Thursday, September 12, 2013

50/50

A man and a boy were injured in an early-morning shooting* in the 2600 block of Monument Street.

What the?! Two assistant city prosecutors, Angela Gallaher and Erin Valenti, are facing charges after a drunken brawl following the Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake concert downtown, where they may have been the aggressors or been defending themselves, depending on whom you believe.

A suspected bomb in a trash can in front of the courthouse on Calvert Street approached by a police robot turned out to be nothing,* no explanation as to why a loud explosion was heard.

Hampden methadone clinic vows to change,* quit stealing your shit and hocking it letting clients gather out front to the consternation of local merchants.

Harbor Point developers to drill about 1,000 pylons through the protective cap encasing the poisonous hexavalent chromium.


Wednesday, September 11, 2013

aquam fellis

Another Edmondson Avenue shooting, this one in the 3300 block. And a shooting on South Pulaski and Christian Streets.*

Via Justin George, a woman stabbed in front of the Metro Gallery on Charles Street, under the watchful eye of Mr. Boh.

Fell's Point residents are concerned about the dangerous chemicals soon to be seeping from the Harbor Point site.

Unshocking news: more robberies in Canton

City Liquor Board chair claims that the liquor board is going to start doing actual work now.* Uh huh.

Geeze, CVS has to pay a $250,000 fine after admitting to selling expired medication and playing it fast and loose with customer's personal information.

Wow, JZ, you really need to moderate the comments on your web site.
UPDATE: the article's comments appear to be shut down for now, but if you're really dying to know what they said someone on Reddit collected some of the klassier selections. The story was linked to the front page of the Drudge Report.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Can't kill everybody

Homicide #163 happened yesterday afternoon* at around 4:30 in the 6500 block of Brighton Avenue, that's 11 more than at this time last year, says Justin George. Three more victims have been identified publicly: Shandin R. Cunningham, 33 (Woodland Avenue), Nathaniel McCoy, 30 (Chesterfield Avenue), and Terrell Mitchell, 26 (North Avenue).

City police announced a new pubic enemy #1, Jamal Williams, arrested him an hour later.


 ham pants.
Of course the city council had no problem officially pledging millions of your taxpayer dollars last night to old ham-pants Michael Beatty, and Harbor Point construction is set to begin October 15,* hexavalent chromium be damned.

Batts is proposing a new, lower youth curfew that would require all kids under the age of 14 to be indoors after 9 p.m.*

WBAL follows the story of "Tracy," a former local prostitute who escaped "The Game" with the help of a group called TurnAround. The group says that the average age of women forced into "The Life" is 12-14.

John Anderson
One Deborah Claridy is suing Sheriff John Anderson for retaliating against her for running against him. Claridy was a lieutenant in charge of day-to-day operations, after the election, she alleges, she was demoted to a job that involved her to check the operation of courthouse telephones and hand-santizier stations. Comments on the article are a good read, eg. "(Anderson) may very well be shocked to hear about these allegations himself because he doesnt come to work until 2pm on a daily basis."
In Hampstead a man committed suicide during a barricade situation.

SRB dropped by the WYPR studios. Tweeted Justin G., "Asked about 9% increase in homicides, 20% incr in non-fatal shootings, mayor says she remembers when city had more than 300 homicides/yr"

Man who called in the bomb threat to Camden Yards said he did it because he was "tired of Baltimore" and wanted to stop people from doing bad things. Sassed back the 911 operator, "Well, you not gonna kill everybody"

Punishment modified for Towson U cheerleading team, the squad was given "social probation" for just the fall semester.

Monday, September 9, 2013

A good listener


View Larger MapThe City is expected to give final approval for the sale of $107 million in bonds tonight, upon which the city will pay $174 million in interest. Of that $107 million, $35 million will be lent to the city by the developer himself, Michael Beatty, who will earn an additional $20 million in interest on the loan. All told the project is expected to cost city taxpayers about $600 million. The project, BTW, will sit atop a shit-ton of plastic-and-concrete entombed* hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen made famous by Erin Brockovich that is known to cause lung and intestinal cancers and damage DNA. Beatty has said that developers will re-cap the devil's brew of toxic chemicals after construction is finished ... in about a decade.
Fun facts: the developer's name is pronounced "Beety," at least one of his sons goes to Gilman and he has been known to wear khaki skinny jeans.* (WTF?) He claims to be impervious to critics, "I was never a good listener."

A 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid was stolen Saturday night in Evergreen in North Baltimore, Maryland tag #28373CA, silver 4-door. Call 911 if you see the car.

September 12 at 6:30 p.m. the Metro Gallery will be hosting "The Grateful Zeb Show," a benefit for Zeb Drinkwater, who was shot at 40th St and Roland Avenues.

And tonight at 7 p.m. is the "Walk of Hope," a neighborhood walk starting at 22nd and Barclay.

Tomorrow morning there's some kind of anti-corrupt-judge flash mob at the federal courthouse at 101 W. Lombard.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Through a glass, darkly

Five six shot, one dead last night making it a three-homicide nine-shot weekend with two hours to go. Last night's homicide was at 1000 Valley Street, two were shot in the 4400 block of Marble Hall Road, one at Woodland & Delaware, one in the 3600 block of Edmondson, and an adult and juvenile shot in an unknown location. yesterday was 5000 Edmondson,* a homicide at 6800 McClean, homicide 3900 Chesterfield,* shooting at Queensbury and Spaulding Aves., shooting at 1500 E. Pratt.



A body was found in the parking lot of the Corinithian Bar in Windsor Mill. ...Did you know? Corinth is considered the birthplace of the Dionysian mysteries, secret clubs that would get insanely drunk together, listen to loud music and eat raw meat. One of the most famous Corinithians was Diogenes, one of the first Cynics. When he wasn't dispensing lectures about how much everybody sucked but him, which he concluded by pooping on stage, he lived in a storage jar in the marketplace off of a diet of onions, where he masturbated, peed on people and gave them the finger.

Anyway, also in the county last night a double drive-by shooting in Pikesville on Blanche Road.

Farther northwest at Antietam the KKK held a rally.* Guess what, they don't like Obama.

In the city, a considerably larger group held a rally to support stricter background checks for gun buyers.*

Saturday, September 7, 2013

So far this weekend

Two homicides in the past 24 hours- 6800 McClean Avenue and 3900 Chesterfield, and (at least) two shootings in the 5800 block of Edmonson Ave.* and at Queensbury and Spaulding Avenues (West side).

Rodricks feels a tickle of glee* at the come-uppance of former city police officer Meredith Cross, who married one Carlito Cabana (... seriously his name?). Cabana is a convicted murderer/robber/drug dealer/accused rapist cum alleged "Supreme Commander" of Dead Man Inc. Mrs. Cross-Cabana used a fake ID to visit him at North Branch, then lost her police job, then sued the city to get it back (with the police union's money, no doubt), lost that case, lost her appeal and is now unemployed and on the hook for court costs.* Good!
Cabana was sentenced to 30 years in 1998 for murder, yet is apparently no longer in custody in the state of MD or of the feds. Bad!
  ... FWIW, Dan Rodricks, it's not exactly correct to call DMI a BGF "subsidiary." BGF has a Black Panther/race separatist thing going on so melanin-deficient people can't be members. Dead Man Inc. is surely a jailhouse partner of the Black Guerrilla Family but DMI has always had its own code/leadership/symbols, etc.
    Bonus fun fact: in 2008 the Black Guerrilla Family kept an office in the city jail with desks, chairs and computers.

Ксения Teplicova
Look, gun-toting Belarussians! -- she looks considerably better on her Facebook page

Indycar driver Scott Dixon was fined $30,000 after making "disparaging" comments at the Grand Prix. In other GPrix news, the noise from the race itself was found to have violated the city' health department's own safety codes.*

One Michelle Varick has filed a lawsuit in Baltimore against the makers of the DaVinci robot for her really, really botched hysterectomy. Warning: contains mental images that may haunt your trips to the toilet.

Friday, September 6, 2013

Dentata

A fatal shooting in the 1200 block of W. North Avenue-- Nick Mosby's district has been a hotbed of nefarious activity* lately, on Monday a 52-year-old man was beaten to death in the 800 block of Lennox Street a mile to the west of last night's shooting. There was also a shooting in the 1500 block of West Pratt.

The Sun's got a shiteous story of thrice-acquitted accused rapist Nelson Bernard Clifford* on a Friday. Each time prosecutors brought juries DNA evidence, and each time juries chose to believe Clifford's story that the knifepoint sex was consentual. "At some points, jurors giggled as he went point-by-point describing his version of courtship and intercourse." And Clifford is not the only one, a Tyrone Miller, 45, also had three different accusers claiming he raped them in alleys but prosecutors dropped charges after losing a motion to have the cases tried together. Marilyn Mosby, I get your rage, but when you blame Bernstein for the work of fucktified juries and judges it kind of sounds like you don't understand how the system works. ... In other news, three years after it was given away in South Africa for the World Cup, the Rape-aXe dentata condom, right, is apparently still not available in the U.S.

The Brew covers the local/national epidemic of phone thefts. Probably needless to say, don't walk around talking or playing on a phone, keep it in your pocket and be alert instead. Also, ef ecoATMs and their BS excuses with an effing chainsaw, why are they still operating in our state?

But there's some good news, consumers!: Doug Gansler has sued a grifting Pasadena appliance repairman.

Crimercize

A group in town called The Transition Team is organizing "Walks of Hope" through different city neighborhoods every Monday night at 7, visiting crime scenes and churches in the area. Last Monday's started at Lafayette and Harford Road, left, next Monday 9/9 the group will start at 22nd and Barclay, right.
From the description: 
"Churches, community organizations and police continue to work together because 'Presence Brings Reduction' - join in by being present - it makes a difference!
Join us as we walk, pray, sing, engage the residents and inspire hope that will bring the change we are all believing for"
The Barclay neighborhood as actually been (seemingly) pretty quiet lately, with no shootings in the past month, and "only" five thefts and one assault. Still, it can't hurt anything to get out, socialize and get some exercise with your fellow citizens, right?
Prayer is mentioned but organizers assure me that atheists and people of all faiths are welcome.
Maps courtesy of SpotCrime.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Hand on the Pump, Per Say

Donte Bennett
Police fatally shot a man (who witnesses called a "kid" and Fenton says is 25near Douglass Homes and N. Caroline Street last night. Police say the man was armed, witnesses say he was only holding a cell phone. ("I didn't see no gun per say.") This is the 5th fatal police-involved shooting this year.
UPDATE: the man was ID'D as Donte A. Bennett, 5/1988, alias Donta Frye. He had an open warrant for assault and a long record, in February he was charged with spitting in public.

What is up with these domestics?! Police arrested a 68-year-old man for shooting a guy who I guess was either his boyfriend or his girlfriend's boyfriend.*

And what is up with the constant flow of people being mistakenly released from the city jail?! Today's butterfingers was the grandmother who allegedly killed her one-year-old grandson with methadone.* This time apparently it was the fault of a prosecutor who "mistakenly dropped charges." About six weeks ago the DA of PA publicly called MD corrections officials "utterly incompetent," "inept and completely uncooperative,""completely frickin irresponsible" and "sloppy" after they mistakenly released one Dale Wakefield, 21, who was being held after he allegedly stabbed a PA homeless man 70 times. There are so many mistaken-release stories I've given them their own tag, "butterfingers!"

Rodney Miller, 25 and charged with trespassing, was arrested for attempting to microwave a metal bike pump in the Circuit Courthouse on Calvert St.

Maj. Kimberly Burris placates the crime-victim residents of Lake Walker with flattery: " [burglars] come from outside your neighborhood. Your neighborhood is beautiful.*"

In Essex a man stabbed Balwinder Sandhu, the owner of 444 Liquors and Sports Bar on Eastern Boulevard.

Judge Emory Plitt refused to revoke bond for surf n turf menace Don Dwyer, noting that Dwyer hasn't been convicted on any charges related to his August DUI (yet).

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Dumbbells

Blaes & Jones
A man was shot in the chest* in the 600 block of Mount Holly Street in Edmondson Villageafter midnight, was sent to the hospital and treated and released. I'm thinking he did not have health insurance. No suspects, no motive, of course.

Marquis Queen, shot by an officer on August 13 who had just come back from leave after shooting a suspect in January, was revealed to be a carjacker. All's well that ends well.
 
Remember John Andrew Blaes, who pleaded guilty to producing BDSM pornography involving a 15-year-old North Carolina girl he lured into his van from the Internet? In February Blaes got 27 years, and now his accomplice, Margaret Ellen Jones, 38, has been sentenced to 15 years.

In other news of evil men, one Ryan Shallue shot his ex-girlfriend Kristin Loetz and her friend Charles Abbott then himself in a house near Salisbury Steak University. Loetz is alive, Abbott and Shallue are not. Oh, and an evil woman-- Helen Newsome, 26, is alleged to have broken into her (married) ex-boyfriend's house in PGC, waited in a closet for 12 hours-- and then attacked his 8-year-old son with a dumbbell. WTF?

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

DEA Has Acess to 26 years of Phone Records

Well, you knew more shoes would drop, and to the world of crime this is the big one: they call it the "Hemisphere Project."
    AT&T and the DEA, in a joint program (heh!) collected every phone record that passed through an AT&T switch -- so basically every cell phone call in North America and some land lines, too. The DEA paid for it, and AT&T has been quietly giving them what they ask for via High Intensity Drug Trafficking-designated employees, with no pesky judge in the way.
   Interestingly, this revelation is not from the Snowden files but from anti-war activist Drew Hendricks in Port Hadlock, WA, who obtained it as a series of PowerPoint slides after filing a public information request from an unnamed West Coast law-enforcement agency. 
“'All requestors are instructed to never refer to Hemisphere in any official document,' one slide says. A search of the Nexis database found no reference to the program in news reports or Congressional hearings."

Bloody home, party home, slummy home

Four men shot in separate incidents last night.*

The Spectator has more about the Whitelock shooting and photos, including one of the purported victim, Brandon Davis, left. He also notes that two brothers were stabbed on N. Streeper.

Here's an index to the Summer of the Gun series

The City Paper has more about Wall Hunters, in case you haven't heard enough already. But the national attention/shaming has apparently worked-- the city plans to spend $22 million to demolish vacants over the next 2 1/2 years,* in contrast to the $2.5 million a year it was reportedly spending previously.

A bust bust after ScapeScape at 2800 Sisson Street, the property owner was charged with disorderly conduct and keeping a disorderly house. The address is bordered by the 83 exit ramp, an abandoned office building and the city dump, so it's unlikely it was bothering the neighbors...







R.I.P. North Baltimore Patch- employees were laid off via a mass conference call.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Quicksand

"I love my city but it's quicksand." Justin & Justin eulogize a violent summer in the city* by interviewing the souls left behind. Jack Young says it's drugs, Cornelius Owens says the shootings are all about "respect."

Don McCraw
Keep an eye out for Don McCraw, 13, missing since Friday.  Update: he has been found.

Heh. A homeowner in Edgewood trapped a burglar in his garage.

Think you know this town? ... see how many Baltimore neighborhoods you can find. (via Fenton)

Friday, August 30, 2013

Three Little Trees

Adan Espinoza Canela
The Espinoza/Canela case has been dragging on for nearly a decade, but is the end near? Adan Espinoza Canela has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder,* making him eligible for parole in 2019. We never really found out what happened to make him want to kill his three young cousins, but the prevailing theory is Adan's now-dead stepfather Victor Perez's spurned advances to Adan's mom ChaCha. To paraphrase my attempted summary in March, Adan "Canela is the son of Chacha and Victor, who is father of [former co-defendant] Policarpio. Adan's mom ChaCha was Victor Perez's prior babymom, and Victor and Guadaloupe [alleged mastermind] were the parents of Policarpio Espinoza Perez." Here's a chart.* Said Adan in court yesterday, "I thought that my family knew me, really that they would understand ... but I see that's not it. … They broke my heart."
Said the children's father, Policarpio's uncle, Mimi's husband, Ricardo, "They were three little trees that were growing. They were cut. They will never flower again."

Three people were shot yesterday*

Last year O'Malley's Executive Director of Crime Control told me there was no DNA backlog, now the state is claiming a backlog for 304 days in the city and 542 days in PGC.* But whatever, we'll take the money.

Robbery and burglary plaguing the southeast as per usual.


Ew, a city police officer, Frederick Allen, was indicted on charges related to sex abuse of a minor.*
In sexier news, the entire Towson University cheerleading team was suspended* for an entire year for hazing.. details please.

In goobernatorial news, Gansler wants to raise the minimum wage. In our poll (top right) enthusiasm for him is decidedly meh, with only 18% supporting. Where is our third party candidate?!

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Black, silver and green at JHU

A man was stabbed to death at around 5 a.m. this morning in the 200 block of W. Lombard,* right downtown

It's that time of the year again-- move-in day yesterday at JHU and four female students were robbed* flagrantly on the east side of the 3500 block of N. Charles Street near Greenway at 11:41 p.m. by two pistol-wielding small black males with black bandanas with a silver gun who took the girls' stuff and drove off going the wrong way on Greenway in a small black car.
    You gotta love that the first thing JHU has to say about the incident is that it's Off-Campus, even though it was literally in their front yard. Don't worry, parents, of course the school paid 1/1,000th of a year's tuition to put a security camera there, because they care about the community! I'm sure they'll release pictures of the perps any minute. ... So is this a new bunch of roving robbing hooligans in North Baltimore, or are some of the five arrested the other week* out already? Hrm..

A man selling stuff on Craigslist was pistol-whipped and robbed across the street from the University of Baltimore on W. Biddle*

In the county an officer was killed whilst serving a warrant in Catonsville.*

Men in reflective vests claiming to be from BGE and asking to check an old lady's water stole her jewelry instead in Pikesville.

A woman from Annapolis was found dead from huffing paint in Florida


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The Darker Side of York Road

Life sentence in federal prison for heroin dealer Roy Clay* who brought product from NY-- Interesting that it sounds like the DOJ's first interaction with Clay for this case was a tapped phone call in March 2009, no word on why the DEA felt it was justified to listen to his calls. More DEA/NSA sketching around? Also notable, agents watched and listened -- but did not intervene-- while Clay was the victim of a home invasion. And 10+ years each for cocaine and heroin dealers who brought product to Western MD from Houston and Atlanta, 10 years for a crack dealer, 14 years for a St. Mary's County cocaine ringleader.

A 16-year-old, Nazr Williams, was charged with murder as an adult last week for a fight turned deadly at W. Fayette and Howard.

Ink tallies victims 147-150, including Meghan Kerrigan, a 22-year-old Caucasian woman, and William Monroe, a 21-year-old Caucasian man, sitting with a baby, apparently shot to death by one Melville Mason, who graciously left the baby unharmed.

A five-year-old went missing on the way home from school in the 2500 block of Kirk Avenue. She was found, but one must ask, how is it that a school can just release a kindergartener into thin air and not to a parent or some other responsible party? If it's illegal to leave kids younger than 8 unattended why does that not apply to kids going home from school? Pedophile picnic!

Police are ISO robbery suspect at right, Aug 17, 500 E. Randall near Federal Hill (odd, there does not appear to be a business in that block)
 





Not a crime but:
In last week's CP, Loyola senior Peter Hadjokas published no-holes-barred student drinking guide to the "darker side of York Road." Loyola is surely very proud.

Not Baltimore but:
In York, PA, drunk yelled "yeehaw," head-butted officer

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Perverts and idiots

The owner of the Venus Pizzeria at 3717 Greenmount was robbed and shot last night.

Man shot @5 p.m. tonight in the 2200 block of Fulton

SRB called DeShawn Jones' killer an "idiot"

A 16-year-old who sexually abused a 7-year-old (while he was on probation) at the Carroll Cook Rec Center on East Eager Street walked away from his not-secured facility, was recaptured.

One Stacey Fields is suing the BPD for $450,000 for shooting her dog.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Easy money, real talk, no game

A man was shot in the leg in the 300 block of McMechen Street in Bolton Hill, walked himself to the hospital.

Shanika Harris, mother of 15-year-old shooting victim Deshuan "Lor D'Shaun" Jones, talked to WMAR, says Jones wasn't shooting dice but was sitting on steps nearby. No suspects have been identified in spite of scads of surveillance cameras nearby.

In jail, you can't change the privacy of your Facebook page. And so here's Yashim Vaughn, arrested for shooting Zeb Drinkwater on 40th and Roland. And don't miss his "wifey," Isabel Love.

Prison official John Galey, 69, has retired, simultaneously taking the fall for a nasty string of attacks on guards, corruption and accidental releases while also collecting a sweet pension.

In other privacy news, the UK Guardian reported Friday that they were partnering with the New York Times to publish the Snowden revelations-- irony alert, in spite of it all journalists still have better legal protection in the U.S. than in Britain. Also last week the creepy revelation that the British government is leaking on itself to The Independent in an attempt to make Snowden look like a security threat.

City Paper for sale.And the former owner of the Jewish Times is now selling smoothies.

Beemore is Who I Do it Fore

So sad! The 15-year-old victim shot in a dispute over a dice game at 1500 West Fayette was ID'd as Deshaun Jones, a talented youth working in the hardcore rap medium under the nom de rap Lor D'Shaun. He had released an album/mixtape, "Tales from a Young Nigga," and was in featured least nine videos, over the course of which he goes from small, rowdy and snaggletoothed to professional and polished. "Bmore is who I do it fo ... home of da waya, the Ravens and the Or-io-les."

"Scheduling conflicts,*" eh? In spite of last month's sunny predictions, with the Grand Prix a mere five days away, the mayor et al are already starting to massage the message to the masses to soften the news that this year's race will lose yet more money and probably will not be held here again, in spite of all those pit crews who've booked rooms in the harbor hotels of SRB's developer buddies. Hooter's waitresses might get better tips, but way more people will lose hours and days of work from businesses closed or crippled by road closures (starting Thursday!) and race traffic through the heart of downtown.
   And let's not forget, the race still has no title sponsor because the Worst Mayor in America asked for a million dollars and is apparently surprised that no corporations jumped right on that amazing opportunity. The Brew's take: "The Grand What?"

The good news: Harbor Point's Michael Beatty plans to "surpass city's goals for hiring minorities." The bad news: they're all going to be illegal immigrants brought over in banana crates from Honduras.











Sunday, August 25, 2013

What did I miss?

Seven people shot in a "cluster," including a 15-year-old,* reportedly stemming from a disagreement over a dice game.

Antoine Jordan
I thought domestic violence was going down? Not any more. Some fucktard in Dundalk shot his daughter, wife and himself.* And (life with all but) 22 years for Dominic Matthews, who allegedly shot his girlfriend in the stomach after she refused to marry him.

A shooting at a Guilford Ave hookah lounge on Monday* and one arrest, a doleful Antoine Jordan.

So in the Rogers Forge shooting, one of the shooters was mad that the victim wouldn't let him use his washing machine. Now a second guy's been arrested* but no word on his motivation.

Dingleberry surprise Patrick McDonough (R-7th, HarfCo n BaltCo) wants to propose a "stand your ground" law* in Maryland. Meanwhile MD Republicans are a hot mess of infighting,* impotence,* boozehoundery* and illegal crabbing.* If ever a time and place was ripe for a Progressive third party it's wide open, y'all.