Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Who'll pay for it?

The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that indigent defendants are entitled to public defenders at all court proceedings including initial bail hearings*. Public Defenders say they don't have the resources to do it.

No charges in Conaway kerfuffle

... for either Meister or Mr. Conaway. But Meister will surely face ¢harge$-- the "frail white boy" hired Warren Brown as his attorney. As for old Frank's firearm permit, his lawyer says it wasn't expired and the charges were based on clerical error.

The Ink recaps last year's 196 murders, with updates on cases. In case you were wondering, Belair-Edison was last year's most murderous neighborhood.

And what the hell? Video of balding man attacking cops is making the rounds. WJZ identifies him as Manuel L. Imel. Blame it on the alalalalalcohol!:

#1

Aw geeze, it seemed like we were going to go four whole days into 2012 with no murders, but it was not to be. The first victim of the year is reportedly a 62-year-old man shot in Park Heights last night. *

The Ink details last week's four murders, plus updates

In the County, a girl gang-raped at Skateworks identified one of her attackers* -- she was 12 and he's 26. Blargh. One of the other attackers, Kadeem R. Santiful, 19, plead guilty, and the other, Tracey W. Hankins, 15, was moved to the juvenile justice system.

Oh Conaways, you so crazy! Frank Senior pays* $3,640 in back taxes

Three men (including Thomas Jefferson!) cop to stealing $2.6 million worth of metal through a fence-hole at the Port of Baltimore. Sounds like Peanut is still at large.

A sexagenarian M&T trader pleaded guilty to stealing $223k from her former employer and one of its trading partners

Donor Richard Stewart pleaded guilty to failing to pay employment taxes, so the guv re-gifted his contributions to a group that shoots deer for the hungry.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Hermann: 80 percent of perps had it coming

Life "" art: Omar Little arrested for handgun charges*

Hermann does the math so you don't have to: 80 percent of 2011's murder victims had criminal records, as 90 percent of those arrested for murder. I wonder if the trend holds from a few years back in which victims had been arrested more times, on average, than alleged perps.

2012's first shooting victim is 13*

Bernstein to organize prosecutor's caseloads into geographic "zones"*, as opposed to by crime category. Sensible solution, or deck chairs?

A case to watch: MD being sued over racial disparities in school funding

Dickeyville tire-slasher arrested

Er, whut? The city sheriff is going to start seizing the Housing Authority's stuff to pay for the lead paint judgement against them

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2011 Homicides

With 197 homicides this year, Baltimore has had its lowest homicide total since 1977. Fenton from the Sun reports on the near-jubilance of public officials over this under-200 year.

Last year we had 223 homicides,
2008 was 234;
2007 was 291;
2006 was 274;
2005 was 269.
We've blogged 1,487 murders.

Here is the complete listing of 2011's 197 victims:

197.  Phylicia Barnes, 16, 6500 Eberle Dr. Found: (4/20/11) Added: (04/26/12)


  • 196. Tiyon Campbell, 31, 2800 block of W. Garrison (12/28)
  • Saturday, December 31, 2011

    Justice Delayed

    It has been more than five years after the murder of CO David McGuinn at the Maryland House of Correction. Jury selection in the trial of the first of his two alleged killers begins Tuesday* in Anne Arundel County.

    Friday, December 30, 2011

    'I don’t think there’s anything about which
    I will ever be more grateful'

    Have you seen these two, wanted for attempted armed robbery on the Light Rail? (Left, via WBAL)

    Robberies galore in the southeast and coats for the homeless stolen in the southern, reports the Baltimore Guide

    Last week's four murders recapped in the Ink. Says O'Malley of the drop in the murder toll this year, "I don’t think there’s anything about which I will ever be more grateful in public service."

    The WaPo follows up on the case following the killing of U of MD student Justin DeSha-Overcash

    Police backtrack on the whole "prosecutors are stalling and hindering our cases" thing

    Two "doctors" (can you call them doctors if they lost their licenses to practice?) are facing murder charges under Maryland's "viable fetus" law after two botched abortions. The women lived.

    Nathan A. Chapman Jr., once a prominent man about town, is now a man about a halfway house*

    Hellz yes, tax giveaways need more scrutiny

    The FBI says gun sales are up

    The Tribune Co. bankruptcy case will lurch on until at least this summer with hearings not starting until May. In better news, the judge has reversed himself, deciding that Zell won't be in line for a bankruptcy payout after all.

    Drugs are bad for you

    Three suspected heroin overdose deaths in two days in Harford County.

    Wednesday, December 28, 2011

    196

    Tweets Fenton, "Shooting at 2800 W Garrison is a homicide."

    UPDATE: Fenton says the 31-year-old victim was killed when he fought back during the course of a home-invasion robbery*.

    a friend of mine was also burgled yesterday in Endor Gadrens-- had her door kicked in in the middle of the day; thieves took her kids' Christmas presents. Sigh.

    Have you seen...



    this guy? He's wanted for questioning in reference to the December 9th triple-shooting near Club Envy in the 1800 block of Maryland Ave.

    Tuesday, December 27, 2011

    The year in crime, torts and general bad behavior

    It's the end of the year, which means it's a fine time to recap some of the most notable civil- and criminal-law stories of the past 12 months:

    10. Conaways in the crossfire: Frank Conaway Senior kept his position as clerk of the court again, but there was still bad news aplenty for the family: Belinda lost her city council seat to Nick Mosby after Adam Meister revealed she was claiming a tax credit illegally, TDR revealed a laundry list of problems at the Clerk's office, and Frank Senior got in hot water for brandishing a firearm with an expired permit in front of his house. And Frank Conaway Jr.'s book's sales rank slipped to #4,104,807th on Amazon.

    9. Tow-mageddon: 17 officers charged with extortion in a dirty towing scheme. As Jayne Miller's source said, "it's not the crime of the century, but it's not pretty."

    8. It got a little harder to rape somebody. The Sun's Justin Fenton uncovered the unsavory fact that the city has the nation's highest level of rape cases deemed "unfounded"*. And, finally, the FBI changed the definition of "rape" to include male victims, penetrations sans penis and non-forcible rapes.

    7. For whatever reason, this was the year an exceptionlly high number of dirty political chickens came home to roost in MD: Paul Shurick, Jack Johnson, Tiffany Alston, Richard Stewart of the redistricting committee and Belinda C. all felt karma's bitter sting.

    6. The Brew attacks! Rapacious newsroom cuts by the Sun's evil gnomish overlord left the local paper of record with scant resources to do the time-consuming, ass-pain investigative pieces necessary to uncover pork, malfeasance and sketchy government dealings. Stephen Janis' defection from Investigate Voice to join the Fox news team left another news hole. But fortunately for us all, the Baltimore Brew stepped into the breach, uncovering the mayor's plan to stealthily privatize rec centers, explaining the little acronyms like TIF and PILOT that let city officials grant breaks to their developer pals, and the high price of settling police misconduct lawsuits. What they cover is just a fraction of what could use delving into, but hey, it's something.

    5. It gets better-ish. The arc of the moral universe is long and full of dings, dents, and crack-crazed seagulls, but it eventually, slowly bends towards not sucking as much. So it went this year for the state's gay and transgender citizens. In spite of the Senate passing the gay marriage bill, it died in the House. In March, Tyra Trent was murdered, and in April, Chrissy Polis had the tar beaten out of her at McDonald's. But it is now possible for a baby to have two mommies on a birth certificate (if said mommies married elsewhere), and starting next month, Baltimore county employees who were married in other states can receive same-sex benefits.

    4. Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old honor student, went missing December 28 of 2010, and a long, pitiful search by police and family ensued-- one so desperate, police were taking tips from Cham. Barnes' beauty, youth, apparent innocence and mysterious disappearance seemed a perfect fit for Natalie-Holloway-level national hysteria and hand-wringing, but Barnes was apparently not blonde enough* for the national media, which ignored her case until Anthony Guglieimi shamed producers into briefly spotlighting her disappearance. Barnes' body was found in April in the Susquehanna, the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide, but still, no one's been arrested yet.

    3. Mayhem at the Select Lounge. Chaos reigned at West Franklin and N. Paca on January 9: 42 shots fired, Officer William Torbit Jr. and reveler Sean Gamble killed, four citizens hit with bullets. But after an eight-month independent investigation, no charges were filed, no changes were made to BPD procedures, and FHB III concluded that officers "acted reasonably."*

    2. Baltimore swore in a new prosecutor, Gregg Bernstein, who was promptly never heard from again. To be fair, press releases have finally started trickling out in the past few months, and as promised, office staffers did get their BlackBerries and the do-not-call list was abolished*. But it's uncertain if the office is actually more functional than Jessamy's was: in August police complained about prosecutors stalling and "hindering"* cases.

    1. Murders, shootings and unclassified deaths are down-- way, way down. From 335 murders in 1993, to 223 last year, to possibly under 200 in 2011, which will make the murder rate lower than it's been since the 1960s. The drop in violent crime is not just a local trend, but a nationwide thing (hellz, crime is even down in Detroit!), and theories abound as to why. Cops having better technology? The right people finally going to jail? Have we "bupe" to thank? We may never know for sure, what whatever it is, we'll take it.

    ... so what did I miss? ... Fenton posted his top 10 in crime* a little while after I posted this one.

    Monday, December 26, 2011

    Suspicious Food Containers, Merry Merry Shootings

    City Hall was shut down for a little while this morning due to a bomb scare. Turned out it was just a food container and a t-shirt, though the BCPD intelligence section is taking over the investigation now.

    A 30-year-old man was shot in the face in the 100 block of South Monroe St. on the 23rd.

    Another December 23 shooting, this time in the 400 block of North Rose St. Two people, a man and a woman, were non-fatally shot at around 7:30 pm.

    Two people, a 20-year-old and a 26-year-old were shot in the leg on the 24th in Poppleton, specifically the 100 block of North Freemont Ave.

    If there weren't a lot of Christmastime homicides this year, it wasn't for a lack of effort. Two more people still were shot in West Baltimore, inthe 700 block of West Lexington St.

    Finally, an arrest has been made in the Woodlawn stabbing death of Kevin Regusters. Registered sex offender George Robert Evans Jr , 35, was charged with first degree murder on Dec. 22 for his role in the stabbing death.

    Sunday, December 25, 2011

    Aw geeze

    A murder Christmas Eve brings the toll to 195. A moment of thanks and appreciation to the dedicated and selfless officers, EMTS, firefighters and medical examiners who work on Christmas.

    Thursday, December 22, 2011

    The Legend of Stanley

    Violence in SW Baltimore is related to the shooting of a "legend," says FHB III-- a legend named Stanley, who is apparently as slippery as a greased pig on a Teflon pan*: "Armed robbery and handgun charges were dropped by prosecutors in 2008, and he was found not guilty of attempted murder in 2004. In 2007 he was convicted of drug possession with intent to distribute and sentenced to eight years in prison, but seven years and four months of the sentnece (sic) were suspended."

    Towson Town Center shooting victim, Rodney Vest Pridget, was not picked at random and not robbed*, county police say. He was also once convicted of roughing up a guy and stealing an Xbox.

    How far we've come: Fenton posted a year-in-crime story from 1993, when by Dec. 14, 335 people had been murdered in the city*.

    O'Malley fills the CSA seat left vacant by Judge Joseph F. Murphy Jr. with "Bob"

    Beatings, Shootings, and Life plus 40

    A Baltimore grandmother who was beaten with a hammer by her own 14-year-old grandson in March has died. 67-year-old Shirley Garrett died in the hospital after receiving the fatal injuries from her grandson Hassanhii Garrett, 14. Hassanhii was charged as an adult with attempted murder before his case was juvenile court. This murder replaces the murder of Cristopher Gilliam on the homicide list, after his killing was deemed justified.*

    The jury has deliberated in the school bullying case, and returned a verdict in favor of the school.

    A 40-year-old man was shot to death on West Pratt Street last night.

    A man is dead from apparent stab wounds after a fight in Woodlawn got out of control yesterday night. Kevin Eric Regusters, 23, was killed on Purnell Drive in Woodlawn.

    Life plus 40 for the home invasion murder of Shelton Elliott back in 2009. Abron Scott, 44, was given the life term after being convicted on all counts in October.

    Another County homicide. The death of a Pikesville woman has been ruled a homicide. Herbert Wesley Johnson Jr. is being held without bail for beating Gwendolyn Jackson to death.

    Just another day in Baltimore. An elderly woman was robbed not once but twice over a span of a few minutes.

    Finally, a large scale brawl erupted at a basketball game between Lemmel Middle School and a DC school.

    Wednesday, December 21, 2011

    Suspects suspected

    Phylicia Barnes' father says he's anticipating an arrest in the case, BoCo Popo say that's not so, though note the investigation is still active and progress has been made. Hmm.

    Police Tweet "SHOOTING: 700 Belnord (Eastern District, Madison-Eastend Community) 11:58pm, adult female shot. Detectives investigating."

    The judge threw out 9/13 counts* in the city bullying lawsuit, the case is to the jury now

    Rod Rosenstein: politicians who shove cash in their "under ware" are stupid, greedy dummkopfs (to paraphrase a little)

    Blood on Blood Action

    Dajuan Marshall , 29, The leader of the Bounty Hunter Bloods has been sentenced to life plus 20 for kidnapping and fatally shooting Kenneth Jones the leader of the Pasadena Denver Lane Bloods.

    The Sun has released their top 10 local news stories of 2011. Crime stories making the list were the Select Lounge shooting, the McDonald's assault of a transgendered woman, and the Wire's Felicia "Snoop" Pearson being arrested and later convicted for her role in a drug ring.

    Police have released surveillance photos of the two men who shot the owner of Upclose Barbershop during an attempted robbery. The owner is still in critical condition.

    Grand Prix officials have until Dec. 31 to pay back the more than 1 million dollars in taxes they owe to the state.

    County police are trying their hardest to emphasize that the fatal shooting of Rodney Pridget (Pictured Right) was "absolutely not a random act." Which is good, in the sense that regular citizens aren't being robbed and murdered, but it's still pretty cruddy no matter what.

    Finally, a one-alarm fire in Hampden left a man dead.

    Tuesday, December 20, 2011

    193

    Two men were shot last night, leaving one dead. 29-year-old Donte Lamonte Collins was shot and killed at the 1500 block of North Rosedale St. Yet again, there is a bit of confusion with how his name is spelled, with District Court records calling him Donte, while Circuit Court records spell it Dante. Unless someone says otherwise, he will be listed as Donte in the homicide tally.

    County Police have id'd the man shot to death at Towson Town Center. Rodney Vest Pridget, 19, was shot in what police are calling a "targeted shooting" although they have not given any reason as to how they have come to this conclusion.

    An arrest has been made in the shooting of a city cab driver. Maurice Alvin Turner Jr. has been charged with first degree murder after being identified as one of the two men who robbed the cabbie. The other man has not been identified. According to court records, this is Turner's third arrest for attempted murder after being charged in May of 2007* and June of 2008* respectively. Turner was given a 30 year sentence with all but 5 years suspended for the second attempted murder charge.

    Life plus 20 for Kelly Shird, age 28, for murdering Craig Bouie in 2010 during a break-in gone bad.

    The man shot by county police during a home invasion in Dundalk has been id'd as Christopher Kane Bernert, 27. Bernert is now facing a bevy of serious charges, including attempted murder and armed robbery.

    A 20-year-old man was shot early this morning in the 1300 block of Glyndon Ave.

    Police are asking John Q. Public for help finding family members 54-year-old Joseph Allan McCoy who was killed in a motorcycle accident last month.

    Finally, Maryland lawmakers are at it again, trying to repeal the death penalty. The last execution in Maryland took place in 2005, when Wesley Baker was put to death.

    Monday, December 19, 2011

    Man killed at Towson Town Center

    A man was shot to death outside of Towson Town Center, Justin Fenton retweeted this photo (cropped by me). Wjz says it was inside the parking garage, the Sun says it was on the road on the East side of the Nordstrom's, Fenton says there are preliminary reports of a suspect being taken in for questioning.