It seems that with every drug bust, the cops set a record.

It happened again a week ago when Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld (left) held a news conference, stood behind "bricks" of cocaine -- 90 pounds worth -- and called it the biggest cocaine bust in the history of the Baltimore Police Department.

He might be right. I haven't researched all the way back to the 1800s, but it's large bust and he should be proud of his officers. Undercover detectives usually toil in obscurity, and most of their arrests are made without the benefit of piles of drugs that look good on television news and in newspaper front pages.

This was a record in the same way that a baseball player sets a record for the most homeruns by a left-handed, one-eyed shortstop with a bum leg playing in night games on artificial turf batting against a right-handed pitcher over 6 feet tall on three days rest coming off rehab after beating his wife (if they don't keep this record, they should).

Bealefeld's arrest was a record in drug cases in which his officers worked alone, without help from federal agencies. Nevermind that the arrest back in 2004 when a cops, acting after a tip from federal immigration officials, help seize 338 pounds of cocaine. I took a snarky view of this in my column in part because every time cops hold a news conference and thank the dozen or so other agencies that might have sneezed during the investigation, and therefore deserve to have their leader crowd the stage at the announcement, don't get mentioned, we get a call of complaint.

I mean, what's the use of a city cop making a drug bust if the assistant to the assistant agent in charge of the Dundalk outpost of the Baltimore field office of the FBI doesn't get a plug in print? Officials always brag about how they all worked together when in the back of the room they're fighting over who gets to stand in front of the microphone and take credit. Now, it's amusing that when city police act alone, they brag about it being a record bust. I can see the feds snickering in their offices at the 90 pounds Bealefeld was lording over -- "when we helped, they got 338 pounds of drugs."

But we all play along in the game. The cops call and the media comes. It's a great picture -- cops and drugs. See, they are doing something about the problem, and officials saying its a report helps propel the story into print and onto TV. Forget that when pressed for details about the case, the cops refused to budge. They even refused to give out the name of the suspect, saying the case was still under investigation, even though that very day he was standing in a U.S. District Courtroom across town being arraigned. The police didn't lie, but their statements certainly led reporters to believe that charges had yet to be filed in the case.

What was missed? Details about the suspected drug operation, for one, but also a slightly embarrassing revelation that city cops had the prime suspect in their sights back in 2007, only to get pulled out of West Baltimore to combat crime in East Baltimore, where homicides were spiking and the news reports were swirling. The cops got back to their old haunts in January to find their suspect still working.

The point is that the pictures of the cops and drugs were more important to the police than the story. Image over substance. Records set to made up rules that make it appear the cops made the biggest drug bust in city history when in fact they didn't -- they just made the biggest drug bust in their own history. It all obscures the real story and the real questions -- after years of record drug busts, we don't seem any better off today than we were before. It would be a prouder day if the commissioner could stand in front of empty pallets and proclaim the drug war over. But not sure what kind of record that would be.

Anyway, here's a partial list of big drug busts in Baltimore by various law enforcement agencies: 

June 1991 -- Maryland State Police seize 71.5 pounds of cocaine after a trooper stops a car for speeding in Elkton. The drugs were in the trunk of a 1988 Cadillac.

October 1996 -- State police seize 11.6 pounds of cocaine during a car stop on the U.S. 13 bypass on the Eastern Shore. The drugs were hidden in a false compartment in a van and was then listed as the "third largest on the nation's highways." In March of the same year, a trooper found 14.2 pounds of cocaine on the John F. Kennedy Highway.

March 1997 -- Baltimore police, with the FBI and DEA, seize a ton of cocaine from a warehouse and broke up a drug organization with ties to South and Central America.

December 2001 -- The U.S. Customs Service seize 4,092 tons of marijuana concealed in compartment built into 86 pieces of furniture shipped to Baltimore's port from Mexico.

February 2004 -- City police and the federal immigration officials seize 338 pounds of cocaine after receiving a tip it was en route to Baltimore from Guyana, a county on the northern coast of South America.

March 2006 -- Maryland State police seize 170 pounds of cocaine during a car stop on I-95 in Cecil County. The drugs were packed in suitcases and coolers inside a 2000 Buick LeSabre.

February 2009 -- Baltimore police seize 90 pounds of cocaine from a house in Southwest Baltimore during a raid.

Even as I write this, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office sent over a release of a drug bust that involves suspects from three states including Maryland:

WASHINGTON – Today Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., announced the arrest of more than 750 individuals on narcotics-related charges and the seizure of more than 23 tons of narcotics as part of a 21-month multi-agency law enforcement investigation known as “Operation Xcellerator.” The Attorney General was joined in announcing the current results of Operation Xcellerator by DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.

Today, 52 individuals in California, Minnesota and Maryland were arrested as part of Operation Xcellerator, which targeted the Sinaloa Cartel, a major Mexican drug trafficking organization, through coordination between federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as cooperation with authorities in Mexico and Canada.

In Maryland three indictments have been returned as part of Operation Xcellerator, charging 29 defendants with conspiracy to distribute cocaine; eight defendants are also charged with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute narcotics, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. The indictments also seek forfeiture of guns and $7 million in cash. Fifteen defendants charged in two of the indictments were arrested last year and three of those have already pleaded guilty, admitting that from March 2006 to August 2008, the members of that conspiracy distributed over 400 kilograms of cocaine in Baltimore. Fourteen defendants charged in the third indictment, which was unsealed today, were arrested and are expected to have their initial appearances today in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland.  If convicted, the defendants face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $4 million fine, for conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

The Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for bringing multi-ton quantities of narcotics, including cocaine and marijuana, from Mexico into the United States through an enterprise of distribution cells in the United States and Canada.  The Sinaloa Cartel is also believed to be responsible for laundering millions of dollars in criminal proceeds from illegal drug trafficking activities. Individuals indicted in the cases are charged with a variety of crimes, including: engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise by violating various felony provisions of the Controlled Substances Act; conspiracy to import controlled substances; money laundering; and possession of an unregistered firearm.

“International drug trafficking organizations pose a sustained, serious threat to the safety and security of our communities,” said Attorney General Holder. “As the world grows smaller and international criminals step up their efforts to operate inside our borders, the Department of Justice will confront them head on to keep our communities safe.”

To date, Operation Xcellerator has led to the arrest of 755 individuals and the seizure of approximately $59.1 million in U.S. currency, more than 12,000 kilograms of cocaine, more than 16,000 pounds of marijuana, more than 1,200 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 8 kilograms of heroin, approximately 1.3 million pills of Ecstasy, more than $6.5 million in other assets, 149 vehicles, 3 aircraft, 3 maritime vessels and 169 weapons.   

“We successfully concluded the largest and hardest hitting operation to ever target the very violent and dangerously powerful Sinaloa drug cartel,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart.  “From Washington to Maine, we have disrupted this cartel’s domestic operations—arresting U.S. cell heads and stripping them of more than $59 million in cash—and seriously impacted their Canadian drug operations as well.  DEA will continue to work with our domestic and international partners to shut down the operations of the Sinaloa cartel and stop the ruthless violence the traffickers inflict on innocent citizens in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.”

The 21-month investigation began shortly after the culmination of Operation Imperial Emperor, an investigation which resulted in the indictment of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF)-designated Consolidated Priority Organizational Target (CPOT) Victor Emilio Cazarez-Salazar, believed to be a command and control leader within the Sinaloa Cartel. CPOT Victor Cazarez-Salazar remains a fugitive.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

I really do hate to tell people, "I told you so," but Northeast Baltimore resident John G. Egger was nice enough to volunteer to be flogged. Back in October, he complained about columns I wrote about crime in Belair-Edison.

He wrote that my articles painted a picture "of a neighborhood quickly slipping away and does not highlight very much promise of hope." His remarks were longer than that, and thoughtful, and I posted them and moved on.

So I was surprised when Mr. Egger called me a few weeks ago. Two months after he wrote me, his house was broken into. Then, at the end of January, his house was broken into again. There have been nine burglaries in Belair-Edison in six weeks, before police arrested a suspect earlier this month who might be responsible for some if not all of the break-ins.

Thankfully, Mr. Egger has a sense of humor, in that he didn't blame me. He told me that when he read my column about crime, "It didn't seem like that to me. Sure enough, a couple months later, my house got broken into."

Burglaries are a persistent problem in Baltimore, and are on the rise this year, even as other violence crime holds pace or even falls. Maybe it's a sign of the economic times, or merely new opportunities. And typically, not just one house gets hit, but several in a cluster.

The first time Mr. Egger's house got broken into was Dec. 18. He was at work and got notified by his alarm company. He also admits he was partly at fault -- over Thanksgiving, he opened his kitchen window to air out the room while the turkey roasted, and he forgot to lock it. The intruder only had to slide the window up and crawl into the kitchen. There he ripped the alarm keypad off the wall and threw it to the floor. For some reason, he only stole a bread knife, which he used to cut an outdoor television cable he apparently mistook for the alarm wire. Egger doesn't use cable -- he has satellite -- so it took him a while to notice the damage.

A few weeks later, his girlfriend was home during the day and saw a man with no teeth peering in the window at her. She shouted and he shouted back, "Sorry, wrong house" and ran away.

On Jan. 27, Egger believes the same burglar returned. This time, his kitchen window was locked and the intruder broke it to get inside. Egger told me the intruder had 16 minutes from the time the alarm went off until he and police arrived at the house. In that time, the intruder had "gone through every drawer in my house," stolen numerous items and escaped.

Among the missing items, according to the police report: a Gateway laptop computer worth $2,000; an Olympus camera worth $450, a safe worth $80; keys to a 2000 Toyota Tundra, the safe and the grill; three necklaces; a diamond necklace; four pars of earrings; a gold bracelet; a silver Ann Klein watch; and a light blue pillow case with bleach stains used to haul away the loot. The TV set was moved but not taken.

Earlier, residents had reported seeing a man with a shovel walking around the neighborhood looking for walks to clear of freshly fallen snow. They now think the man was looking for empty houses. Police noted footprints around Egger's house and his neighbor's and a woman told police she saw a man in back of Egger's house with a bag and a shovel.

Police held community meetings to discuss safety tips and search for witnesses. Egger vowed to put up a camera in his backyard to catch the suspect. He said the man knocked his alarm key off the wall in both break-ins. His window was valued at $350.

Police Agent Donny Moses, a department spokesman, noted the problem in the Belair-Edison area and said that "most crimes like this are crimes of opportunity. A lot of times the suspect finds, 'Oh, that was easy,' and unfortunately they do return to the scene of the crime."

Moses also said that police did make an arrest after a woman on Chesterfield Avenue, who had attended one of the community meetings, confronted a burglar in his home. The spokesman said the man, identified as Maurice Kelvin Washington, 45, had a red and a blue screwdriver in his pants pocket and that officers found items taken in various burglaries in his home and at pawn shops.

Washington lives a block of Egger on Dudley Avenue. Details on his arrest are below:

Police wrote in court documents that a woman called 911 about 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 16 to report a break-in. The woman said she was in her basement when she heard the "souund of someone turning the door knob." She heard it again, and then walked toward her back door where she saw "the suspect, with a black hat, black leather coat and missing teeth, about to kick in her door. She said, 'Hey, hey," and the man yelled, 'Wrong house' and ran away.

Police said the found the suspect wearing the same clothes a few blocks away at Pelham and Belair roads. They said they found the screwdrivers in his pants and that they seized his coat and boots. The back door was damaged and the security lock no longer worked, the police report states.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Confronting crime, Neighborhoods
        

Parking is so tight in South Baltimore's Otterbein neighborhood that residents had a gentleman's agreement with the parking police -- they'd be allowed to double-park without getting a ticket until a neighbor left a spot.

Sometime in the past several months, those unwritten rules disappeared. And now, the community's representative on parking matters, architect Robert R. Gisriel, says applications for visitor's permits has skyrocketed.

So board members took particular notice when they saw and ad posted on Craigslist from a guy offering to sell two visitor permits and letting the buyer make an offer: "You can park anywhere between 395-Conway-Light-Henrietta area. Pass is good for 1 year, expires 1-31-10. 2 block walk to TONS office buildings, 1 block to the harbor. Most parking places downtown are $100 plus a month, so this is worth ovr $1200. Email me your offer."

The Otterbein resident quickly got on the phone to another Otterbein resident, City Councilman William H. Cole IV, who quickly got on the phone to the cops in the Southern District. Two detectives contacted the man, arranged a deal outside the ESPN Zone at the Inner Harbor and made a bust. Nicholas Foster, 26, who lives on West Lee Street in Otterbein, was charged with one count of counterfeiting a city permit.

I wasn't able to reach Foster, but details of the charges he faces are below.

Parking rules vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, and Otterbein has among the city's most restrictive. Unlike neighboring Federal Hill and South Baltimore, where visitors can park up to two hours in residential neighborhhoods, drivers to Otterbein can't park there at all without a permit. Part of the reason is that the community is all residential; and it's prime location near the stadiums, the convention center, the Inner Harbor and Federal Hill makes it a magnet for people seeking free parking near the city's main attractions.

The commuity already has more housing units -- condos, appartments and town houses -- than parking spaces, and already limits residents on how many permits they can obtain. For example, a house with no off-street parking can get two parking permits, each costing $20; a house with two cars and one parking pad can only get one permit. Residents also are allowed two visitor permits -- also each costing $20 -- the kind that the suspect allegedly forged.

If everyone who is eligible actually applied for a parking permit and two visitor passes, "It would just blow us out of the water," Gisriel told me, noting that just recently he saw a car from Carroll County pull up and the occupants walk toward the Inner Harbor. He informed them they risked a ticket, and they told him they'd preper to pay than a parking garage. "They just didn't care."

Another problem is between homeowners and renters. Many of the renters are university students or young professionals, who Gisriel said "still have their cars registered to mommy and daddy" meaning they aren't eligible for a residential parking permit. But they are eligible for a visitor permit, which they place on their cars to permanently leave on the street.

It's illegal to not only forge a parking permit, but also to sell a real one, says Cole, who stated the obvious when asked about the problem: "Everybody is looking for a cheaper place to park downtown." He said believe the problem of forging the permits is more widespread than officials want people to believe.

Peter Little the executive director of the Parking Authority, said his agency takes forgery "very seriously" and said he's heard of people offering up to $500 for a parking permit.

The charging documents are below:

Doc 001

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Baltimore police detectives investigating one of the largest drug busts in the city were working the case back in 2007, but got transferred from the west side to the east side to deal with rising violence. Back to their old beat earlier this year, the officers went right back to their old sources and last week found more than 90 pounds of cocaine in a raid.

It's both heartening and distressing. Limited resources and shifting violence prompts the department to keep moving people around, which doesn't give them a lot of time to develop sources needed to bring down some of the city's bigger drug dealers. Who knows whether these officers, given a bit more time, could've taken this suspect off the streets two years ago.

That was under a previous police commissioner. Now, police are keeping task forces in some of the more violent areas, even when it spreads elsewhere. That way, police don't chase the dealers all over the city, abandoning beachheads as soon as they're established. That takes courage. It's easy to say they've flooded the Western with piles of cops and it's quiet this month so we'll move them across town, only to have the violence flare up back on the west side as soon as the cops leave.

Last year, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III ousted the commander of the Southwestern District as violence flared. He refused to move extra officers assigned to the Western, saying he didn't want to destroy work they had done. The easy way out is to move the troops; but then you risk interrupting investigations and leaving a suspected drug dealer on the streets for longer than necessary.

In this case, the drug suspect, Trennell D. Murphy, 33, allegedly got a pass for two years. Today in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, he is scheduled for a detention hearing. Police arrested him Friday after raiding the Baltimore home he allegedly shares with his mother and seizing more than 90 pounds of cocaine from a Chevy truck registered to him, according to a criminal complaint filed. The complaint charges Murphy with plans to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.

Here is the criminal complaint:

Drugs

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Confronting crime
        

It was February 1979, and an editor for the Baltimore News-American had an idea from Florida. He suggested a police blotter, and Richard Irwin, who covered cops and had worked at the paper from 1955 to 1958 and then again starting in 1965, was assigned the task with two other reporters. They split the city; Dick's job was to hit the precincts in Baltimore County.

Dick drove to a few of the station houses, not quick trips in the sprawling county that surrounds the city, and had managed to get to just a few when he was called away to a fire at Sparrows Point. It was the last time Dick drove; from then on, the Police Blotter was done by phone.

For years thereafter, Dick manned the overnight desk of the News-American, and then, when that closed in 1986, the Evening Sun, and when that closed, he came to the Baltimore Sun. He carried the blotter with him like a tattered suitcase.

Its format and type of crime changed, but Dick never did, and his compact style remains to this day -- as popular on the Internet as it is in its shortened form in the print edition. We've changed over the years -- Dick's early blotters are full of rich detail and names. It was Roger Crawford, 22, of Arbutus, who had a gun shoved in his back as he walked out of a bathroom of a BP gas station, the very first item in the very first of Dick's thousands of blotters.

A city police officer who shot a dog that was biting a child got named too -- Thomas Stein -- as did the 2-year-old child, Wallace Cordell. Today, names of victims are typically left out because people are scared of being identified as witnesses and victims.

Cops are more circumspect now -- most calls from reporters are handled by public affairs officers, or spokesmen, even for the most routine information. Irwin has usually been exempt from such rules -- I remember once in the 1990s when the department issued a blanket rule that homicide detectives could no longer talk to the news media. One detective said a hand shot up in the room, "What about the blotter?" and of course the command staff didn't mean that.

That doesn't mean there were never problems. Paul Scardina talked to Dick hundreds, perhaps thousands, of times over the seven years he spent on a desk at the Southeastern Police District. The now retired sergeant, who spent 32 years on the force, said he cringed when he picked up the paper and discovered a long list of break-ins, thefts and burglaries under the Southeast heading and only a handful scattered among the other, more violent districts. "Commanders and shift commanders didn't want us to give too much out," Scardina told me. "I'd be told to give out one robbery when we had twenty."

Dick developed a relationship with the cops on the often quiet overnight shifts. "Not only does the blotter provide a list of serious incidents of crime, but also funny ones," Dick says, just after learning someone had broken into a house in Parkville this week and taken a hot tub. "It's amazing what people steal. They get into a house and they feel they have to steal something no matter what it is."

Dick still takes notes on a torn notebook paper and keeps them by hand. Even though he works a night shift, getting off around midnight, he still makes his blotter calls in the early hours of the morning, to the cops he's been dealing with for years. They all know the drill.

Few newspapers have blotters anymore -- the New York Post still does -- and even fewer send reporters out to station houses to compile crime. Such lists typically come from headquarters, and are usually sanitized and contain only the most serious incidents, the incidents that command cares about and thinks everyone else cares about as well.

Community and neighborhood newspapers publish blotters. The one in the Baltimore Guide is very popular among residents, and I thought it was great timing when this week the New York Times wrote a brief sketch of a reporter for the Brooklyn Paper who still walks to the 94th Precinct in Greenpoint to compile a weekly blotter. The headline: "The Dying Art of the Crime Blotter."

What is surprising to me is that while newspapers shed features once thought sacrosanct, such as stock tables, the blotter remains one of the most popular items in both print and web formats. People complain when it's not in the paper, and the words "police blotter" are among the most searched for terms on our Internet site.

A sampling of crime in the blotter pales in comparison to the comprehensive lists available on the Internet -- the Baltimore Sun  offers a complete weekly tabulation of every crime in Anne Arundel County, complete with maps, derived from data sent directly to us from the county's 911 center. A similar map of Baltimore County crime is coming soon, and we already map homicides. It's all useful information and helps people figure out what is going on near their homes. But the blotter offers just a touch more narrative.

For example, the computer list will note a burglary between Jan. 4 and Jan. 23 at 4400 Old Court Road in Baltimore County. Dick's blotter will tell you that someone stole clothes worth $220 and then "poured ketchup, hand lotion and paint onto carpets, walls and floors."

Dick's favorite blotter item, and mine, made the Jay Leno show a few years ago: "Someone entered the rear yard of a house in the 5900 block of Johnson St. on Saturday morning and removed a tomato from a tomato plant. The tomato was valued at $3, police said."

If a blotter can be poetry, this is it. These are little stories, fun and useful to read in their own right, but taken collectively over time, it's a body of work that tells us something about ourselves and our community. We scan the list to see if anything happened to our neighbors or in our neighborhood, we learn intimate details of the people living down the street, we know about a string of burglaries in the next block and make sure our doors are locked, we read the blotter and feel we're connected.

There are many web sites that compile blotters from various newspapers around the country, and I remember a book that told the story of a small town in Maine by using only items from the local newspaper blotter. The Los Angeles Times wrote about a police blotter in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, where the blotter "documents what happens when thousands of fishermen" come to port.

In a small town, the blotter, like the neighborhood gossip, tells all. In a big city, the blotter makes us feel like a small town. Yes, in the big city we have murder and blood and guts headlines splashed across the front pages, but the blotter reminds us that we also have sheds that are broken into, purses that are snatched and tomatoes stolen from tomato plants. Somehow, it makes us feel like even the small things matter. Highlights of blotters past:

David Michael Ettlin, a now retired long-time night editor and fully qualified rewrite man for the Baltimore Sun, who spent many an evening editing Richard Irwin, provided me with his take and some of Blotter's best moments. Ettlin also has his own blog, The Real Muck.

Tom Gibbons, who retired a few years ago as The Baltimore Sun’s chief makeup editor and the last set of eyes on news pages before they reach the press, was a fan of Police Blotter and Dick Irwin and took to collecting his favorite entries. He passed on the collection to me to continue growing, figuring I would be around when Dick retired and could offer them up for the commemorative front page celebrating that milestone.

Who could have guessed that I would retire at 62 in the parade of buyouts shrinking the newsroom, while Dick, passing the age of 70 like he was running a marathon, is still at it – doing a job he loves. If there’s a cop in the city or Baltimore County who doesn’t know who Richard Irwin is, that cop is not going to make detective. Ever.

A few dateless blotter favorites from the collection:

Armed robbery: A gunman wearing a pair of boxer shorts over his face and his hair in twisties jumped over the counter at Blue Point Crab House in the 200 block of N. Montford Ave. about 9:40 p.m. and fled with $100 from a cash register and six steamed crabs.

Stolen vehicle: After picking up a woman in his 1999 Ford Expedition, a man stopped at a tavern in the 3600 block of Fairhaven Ave., leaving the engine running. When he stepped out of the bar a few minutes later, the woman was gone – along with the blue and tan sport utility vehicle with tags M462663.

Trespassing: A woman returned home and found two people parked in her driveway engaged in sexual activity.

Burglary: Someone entered a house in the 900 block of N. Fremont Ave. through a window and stole three stuffed gray elephants.

Burglary: While a male resident of the first block of Sorgen Court walked his dog [on a Wednesday afternoon], someone broke into his home through a door and stole $200 worth of Yu-Gi-Oh trading cards.

Theft: A karate uniform, three bowling balls and a purse – all worth more than $900 – were stolen from a 2002 Nissan Altima parked in the 1400 block of N. Linwood Ave.

Burglary: A 27-inch television. DVD player, love seat, child’s birthday cake and ice cream – all valued at $420 – were stolen from a house in the 900 block of Dantry Court.

Burglary/arrest: A woman reported someone had entered her apartment in the 200 block of Baltimore Ave. and stole a 13-inch television that she would recognize because it was infested with roaches. Near the woman’s home that night, police arrested a man in connection with the burglary and recovered the TV – which police confirmed had the insects.

Armed robberies: A man retrieving items from the trunk of his car in the 300 block of Bero Road was accosted from behind by a robber wearing a bandana over his face and armed with a double-barrel shotgun. The victim gave up his wallet containing $10 and a cell phone valued at $200. A short distance away, the robber used the phone to order food for delivery to the 2000 block of Lake View Circle and put the shotgun to the head of the deliveryman who arrived soon after the call. The robber fled on foot with $150, a second cell phone, four cheese steaks and four orders of fries.

Burglary: A computer, fax machine, metal compressor and eight gold teeth were stolen from Benamore Dental Laboratory in the first block of Sudbrook Lane.

Burglary: Someone broke into a house in the 4000 block of Raleigh Road and stole $10,000 in Bulgarian currency.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Neighborhoods
        

The timing couldn't have been worse for the Baltimore Police Department.

Just five days after Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III explained his new policy of not releasing names of police officers who shoot people to a placid City Council committee, two of his officers killed a man on Orleans Street during a struggle for an officer's weapon.

The fight for information had begun, and is still going, although what Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton reported today leaves many questions about a policy and efforts by the Police Department's public relations staff. They went to extraordinary efforts to hide the past of one of the officers involved in the shooting, to the point where they blacked out information about a suspect and a victim from a public police report to try to prevent us from obtaining a publicly available court file.

It turns out that the 2005 case was botched and prosecutors had to throw out a slew of criminal charges against a man -- in part due to misconduct by one of the officers in a later, unrelated assault. The suspect went free, even though according to his own attorney he admitted he grabbed the officer's weapon and threw it out of a moving vehicle.

This raises troubling questions about whether the department was trying to hide the past of the female officer, who has now been overpowered twice by suspects and had her gun taken or nearly taken. Or whether the department was trying to cover up how the cops couldn't convict a man who confessed to abducting one of their own.

Bealefeld promised that a full accounting of a police-involved shooting is possible without having to divulge the names of the officers involved. We now know that isn't the case; in fact, his public affairs staff went out of their way to prevent a full accounting be aired. Through court documents, the Baltimore Sun learned the identity of the officer, Traci McKissick, 29, a five-year veteran of the force.

The commissioner also had assured council members, as his chief spokesman Anthony Guglielmi had assured reporters earlier, that his office would give out enough information to assure the public that everything was being done to properly investigate use-of-force issues. They would make public lots of things, including the officer's rank, assignment and years on the force. After concerns were raised that without a name, we'd never know whether that officer had been involved in past shootings, Guglielmi and Bealefeld agreed to release that information as well.

But without having a name, it would be impossible to verify whether the department was telling the truth. Trust us, they said.

So now we come to Tuesday. Two officers shoot and kill 61-year-old Joseph Forrest during a domestic dispute call. A backup officer arrived to find  McKissick in a headlock and a man trying to take her weapon. The officers shot Forrest dead during the scuffle.

Few details were released Tuesday night, which is understandable, and not much other than Forrest's name was released Wednesday. On Thursday, reporters at the Baltimore Sun learned that the officer had been involved in a shooting in 2005, another incident in which she had been overpowered and her gun taken. When questioned, Guglielmi confirmed that she had been involved in a 2005 shooting in which no one had been hit and that it was ruled justified.

When pressed for more details, Guglielmi promised to review the file and get back to us. His office eventually faxed over a two-page police report of the 2005 incident, in which McKissick and her partner, Jack H. Odom, had pulled over a car and tried to arrest the driver after seeing an open bottle of whiskey and what they believed to be crack cocaine. When Odom tried to arrest the man, Timothy Lee Faith, police said he got back into his vehicle. McKissick jumped into the vehicle through the passenger door, took out her gun and pointed it at Faith as he sped away.

"She had her hands on the handle and she put her finger ... way inside the trigger all right and ... I was looking at her, she was, she was getting ready to pop me everything in the head you know," Faith told Baltimore homicide Detective William Welch during an interrogation after his arrest. "At this point in time, I took my right hand with my left hand on the wheel and I, I grabbed the hold of -- it was her facing me -- I grabbed the right side of the gun and I pushed it against the headrest of the seat."

Faith later said, "From what I could feel of it, um, I pushed it back against the ah, headrest. At this point in time she was trying to, she was trying to aim it back towards my body and then she fire the -- then she fired the gun. ... I turned the barrel away from me and down towards the ground. At this point in time, she released her hand from the gun and with my right hand I went across my body and the gun went out the window."

After a chase, Faith was arrested, with handcuffs still dangling from one of his wrists. Faith was charged with a litany of crimes, including assault, disarming a law enforcement officer, escape and reckless endangerment. His attorney, Warran A. Brown, alleged in court papers that police officers altered reports of the incident, but prosecutors said they had to drop the entire case after Odom, in October 2005, was criminally charged with assaulting a man outside a Federal Hill pizza shop. Odom received a suspended sentence and resigned from the force, but even before that his testimony was deemed unreliable in court and prosecutors said they could not move against Faith.

Guglielmi said the 2005 case was investigated and it was determined that McKissick acted appropriately. Really? She jumped into a moving car and pointed her gun at a suspect who was speeding away. You have to admire her tenacity, but I know cops who are questioning whether what she did was proper. That her gun fired, sending a bullet into the upholstery of the car, might be ruled a proper discharge, but I have a hard time believing all of her actions that day were within policy.

And the fact the department did everything it could to hide the details makes me even more suspicious. Guglielmi told me this morning that his office blacked out the names of both the victim and the suspect from the 2005 report so we couldn't trace the court file and learn the officer's name. It was not done, he said, to cover up the details or the outcome of the embarrassing 2005 incident. But that's the effect of what he did, or tried to do --  and that is precisely why obtaining the names of officers involved in shootings is so important for the public.

But now we know just how far the department is prepared to go to keep the names from becoming public: blacking out not only the names of its officers from public police reports, but also those of suspects from those same reports. Apparently, ensuring the name of a police officer who fires a gun is so important that people can now be arrested and criminally charged in secret.

The City Council public safety committee, when it met with Bealefeld, shamefully bowed to his wishes without even questioning the merits of his policy. It's too bad, because the first test has ended in failure.

David Rocah, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberities Union told Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton:

"This highlights the utter irrationality and impropriety of what the Balitmore City Police Deparmtent is doing. As the Baltimore City Police Department well knows, police reports like this are public record documents. That's central to our system of justice in this country. People can't be secretly charged with crimes, so their redaction of that document was improper. And the fact that they did it to serve the illegitimate goal of shieldiing names of police officers only doubles the wrongdoing here."

Here is one of many court documents describing the 2005 case:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Police shootings
        

Police departments send us news releases every day, but few stand out like this one did from the Frederick Police Department. Officer Richard Molina was on his way to work, walking through the back lot of the station house, when he saw a man holding a brick. "The male suddenly threw a large concrete cinder block directly onto the front windshield of the cruiser, completely destroying it."

(Picture to left is from the Frederick Police Department). For more, see my column.

But it was what police said the suspect, Robert V. Jenifer, told them that really struck out: "Jenifer stated he committed the act because he was 'tired of being around with no food, no home' and he wanted to go to jail.

I called the patrol supervisor, Lt. Clark A. Pennington, and he said it was an act of desperation. What is confounding is that there are two, if not more, homeless shelters and missions within a three-block walk of the station, and Jenifer was seen eating at one just a few days ago. Officials wouldn't tell me much about him; the director of the Linton Emergency Center, Rev. Bryan Scott, said he couldn't because of privacy concerns, but he did tell me that the suspect had not been evicted and had options other than committing a crime.

Jenifer did not have an attorney (I called the public defender's office, but they said they had not yet assigned anyone to his case) and I was unable to find any relatives. He has no arrest record under the name police are using, so I know very little about this man. He could get up to three years if convicted on two malicious destruction of property crimes -- one for under $500 and the other for over $500.

Frederick County State's Attorney Charles J. Smith III knew all about this case but said he was trying to figure out why the police charged Jenifer with destruction of property over $500. Police told me the damage to the windshield was $234. The charge of property destruction under $500 carries a maximum 90 day jail sentence; the other charge could put Jenifer in jail for up to three years.

Perhaps that is what he wants.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime
        

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon spent yesterday talking about crime. At left, in a photo taken by the Baltimore Sun's Monica Lopossay, she's pinning a ribbon on an officer to recognize last year's 20-year low in murders. Just before this ceremony, she visited students at a West Baltimore high school to talk about violence. She walked into the auditorium at Augusta Fells Savage Insitute of Visual Arts and looked for light. There wasn't any. The lights didn't work and nobody apparently checked them before the city's chief executive arrived yesterday afternoon.

She tried the stage but she couldn't see the audience with only seven small emergency lights illuminated. She sought out Tim Tooten, WBAL-TV's education reporter, but even the lights of four cameras couldn't help much.

So Dixon climbed down from the stage to "have a conversation" with the students who had come to see her speak about violence. It was the first of three police-related events for the mayor yesterday, back-to-back-to back events at the West Baltimore school, police headquarters where she honored cops for last year's 20-year homicide low and the Central District station on East Baltimore Street where she announced a public campaign to curb car break-ins.

She found a loud group of students at Augusta Savage; as she pleaded for the students to calm down, the principal, Michael Manning, fretted about the lights but would only say, "They're not working" as he rushed back and forth. The mayor worked the crowd, her first words, "Can we do something about the lights please."

Manning had to interrupt his own introduction of the mayor to calm the crowd, at one point counting back from 10 and threatening to throw out anybody who was still talking when he reached zero. When the crowd finally quieted, Manning said the mayor was here to "hear about where we are and where we're going."

Finally, Dixon took center stage.

"I came by here today because I know how important education is, and I know you know how important education is. We are making great strides in Baltimore City public schools. It is because of what you are doing in the classroom, because of what you are doing with outside activities, that we're seeing great results. We want to see you succeed. We want you to be successful in what you want to do in life, to reach your potential. There are seniors here who want to go on to colleges next year, there is a young man who wants to go into carpentry and start his own business. But what we don't want to see happen is that we're not doing the best that we can. And one thing that we have got to focus on is the violence that is happening in some of your schools. And I know it's not a majority, it's a minority. I want to ask a simple question. One, what can we do together to eliminate the violence so we can feel safe, we can focus on education ... and we can accomplish our goals."

Dixon praised teachers and administrators who she said "have contributed to your success" but she noted, "There are some small things that need to change in how we interact with each other, how we deal with each other."

The mayor, noting the television cameras and media, told the students they were there because of what had happened last week -- a stabbing outside the school on the basketball court -- and asked, "How many times have they been here because you get positive grades? ... If it's something bad that happens, a negative that takes away from your school, that's why they're here. So we're going to ignore the cameras." (See Baltimore Sun's Sara Neufeld's Inside Ed blog for more on this).

Unfortunately, that was difficult -- the cameras provided the only light.

Dixon then took questions. She had the kids come up to the front and stand with her -- there was no second microphone. "What can we do to provide you with a safe environment, to help you deal with the conflicts that we all have to deal with?"

The mayor asked kids where they worked over the summer. One student said Recreation and Parks; another said a rec center but couldn't remember the name. Many students didn't like the fact that the high school shares a complex with a middle/elementary school. One girl complained that her volleyball practice at gym class was interrupted because the kids at the other school had to come in. None scored any points complaining about uniforms.

"I think uniforms are the best things you could have at school," Dixon said to loud boos. "Wait, wait, wait, that's just my personal opinion. You don't have to worry about what you're going to wear, you don't have to compare yourself to somebody else, there are so many factors, you save money for your family. ... That's my personal opinion."

Another student said, "We need money, more money, so we can have school trips and not have the ratty books..." She went on to complain about school conditions, and the mayor agreed.

"We have not built a new school in Baltimore City in over 40 years" and she talked of hope for more funds "to modernize our schools. We're in agreement. We've got to put more money into textbook and materials. We should have money to go on trips and do other things."

A young man told Dixon, "We need better protection."

The mayor quizzed him on his future plans. He said he wanted to go to college.

"So you applying to school?" she asked.

He said to Morgan and Coppin.

"So you took the SAT? How did you do?"

"Alright."

"You need to take it a couple of times," the mayor told him.

Dixon then summed up his question: "So you're saying you need better protection when you come to school?  How many school police officers are in this school?"

Manning, the principal, answered: "We have two."

"They have two," the mayor repeated.

After leaving, the mayor found herself in the hallway chatting with Dominique Brunson, a 17-year-old senior who said he wants to graduate but almost didn't make it because of a confrontation with a Crips gang member at the beginning of the year. He said he "bumped into him and didn't apologize" and that prompted a challenge to fight.

But the principal, Manning, and one of the school's two police officrs quickly intervened and worked out a truce. "I didn't want to fight," Brunson told the mayor, his armed draped around her shoulder. He said the problems are outside the school, not inside. "This school is chilled," he said.

For more on the mayor's day on crime:

From there, Dixon sped to Police Headquarters where in another auditorium she met 230 officers on a violence crime task force that is being credited with helping reduce murders in some of the city's most violent neighborhoods.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III told the officers that they are a central part of his and the mayor's crime fighting strategy of community engagement, community partnership and targeting violent offenders. He noted the ribbons -- in reality pins -- are important.

"I've heard this, people will say in mixed company, 'Ah that doesn't mean anything to me, ah that's not such a big deal. There are very few officers who don't wear every single ribbon and know exactly why they got them."

Bealefeld said that back when he was a sergeant and had a silver badge, his son saw a gold badge and said, "Dad, can you get one of those? I said, you know what, I can get one of those, and I challenged myself to do better. ... He also looked at the jacket and he would eye these ribbons and he would say, 'Dad, what did you get that one for?' And I would tell him the story. ... Some day your child is going to look at your jacket and say, 'Dad, what did you get that for?' And I want you to tell them, you served the itizens of this city."

Dixon urged the officers to ingore the media who have concentrated on a spike of slayings this year -- all but forgetting the 20-year low mark set last year, and told them to "stay focused. ... Your input and involvement has really made Baltimore safer."

Bealefeld singled one one officer at the ceremony -- Detective Steven Mahan. The 14-year veteran got crushed between two cars last year in Waverly during a drug investigation. He said doctors at Maryland Shock Trauma Center warned that he might lose a leg.

"Not only did this young man not lose his leg," the commissioner said, "but he had it bolted back together and he worked hard, not just to be able to stand and play with his kid, or do his chores around the house, but to come back and be a city cop."

Bealefeld noted that when he was on the street New Year's Eve, and ended up holding a gunman at gunpoint, "I was in a house in West Baltimore and called for back up and one of the first faces that I saw was Detective Steve Mahan --  I think that spirit that serves this city exemplifies the best in all of us."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Confronting crime, Top brass
        

The Baltimore Police Department, Mayor Sheila Dixon and the Downtown Partnership, which promotes city businesses, are launching a public relations campaign to combat car break-ins. Police recently arrested a man who may be responsble for dozens of such crimes, and they came under fire earlier this year when an officer went to the wrong address and didn't respond to a group of scouts whose den leaders' cars were broken into in a downtown garage.

Yesterday, Dixon joined Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III outside the Central District station on East Baltimore Street to ask people to help them by not leaving items in their cars. Bealefeld even sent out cops to take pictures of items seen left in cars parked downtown, and he displayed them at the news conference.

Here is what Dixon had to say:

"It's really simple. There's been a rise in car thefts not only here in Baltimore but you could go to any area in the state, go to Towson, go to Frederick, it doesn't matter where, people are prowling around and looking into your cars. ... Police are patrolling the communities. The Downtown Partnership, their ambassadors are around the area.

"I was at an event. ... I had to speak and the person before me introduced me and talked about how great Baltimore was, but that he was in downtown Baltimore and his car was stolen. So I don't know what made me ask the question, but I did. And I asked the question, 'Were your keys in the car?' Just a little bit jokingly. And he said, 'Yea, I left my keys in the car.' Da, well, it's not that we want somebody to steal your car, but if you leave your keys in your car, you're asking someone to come and steal your car.

"No matter where you park, you have to be conscious of what's in your car. Don't leave your car unlocked, don't leave electronic devices out in the open. Don't leave change in the cup holder or on your dashboard. Don't leave your laptop in your car or even your bag to indicate you have a laptop. Don't leave a bag or a purse. Put your valuables in the trunk of your car or your glove box.

"I think it's important that we all help reduce the number of break-ins around the city. I think this can benefit all of us wherever we are. The police are going to do their part. They are trying to make our lives safer by going after criminals, but I think we all can be vigilant in our efforts. Take a moment and don't make it inviting for people to come and take something from your car."

Added Bealefeld: "This is an issue that affects the quality of life. ... We want to do our part, not just to catch bad guys, because we will, but we want to help in the educational process and increase the level of awareness around this issue. ... There's a larceny from auto in this country every 25 seconds. The mayor outlined basic things that your mother and father told you to be responsible when you got your license. Don't leave things out.

"We did a quick little survey. We went with our guys out around with their cameras to take some photos in the downtown area. We took a photo of an object in a car. It's a fishing rod in the back window of a vehicle that was parked not too far from here. And you say, 'Ah Bealefeld, what's the big deal, a fishing rod.' Well, someone breaks the window out and they got the fishing rod. This is a quick five bucks for someone. And in an instant this is sold. So you say, 'So what, a fishing rod.' But how about, would there be more incentive if someone left a TV set on their seat? Would you break into a car for a TV. Well, maybe it's broken, maybe it's a black and white tv, maybe it's not even digital ready? What if however, you left your purse or bag out on the seat. Is that enough motive? Look, people break into a number of cars and people want the police and the city to do more. We just need people to be responsible. Common sense. Secure your valuables.

"When you take your electronic device out and it's plugged into the cigarette lighter, put the cigarette lighter back in. If you talk to people who break into cars, it's one of the leading things they look for. That cigarette lighter out of that socket, they know you have some sort of digital, electronic device in your car. So just a simple thing as plugging that back in could keep you from being a victim of a crime."

The photos the commissioner held up are being put on the Baltimore Police Department's web site. Here is a news released from Dixon on car break-ins:

Mayor and Police Commissioner Announce Steps to Stop Thefts from Automobiles

Baltimore, MD (February 17, 2009) – Mayor Sheila Dixon was joined by Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld and Kirby Fowler, President of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore to announce steps being taken by the Police Department to prevent larceny from automobiles.  They also urged residents and visitors to take necessary steps to make them less vulnerable.

In the United States, a car is broken into every 25 seconds.  To help reduce the frequency of thefts, the Police Department is engaged in a public education and prevention campaign to prevent car break-ins within the city. Additionally, they have been out to nightly meeting with city residents and visitors to remind them of tips to keep their vehicles and valuables safe.

“We have increased foot patrols in targeted areas, developed a public service announcement and placed over 3,000 flyers on vehicles to remind people to leave their cars empty,” said Commissioner Bealefeld.  “When my officers see cars that are vulnerable to break-ins, we give drivers a friendly reminder to properly lock up valuables.”

The Mayor and Commissioner listed a number of steps individuals can take to decrease their chances of being broken into:

• When you leave your car, leave it empty,

• Park your car in an area that is well-lit and near lots of people,

• Keep valuables in your car hidden – Use your trunk,

• Consider buying a visible mechanical locking device to lock the steering wheel, and/or an auto theft alarm system,

• Keep your car registration and insurance card with you instead of in the glove compartment so that thieves cannot produce these documents if stopped by police.

“Break-ins of autos are a big inconvenience and all too common in the city and the suburbs, but they are entirely preventable,” Kirby Fowler, President of Downtown Partnership of Baltimore.  “For years, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore has worked closely with the Baltimore Police Department to spread the word that ‘when you leave your car, you should leave it empty,’ and we applaud Mayor Dixon and Commissioner Bealefeld for bringing needed attention to this message.” 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Confronting crime
        

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a study on the use of police surveillance cameras in San Francisco that showed they do not curtail violent crime -- though they seem to lead to a reduction in property and nuisance crimes.

A study is being conducted on the use of cameras in Baltimore, and I look foward to the results. Meanwhile, city police and prosecutors continue to debate their effectiveness -- with police hailing them as a useful tool and prosecutors saying they aren't all they're built up to be.

I mention this again because Baltimore police announed yesterday that they used a surveillance camera to make an arrest outside Club One early Monday morning. No details have been provided as to exactly what the camera picked up. I'm anxious to see this one and whether it helps build a case and put the shooter away.

The Baltimore Police Department news release:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime
        

This is the second part of a series on teenagers who are participating in a mock murder investigation: 

The questions came fast and furious, the prosecutor pouncing on every utterance.

“Where were you on the night of the shooting?”

“At home,” the suspect answered.

“What would you say if I told you I had a witness who saw you at the scene of the homicide last week with a gun in your hand?”

“I was home by myself,” she said.

“What if I told you I pulled your records and you own a gun, the same kind used to kill this person? The crime lab came back with the bullets — your bullets were used to shoot this person. You have a gun.”

“Yes, I have a gun.”

 She paused. “I want a lawyer.”

This is Assistant State’s Attorney Erin McCarthy grilling 13-year-old Arrecka Bouknight in an office inside Baltimore’s Southern District Police Station (McCarthy is on the left, Arrecka is on the right in the photo above by the Baltimore's Sun's Monica Lopossay)

McCarthy, whose real job is prosecuting criminals at the Eastside District Courthouse on North Avenue, was playing the part of a homicide detective trying to get Bouknight, playing the role of a suspect in a murder, to confess to the crime. McCarthy lied about the gun records to get her to admit she had a weapon.

“See how I can trick you?” McCarthy told Bouknight.

“Was all that I said, can that be used against me now?” the youngster asked.

“Yep,” McCarthy answered. “I didn’t know you had a gun. ... police officers can trick you. That’s why you got to be careful.”

The exercise was part of a month-long program to take 30 students from city recreations centers through a murder investigation, from found body to trial. They’ve already played the role of cops, responded to a luxury high-rise condo at Silo Point in Locust Point and found a dead maintenance supervisor who had confronted one of his workers for sleeping in a model apartment.

They again Thursday night at the police station to interview and prepare charges against the maintenance man, and the kids took turns playing the role of prosecutor and suspect. The learned about advising people they’re about to question of their rights and how detectives can use subterfuge to get the information they want.

“We trick them into thinking they are helping themselves by talking to a police officer,” Sgt. Steve Hohman told the group, adding that after years spent in homicide and now leading the Southern District’s shooting squad, he’s amazed that anyone initials the forms and agrees to talk to him without an attorney. “You’re in that room because a police officer wants to lock you up for a crime,” Hohman explained to the teens. “Anything you say can only help his case. No good is going to come from you talking to us.”

Next week, the teens will tour the Baltimore Police Department’s crime lab and then meet with prosecutors to build their case for court, a process I’m following. On March 12, they will stage a trial in a real court room, with the kids playing various roles of attorneys, witnesses, jurors and cops. Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Althea M. Handy will preside over the rare nighttime proceeding.

Marie Sennett of the public defender’s office helped develop the program that is designed to give teens a new perspective on law enforcement and give them ideas for future careers. Already, some have expressed interest in being lawyers or joining the medical examiner’s office.

Everybody has seen police interrogations on TV, and Hohman tried to separate fact from entertainment. No, they don’t beat or abuse suspects. They get more information by treating people nicely; yelling only makes them shut down. They might talk to someone for hours about the weather or family — anything but the crime — to lull them into a false sense of security. They might face the suspect toward the door of the interview room, a psychological trick to get them thinking if there is a way out if only they talk.

McCarthy showed how it’s done.

Frank Looney, 19, playing the role of suspect, assured McCarthy he was playing basketball the night of the killing, though he couldn’t recall the names of his friends, and said he later went to his cousin Antoine’s house.

“Do you have Antoin’s phone number,” the prosecutor asked.

“No.”

“What’s his mother’s name?”

“Aunt Mary.”

“Everyone’s got an Aunt Mary,” McCarthy told him.

The public defender later asked Looney how he felt being interviewed.

“Violated,” he answered.

Lesson learned.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

We all know by now that being sentenced for a crime almost never means serving the full sentence. That's why the five-year mandatory sentence for people caught with guns is so troubling. Police and prosecutors use the tough law to threaten people but know it's really all but meaningless.

Earlier this week, the city's mayor, police commissioner and top prosecutor testified in Annapolis to toughen the law by ending good-time credits prisoners earn for, well, just being there and behaving. It turns a five-year mandatory sentence into a farce.

Yesterday, the city State's Attorney's Office sent over a release to highlight the problem. Bernard Nelson, who on Thursday got sentenced to time served for a drug offense, has been arrested and locked up and re-arrested again. In 2005, he served just 2 years and 9 months of a mandatory 5 year prison sentence for gun possession.

Mayor Sheila Dixon said this in a statement: “This gun offender served about half of his 5-year mandatory no parole sentence before he was released and re-arrested, and now convicted again.  He is an example of why we need the support of our State Legislature to close loopholes in our state gun laws to keep repeat gun offenders and illegal guns off our streets."

Here's the full statement from prosecutors: 

BERNARD NELSON PLEADS GUILTY TO CDS POSSESSION

Case Highlights Early Release Date for No-Parole Mandatory Sentence
Nelson Arrested After Early Release on Felon Gun Charge

Baltimore, MD – February 12, 2009 – Yesterday in Eastside District Court, Bernard Nelson, 48 of the 1500 block of Queensbury Avenue, pleaded guilty to CDS possession of Heroin and Cocaine.  Judge Jeanne Hong sentenced Nelson to time served.  Nelson had been in jail since his arrest December 25, 2008.

Nelson pled guilty to the following facts of the case.  On December 25, 2008 Nelson and another man were observed by police in the rear of a house next to a street lamp.  Police observed Nelson place money into his hat then the two men began to quickly walk away when they noticed the police.  Police approached and questioned both men.  The two men were searched and police recovered a gel cap containing heroin and a vial containing rock cocaine from Bernard Nelson.

On March 30, 2005 Nelson was convicted of felon in possession of a handgun and sentenced under 5-133C to a mandatory 5-year no parole sentence.  He was released on mandatory supervision on April 6, 2007 and served a total of about 2 years and 9 months in prison. In January 2003 he was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months. This felony conviction made it illegal for him to possess a firearm.  Had he served a mandatory 5-year no parole sentence, he would have been released in 2009.  Since the time of his release in 2007, Nelson has been arrested several times including for the narcotics offense that led to yesterday’s conviction.

“This gun offender served about half of his 5-year mandatory no parole sentence before he was released and re-arrested, and now convicted again.  He is an example of why we need the support of our State Legislature to close loopholes in our state gun laws to keep repeat gun offenders and illegal guns off our streets,” said Mayor Sheila Dixon.

“This case illustrates the need for truth in sentencing for repeat gun offenders,” said State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy.

Both Mayor Dixon and State’s Attorney Jessamy testified before the House Judiciary Committee in Annapolis on Tuesday in support of HB 87 which would restrict handgun felons from earning good times credits at an accelerated rate and earning an earlier release.

Assistant States Attorney Alfred Guillame of the District Court prosecuted this case.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

For 90 minutes, the people of Orchard Mews and Seton Hill debated how to save their neighborhoods from criminals. At the end, as officials hurried to escape the stage, the Rev. Michael Bishop, the secretary of the Seton Hill Association, noted his surprise:

"We had no idea the people of Orchard Mews were as scared as we were," he told me. "At least now it's out in the open."

It took no less than the mayor, the city council president, a city councilman, two top city police commanders, the housing commissioner, a city transportation official and the head of Baltimore's federal Housing and Urban Development office to get both sides to talk to each other. And it came after a Baltimore police officer, Dante Arthur, was shot and wounded Jan. 23 while making an undercover drug buy on Orchard Street in Orchard Mews. Arthur was released from Maryland Shock Trauma Center on Tuesday.

The dispute really isn't a surprise. Seton Hill is an historic enclave near Pennsylvania and Druid Hill avenues, made up of some of the city's oldest rowhouses. It's also steeped in African-American history, the possible site of an Underground Railroad stop (though that's in dispute), an historic church and home to the America's first native-born saint. Next door, Orchard Mews is a federal-subsidized townhouse community. Drug dealers use the narrow streets and hidden alleys to ply their trade, helping to make Pennsylvania Avenue one of the city's busiest drug corridors.

The people of Seton Hill have long complained about the violence and drugs coming from their neighbors. The people of Orchard Mews have long complained that they don't feel included in the community. It's not just attitude -- Seton Hill is Georgetownesque, almost quaint, while Orchard Mews is dark and foreboding.

But there are good people in both communities and they want the same thing: to be safe.

This was evident when residents from both communities spoke.

Said a woman from Seton Hill: "The police patrols have really gone down, and since then, the drug activity has really escalated. I can tell you exactly what the dealers look like. I know who they are. They look right into my eyes. People sit in their cars in front of my house and smoke marijuana. I talk to them. They talk to me. I'm pretty bold and I don't care. I want them to know that I'm watching them."

Said a woman from Orchard Mews: "We're stuck here. We can't go out and we can't get in. We can't go outside. When we hear gunshots, we hit the floor. When we call police, they come to our house and then everyone knows we called. You know we don't call the police because we live in fear every day."

Both women want the same thing. Maybe this forum, in which both finally realize that, will help bridge this divide. Seton Hill wants the management company that runs Orchard Mews to follow through on plans for lighting, hiring off-duty cops for security and evicting tenants who break the law.

Seton Hill resident Dean Parish had a pointed exchange with James S. Kelly, the head of the Baltimore field office for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Orchard Mews is privately owned and run, but the feds have a big say in how because many of the residents receive federal subsidies.

Kelly assured Parish that he was keeping a list of police reports and tenants who could be evicted. "We want to make sure the people of Orchard Mews are good neighbors," he said. "We have to make sure the police reports get to our managers, that our managers know what to do with them, that people get evicted and that our managers are trained to screen tenants."

Parish countered: "It's been like this forever. I've been here. Where have you been? It's nice that you kept a file, but what good does that do?"

Answered Kelly: "I can only say that we're doing what we can and you'd rightly be skeptical. We've got to give the police time to restore order."

And so it went for 90 minutes.

Michelle A. Storino, the executive property manager for Community Realty Management, which runs Orchard Mews and is based in Pleasantville, N.J., said she had her first meeting with tenants on Jan. 14. She said four tenants have been evicted recently for committing crimes, and that she'll working on getting more lighting put up. She also promised to hire off-duty police officers for security -- a big expense, she said, but one that has stalled and will not get her full attention.

Residents complained that it took a city cop to get shot to get their leaders to pay attention. But the police said it was because they were paying attention that the cop got shot. Baltimore Police Col. John Skinner said 21 officers have been quietly working drugs on the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor and that Arthur was part of that task force.

He reminded people who complained that officers don't show when they call 911 that sometimes a uniformed cop is told not to respond because undercover officers are already in the area. Skinner promised to find a way to let residents know that their complaint is being investigated without ruining a secret operation. Still, both Skinner and the mayor promised to put more uniformed foot patrol officers in Seton Hill and Orchard Mews, and Maj. John Bailey, the commander of the Central District, handed out his cell phone number so people can talk to him directly.

The city promised to revise streets that benefit drug dealers and hamper police patrols, add lighting (a temporary police floodlight keeps getting vandalized) and to press Orchard Mews management to fulfill their obligations and promises. City officials met with federal housing officials on Wednesday.

The biggest step might come later, when the people of Orchard Mews meet with the people of Seton Hill, establish a dialogue, and then perhaps their differences can be worked out without the intervention of the mayor and much of her staff.

The mayor reminded residents of both sides that it's not "you and us, it's us" but she also reminded Orchard Mews that two of the suspected shooters of the officer ran into a house in their community. "That's unacceptable, no matter what neighborhood you live in," she said.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Every once in a while when I covered the day-to-day Baltimore police beat, a story came along that made me wish I worked for a tabloid. It made me sad when I couldn't write the cops busted or nabbed a crook, words that would get us beaten by the Copy Desk.

 I had to say, police arrested a suspected bank robbery who allegedly ...

Boring, but for the most part, appropriate. But it's always fun to see how others do it. A book I read a long time ago on the media had a quote from a New York Times editor defending reporting a scandolous trial by saying, in effect, when the tabloids do it's sensationalism but when The Times does it it's a sociological study.

Today, both the New York Times (stodgy broadsheet of record) and the New York Post (the fiesty and fun tabloid) covered the same traffic accident. A man driving an SUV called police and told him he had hit somone in Queens. He stopped, got out of his car but couldn't find a victim. Seconds after he hit the person, another driver in a van had run over the victim and dragged him 20 miles to Brooklyn.

(To give you an idea of the differences in papers, the accident story shared a page with "The Recession Takes Down a Yacht Club" in The Times and "24-carat hobo scam" and "Temps just a tease" in The Post.)

Here's how the scrappy New York Post played the story: Page 1, large headline: "20-MILE HORROR" with a map, a photo of cops and a tease to turn to Page 7 for more info. There, readers can find another large headline: "CAR-DRAG HORROR ALONG 3 HIGHWAYS," another photo of the van and body under a white sheet and a 22-paragraph story titled, "Victim's 20-mile trail of blood."

The story by three reporters and two contributors contains nearly every crime cliche you can imagine. The victim wasn't just killed, he was "horribly killed"; it wasn't just an accident, it was a "gruesome accident"; and the as if the trail of blood in the headline seemed understated, that same sentence concludes with, " ... leaving a 20-mile trail of gore."

Here's how the New York Times covered the story: page A23. It's not even teased on the front page (they used that to lead readers to the more important story on the page -- "Uncovering the perks of Albany's fallen GOP." (they did, however, put a link to the story on their home web page).

Here's the NYT head: "Queens Driver Unknowingly Drags a Body Nearly 20 Miles" Not exactly a grabber, but still gets your attention. The lead is straightforward but known in our business as a feature opening: "A few minutes after 6 a.m. Wednesday, the driver of a black sport utility vehicle ... "

The Times saved the word "gruesome" for the second sentence of the third paragraph. But I have to give The Times kudos for detail and adhering to what journalism teachers drill into students -- show, don't tell.

While The Post hammers home that this accident is horrific and left a trail of gore, The Times actually describes the horror and the gore and leaves it up to the readers to decide how to characterize it.

The Times describes the 19.8 mile journey and the van "dragging the torn-up corpse" who was "hooked through his sternum" and "afixed to a steel plate that was part of the van's undercarriage." The story goes on, "The body tissue, including the back of the legs, buttocks and back were worn, basically, off, in the extreme" and notes that police have yet to identify the victim but found his broken iPhone, a Western Union receipt and blue vinyl jacket in the westbound lanes of the Belt Parkway. It even notes his shoes are still missing.

Here's my take: The Post oversold a story that provided little information beyond repeating the screaming headlines. The Times undersold a marvelously detailed tale that didn't need adjectives to explain the horror.

Anyone who bought The Post to read about the accident should be disappointed because they learned nothing beyond what they could've read for free at the newstand. And they wouldn't even have known that had they spent an extra 50 cents on The Times, they would've gotten the best version of the best read story of the day.

Hype your product to make money but leave your customers unsatisifed? Stick to sound jouranlistic reasoning, lose money but still give your customers the best product? Those of us who practice serious journalism hope that readers will understand that the best story will be found in papers like The Times and buy them without needing to see the word "horror" in a box six blocks away.

That said, I have to come up with a "grabber" headline for this blog that will get the attention of search engines. I'll stay neutral and use the one adjective that both New York papers used: gruesome.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

It took four months, but the person responsible for leaving a series of notes and pictures about a dead baby on a trash bin behind a Charles Village church has come forward.

Sort of.

I still don't know his name. But he called me this morning and left a message trying to get attention for another "project," this one protesting alleged racism in an ad at a city bus stop. He told me he was an art teacher at a public city high school and the work was done by his students as a class project.

As you might recall, back in October, a woman gave birth to a baby that was found dead in a trash bin in an alley by St. John's United Methodist Church. The baby was a boy and the mother, Melanie Beth Blevins, 22, has since been charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting trial. The Medical Examiner's Office determined the baby had been alive and had been placed in a plastic bag and thrown into the trash.

The woman was part of a volunteer Christian service organization that had been living in the church basement; the mother had given birth in a church bathroom.

Shortly after the baby was discovered, someone put posters up on the trash bin. They were all on the same sized paper, each had a drawing of the bin and some words.

"Dear baby, I'm sorry what your mother did to you," one read.

"Stop abuse," another read

The posters that went up were quickly removed. I could never find out who put them there. Some people in Charles Village suspected the church, known for its activism, or the Christian group, or another activist group that uses the church for meetings.

The man who called me refused to give me his name. He told me his students were moved by the death of the baby and wanted to express themselves. He said he's worried that he and his students could face criticism or even discipline if they become known. He called the posters, "Freedom of speech" and noted that somebody must disagree with the messages because of how swiftly they were taken down.

The trash bin is actually private property and used by the church, so his act could be seen as vandalism as much as free speech. He sees it differently:

"My students were very upset by  the events and wanted to express themselves. Some of my students are mothers themselves. It was there way of mourning the loss of a child. ... I guess some people took offense. My students have a right to talk about this assault on their senses and share what they've learned with the greater city."

The man who called me wanted to call my attention to a new project by his activist artists: they've put up new posters at a bus stop at York Road and East 33rd Street to protest ads by Uncle Ben's Rice, calling the use of the word "uncle" and the picture of a bow-tied black man racist. There actually is quite a bit of web fodder on this subject -- here's a link to a blog on the topic and a New York Times story; the company says Uncle Ben is a real rice grower from Texas.

The man who purports to be a city teacher said the posters cover a part of the ad at the bus stop, but not the picture of Uncle Ben. I have calls into the city school system and the Maryland Transit Administration about whether there is a problem with what is being done.

But I question this teacher as well. What lesson is he teaching his students -- free speech or vigilanteeism? Is using lesson plans to encourage students to break the law? And does their message get lost by hiding behind the messenger? And is this an appropriate lesson for students in a public school art class?

Click further for the video of the posters and I'll let you know when I hear from the school system and MTA.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

"Ed was the kind of man who wouldn't impose on anybody."

These were the words of Don Helms, a retired Baltimore police sergeant who works as a chaplain for the Fraternal Order of Police union. He was speaking yesterday at a funeral service for Edward William Eldridge Jr., the retired city officer who took his own life last month and had no known family and no close friends.

Baltimore police homicide Det. Randy Wynn organized the service at Ruck Funeral Home where strangers and former friends took turns remembering the fallen city servant. He had written in his suicide note that he didn't have anyone to stay with him at the hospital for routine surgery. But there was more -- he also had lost a substantial part of his retirement savings to the stock market and had recently been robbed and assaulted, humiliating for a cop.

The service was indeed a remembrance. But it also was a lecture on how to treat people better. It starts with us thinking the officer had nobody and ends with he had many people, but he was apparently too afraid to ask and they had simply lost touch and moved on with their lives.

He had a neighbor who loved him, looked in after him, sent her children over to help him with the chores. She moved off Daywalt Avenue in Northeast Baltimore eight years ago, offering Eldridge her phone number. It's unclear if he took it or didn't take it. But Lucille Blue never spoke to Officer Eldridge again. "I wish now that I had kept in touch," she said.

Another woman, a friend of Eldridge's mother, said that after the officer's parents died, she invited him to family events in their old neighborhood of Better Waverly. He never responded. Cops told me he didn't hang out with them, and they assumed he had another life beyond the department. On the day of his surgery, he had made notes about times for taxis and had even reached out to the Northeast District. Cops help other cops, and an officer there made arrangements to pick Eldridge up and drive him to and from Franklin Square Hospital.

But Eldridge wasn't sure the officer would stay and didn't want to ask. Afraid that the hospital would send him home if no one would remain at the hospital with him, he took his own life. I have no idea if that's the sole reason -- we have only his words in the note to go by -- but maybe it was the final straw after years of struggle.

Speaker after speaker at the funeral challenged mourners to embrace someone they haven't talked to in some time. Make the extra phone call. Blue said after hearing about Eldridge, called an elderly relative she hadn't seen in years, just to say hello.

If the person doesn't reach out, reach out to them, Helms said.

"Eddie was the kind of man who wouldn't impose on anybody," Helms repeated.

So impose, he said.

"Police are control freaks," Helms reminded the mostly law enforcement audience. "We are. We think we have control over our lives, but we don't. I think Eddie felt he was losing control over his."

Kweisi Mfume, the former congressman from Maryland and NAACP head, came to the service as well. He noted reading that Eldridge had signed up for the draft during the Vietnam War, just as Mfume had done by walking into an office at Fort Meade. Mfume said he was impressed that when Eldridge got out two years later -- he was sent to Japan to guard underground missiles -- "he chose service again, to try to keep the peace in his city."

Perhaps what makes Eldridge's death so hard is that he was part of one of the tightest fraternities around. Police is one of those professions where workers spend inordinate amounts of time together, protecting each others lives while protecting others, and then go out and spend time with each other again. There are unions and retirement groups and all sorts of networks. Maybe that's why nobody reached out to Eldridge -- they assumed he was part of their family even if he wasn't seen.

Many speakers at the funeral talked about missed opportunities. Eldridge may have felt he was alone but he really wasn't, they said. Mary Windhaus was his neighbor for 20 years and said had she known of Eldridge's predicament, she would've happily taken him to the hospital. Many others said the same.

Helms said, "Ed has done more for retirees than anybody else could do."

He certainly got people talking. "The tragic end to Ed's life shows how important it is to stay connected," Helm said. "Ed was somebody who was disconnected. ... We need to reach out to each other. We need to reach out to our retirees like Ed. ... Ed died alone. But Ed was never alone. God was always by his side."

Retired Baltimore Police Officer Paul Boone recalled "the best wagon man" the city police had ever produced. "There's not a lot we can say," Boone told mourners. "I wish Ed could've seen the people here today. I think if he had he never would have done it."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

So, a man who refused to give his name to Anne Arundel County police calls 911 and informs them that there might be "sexual activity" going on in a car in the parking lot of the Annapolis Mall.

A cop responds, after some problems with directions, and discovers the vehicle belongs to Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold. "I see some activity going on in a car, and I don't think it's proper," the caller says, adding, "I'm not positive but it looks like there's naked people in the car."

According to a tape released by police, the officer recognizes the car as county's political chief and informs dispatch. Later, a department spokesman refused to tell Baltimore Sun reporter Julie Scharper whether anyone was with the executive, who was in the back seat.

The spokesman noted the officer only made contact with Leopold. Just vague enough to leave open many possibilities. If Leopold was alone, why not just say so? If he wasn't, was the officer right in only talking one of the people involved? We don't have enough information to even know what any of this means and what's relevant.

I'm sure this police officer wishes he called in sick on that day, Jan. 30. Did he see anything? Was there anything to see? Or did the officer simply note the car and move on? And what does the man who called 911 think now?

Leopold issued a statement saying officers found nothing improper and added he wouldn't dignify "the matter with further comment."

A full accounting would help end any speculation. I'd also like to know exactly how the officer handled this and whether anyone got back to the man who called police in the first place.

Read more on the Maryland Politics blog.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessemy were in Annapolis yesterday asking state lawmakers to help tighten gun laws. As Baltimore Sun reporter Julie Bykowicz writes today, one law would prevent bail commissioners from releasing convicted gun offenders and other would increase the time a convicted gun offender spends in prison by cutting back on good-time credits.

They were joined by Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld.

Dixon talked about her testimony last night to the Seton Hill Association, whose members are up in arms about crime in their neighborhood. A police officer got shot in that community last month.

Here is the testimony from State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy:

House Judiciary Committee
101 House Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401 - 1912

Title: House Bill 87 (Criminal Procedure - No Good Time for Gun Crime)
        
POSTION:  SUPPORT

Good afternoon Chairman Vallario and Members of the House Judiciary Committee:
  
I am Patricia Jessamy, State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, and I am pleased to testify in support of House Bill 87.  Today you will hear from elected officials and several panels of experts and law enforcement officials urging you to pass reforms to end a provision in our law that allows convicted gun felons to accumulate good time credits at a faster rate than offenders sentenced for crimes of violence.   Statistics prepared by my office show that this policy provides accelerated early release dates for about 100 convicted felony gun offenders in Baltimore every year.  Offenders can maximize their good time credits, and in optimum cases credits can be redeemed to reduce a 5-year no parole sentence to a 3-year sentence.  This bill is about our desire to see “truth in sentencing” for gun cases.  There should be no good time for gun crime.

 I join Mayor Dixon and my fellow State’s Attorneys, Police Chiefs and many other public safety officials urging you to end this practice.  Our recommendations on behalf of the citizens of Maryland include support for this legislation to improve public safety and protect our citizens. The importance of our team effort cannot be understated. 

Before I begin, I would like to take a moment to thank Mayor Sheila Dixon for her relentless efforts to reduce gun crime in Baltimore.  Her initiative on this bill demonstrates a commitment that is supported by a conscientious strategy aimed at reducing gun violence on our streets.   This is one tool in our toolbox.  This bill will make a difference!

I also want to thank Delegate Anderson for sponsoring this bill on behalf of Baltimore City.  As you know, I have testified many times on gun bills, and I urge your careful consideration of this bill that would allow “truth in sentencing” for prohibited felons who are arrested and convicted for possession of a regulated firearm.

For more than a decade as Baltimore City State’s Attorney, I have worked and promoted law enforcement policies to identify and prosecute violent repeat offenders and to make sure they remain in prison for as long as possible.  House Bill 87 is smart, strategic and supports efforts to target violent gun crime in Baltimore City and Maryland, and to maximize punishment and prison time for violent offenders and prohibited offenders caught with guns.

As I testified last year, the Maryland General Assembly took a major step forward in gun safety reforms by passing the Responsible Gun Safety Act of 2000.  That bill, which I supported, was the first of its kind in the nation, and created a mandatory 5-year no parole sentence for persons who were previously convicted of a crime of violence or felony narcotics offense, and then found guilty of a new charge of possession of a regulated firearm.  This is a lethal mix – a deadly cocktail that leads to violence on our streets.

Over the past decade, I have prosecuted hundreds of offenders using this statute resulting in over 520 5-year no-parole sentences. At least that is what we thought, until prosecutors learned that offenders are allowed to earn “good time” credits at a rate that allows some offenders to earn parole about 3 years into a 5-year no parole sentence. An example of this is in your packet highlighting the case of Robert Looney.

Over my years as State’s Attorney, I have taken steps to generate sentencing momentum as a result of the Responsible Gun Safety Act of 2000.  As you can see from the enclosed timeline, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City (OSA) has initiated violence reduction partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and other law enforcement agencies and the community.  I supported a re-energized EXILE program in 2006.  This initiative requires an Assistant State’s Attorney to quickly identify firearm related cases, based on particular criteria, and expedite these cases to federal authorities for review and possible federal prosecution.  In some cases, we have used and developed a FLIP (Federal Letter of Intent to Prosecute) that can lead to a guilty plea in State court.  This year 27 FLIP letters were presented in Circuit Court resulting in 27 guilty pleas for felony possession of a firearm, yielding 5-year no parole sentences.

At this time, I would like to introduce Division Chief for the F.I.V.E. Division (Firearms Investigation /Violence Enforcement) (for 2008), Douglas Ludwig.  The F.I.V.E unit was a created to support vigorous vertical prosecution of prohibited possession and non-fatal shooting cases in Baltimore and was bolstered with additional funding as a result of the Responsible Gun Safety Act of 2000.  It continues to have primary responsibility for prosecuting firearms offenses and non-fatal shooting cases at the Circuit Court level and reviewing cases for federal prosecution under Project Exile. Mr. Ludwig is testifying as part of another panel and is available to answer any questions you might have regarding gun prosecution in Baltimore.

In addition to prosecution, the OSA also participates in GunStat.  This initiative, which was created by Mayor Dixon, involves local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.  This coordinated partnership meets bi-weekly to identify offenders who use illegal guns and chronicle the criminal case from start to finish.  The main goal is to focus attention on individuals who have used guns in crimes and to help partner agencies prosecute violent repeat offenders and keep them off the streets for as long as possible.

Although the passage of the Responsible Gun Safety Act of 2000 and initiatives like GunStat have afforded my office additional tools to effectively prosecute gun crime in the City of Baltimore, loopholes in the law still exist.   Unfortunately, prosecutors have complained to me that the 5-year, no parole statute lacks “truth in sentencing”.  Because the technical offense for which a defendant receives the 5-year, no parole sentence is not classified as a crime of violence, offenders sentenced under this statute may still earn “good time credits” at a higher rate than offenders convicted of a crime of violence.

  I do not believe that convicted felons who are prohibited from legally possessing a regulated firearm because of a previous conviction for a crime of violence or a felony narcotics conviction and then sentenced to a mandatory 5-year no parole sentence should earn an earlier accelerated prison release date due to a technicality.  We must put an end to this early release practice.

Please note House Bill 87 does not restrict law-abiding citizens from legally purchasing and/or possessing certain types of firearms and does not apply to offenders who are caught the first time with an illegal firearm.  This bill aims to ensure that prohibited persons who cannot legally possess a regulated firearm because they are convicted felons, and who are arrested and convicted as a result of a new gun charge, remain incarcerated for as long as possible.

In closing, I want to thank you for your favorable consideration last year, and again urge your favorable report of House Bill 87.

Sincerely,

Patricia C. Jessamy
State’s Attorney for Baltimore City

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Baltimore Police have a new target in their effort to padlock troubled businesses: the Executive Inn in Southeast Baltimore.

I visited the place and discovered that it is, in fact, not really an Inn. "That's a motel, not a hotel," said Annette Eden, the woman who lives across the street on Pulaski Highway. She runs a day care center and she was using the word "motel" in a disdainful sort of way.

Eden, of course, is happy that police want to shut down this motel. "The police are always there," she told me after I knocked on her door. "The ambulances are always there. The hookers are always there."

Last year, Baltimore police padlocked the Linden Bar and Liquors. The owner marched in front of City Hall and says police are using the large volume of 911 calls he made about crime to prove his bar is hub of crime. Police say it's an effort to hold business owners responsible for their patrons; the owners counter that they can only do so much, and shouldn't be punished for police failing to do their jobs.

Business owners need to be good neighbors, and just because you run a business on a street more known for prostitutes and seedy strip bars than for botiques and coffee shops doesn't mean you couldn't try and clean things up. Trouble is, some of these businesses are in the business of catering to criminals, be it drug dealers or prostitutes, or both.

We've yet to hear a defense from the owners of the Executive Inn, who did not comment for a story in yesterday's Baltimore Sun by Justin Fenton. In their statement, police cite numerous search warrants executed there for drugs, more than a dozen arrests and several shootings at the Inn.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III called the motel a "haven for illegal drug activity." The motel has long been known as a crime spot -- David Simon's The Wire featured it in more than one episode as the prime meeting place for the heads of various city drug gangs. My question, is art imitating life or the other way around?

Of course, opinions differ. I heard lots from the people living around Linden Lounge. While most supported the police decision to shutter it -- it was upheld at a hearing and by a judge -- some said police were taking away the only store many could reach on foot.

David Cooper, 28, is raising five kids on Pulaski Highway, across from the Executive Inn and down the street from Eden's day care center. He was sitting on his front steps when I walked by and he doesn't think closing the motel will make any difference.

"They don't need to clean up the motel," Cooper told me. "They need to clean up the neighborhood. They're turning tricks all around here. The police should do their jobs before closing down a business. I mean, if a woman wants to take a date to a room, at least they're not doing it in my back yard."

Here's the announcement from city police:

MEDIA ADVISORY

Baltimore Police Order Nuisance Hearing to Address
Criminal Activity at Executive Inn  

BALTIMORE, MD / February 9, 2009 – The Baltimore City Police Department (BPD) has requested that the owners of the Executive Inn (3600 Pulaski Highway)  appear at a public nuisance hearing to address repeated crimes of violence taking place at the business. Under city code, the Police Department has the authority to order the closure of all or a portion of the business if it is found to meet the definition of a public nuisance. During calendar year 2008, Baltimore Police executed 5 search and seizure warrants at the property and made at least 16 other drug-related arrests.  Police also responded to 33 calls for violent criminal activity (e.g., aggravated assaults, robberies, armed individuals, non-fatal shootings, sexual offenses), resulting in at least 7 arrests, and made at least five arrests for prostitution.

“The Executive Inn has been, and continues to be, a haven for illegal drug activity and prostitution,” said Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld III. “Such activity has resulted in numerous crimes of violence impacting the quality of life for neighboring residents and that simply will not be tolerated in Baltimore”  

In 2007, officers executed 2 search and seizure warrants, made at least 7 arrests for illegal drug activity, and made at least 5 arrests for violent criminal activity, including 1 homicide.

The hearing will be held on Monday February 23rd, 2009 at 10am at Baltimore Police Headquarters.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

Today at 11 a.m., police officers and colleagues of Edward William Eldridge Jr. are to gather at Ruck Funeral Home in Towson for a final goodbye. Eldridge was a Baltimore police officer for 26 years, and he took his own life last month.

Even sadder, Eldridge lived alone, had no family or friends and couldn't find anyone to stay with him for a few hours while he had outpatient surgery at Franklin Square Hospital Center. Distraught, he called 911, told the operator he was going to shoot himself and then pulled the trigger. He was lying on his bed in the upstairs room of the Northeast Baltimore house he had grown up in on Daywalt Avenue.

To the end, he was considerate. He left the door open for officers and he told the operator he called because he was afraid no one would find his body, and he didn't want to stink up house of the woman who lived next door. As much as I wanted to tell Eldridge's story, I also wanted to tell the city about the homicide detective, Randy Wynn, who not only investigated the case, but claimed the body so that the officer could have a proper buriel.

This story has gotten me more e-mails and phone calls than I could possibly imagine. Suicides are always painful, and difficult to write about, but I think this one touched a nerve because Eldridge was alone, and that seems impossible in this day and age. Some people wanted to know even more. I'm sorry, I simply didn't have information on whether the officer suffered from depression, nor did I know any friends until now. I think it also scared some people into thinking that they too could die alone. One woman called me yesterday to say that all of her neighbors were rude, "and that if my husband goes first, I'll die and nobody will find me until I rot."

How sad.

I've posted a few e-mails on this blog -- I selected the ones from people who knew Eldridge and learned from my story that he had died. I've been hesitant to share others simply because I don't take praise very well. But here are three that I found particularly heartfelt:

My name is Ernie Anderson and I was a Sergeant with the Baltimore Police Department. We met on several occasions prior to your departure overseas. Welcome back. I would like to thank you for your thoughtful and kind column on the sad death of retired Officer Edward Eldridge. You respected his service to the community and gave his tragic death dignity. You infused your piece with thoughtfulness and compassion. Thank you.

Your article in Monday's paper regarding Edward William Eldridge was eloquent. I do not usually write responses such as this, yet something about your article touched the soul. I sincerely hope that the response from the public was positive and that former colleagues did, infact, show up to pay tribute to this man. It is a sad commentary when a person's life and accomplishments are passed over by the world around them. Often through circumstance, each and every one of us has the possibility to find ourselves in the same situation of lonliness and despair that Officer Eldridge found himself in. Parents pass on. Spouses seperate or pass on themselves. People remain childless. And, as we age,  sometimes we become cynical and just plain uncomfortable with the world around us and the thoughtless throngs who seem to populate it. Worthwhile friends become fewer and farther between. Yet a person's life, such as that of Officer Eldridge,  by all accounts  deserves to be recognized. I applaud your writing on his behalf and the efforts of Detective Wynn as well. Sometimes,  we have nothing left to give besides our decency. Unfortunately,  common decency seems to be far too lacking in today's society. Your decency and understanding, as well as Detective Wynn's, showed through loud and clear. Thank you both for your efforts. The public needs to be reminded every once in the while of the forgotten stories of our society. I imagine Officer Eldridge would be appreciative.

Dear Mr. Hermann,
I don’t know.
I still don’t know.
I still don’t know what brought me to Ruck’s Funeral Home earlier tonight to the viewing of retired police officer Edward W. Eldridge Jr. I’m not a police officer, and have never been in the service, and I knew nothing about Officer Eldridge until I read your article of February 9th. Maybe I went to the viewing because of the way a Polytechnic Institute and University of Maryland graduate; army veteran; and 26 year Baltimore City police officer died - alone - thinking he had no one to turn to.
Maybe it was because of officer Eldridge’s service to our country and our city, or maybe because of Detective Randy Wynn, who went out of his way to see that officer Eldridge was properly honored his death. I was fortunate enough to talk with Detective Wynn this evening. Randy Wynn represents all cops, who protect us day and night and who suffer the effects of dealing with the worst that we are for an entire career. But I do know that if you hadn’t written your mesmerizing article about officer Eldridge, I never would have known about this sad story. Thank you for telling us about the life of officer Eldridge and the caring Detective Wynn. I still don’t know why felt like I had to go to the viewing.

Bob Ryan
Towson

 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

I would urge everyone to read today's installment about Baltimore schools chief Andres Alonso by Baltimore Sun reporter Sara Neufeld and check out her Inside Ed blog. The story opens with Alonso waiting for outrage to pour in after a 15-year-old student, Markel Williams, is fatally stabbed outside William H. Lemmel Middle School in November.

Sara wrote: "All weekend, he waited for e-mails from an angry public, calls from activists demanding change, cries from parents who didn't feel safe sending their kids to school anymore. They never came."

Should we be surprised?

Lack of outrage is a persistent theme in this city, and it's nothing new. I covered the day-to-day goings on of city police in the mid and late 1990s (to the left is a picture from a slaying outside a city school in 1995) and a constant criticism of Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke was that he seemed indifferent the crime and murder engulfing the city. He talked about decriminalizing drugs, hired a reform-minded police commissioner from California and murders continued to soar into the 300s.

The city seemed content.

Then Martin O'Malley came and told city cops they should be tired of hearing they can't do anything about it. Edward Norris settled in from New York and he too expressed outrage that no one was outraged.

In March 2001, during a "surge" of cops on city streets, one officer was shot and killed, three others wounded, and cops shot and killed two suspects and wounded three. All in a span of two weeks. Norris stood before reporters at Johns Hopkins Hospital and talked about the large caliber gun used to shoot one of his officers, a 14-inch Ruger Blackhawk.

"It's a cannon," Norris said. "It's like what they use in Dirty Harry movies."

Added Norris: "Public outrage would be in order."

If you have ask, it's not going to happen.

Talk to Marvin L. "Doc" Cheatham Sr., the head of Baltimore's NAACP chapter, who is trying to rally the city to end the violence. He held a public gathering on Jan. 31 at the War Memorial Plaza, shortly after Barack Obama spoke there, but lamented the lack of attendance and the city's lack of commitment for failing to clear the snow off the plaza and giving him a sound system that gave out halfway through the mayor's remarks.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III talks about how rhetoric gets lost in the "chaos of the street."

After the stabbing at Lemmel, Mayor Sheila Dixon gave an impassioned talk about her own son and how children were at risk. You got the feeling she was talking only to the television cameras.

Part of the reason we're so indifferent is that it's only been in the past few years that city officials have at least talked about the violence. It started with O'Malley running for mayor and Norris confronting criminals head-on. Whatever you think of their policies, their frank talk, even if it was grandstanding from politicians running for office, at least woke the city up for a bit.

Before, violence had been met with shrugs and finger-pointing. As Alonso found out when he first took over city schools, it was always somebody else's fault. I remember  a day in January 1995, standing outside what was then Northern High School, watching city homicide detectives stand over the body of a young man. Classes had just ended and two neighborhood gangs shot it out as students poured from the building. Elijah Young fell from the first hail of bullets, and then a gunman stood over him and pumped more shots into his body.

Students ran and dove for cover as 17 more gunshots rang out near the front door of the school on Pinewood Avenue. City officials rushed to the scene but were quick to dismiss the shooting as a non-school event. The victim was 22 and didn't go to any city school. Classes had ended seconds earlier so reporters were warned not to say in their stories that the shooting happend "during school."

The school chief at the time, Walter G. Amprey, assured nervous parents that, "Our schools are still safer than our streets." He went on to say, "We are dealing with a number of young people. there is no way to predict how they are going to act."

Sara noted in her story that Alonso can't take the streets out of the schools. That's refreshing to hear. I don't know if all the vigils and outrage will help -- the gunmen and drug dealers have to be ready before anything meaningful will happen. But we have to at least stop making excuses -- stop finding ways to say it isn't our problem and confront it head-on.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Last week I wrote about FBI Special Agent Jeff Cisar and his web site of bank robbery surveillance photos. He works in Rockville, assigned to the Baltimore field office, and keeps up the web site in addition to his street duties.

I met Cisar at a conference in New York at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The school has now put Cisar remarks on video, and you can watch him here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

You would think that with all the killing in Baltimore, the last thing authorities would need to do is stage a murder.

But that's what they did last week for a group of 30 kids from 11 recreation centers, brought together by the South Baltimore Teen Council. Baltimore police officers from the Southern District -- Kevin Vaught, Ron Teufer and two others -- set up an elaborate scenario in a luxury 19th floor condo at Silo Point.

There was a shooting -- a maintenance supervisor killed, possibly by his employee who was angry at being caught sleeping in a model appartment -- and a scared witness. The kids had to proncess the crime scene, interview the witness and figure out how to proceed. In the coming days and weeks, they will meet with real homicide detectives, develop a trial strategy and even try the case in Baltimore Circuit Court. I plan to follow them through the process.

The kids asked great questions and seemed to have fun. The idea was not to showcase death -- the cops know we have too much of that in this city -- but to who kids another side of the city police and to give them idea about careers. A murder investigation covers just about every aspect of the legal field and can shed light on everything from the medical examiner to trial attorneys and judges.

The scenario comes complete with police reports, charging documents, interview notes and involves the city state's attorney's office, public defenders's office, recreation center leaders and city police.

Baltimore Sun's photographer Monica Lopossay has a photo gallery up on our website and the story that ran Sunday is here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The story of Edward William Eldridge Jr. got worse with every phone call I made.

He was a Baltimore police officer for 26 years, and he killed himself last month when he couldn't find anyone to take him to the hospital for routine surgery. He also had lost money in his retirement fund, but it was his attempt to go to the hospital that he mentioned in his suicide note.

What is striking about this story is that Eldridge was alone. No family, no children, no wife, no aunts or uncles, and worst of all, no friends. How could that be? How can you spend 26 years in a job and not make a friend? Cops bond, they hang out with each other. They live the job even when they're not on it.

It's a reminder to us all to keep in touch with old friends and co-workers.

Since today's story was published, I've heard from a former friend and a former colleague, both of whom expressed dismay that Eldridge took his life. But from what little they told me, it fits his tragic story.

John Miller retired as a lieutenant from the Baltimore Police Department in 2004 and now lives in Hanover, Pa. He worked in the Central District with Edward for 10 years. He noted that some cops hung out together, while some others had lives beyond the department. Ed he said, "wasn't a typical cop."

"Some guys didn't want to be around police when they weren't working," Miller told me this morning. "Ed was a good guy. He would do anything to help you. But he didn't want to associate with anybody. He didn't go to shift change parties. We thought he had a personal life outside the Police Department and didn't want any of us around it. Then, when this happened, we find out Ed didn't really have much of a life and didn't have any friends."

Darline Helmer told me that Ed's mother Ruth and father Ed were dear friends of her mother and grandmother. They were neighbors on Homestead Street in Better Waverly. "I saw the newspaper article and thought, 'Oh my God, that's Eddie.' I tried to keep in contact with him after my parents passed away, but Eddie was a very private, alone type of person. I would invite him to family functions and he wouldn't come."

"He was always a very private person, a very intelligent man. He was not outgoing, but he was very smart, very respectful, and very much attached to his parents. They had him later in life and he was the apple of thier eye. There was no one in the world to them like him. When he went into the service, his mom cried for days and days."

She added: "It's funny how you lose touch. You call and they don't respond and you move on."

Anita B. Schulman sent me this email:

I just finished reading your commentary on Mr. Eldridge. To say I was moved is putting it mildly. It had a very profound effect on me. I don't think it is just because my husband passed away this past September, or that we were married on the 27th of June eight years after Edward was born.
 
Mainly I felt so very, very sad for him that he felt and he was all alone.  And for that reason, no one to care for him or help him, he felt compelled to end his life.
 
Thanks to Detective Randy Wynn for all that he is doing and to you for getting the story out to the public, people will take more of an interest in their friends, relatives and neighbors particularly if they live alone.

Gary Smith sent this:

I must give credit where it  is due. I strongly oppose commentary on news pages but in this case I make an exeception. I found your article to be very informing to its readers and can only hope that maybe some who read it will not take the same path as Mr. Eldridge. It's obvious that detective Wynn is an extremely dedicated professional and the public now also knows that.

And City Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke sent this:

Dear Madam President and City Council Colleagues,

We all learned this morning (Sun 2/9/9, Peter Hermann) about the sad passing of Agent Edward William Eldridge, Jr., formerly a Better Waverly resident and most recently assigned to Northeastern District.

Basically, he shot himself to death. Reportedly, he was such an alone man in his retirement that he had no one, as required, to be with him during an out-patient operation scheduled for the day he took his life.

I am asking the President’s Office to please prepare a resolution of condolence and also resolutions of thanks 1) to Detective Randy Wynn (who has organized funeral services and let the world know of Agent Eldridge’s passing and life) and 2) to Northeastern District Police (who had agreed to transport Agent Eldridge to and from the hospital for his operation). 

This was our constituent in Better Waverly, although I did not know him and he moved away 8 years ago. He served Northeastern District Police --- who did what they could for their colleague. We can all make sure that at least he does not go forth alone from a life of caring, accomplishment and service to Baltimore City.

I plan to attend funeral services and will frame all three resolutions and get them to Ruck’s for wake services tomorrow evening:

Tuesday, February 10, 6-8pm, wake

Wednesday, February 11, 11am, funeral services

both at Ruck’s Towson, 1050 York Road (beltway exit 26)

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

A big unanswered question in previous posts and columns on the plague of car break-ins in Baltimore has been what happens to the stolen loot. Drug addicts are breaking windows on cars all over the city and taking iPods, GPS navigational devices and just about anything else.

An attorney, Christopher Neito, who represented one suspect I wrote about had his car broken into several times himself, and once the thieves even stripped the rubber off his windshield wipers. Years ago, drug dealers sought out cell phones which they reprogrammed and used to conduct deals out of earshot of city police.

Nieto wrote me this morning saying he too was curious about the market for iPods and asked one of his clients. Here's what he had to say:

I read your blog that questioned what thieves do with the stolen property. It is an interesting question that I posed to a client of mine after my house was burglarized a year or so ago. He told me that going to a pawn shop made little to no sense because it left a paper trail. He said that when it came to televisions, there were some bars or seedy establishments that would buy them cheap and use them in their place. Sometimes, the store even sold them out to other patrons inexpensively. However, for the most part, he told me that when he took Cds, GPS, TVs, watches, etc., he would go straight to his dealer and exchange them for drugs.  "Better than currency sometimes", I believe, were his words. That would explain why it is so hard to recover stolen property.

 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Today's column on bank robbery surveillance photos got me an email from Mike Alerich, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff detective who runs, you guessed it, a bank robbery blog!

A lot of it is running scanner talk on bank robberies in progress. It's kind of a fun site  -- he describes it this way -- "with real-time information across the country, current suspect photos, video & audio of bank 211s in progress."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)