the Bernstein "Dawson" ad offensive to the Dawson family ... apparently without talking to any family members! Says Carnell Dawson of the ad, "it makes some good points ... Nobody should be saying what they think we feel." No kidding!
Meanwhile, the back-and-forth goes on over who in the prosecutor's office dropped the ball on the Dawsons, and the NAACP is planning some sort of.. something.

ps. here's the Marge Shipley radio ad

pps., for the next round, Jessamy's going after Bernstein's experience as a defense attorney.

and ppps., hope you can come out for our Bernstein Meet & Greet, next Wednesday the 1st from 6- 7:30 at the Falls in Mt. Washington. (The candidate will be there then, but the fun will also go on after he leaves if you can't make it by 7:30). We plan to have some crime-themed drink specials, little snacks and a rollicking good time, and it would be nice if you could join/ RSVP to our Facebook group so we will know how many people to provide for.

The Long Rod of the Law

A federal indictment for Steven Blackwell

Also 10 years for two-time armed carjacker

Ew gross, a decomposing body found near 25th and Guilford

"Man beaten by woman with baseball bat" while a "large crowd" looked on

Family says 14-year-old alleged murder perp was "unstable" & they tried to seek help for her mental health problems to no avail

County police ISO home-invading sex offender Lavar Rich

In Glen Burnie, man robbed while trying to help change a tire

Op-ed: "If I Hadn't Found Jesus, I'd Feel Pretty Shitty About My Crimes"

Don't call me dude

Guess it's safe to skate board at the Inner Harbor 'cause Officer Revieri has been fired.

more on the Roland Park Robbery

RP Robbery

A man and woman held up at gunpoint in the middle of the day near the Roland Park library yesterday

Another Bernstein Supporter

Marge Shipley, the mother of murdered witness Carl Lackl, has come out in support of Gregg Bernstein.

Somewhat off topic, but if the podcast of Shipley's interview on the Ed Norris show about a year and a half ago is still available I highly recommend listening to it. She gave the interview shortly after Patrick Byers was convicted and it was absolutely heart-wrenching to listen to.

The great debate

Candidates for top prosecutor job square off again, this time in Canton.

14 year old girl charged with murder

Police charge 14 year-old in shooting death of a Hispanic man.

Shooting

On Penn Avenue and North outside of library branch.

Gender Equality?

A 13-year old girl allegedly tried to rob two men, and when they resisted she shot them both. One victim was killed.

Feel free to assmble

According to new police policy you can no longer arrest people for standing on a sidewalk and protesting.

What the who?!

City voters, have you gotten your "Official 2010 Primary Sample Ballot" in the mail yet? Because early voting starts in 12 days and I have no idea who anyone is besides the prospective State's Attorneys and the Conaways, and the sample ballot looks nothing like the Web site. Who is Neil R. Bernstein? Who are these people running for judge of the orphan's court?!

Hate crime, beating the rap

Police say a man arrested for beating a hispanic male may be a hate crime.

But perhaps more important according to online court records he beat serious robbery and drug charges twice before working his way up to murder.

WTF?! Slumlord Running for Baltimore City Sheriff!!

Slumlord watch notes that Mike Schaefer, a slumlord so slummy he was jailed and fined $1.8 million, is running as the Republican candidate for Baltimore City Sheriff.
You couldn't make this stuff up!

Ken Harris

The trial for the killers of councilman Ken Harris is a go.

MD Clean Air Act lawsuit dismissed by district judge

TGIF

A 10-year old shot in the left hand was one of two shooting victims Thursday night.

At least one lawyer is claiming that the 12-year old who claimed she was raped in Woodlawn has "inconsistencies" in her story.

Anti-Jewish vandalism leads to increased police patrols in Northwest Baltimore.

Creepy. City and County cops have busted Darrell Lyles for impersonating a police officer.

Burglaries in Towson.

No voice mail in the SA's office?

Apparently Patricia Jessamy loves Facebook, hates voice mail.

Charles Village Bikejackings

Former Baltimore city narcotic detective sentenced for fraud, lying., and stealing a diamond Freeze watch.

Deadbeat!

TDR's Melody Simmons reports that Sheila Dixon's former lover Ron Lipscomb has taken his business out of state .. and stopped paying his bills. No word on where Mrs. Lipscomb is living.
.. wouldn't the Dixon story make such a great Urban romance potboiler novel?

This could be bad

The head of the BPD's Comstat unit has resigned.

Firefighter had issues

Just before he attacked a transsexual, firefighter Jerry Majette was suspended for over a month for insubordination.

Firefighter Jerry Majette accused of attacking transgender woman with a hammer.

check out the passive-voice and buck-passing in this Sun opinion piece on the SAO campaign:

"Some of what’s been heard so far — for example, whether Mrs. Jessamy likens city courtrooms to city public schools or that the police commissioner used to have a Bernstein sign — falls well short of the substantive facts the public needs to make an informed choice. That the city could be safer is obvious."

... Isn't the Sun supposed to be the go-to for facts and substance? What is Jessamy's conviction rate, anyway? And didn't you just tell us crime was down, dear paper?

Nol Pros in McCann case

A suspiciously dead body found in a stairwell near the Circuit Court building, and the 137th murder victim = a man shot in July who recently succumbed to his injuries. (WTF? 69 Facebook users "like" this story.)

Remember Annie McCann? One of the guys who admitted to police that he ransacked her car and removed her dead body from her Volvo to go joy-riding in it has gotten off scot-free. Prosecutors say a "lack of evidence" led to a nol pros of the case. Un.Frickin.Believable.

... speaking of prosses, State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy's fundraising reports show that she raised about $46,000 since her last finance report in January. The Sun notes two of the g's were from Jessamy's old pal Doug Duncan, whom she endorsed when he ran against O'Malley.

Severn a-hole charged in road rage murder

.. and in case you were wondering what the Ottobar lawsuit was about, TDR's John Cord has the backstory

So much for the 30 year low

Looks like we're now running neck and neck with last year's homicide totals

Who got hammered?

City firefighter suspended for allegedly attacking a transvestite with a hammer. Seems the equipment wasn't fully functional...

Vigil in the Village

The Charles Villagers for Peaceful Living says there will be a candlelight prayer vigil in remembrance of Stephen Pitcairn on Wednesday August 25th at 11:30pm. 26th Street and St Paul.

SWAT Raid report

The guy who started all the drama in Remington which lead to the SWAT team showing up seemed to be guilty of using his mouth as a deadly weapon.

Three murders and 13 GSW victims this weekend.

Another tortured dog in E Baltimore

Some good news: MD getting $1 million to battle health care rate hikes

Did the sign gambit pay off?

more on the SA's race

Some angry residents after a police stand-off

Jessamy -v - Bernstein round 2

The Vanguard for justice will host another debate between candidates for top prosecutor.

Media Blabber

Are you an unemployed news junkie with a large, plastic-like head? The Deuce is hiring a morning news anchor.

The sailing semen of Gaithersburg .. and other stories

No more fed oversight of city juvie jail

Lamont Harrell, in jail for two murders, now charged with a 3rd

Man found in trash chute of Park Charles Apartments probably fell by accident, police say, but tower worker says that explanation is hard to believe

Arrest in murder of Craig Bouie, dad of 3 shot in his home in Randallstown

Man robbed, shot & killed by teens in Brooklyn Park. Also in AAC, a man shot while walking on a wooded path

Crazy sexagenarian barricades himself in in Sykesville

And finally, Authorities in Maryland say a man accused of squirting semen from a bottle onto two female shoppers has been linked to three more cases." .. off to go barf now

Jessamy vs. Bernstein

Here's a stream of yesterday's debate between State's Attroney hopefuls Bernstein & Jessamy on the Rodericks show, and a live-blogged recap by Page Croyder.

.. and Fenton & Bishop check out the candidates' claims

WBAL says some city residents are offended by Jessamy's "public school" remark

Pensions versus pools

It may cost $400,000 to keep a few pools open, but it costs hundreds of millions to fund police pensions.

It's getting twisted

Okay, the case of the sex offender getting paid by the city while in jail gets even stranger...the fake doctor's notes turned in by his mother were forged in the name of Dr. Keiffer Micthell Sr., the father of our former mayoral candidate and city councilman.

Feud for Thought

You're probably sick of hearing about the Jessamy/ Bealefeld/ Bernstein feud. But it's so darned entertaining! A good point from Page Croyder : "Bealefeld hasn't feuded with anybody. He's been nothing but publicly respectful." (This is true. Last year he told Exhibit A's Melody Simons, "Listen, I don't do public battle with Pat Jessamy.") Cryoder also throws in a bonus Jessamy press-conference spoof.
If you just can't get enough of the fisticuffs, here's other bloggers blogging on this:
Rob Carlson: "[Bealefeld's] one plastic sign, now removed, has already planted the seed of an idea in thousands of minds in less than a week."
Red Herring: "When Pat Jessamy is re-elected City State’s Attorney -- as she surely will be --those who vote for her will deserve the criminal justice system that an indolent and irresponsible prosecutor such as she brings to the city."
The Baltimore Spectator: "Larry Gibson, Mrs. Jessamy, Mayor Rawlings-Blake; non[e] of them have spent much time, if any, at active crime scenes. So to put it frankly, when they speak on the issue, in all due respect, they typically don't know what they hell they're talking about."

Ok, so enough about that. Here's this week's Ink. Five murders this week for a total of 129 so far this year. I wonder what the backstory is with the Corwin murder?

Dine & Dasher Gets 18 Months of Free Meals

From the SAO:

Andrew Palmer, 43 years old, of the 500 block of
S. Broadway Street pled guilty to one count of theft scheme and received the maximum penalty of 18 months incarceration on August 3, 2010 after prosecutors presented evidence of his restaurant theft scheme to a district court judge.

According to the arresting officers, from April 26, 2010, through July 21, 2010, Palmer ate meals and consumed alcoholic beverages at several area restaurants in Baltimore City; including the Capital Grille, Burke’s Café, Ding How Restaurant, Maisy’s Restaurant and Borinken Bar and Restaurant. In each case, when Palmer did not have funds to cover the restaurant bill, he feigned a seizure that required the presence of medical personnel. In each instance, the value of the goods consumed was less than $100; therefore the maximum possible penalty for each offense was 90 days of incarceration.

After reviewing the individual cases, the State’s Attorney’s Office filed a criminal information incorporating multiple pending cases and proceeded on an additional charge of theft scheme, which carries a maximum penalty of 18 months of incarceration. After hearing Palmer’s record, which includes over 40 convictions for theft, Judge George Lipman followed the plea agreement recommendation and sentenced Palmer to 18 months of incarceration, which is the maximum allowable sentence on the theft scheme charge.

Can't a couple of guys get together and talk on North Avenue?

a few photos of Bernstein, the commish, and delegate Billy Taylor crossing paths, it is really worth an investigation?

Jessamy vs. Bernstein.. Live in Your Earhole

tune in Thursday at noon to 88.1 for a debate that's bound to be muy caliente!

Jessamy Mad as Wet Hen

...gets in scary-mommy mode and hand-delivers letter calling for an "independent fact finder" to probe Bealefeld's "serious credibility issue" and "establish whether our police commissioner is a person of truth and veracity."
Uhm, is that really the best campaign strategy?
WJZ has video of the press conference, and Hermann has Bernstein's reaction.

Mary Koontz of Glen Arm gets life w/o parole for murder of husband

Prosector sign wars

Director John Waters weighs in on city prosecutors' race.

Court laments

Former Pigtown resident finds that trying to press assault case in city court can be pretty frustrating

128

A 25-year-old on Germania Ave

In addition to the three homicides, lots of "gsw"s

And a homicide in Harford? That's unusual...

.. and a father of three killed in his home in Randallstown

An arrest in Fell's Point robberies, one Leonard Copeland

Bloody Weekend So Far

Three murders on Friday night/Saturday morning.

Four years later the murder of Dr. Albert Ro in Anne Arundel County has been solved.

A crazy woman in MoCo tried to kill her kids.

A misbehaving county cop is in trouble for a fight he got into in the city.

BCrime Meetup & Gregg Bernstein Happy Hour

.. will be Wednesday, Sept. 1 from 6 - 7:30. Join our Facebook group or e-mail me for location.

Execution-style slaying in Lake Clifton

Man stood over victim, shot at point blank range with shotgun.

Jessamy Blasts Bealefeld

.. uhm, is that really the best campaign strategy?

Listen up, cynical Cynthias

Gregg Bernstein CAN be our next State's Attorney ... pretty easily!
He & Jessamy are both Democrats, and with no Republican contender for State's Attorney, the primary on September 14 will decide the State's Attorney's race. With no other races in serious contention (except the clerk of the court, maybe), presumably the only voters who will show on Sept. 14 will be ones who really care about the State's Attorney's race.
.. so if you're a Democrat and care about this race, tell your mother, brother, sister and her friends to turn out September 14!

Bounty Hunters get plea offer, former Dixonite: Crime is down

Former Dixon spokesman says the media is giving Baltimore a bum rap when it comes to crime.

Two of the Baltimore chapter of the Bounty Hunters get plea offers.

Bealefeld likes Bernstein

Someone spotted a Gregg Bernstein sign in the police commissioner's front yard.

Audit this

Looks like the BPD doesn't want an independent audit of rape cases. And no one wants CC Prez Jack Young snooping around

Hoodlumery in my neighborhood!

Gangs of roaming teenage thugs are attacking people in Upper Fells Point. Several of the attacks occurred at a relatively early (9:30ish) hour.

Meow!

Who's suing the Ottobar?

Impound lot theft

Inspector General probes $6000 in funds missing from city impound lot.

Baseheads rejoice

The Fair Sentencing Act, expected to be signed next Tuesday, will reduce the disparity between cocaine and crack sentences.
(But still no end in sight for the crack-crazed squirrel epidemic...)

"Focus on shootings contributed to neglect of city rape claims, Bealefeld says," meanwhile, "Lack of police reports stalls review of city rape allegations"

Shooting at the Hilton

Gunman gets nabbed at downtown hotel.

Notes from the vigil

According to some attendees, taking away cable television has more to do with East Baltimore murders than policing. Plus the commish looks for "vile snakes."

PC: O'Malley Without Principles

.. and "taught Jessamy how to bully".
Not sure I agree with all of this .. but Politics Examiner Adam Meister does

.. the State's Attorney's office has launched a Facebook page. (To be fair, Here's Bernstein's.)

.. and speaking of social media, if you're tiring of your virtual social life, please save Wednesday, Sept. 1 between 6 and 7:30, for an in-the-flesh Meet and Greet Happy Hour with Gregg Bernstein, location TBA here and on the Baltimore Crime Facebook Group page.

Homicide in North Baltimore

Playing with a gun turns deadly.

ACLU says it's now okay to hit record

The group says the AG's opinion issued Friday means prosecutors should drop charges against Maryland man accused of recording a Maryland State Trooper.


Meanwhile, more on O'Malley's hedging on Jessmay,

Questions are being asked about the size of the new juvenile jail being built in Baltimore.

I hate these kinds of headlines. Mistakes by child molester's attorneys could set him free. The judge who ruled in this guy's favor was Andre Davis. Rod Rosenstein was nominated to Davis's seat during the Bush Administration, but the Senate never acted on the nomination.

Another murder near Penn Station is attracting much less outrage than that of Stephen Pitcairn. The victim may have been murdered because he was a witness.

Shooting at police officers is a bad idea.

The Attorney General's Office says it's probably ok to tape interactions with police officers in Maryland.

Jessamy & Bernstein debate

State's Attorney Jessamy and Bernstein squared off, and only channel 2 was there.. literally, it looks like. But you can check it out online.

O'Malley endorses Jessamy

Just ran into the gov at Belvedere Square ... (doing my best to recall the convo)
Me: So I have to ask you, you're endorsing Jessamy, really? I thought you were old enemies!
O'Malley: Early on I made some oversweeping remarks about her that I regret, but crime is at its lowest in 15 years, and she's been a big part of that.
Me: Really? But isn't there a possibility someone could do a better job? Is something wrong with Gregg Bernstein?
O'M: I could do a better job, we could all do better at our jobs.
Me: Yeah, okay, sure but.. what about the judges you've appointed and this Charles Village murder, didn't you appoint Braverman, who let one of the killers out?
Him: Actually that was Judge Howard, appointed by Ehrlich. And what happened in Charles Village is a tragedy. But the great thing is my vote counts just as much as your vote, and we have a choice.
Me:: .. but do we really have a choice? Jessamy was appointed to that position, and very few people pay attention to that race. If you endorsed a different candidate that really might make a difference.
Judge Katie O'Malley (hustling me away): It's not that there's anything wrong with Gregg Bernstein. He's a great lawyer. It's just that our administration and Jessamy have worked so well together.

.. so there you have it.

.. it looks like IV editor Regina Holmes also talked to O'M at the same event.. and while the governor is "supporting" Jessamy, he may or may not be "endorsing" her. Or something.

Long, violent week.

It wouldn't be an awful, violent week in Baltimore, without the tragic death of yet another upstanding elderly citizen.

A judge declared a mistrial in the Stephen Mauk murder case, after the jury took equally as long deliberating as the trial itself.

Two more names were added to the homicide tally with the shooting death of 36 year old Shawn Crawford, and the apparent beating death of 38 year old Steven Harris.

A witness was turned victim Thursday. As a second person is killed in Station North in a week.

Finally the police want to know, have you seen these men? They're wanted for crimes ranging from burglary to Attempted Murder.

Page Croyder: Shame on who for Pitcairn murder?

Census worker's death, the city (employee) that drives

Police search for clues in death of census worker.

Meanwhile city employee gets a free ride, courtesy of city taxpayers.

Thankfully, crime is down

the governor and the mayor took the time to remind us yesterday that crime is down...way down

Jessmay shows, does not speak

Politicians, including Jessmay gathered at a gathering last night in Charles Village for murder victim Stephen Pitcairn.

Meanwhile Rick Gilbert, who left the city after his attack tells his story.

Crime is not down

Or at least we're tired of hearing that it is.

A memorial for murder victim Stephen Pitcairn.

More details on the CV robbery

Photos taken of the crime scene.

Pat's party

Larry Gibson still claims he's not working for Pat Jessamy's campaign.

Hopkins Cancer Researcher Killed in CV Robbery

23-year-old Stephen Pitcairn was stabbed to death last night in Charles Village while walking home from the train station; died in the gutter holding a stranger's hand.

UPDATE: John Alexander Wagner, 34, and Lavelva Merritt, 24, were arrested for Pitcairn's murder. Unshockingly, both have extensive criminal histories.

Chased out of Pigtown

Drug dealer beat down is the last straw for this Pigtown resident.

Weekend crime

Motorcycle rider is killed after a high-speed chase. Apparently the officer involved ignored orders to end the pursuit. He's been suspended from duty.

Quadruple stabbing in the County early on Saturday morning.

Double shooting in Owings Mills on Friday night.

Michael Phelps got robbed

just learned that his Mt. Washington aquatic club got jacked.

After hours club shoot-out

wild west weekend begins

Bad idea #19,324

= printing your own money in a room at the Ramada Inn

Yet Another Delay

The trial of Lee Stephens, accused of murdering Maryland House of Correction CO David McGuinn has been delayed yet again. If Stephens's trial goes ahead as scheduled next May it will have been nearly five years since McGuinn was murdered. No trial date has been set for Lamar Harris, Stephens's co-defendant.

Looks like the feds can do it

Not a light plea deal and lots of time behind bars for this bank robber.

This is embarassing

I never had a very high opinion of the Maryland Court of Appeals, and this only reinforces that impression.

Greene countered with the more up-to-date South Park reference, penning that in the "immortal words of Mr. Mackey, 'Drugs are bad.'"

He used his footnote to put the quote into full context, and it's most likely the first time an opinion from the state's highest court has included the phrase, "It's a bad thing to do drugs, so don't be bad by doing drugs, m'kay, that'd be bad."

BTW, it would be nice if the article told us which judges voted which way in this case.

Edit: I looked up the decision online, and the other judge that ruled in favor of the defendant was (surprise surprise) Robert Bell.

Have you seen...

Terrence, Tyrese, John or James?

All in the family

The city has sued former DPW employee and registered sex offender Dennis McLaughlin and his mother for $12,000 to recover sick pay he received while in jail.

Liquor Board shuts down Brooklyn bar

Ravens house, the scene of brutal murder in May has been shut down.

Two homicides

One on Pimilico Road and the other on 10th Street, Brooklyn Homes.

I Guess He Deals Too...

Darnell Angelo Holmes, a BGF member who City Paper described last year as a tattooed, daily heroine user, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison today for selling large amounts of heroin.

Shellenberger Seeks Death

How in the world did I miss this story?

The Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office has announced that they will seek the death penalty against the hitman who murdered William Porter and Porter's wife who ordered the hit. The other four suspects in the case won't face the death penalty because only the triggerman and the person who contracted the killing are eligible.

Prevent

Warren Brown said 'Lawyers for Bernstein' will release a list of murders that could have been prevented had mandatory sentences been imposed on repeat violent offenders.

Officer Rivieri cleared, almost

An internal trial board said the skateboard hating cop was justified in use of excessive force, but the commish has the final word.

you too can earn money while serving time....

Harford Homicide

Bel Air had its first murder in four years.

A couple of non-fatal shootings in Baltimore overnight.

WBAL says there were a total of four people shot over the weekend.

Divorcing couple must split custody of their dog.

Kurt Schmoke's old campaign manager is coming out in support of Pat Jessamy.