Police say the victim of a fatal shooting in Southwest Baltimore on Wednesday night was a 16-year-old boy.

An altercation sparked by a fight among a group of girls broke out in the 1900 block of Breitwert Ave., in Morrell Park, officials said. During the melee, someone pulled a gun and fired, striking Omar D. Johnson in the stomach.

Officers were called to the scene at about 10:38 p.m., and Johnson was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma, where he died in surgery, according to police.

It was not clear whether Johnson, whose last known address was in the 1400 block of Lemmon St., was the intended victim or if he was involved in the fight. A source said Johnson did not have a criminal record as a juvenile.

Six juveniles have been slain in the city this year, records show. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Southwest Baltimore
        

Thousands of federal prisoners locked up for offenses involving crack cocaine will be eligible for early release after a vote Thursday by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, the Associated Press reports.

Congress passed a law last year substantially lowering recommended sentences for people convicted of crack cocaine crimes, ranging from possession to trafficking. The idea was to fix a longstanding disparity in punishments for crack and powder cocaine crimes, but the new, lower recommended sentences didn’t automatically apply to offenders already in prison. On Thursday the six-member sentencing commission unanimously decided that offenders locked up for crack offenses before the new law took effect should also benefit.

“I believe that the commission has no choice but to make this right,” said Ketanji Brown Jackson, a vice chair of the commission. “I say justice demands this result.”

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

This week, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced an expansion of the city's crime surveillance camera program, with 30 additional cameras going up in Northeast Baltimore.

Rawlings-Blake, who has largely stuck with the police strategies implemented by Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III under former Mayor Sheila Dixon, has been effusive in her praise of cameras in deterring violence and has directed money toward expansion of its network of cameras. 

The new cameras will go up in a district that is being hit hard by crime this year, prompting the Police Department to designate new violent crime impact zones flooded with plainclothes officers.

"As a long-time supporter of Baltimore's crime camera network, I am very pleased to announce this major expansion of the program in the Northeast District, despite difficult budget constraints," Rawlings-Blake said in a statement. "Our CitiWatch program has been instrumental in supporting the work of the men and women of the Baltimore Police Department to reduce violent crime. The cameras are a force-multiplier that enables us to do more to protect the citizens of Baltimore."

The cameras will be paid for with federal grant funds from the Department of Homeland Security and will be "strategically placed" on North Avenue, Harford Road and Belair Road, around Clifton Park. The mayor's office said 46 new crime cameras have been added to the city's network since Rawlings-Blake took office.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: City Hall, Northeast Baltimore
        

On the witness stand, Justin Ray Hannah repeatedly denied that he knew anything about guns. He did not possess one. He did not own one. He never held one. He never fired one. He didn't know the difference between a pistol and an automatic.

Justin Ray Hannah insisted he wasn't even interested in guns.

But he did write rap songs about guns.

And a prosecutor in Harford County used his lyrics to convince a jury that Hannah shot at his former girlfriend's new boyfriend, and then called his ex and said: "Your boys' done, this is finished, that's why we popped shots."

Hannah was convicted in 2007 of attempted first-degree murder and sentenced to 40 years in prison. On Wednesday, the Maryland Court of Appeals threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial, ruling that the judge should only have allowed the jury to hear the lyrics if the stanzas contained an admission of guilt.

Details from the ruling, which you can read here, and some of the lyrics:

"The prosecutor's use of petitioner's writings was unfairly prejudicial," the court said. "It had no tendency to prove any issue other than the issue of whether petitioner was a violent thug with a propensity to commit the crimes for which he was on trial."

The court said the defendant was "unnecessarily prodded into conceding that he had written each of the violent lyrics."

One judge, Glenn T. Harrell Jr., concurred with the opinion but not on narrower grounds, saying the prosecutor was right to use Hannah's lyrics to impeach his assertion that he new nothing about guns.

"Petitioner alleged that he could not have committed the murder because he knew bupkis about guns," Harrell wrote. "His 'original' rap lyrics and artwork demonstrated, however, that [he] was interested enough in guns to reference them repeatedly in musical lyrics, to know that the term 'glock' is shorthand for a handgun, and to invest some time in sketching a detailed picture of a 9mm handgun.

"Therefore, the majority opinion, it seems to me, is too eager to declare that rap lyrics are only admissible where they constitute an admission of guilt."

Harrell said trial judges need to be careful on the amount of lyrics to allow in a trial, and he wrote that "this court should not burden that decision with too broad limitations. ... Here the prosecution went to the well too often and crossed the line into the overly preducial zone. A more discriminating use of selected lyrics and the drawing of the 9mm handgun would have sufficed and survived appellate scrutiny, in my judgment."

Here's a sample of the back and forth between Hannah and the Harford County prosecutor:
 
[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: What is a glock?

[PETITIONER]: I can’t say. I know it’s a handgun.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: Ya just got jacked, we leave da scene in da lime green. Your lyrics?

[PETITIONER]: Yes, ma’am.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: So you betta step ta me before I blow you off ya feet. Your lyrics?

[PETITIONER]: Yes. They’re the same – that’s a piece of paper. I assume it’s in the same book, I guess.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: Bring da whole click, we put em permanently sleep. Your lyrics?

[PETITIONER]: Yes, it’s on the same paper.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: Wa you think, I ain’t got burners, got a duz unda da seat. Your lyrics?

[PETITIONER]: It’s on the same paper, yes.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: What are burners?

[PETITIONER]: I can’t reply. I heard that terminology in a rap song.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: Let’s see. Ya talk a bunch ... ya sure – I can’t read this. So pull your ... trigga ... go pop, pop, one, two three shot ya ... jus got drop. Your lyrics?

[PETITIONER]: Yes. It’s on the same paper.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: I’ll put you in a funeral. Your lyrics?

[PETITIONER]: It’s on the same paper.

[STATE’S ATTORNEY]: Your lyrics and your artwork, Mr. Hannah. Yet you have no interest in guns?

[PETITIONER]: That’s correct.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Harford County
        

He spent a half century in the Western, patrolling what in his later years would be some of the most dangerous city streets. John McAndrew Sr. finally surrendered his gun, cuffs and uniform and retired on Wednesday.

He got to keep his badge -- only the third in the history of the Baltimore Police Department to be permanently retired. The 72-year-old served under 13 police commissioners and made it through the riots of the 1960s. He got his picture in the paper once -- a failed attempt at rescuing a dog from a rooftop.

"The role of this man in Baltimore has changed people's lives," Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III told dozens gathered at his retirement ceremony in the atrium at the police headquarters building.

Read Sun reporter Julie Baughman's account of McAndrew's final day.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: West Baltimore
        

Following up on a killing in Southeast Baltimore that occurred early Monday, police have identified the victim as 22-year-old Brittany Devone.

Police charged a man, Jose Villatoro, with Devone's killing after his roommate called police and officers saw Villatoro trying to escape out of a window of their home in the 3200 block of Leverton Ave. But it took more than a day to discern Devone's identity.

According to court records, Devone had a troubled past. She was convicted in February of attempted armed robbery and received eight years in prison, but seven years and six months of that sentence were suspended. She was back on the streets on June 3, when she was arrested for prostitution.

Police have not said why Devone was at Villatoro's home or released a motive for the crime. It appears to be Villatoro's first arrest in Maryland. 

Police also released the identity of a man fatally shot on June 17 in the 600 block of Ashburton St.: Troy Fennell, a 39-year-old whose last known address was in the 2900 block of Southland Ave. That case remains open.

Fennell also had recently been handed a heavy conviction by the city courts, but served just a short time. In March he pleaded guilty to drug distribution charges and got 12 years in prison, but 11 years, 11 months, and 29 days were suspended. Here's Fennell's obituary, at the Joseph Brown Funeral Home web site.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Southeast Baltimore
        

Responding to the disclosure by Baltimore County police that a slain woman was a witness in a city murder - even though her killing appears to be domestic-related - Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said Wednesday morning that he was "dismayed that [the story has] taken on a tenor and tone that infers or impeaches the safety of people we’re working hard to protect across the city.”

“The reality is, the facts of this case will be borne out," Bealefeld said, as county police were announcing in Towson that the boyfriend of pregnant Alicia Avery had been charged in her killing. "Who did this and why will be borne out, and they have no relation to the case in Baltimore city. We don’t want this case to serve as another point for people to get worked up about witness protection or their personal safety in cooperating with police.”

Avery was in witness protection and had been relocated to temporary housing as city homicide detectives worked to build a case in the city. When she turned up dead in that apartment - discovered by city police who went to check on her - county police disclosed that she was a city police witness. Chief James Johnson said the disclosure was made because an undisclosed media outlet had inquired about whether that was true. But some news reports last night gave a strong impression that there had been a failure to protect Avery and her child.

Bealefeld said he didn’t want the stories to “play on people’s fears to not get involved in public safety," stressing that citizens have played a key role in recent crime declines in the city.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A 24-year-old man died after he was shot in the torso in West Baltimore late Tuesday night, according to Baltimore Police, who also identified a delivery driver killed during an afternoon robbery.

The unidentified man is the 100^th person killed in Baltimore this year, two more than this time last year.

Police said they had limited information about the shooting, which was reported at 11:52 p.m. in the 500 block of Mosher Street, in the Upton community.

The victim was pronounced dead at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to police.

Each of this year's killings, as well as prior years going back to 2007, are mapped here, along with charts breaking them down by month and police district.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: West Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Baltimore County Police Chief James W. Johnson told reporters that his agency confirmed the victim was a witness in a city murder only after her relatives divulged that information to reporters.  

Baltimore County police have charged the boyfriend with killing his 25-year-old girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter, whose bodies were found this week in an apartment in Parkville. Police also revealed that the victims had been shot.

Brian Lamont Eggleston Jr., 28, has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Alicia Lee Avery and her daughter Darry'el Parker. The domestic nature of the killing has left city police fuming that a county police spokeswoman revealed that Avery was under protection as a witness in a city murder case.

The statements implied that the motive was witness intimidation and that city police had failed to protect Avery. County police had said they were unawre that Avery had been placed in the apartment by the city.

Privately, city cops are upset by the false implication and that Avery has been outed as a witness by another police agency. A city police source said the killing of Avery had nothing to do with the murder case. Reporter Steve Kilar is heading to a news confernce this morning to seek more answers.

Here is a statement from Baltimore County police:

Suspect Charged in Double Homicide at Precinct 6/Towson Hotel

Baltimore County Police have charged Brian Lamont Eggleston Jr., 28, with the murders of his girlfriend, Alicia Avery, and her four-year-old daughter, Darry’el Parker. 

On June 27 at approximately 4:00 p.m., officers responded to the Welcome Inn to check on the well-being of Alicia Lee Avery, 25, and her daughter, Darry’el Amani Parker, 4.  Upon entering the apartment, the two victims were discovered dead in a bedroom.  The victims had injuries that were suspicious in nature.  The Homicide Unit responded to investigate, and the victims were transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for autopsies.  The autopsies revealed that the victims had been shot, and that both deaths were homicides. 

Detectives were able to develop information that the victim had been involved in a romantic relationship with Brian Lamont Eggleston Jr., and that he was responsible for the homicides of both Alicia Avery and Darry’el Parker.  At the time of the homicides, the suspect lived with the victims in the 8700-block of Loch Bend Drive, 21234.

An arrest warrant for Brian Lamont Eggleston Jr. was issued on June 29, charging him with two counts of first degree murder. 

Brian Eggleston Jr. is currently detained at the Baltimore City Detention Center on unrelated charges. The warrant will be served upon his release from custody at that facility.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

UPDATE: We just learned the identity of the driver: Chong Wan Yim

A 55-year-old deliveryman who was shot in a Northeast Baltimore shopping plaza Tuesday afternoon has died. He had been shot in the chest about 3 p.m. in the 3900 block of Erdman Ave., in the Erdman Shopping Center in Belair-Edison.

His name has not yet been released, nor have details about how and why he was shot, though police initially said they're investigating robbery as a possible motive. They said the man was making a delivery to the store in a generic, unmarked box truck.

In January 2010, I toured Belair-Edison with Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who was about to become mayor. It was one of her first walks with city police, and we started at the Erdman Shopping Center. Since then, crime has exploded in Northeast Baltimore.

Here is a look back at that walk with the then in-coming mayor:

A top issue for the folks living in Northeast Baltimore's Belair-Edison neighborhood: Build a place for the kids to hang out.

There is no youth center in the sprawling community, and getting one was foremost on the mind of Tony Dawson, the blunt-talking association president, when asked Wednesday night to recite his wish list to the incoming mayor, City Council President Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake. The two were on a Citizens on Patrol walk - which Dawson has renamed Good Neighbor Walks - one of more than two dozen held throughout Baltimore as part of a community outreach initiative. Mayor Sheila Dixon walked near her home in Hunting Ridge; the police commissioner chose Old Homeland.

Rawlings-Blake returned to a community she knows well and has visited often. She called the walks a necessary part of her policing strategy to engage residents. She knows Belair-Edison needs a rec center, but she also knows that money is tight.

"If we wait in these economic times to build a rec center, Mr. Dawson will have moved out of the city by then," she said.

Dawson is working with new owners of the run-down Erdman Shopping Center to take over a vacant storefront and turn that into a place for children. Rawlings-Blake fully endorsed the idea. "The community needs a place, and the new owners of the center want shoppers," she said. "Seems if they work this out, he gets good customers."

These citizen walks with police and residents have become a staple of Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III's tenure, a crucial element of forging relationships and pointing out problems. Rawlings-Blake has participated in many as council president, but Wednesday she was there in a new role, as the city's incoming chief executive.

Nearly three dozen residents joined her, but there was not much interaction as they walked through the shopping center and turned up residential streets. The next mayor talked policy - she wants to continue Bealefeld's policing style and strategy, but with even more community help and more use of surveillance cameras.

An aide walked by her side and noted properties with problems that needed addressing, even ripping off an illegal sign nailed to a pole. She said as council president she once met with a group of rank-and-file officers, which she wants to do again to learn not only what they need but also their ideas for reducing crime.

Northeast District Deputy Maj. Darryl DeSousa talked about partnerships as well. The Belair community association obtained a federal grant that pays overtime to two officers to walk the main business corridor, an effort DeSousa said has helped keep crime down and the area safe for shoppers.

Rawlings-Blake said she needs innovative ideas that don't involve spending money. "We're not going to be able to hire our way out of this issue," she said. By "this issue," the soon-to-be mayor explained, she meant "our murder numbers, our violent crime numbers."

Baltimore is enjoying a 20-year low in homicides but finished 2009 with 238 killings, up from 234 the previous year, and the city remains one of the deadliest in the nation. The Northeast District, which includes Belair-Edison, tied with Northwest for the second-highest homicide count of the nine city districts, behind the volatile Eastern.

The numbers weren't lost on anyone Wednesday night. Dawson said he's ready to march the streets carrying "Stop the Murder" signs. DeSousa said his police need "to drive the murders down."

On Feb. 4, Rawlings-Blake takes over the city, and that includes the homicide count.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The eight iPads were supposed to be used for the school's graduation. But on June 3, they went missing from the central office of Antioch Diploma Plus High School. Earlier today, police said they found the culprit.

They arrested the assistant principal.

Leonard Sheppard Hart was charged with one count of theft under $10,000, and, according to a school system spokeswoman, was put on administrative leave. He was arrested at the school on Harford Road and later released on personal bail.

Police also said he tried to blame students for the theft.

Here are some details from the charging document:

Police say that the school's principal told an officer that on June 3, between 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., officials noticed that eight Apple iPads, each worth $499, were missing from the central office. The chargers were gone too.

Tina Green, an administrative assistant, told the principal that she found an empty iPad box by an elevator. She questioned all the staff with access to the computer devices, and then learned that Hart allegedly "took several boxes down the elevator area as trash [and] that she had specifically told him on several occasions to leave [them] in the main office."

The charging document say that Hart "implied that a student must have taken the iPads." But the principal's mother, who was visiting that day and sitting in the main office, told police that she did not see any students leave with boxes.

A school police officer checked surveillance cameras and at 4:33 p.m., it caught Hart, wearing a yellow T-shirt, blue sweater vest and khaki pants, enter a stairwell "carrying a stack of three boxes," the police charging documents state.

The documents say Hart was seen leaving the boxes on a ledge, then returns, leaves and returns again, this time pickinng up two empty boxes and placing them on the floor behind where he was standing. The documents says he's seen opening the third box partway, looks inside, then closes it "and carries the iPad box out of the elevator hallway."

He repeats this several times, police said, and then is "seen on the camera again leaving the building at 4:45:45 while carrying two large bags over his shoulder and carrying one bag in his left hand," the police documents say.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore County police continued on Tuesday to investigate the suspicious deaths of a mother and her 4-year-old daughter whose bodies were found in their Parkville apartment.

Authorities identified the victims as Alicia Avery, 25, and her daughter Darry'el Parker. They were found by police officers Monday afternoon in a bedroom of their temporary residence in the 8700 block of Loch Bend Drive.

A cause of death had not been determined by Tuesday evening, and no arrests had been made. But County police spokeswoman Cathy Batton said the victim had been relocated to the apartment by city police. She said county police were unaware that Avery and her daughter were at the apartment.

Avery had been an informant for Baltimore City police since March, said a city law enforcement source who cannot be identified because he is not authorized to speak with reporters. City police officers found the bodies, the source said, after they were unable to contact Avery.

That information emerged after Batton indicated that Avery was a witness in an upcoming case, which the source said was not accurate. Avery had been working with police but charges had not been filed.

Avery's cooperation with police is only one element of the county's investigation into her death, Batton said. She declined to comment on a possible motive in the slaying.

-Steve Kilar with Justin Fenton

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

A man making a delivery at a Northeast Baltimore shopping center was shot and critically injured in an afternoon attack, police said.

The shooting continues a trend of recent brazen daytime shootings. Earlier in the day, also in Northeast Baltimore, armed men robbed a doctor's office, and a man was shot in South Baltimore at Potee and West Jeffrey streets at about 10 a.m.

In the Northeast shooting, police said the victim was making a deliver to a store in the shopping center in the 3900 block of Erdman Ave. when he was approached by a black male wearing a black hat and shirt. Police are investigating a possible robbery motive.

The victim was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition with injuries that appear life-threatening, police said.

It was not clear what company the man worked for. A police spokesman, Jeremy Silbert, said a generic white box truck was parked at the scene.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

City police have identified and arrested a murder suspect - but figuring out the identity of his alleged victim would prove to be a bigger challenge.

Early Monday, police were called to the 3200 block of Leverton Ave. after a witness said he had heard muffled screams and saw a man inside the home holding a knife. He fled and called police.

When officers got there at about 5 a.m., they called out to the suspect, Jose Villatoro, and observed him trying to escape through a window, police said. He was taken into custody. Inside the home, police found a dead woman in a bedroom. She was suffered from stab wounds to her body and neck area, police said.

Villatoro was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, and was being held without bond.

Police had collared a suspect, but would have to work backwards to find out the identity of their victim. All they knew was that she was a black female.

On Tuesday afternoon, police received a phone call from the state medical examiner's office confirming the woman's identity. She is a 23-year-old, according to Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman, and officers were working to contact her next of kin.

Her relationship to Villatoro - if any - was not clear. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Southeast Baltimore
        

This post has been updated.

The robbery occurred in the 5400 block of Belair Road at about 10:30 a.m., police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed. A gunman wearing a tan and white outfit with a tan bandana over his face entered the doctor's office and took undisclosed amounts of cash and cell phones from patients and staff, Guglielmi said.

A second man held open the door – which has to be first opened by office staff – and the pair fled in a Ford Econoline van parked down the street.

On June 29, 2010, the office was robbed in a similar manner by two suspects, one brandishing a handgun.

“The suspects in both cases were familiar with the layout and the practices of staff, which begs to be investigated. We’re going to poke very hard at that,” Guglielmi said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Anne Arundel County Police are searching for the owners of thousands of dollars worth of tools, lawn equipment and guns that were discovered during a search of a Lothian home where two people were arrested, The Sun's Liz F. Kay reports.

Police detectives have been investigating a tip received in May that a resident in the 1100 block of Mount Zion Marlboro Road had been dealing drugs and accepting stolen goods as payment, according to a police spokesman.

Among the 180 items found in the home and detached sheds on the property include a U-Haul car dolly, 49 long guns, snow blowers, generators, power washers, weed eaters, leaf blowers, chain saws, power drills, circular saws, concrete saws, nail guns and fishing rods.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Local family and friends of Phylicia Barnes will hold a rally at City Hall tonight at 7 p.m., marking six months since the North Carolina teenager first went missing. In a brief interview, a cousin told me the family fears the case is growing cold and the public has forgotten, and they want to renew interest.

Here's what they wrote on the website, FindPhylicia.com:

ATTENTION EVERYONE: Don’t you forget, because we haven’t forgotten about our loved one, PHYLICIA BARNES. We want justice! We want answers! Don’t let this horrible tragedy go unpunished or go unanswered. We are approaching the 6 months since the disappearance of Phylicia, and still no answers. We need your help Baltimore City. We need your help Maryland. We need YOUR help!

The Barnes family is persistent. We don’t quit and we definitely don’t get weak. We grow stronger with the love and support of each other and from the hopefulness and support of the community and surrounding public. Stay strong with us and help keep Phylicia’s memory in the minds of everyone and in the media. Someone knows the answers. Someone has the necessary information. Someone knows the responsible party(ies). You see the number in the photo:  1-855-223-0033, give it a call if you have the answers. Help bring peace to the Phylicia’s family. Help to give justice to Phylicia.

After vanishing without a trace from her sister's Northwest Baltimore apartment in late December, the 16-year-old's nude body was found in April floating in the Susquehanna River just south of the Conowingo Dam. Police have not released a cause of death.

Maryland state police have taken the lead on the case but continue to work with Baltimore City homicide detectives. People of interest have been interviewed and re-interviewed but police have not publicly alluded to any suspects or leads.

"There's no good news to share, other than that dedicated investigators have not given up and continue to work this case daily," said Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman. "The passage of six months is not something that's going to discourage the investigators on this case. Their efforts are continuing, and they remain enthusiastic about a successful conclusion."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (18)
        

Baltimore County police are in Parkville this morning investigating the suspicious deaths of a woman and her daughter, who were found dead Monday in heir apartment in the 8700 block of Loch Bend Drive.

The Sun's Meredith Cohn reports that Alicia Avery, 25, and Dariel Parker, 4, had not been seen for several days, and when police officers entered the apartment, they found the pair. Police say the deaths are suspicious and detectives investigating, though no information on suspects was available Monday evening.

The bodies have been taken to the medical examiner for autopsies, police said.

Sun reporter Steve Kilar is on his way to Parkville and we'll have more news as it develops.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

UPDATE: Trial postponed after defendant fires lawyer

Free speech or fake bomb?

That's the question that could be answered as the trial opens for the man charged with leaving a device on a Towson street that police say was meant to look like a bomb, and  scare people, and the owner says was meant only to express his political views.

Here's a picture gallery from the scene.

The Sun's Nick Madigan explains:

A man accused of leaving a device that appeared to be a bomb — actually a toilet equipped with electric gadgets — outside a Baltimore County administration building in February is scheduled to stand trial today in a courthouse just down the block from where the incident took place.

Duane G. Davis, 51, who has a history of objecting to political figures and institutions, was charged with two counts under state laws tailored to address items that might be bombs or could appear to be toxic or dangerous.

The first charge accuses Davis of making a false statement about a destructive device, meaning that the act of leaving the toilet where it was gave the false impression of creating a dangerous situation. The second count refers to the toilet and its gadgets, under a law that forbids the placement of any item “that is construed to represent a destructive device with the intent to terrorize, frighten, intimidate, threaten or harass.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Fuller, who is prosecuting Davis, said on Monday that he anticipates that the case will go forward today.

The discovery of the toilet on Feb. 7 outside a former courthouse that now houses the County Council chambers prompted a shutdown of surrounding streets and the attentions of a bomb disposal squad, though it was ultimately found to be harmless. The commode was festooned with numerous notes, at least one calling for an investigation into the death of the defendant’s son, Gerrell Davis, who was shot to death as he broke into a house in Zion, Ill., in 2006, according to authorities there.

Davis, known to some Baltimoreans as Shorty, a purveyor of pit beef and other delicacies, plastered his Facebook and MySpace pages with vehement denunciations of political figures he sees as corrupt.

He was arrested shortly after the February incident.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

The owner of a gun used by an 11-year-old boy to accidentally fatally shoot his 15-year-old playmate in South Baltimore on Saturday was kept inside a room, in a case, unloaded, but unlocked, according to the owner.

The owner, a retired correctional officer, told The Sun's Steve Kilar that it was the only one of his 22 weapons left unsecured. (Photo at left by The Sun's Gabe Dinsmoor). Police have not filed charges against an adult, and won't file any against the child. But a police spokesman said that the improper storage of firearms inside the apartment in Cherry Hill led to this tragedy.

Here is part of Steve's interview with the gun owner: 

Richard L. Moore Jr. doesn’t know which of his 22 guns, locked in a bedroom and unloaded, killed 15-year-old Michael D. Brooks Jr. after a sleepover Saturday morning. His collection included black powder pistols, western revolvers and military-style firearms, he said Monday.

It was a handgun, is all police will say about the weapon that killed Michael. The shooter was an 11-year-old boy, they said, and Michael was struck at least once in the head in what appeared to be an accident inside an apartment in Cherry Hill.

““There’s definitely an issue of the weapons being properly stored,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

Moore is a retired correctional officer who worked at the Patuxent Institution in Jessup for 22 years. He said he was in the U.S. Marine Corps and Army, and was in charge of small arms during his final stint in the marines.

His gun collection was locked away in an upstairs room, Moore said, but there was a spare key pushed back on the top shelf of the hall closet. Moore said he is not sure if the spare key was used to enter the room by the three boys at the sleepover.

“I didn’t think he could even reach that key,” said Moore of the 11-year-old, who has not been named by police because of his age, and because he has not been charged. Police have not said which child first got hold of the weapon.

“All they said was the gun was mishandled and a young man is dead and as far as I know it’s still an ongoing investigation,” said Moore, whose last job before retirement was with, private security firm. Moore said that there was only one gun in the bedroom that was not locked, but it was in a case and it was unloaded.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

When Baltimore police launched an extensive search of Patapsco Valley State Park back in April, looking for Phylicia Barnes, they didn't find her but a member of the civil air patrol did stumble on another body.

Today, Maryland State Police announced that they've identified the body John H. Hagegeorge, a 55-year-old man who had lived in Catonsville. Police said they tracked him down using serial numbers on his artificial knee replacements. An autopsy confirmed that he died of natural causes, wearing several layers of clothing in a makeshift homeless park in the camp. Picture of the search in the park by The Sun's Kim Hairston. Here is complete coverage of the Phylica Barnes case.

Barnes' body was found later in April in the Susquehanna River; she had been missing since December and the subject of one of the police department's most extensive manhunts in memory. Her death has been ruled a homicide, but no arrests have been made:

Here is a statement from State Police on the body being identified:

A man whose body was found in a state park in April during the search for a missing teenager has now been identified not through fingerprints, but through knee replacements. 

The man has been identified as John H. Hagegeorge, 55, whose last known address was on Redcliffe Road in Catonsville, Md. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined his death was from exposure and natural causes.  There was no indication foul play was involved. 

The body of a man, now identified as Hagegeorge, was found at about 12:30 p.m. on April 9, 2011, in the Baltimore County section of Patapsco Valley State Park.  The body was located during a large-scale search of the park coordinated by the Baltimore Police Department for the body of Phylicia Barnes, a teenager who had gone missing in late December 2010, while visiting relatives in Baltimore. 

The man’s body was dressed in several layers of clothing and was found at what appeared to be a makeshift campsite. No identification was found in the man’s clothing or around the campsite. 
Maryland State Police criminal investigators from the Golden Ring Barrack assumed the investigation and began attempts to identify the man. Fingerprint checks and other forensic tests did not provide a match.  He was not matched with any missing person reports. Investigators were quickly exhausting their normal methods of making an identification. 

During the autopsy, the medical examiner told investigators the man had had knee replacement surgery.  TFC Chris Taylor, a criminal investigator at the Golden Ring Barrack, did extensive research and was able to use the serial numbers on the knee replacements to track down the hospital that had used them.  Ultimately, he was able to identify the patient the replacements had been used on.  That patient name was matched to a photo and investigators were able to locate the man’s wife, from whom he had been estranged since 2006.

Hagegeorge’s wife said after the two had both moved from their former home in Catonsville, she had little contact with him.  She did not file a missing persons report because she did not know he was missing. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Howard County
        

[This post has been updated]

A 32-year-old man was bound and shot Monday morning after three assailants kicked in the door to his Northeast Baltimore home, identifying themselves as police officers, officials said.

About the same time, officers in Southeast Baltimore were called to a home were a young woman was found fatally stabbed in a bedroom. The incidents are not believed to be related.

In the first incident, police said three men kicked in the door to a home in the 1500 block of Medford Rd., in the Ednor-Gardens Lakeside community, and bound a man and his wife with plastic “flex cuff” handcuffs.

Anthony Guglielmi, the police department’s chief spokesman, said at a morning briefing at police headquarters that the man realized the intruders were not officers and began to fight back, and was shot once in the upper body.

Investigators were exploring a possible robbery motive and said the injured man had been treated and released from a local hospital.

Guglielmi called the impersonations an “egregious violation of trust.” Though they identified themselves as police, the attackers were not dressed in police uniforms and did not display badges, the spokesman said.

At the home on Monday afternoon, in a community of single family homes with tidy front lawns, crime scene tape still blocked off the front yard and a police car was posted on the street out front.

The woman’s body was found about 5 a.m. Monday, in the 3200 block of Leverton Ave. near Highlandtown. Detective Kevin Brown, a police spokesman, said the victim was believed to be in her late teens and was found in a bedroom of her home. She had been stabbed in the torso and neck and was pronounced dead at the scene, Brown said.

Police did not give a motive and said the victim’s identity was unknown. A neighbor, Keon Davis, 28, said the family that lived at the home was quiet and friendly. He did not hear anything unusual at the house prior to police arriving at the crime scene.

“It's strange,” Davis said. “They’re good people, as far as I know.”

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

In a brief update this morning, Baltimore police said Officer Teresa Rigby, injured when she fell from I-83 in a traffic accident, has been released from the hospital and is undergoing treatment at a rehabilitation facility.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Rigby has a "long road ahead" and that supporters are looking to establish a fund to help pay for her medical care. "She is expected to be out of work for a very, very long time," Guglielmi said.

Rigby was standing outside of her police cruiser assisting a disabled motorist on June 21 when another driver careened into her vehicle, sending her hurtling over the side of the elevated highway near the Pepsi plant. She fell some 30 feet to the concrete below and reportedly suffered severe leg injuries and required facial reconstruction surgery.

Police have yet to release a cause of the accident, or the identities and conditions of the other three motorists who required hospitalization. Guglielmi said the department would not release information while the investigation was ongoing.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Baltimore police confirm that missing man jumped from a roof at Port Discovery on Friday, and is the victim of a suicide.

UPDATE: Family of missing man says he was found dead in Baltimore. More details coming. 

An urgent bulletin from Howard County police about a missing man:

Howard County police are seeking information about a 22-year-old Ellicott City man who was last seen by his family on June 24. Salmaan Sultan, of the 3500 block of Coventry Court Drive, has not made contact with friends or family since Friday.  He was last seen leaving his house driving a blue, 2008 Hyundai Sonata, with Pa. license plate HFX6044.  Attempts to locate him by cell phone have been unsuccessful.

[The Sun's Don Markus reports that the missing man is a senior at UMBC.]

Police are concerned for Sultan’s welfare.  Friends and family have reported that he may be a danger to himself. Sultan was last seen at the Mall in Columbia Friday around 6 p.m., wearing blue jeans and a red shirt.  He is 6’1” tall, 176 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information about Sultan’s whereabouts should call 911.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Howard County
        

UPDATE: The violence from the weekend continued into Monday -- the body of a woman who was fatally stabbed was found early today near Patterson Park, and a man was shot in the head in North Baltimore.  

In case you missed it over the weekend, several people fell victim to gunfire in Baltimore this weekend, in addition to the 15-year-old who was accidentally shot by an 11-year-old boy.

Map city homicides here.

Here is a list of weekend shootings from Baltimore police:

June 26, 2011 / Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Police are investigating a shooting that occurred within the 600 Blk of N. Eutaw Street this morning, just after 2:00 am. 

Officers responded to a Central District hospital for report of a "walk-in" non-fatal shooting victim.  Upon arrival they located the 23 year-old male victim suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the leg.

Preliminary investigation indicates that while the victim was standing within the 600 Blk of N. Eutaw Street, he became involved in a verbal dispute with an unknown male. The male walked off but returned a short time later with a firearm and fired at the victim striking him in the leg.  The assailant fled and the victim was transported by a companion to the hospital. At present, no further suspect information is available.

June 25, 2011 / Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Police are investigating a non-fatal shooting that occurred within the 4200 Blk of Park Heights Avenue involving a 32 year-old male victim.
 
Shortly before 3:00 pm, officers responded to the 4200 Blk of Park Heights Avenue for report of a shooting.  Upon arrival they located the victim laying on the floor, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds (including back and neck).  He was transported to an area hospital and at last check was listed in critical condition.  Initial investigation revealed that as the victim stood in Hala Carry-out an unknown individual approached and began firing at him, before fleeing. 

June 25, 2011 / Baltimore, MD - Baltimore had three non-fatal shooting incidents between yesterday evening and early this morning. 
 
The first incident occurred in the Southern District within the 2900 Blk of Carver Road, just before 10 pm.  Police responded for report of a shooting and discovered the 35 year-old male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper back/shoulder region.  Investigation revealed that as the victim was walking he heard a small pop, then realized he was shot.  Medics treated and released on scene.  At present, there is no word on suspect(s) or motive. 
 
The second incident took place in the Western District, within the 600 Blk of Dukeland Street, just before 2:30 am.  Officers responded to the 2700 Blk of Harlem Avenue for a discharging of firearms call for service.  Upon arrival they located an adult male, 53 years of age, sitting on front steps within the 2800 Blk of Edmondson Ave., suffering from a gunshot wound to the knee.  He was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.  Further investigation revealed the shooting incident occurred within the 600 Blk of N. Dukeland, but at present, no word on suspect(s) or motive.
 
The third incident involved an adult male shooting victim who arrived at an east-side area hospital, just after 3:00 am, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.  The location where the shooting occurred has yet to be determined, and detectives are still investigating.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown, East Baltimore, North Baltimore, South Baltimore
        

The Sun's Erica L. Green reports:

An East Baltimore church was destroyed in an early morning blaze Sunday after a burglar stole sound equipment from the building, according to police.

No injuries were reported in the fire and burglary, which occurred shortly after 4 a.m. at the Paradise Christian Center, located in the 3000 block of E. Oliver Street, according to police spokesman Kevin Brown.

Brown said the fire started when a burglar attempted to steal the sound equipment, and eventually consumed the entire building. No further details were immediately available.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: East Baltimore
        

Tuesday: Three-year-veteran police officer Teresa Rigby is badly hurt when a car crashes into her police cruiser as she assists a disabled motorist on I-83 near Hampden. Rigby was on foot and fell some 30 feet onto a concrete parking lot below but is said to be recovering. Police have not given a cause of the accident or released the names of the three other motorists who suffered injuries.

Tuesday: An ex-employee is sentenced to community service for hacking into his boss' presentation and replacing it with pornography. The story got national attention (here and here, for example)

Tuesday: Second city officer pleads guilty in kickback scheme involving Baltimore County towing company. 

Wednesday: A 23-year-old man is fatally shot in the Hamilton Hills neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore, one of two fatal shootings in the city. Ninety-seven people have been murdered in the city this year.

Thursday: The Baltimore Police Department quietly withholds pages from a report on the accidental fatal shooting of an unarmed police informant who had summoned officers to a home in Northwest Baltimore. The full report is posted here and contains new details that led to the death of Dennis Gregory.

Friday: Police officials attend a news conference announcing the opening of an on-demand methadone clinic in East Baltimore, again reaffirming a policy shift away from locking up addicts that's been years in the making. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Baltimore police have identified the teenage victim of a fatal shooting which occurred after a sleepover in Cherry Hill Saturday morning.

Michael Brooks, 15, was shot and killed by an unidentified 11-year-old who was apparently playing with a gun, police said. Police could not say how many times Brooks was shot or who owned the gun. The gun was secured in the house, but the children had found a key or passcode to unlock it, said police spokesman Kevin Brown. As of Sunday morning, no charges have been filed against the shooter or any adults who may have been present, Brown said.

"We want this to serve as a reminder of the extreme importance of securing weapons in the home," Brown said.

Read more here.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein announced today that a 37-year-old Baltimore County man has been taken into custody after being indicted in a hit-and-run accident that injured two Johns Hopkins University students in early May.

Prosecutors say Thomas D. Green was impaired by alcohol at the time of the May 7 accident, which injured sophomore Benjamin Zucker and freshman Rachel Cohen. Officials said at the time that a Johns Hopkins security officer and two Baltimore police officers working with the school chased down the suspect, who was driving a white 2010 Chevrolet Impala.

Green was indicted on June 16 and taken into custody this morning, officials said. Court records show that while investigators deliberated the case, Green continued to drive recklessly, picking up a speeding ticket in Baltimore County on May 31.

Police have been criticized recently for being slow to charge in serious traffic accidents. The family of Hopkins student Nathan Krasnopoler grew impatient with the investigation into a crash near campus that left him comatose, and family and friends of two teen girls killed last week on Martin Luther King Boulevard have taken to the Police Department's Facebook page, furious that charges have not been filed against a man identified as the driver.

In the hit and run, Green faces charges of causing a life-threatening injury as a result of negligent driving while impaired by alcohol, failure to render aid to a victim after being the operator of a vehicle involved in an accident, driving in a reckless and negligent manner, and other charges.  Green does not appear to have a prior criminal record, though he's picked up traffic charges in five separate incidents since July 2009, records show.

An update on the students' condition was not immediately available - Hopkins' Dean of Students Susan Boswell declined to comment. 

Hopkins spokeswoman Tracey Reeves said Zucker and Cohen were "able to complete the spring semester, and are expected to return to their studies in August."

"We are grateful for the hard work of the Baltimore City Police Department," Reeves said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

Tired of the heroin and crime surrounding his Northeast Baltimore church and treatment center, the Rev. Milton Williams said Thursday that he plans to open the city's first "open access" clinic, which will hand out methadone within 15 minutes to any addict who walks through the door, The Sun's Meredith Cohn reports.

Williams said defiantly that he will open the doors of his Turning Point clinic on North Avenue on July 5 to possibly 100-150 addicts a night — though he still lacks approval from state and federal regulators.

But he has the support of at least one city agency - The Baltimore Police Department, which sent a high-ranking commander and a member of the public affairs office, who said this about the agency's evolving view of drugs:

Detective Donny Moses, now a spokesman for the department, said he spent five years in the narcotics division and during that time "had a change of heart" about arresting addicts.

"I must have arrested a million and one people addicted to heroin, and I thought there had to be a better way," he said. "I was thinking this was someone's daughter or son and someone was praying for you. … The Police Department is no longer interested in locking up all the addicts."

Lt. Col. Ross Buzzuro from the police commissioner's office, added, "We can't arrest ourselves out of this problem. We're seeking those wreaking the most havoc on the city. Our mission has changed somewhat."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: East Baltimore
        

Baltimore Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man in Northeast Baltimore Wednesday night in an apparent dispute over money, officials said.

Officers first responded to the 5600 block of McClean Boulevard at 7:03 p.m., but they found the victim, identified as Andre Womack, behind apartments in the 5500 block of Grindon Avenue, in the Hamilton Hills community, according to police.

A medical crew pronounced Womack dead at the scene at 7:20 p.m., police said. City Councilman Robert Curran, whose district includes the area where the shooting occurred, said police informed him that the shooting is believed to have stemmed from a dispute over money.

“It was not a random act of violence,” Curran said.

The Hamilton Hills neighborhood is near the Baltimore County line and is not known for violent crime. But the killing was the third in the community this year – in January, a 38-year-old autistic man who lived with his mother was killed in front of their home in the 5600 block of Plymouth Rd, and earlier this month a 25-year-old man was shot in the 2200 block of Fleetwood Ave. A non-fatal shooting occurred in the neighborhood on Monday, about a mile away.

The Northeast District continues to lead the city’s police districts in homicides, with 17.

In a separate incident, a 24-year-old man was shot in the chest at 11:13 p.m. in the 2400 block of Chesterfield Avenue, in the Mayfield neighborhood, according to police. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, police said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

When Dennis Gregory was shot and killed by Baltimore police officers in February 2010, the department reported that Gregory had aimed a gun at the officers, who fired back.

As it would turn out, The Sun reported in March for the first time, Gregory had been an informant who had summoned officers to the scene to report a friend armed with a handgun. It was the friend, Glenn Brooks, who exchanged gunfire with the officers Chris Funk and Matthew Ryckman, who shot and killed Gregory, who was unarmed. Gregory's family said they had been stymied in their attempts to learn more about the case, with calls and visits to police going unacknowledged.

Now, in compliance with a Public Information Act request, the police department has released to The Sun hundreds of documents related to the investigation that shed some additional light on what led to the shooting. [The department initially withheld eight pages of the 17 page summary report without disclosing that the pages were not being released, as required by the public information law. The documents were only produced after a reporter challenged why the report did not include any statements from the officers involved in the shooting, which had been the crux of the initial request.]

The new documents reaffirm that the shooting appears to be a tragic mistake in pursuit of an armed offender, though one which the family says the department has not been up front about and which some say is indicative of poor training.

Records show that the officers involved in the shooting had been alerted to the informant's information through their off-duty sergeant, Parker Elliott, who told investigators that Gregory was a registered informant who had worked with the officers before.

Funk and Ryckman parked their vehicle in a rear alley and crept up through an alley; in statements that appear to be carbon copies of each other, the officers say they identified themselves as police and were shot at, then returned fire; Brooks, who was armed and on guard because a friend had been shot days earlier, said the officers never identified themselves and that they were the ones who shot first.

A source said the officers refused to give statements (as they, like anyone, are allowed to do during a criminal investigation) but were compelled to do so because prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to charge Brooks for handgun violations without an account from police.

The report you see below was forwarded to city prosecutors, who recently cleared Funk and Ryckman of criminal wrongdoing. Gregory's family has said they are pursuing a civil lawsuit.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northwest Baltimore, Police shootings
        

Earlier this month, Anne Arundel County police were investigating complaints about a white van or minivan with a male driver who was seen trying to lure a 9-year-old child into a van, and then pulling up next to a 12-year-old boy on a bicycle.

The incidents occurred June 16 in the Sherwood Forest section of Arundel and later that same day near Shipley's Choice Elementary School.

Today, police released a statement saying they found the van and the driver, and cleared him in the case. They said the two incidents were unrelated and coincidental. Police "determined that the operator of the vehicle was in the community conducting legitmate business." Authorities said they could not verify that the driver talked to the child and could not "substantiate that there was any criminal intent behind the driver's actions that day."

Statemente from Anne Arundel County Police:

Detectives from the Western District conducted a follow-up investigation and developed information regarding the vehicle that was observed in the Sherwood Forest community. Further investigation led them to the operator of the vehicle. Detectives subsequently responded to the residence of the driver, made contact with the driver and determined that the operator of the vehicle was in the community conducting legitimate business. Additionally, detectives have not been able to substantiate that there was any criminal intent behind the driver’s actions that day.

Detectives from the Eastern District have conducted a follow-up investigation into the alleged incidents around Shipley’s Choice Elementary and have determined that only one juvenile was approached by a vehicle as the second juvenile only observed a similar vehicle in the area. No dialogue was exchanged and no criminal intent has been corroborated at this time. Detectives have been in contact with school representatives, who have not reported any suspicious activity in the area. Detectives from Eastern and Western District have confirmed that the incidents in each district are unrelated.

The Anne Arundel County Police Department takes reports of suspicious behavior/activity very seriously. As a safety reminder, parents should remind their children to never enter the vehicle of a stranger, travel in groups and immediately report suspicious activity to a trusted adult. It is encouraged that parents have an action plan in place with their children should a suspicious situation occur.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

The technology has been around for a while but now just about every police jurisdiction uses it -- license plate readers that scan numbers and can quickly tell a cop whether the car is stolen, or has backed up tickets.

Police can simply drive along a street and check every car almost instantaneously. Privacy groups worry about police collecting and saving information from people not implicated in crimes -- such as keeping a record of where your car is -- but for law enforcement it's a critical tool.

The Sun's Don Markus provides a behind-the-scenes look at the technology and how it's being used in Maryland, and how state police tried to use it to find a motorcyclist a trooper was chasing moment before he was killed on I-95 when his cruiser collided with a truck. 

From Don's story:

Sgt. Julio Valcarcel wheels his unmarked sport utility vehicle south onto U.S. 1 in Jessup as motorists whiz by in the opposite direction. The Maryland state trooper is not looking to ticket speeders, but rather is on the hunt for stolen cars.

And he doesn't have to consult a "hot sheet" to compare license plate numbers, or even remember the make, model and color of vehicles on the stolen-car list.

Images of license plates pop onto his laptop computer screen as the cars go by. An alarms sounds when the computer finds a stolen plate or car, or even a revoked or suspended registration, information stored in a database updated daily by the FBI and the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.

"It's constantly taking pictures, looking for license plates," said Valcarcel, who has spent 21 years as a trooper and is now the technical manager of the license plate reader program. "There might not be a violation at the time we capture that read, but the read might be helpful for investigative purposes down the road."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Confronting crime
        

First, Harford County Sheriff deputies tried to stop a black 1993 Lexus on Route 40.

The driver refused to stop, crashed into a barrier, then a sign, and then went into the opposite lane of traffic. There, it collided with a Honda Accord with four people in the vehicle. In the wreckage, deputies said they found crack cocaine.

A person is in custody pending formal charges.

Read full details from a police statement:

On Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at approximately 9:15pm, a Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputy attempted to make a traffic stop on a vehicle  traveling westbound on SR40 just south of Abingdon Road.  Before the deputy could affect a traffic stop, the suspect’s vehicle, a 1993 black Lexus, crashed into the barrier wall, hit a traffic sign and went airborne into the eastbound side of SR40 striking a 2006 Honda Accord, with four occupants, which was traveling in the eastbound lane of SR40.

The suspect then fled from his severely damaged vehicle. In less than 15 minutes, Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies took the suspect into custody without incident.  The suspect was transported to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center by Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company and treated for non life threatening injuries. Deputies recovered several grams of crack cocaine near the suspect’s damaged vehicle

Rescue workers from Joppa/ Magnolia Fire Company and Abingdon Fire Company extricated the occupants, two adults and two children from the 2006 Honda Accord.   The accident victims were transported to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center by ambulance for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. 

Both vehicles were totaled as a result of the accident and had to be towed away from the scene.  SR40 was closed to traffic from Abingdon Road to Sand Pebble Road for approximately an hour for clean up due to the accident.

The investigation is ongoing and several criminal and traffic related charges are pending on the suspect at this time.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Harford County
        

The Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention announced nearly $730,000 in grants to local jurisdictions to monitor sex offender compliance. The office said all 23 counties and Baltimore City received the grants to help pay for personnel and equipment costs related to supervision of the 7,348 individuals on the state's Sex Offender Registry.

Baltimore got the most cash, with $185,456 awarded. Baltimore County was next with $103,267, followed by Prince George's County ($95,810), Montgomery County ($40,734) and Anne Arundel ($39,869). 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A Baltimore police officer acquitted by a judge last month of kidnapping two West Baltimore teens will receive $19,733 in back pay after the city Board of Estimates approved the expenditure this morning.

Officer Gregory Hellen was charged along with two other officers with driving two teens far from their homes in 2009, leaving one of them in Howard County with shoes or a cell phone. Milton Smith and Tyrone Francis were convicted by a jury of misconduct, while Hellen had his fate decided by a judge and was cleared. The case was personally tried by State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein.

The city determined the acquittal entitled Hellen to his salary that was withheld between his suspension on May 13, 2010 and May 3, 2011.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

A 14-year-old Baltimore boy has been charged as an adult with first-degree rape in connection with a May 27 attack in Southwest Baltimore, according to police.

Shemarr Gilbert, who turns 15 next month, is being held without bond pending a bail review, records show.

Police spokesman Det. Kevin Brown said police learned on May 28 that the night before, a group of teens had been hanging out and drinking alcohol in a park in the 400 block of Stricker St.

When police dispersed the teens, the 14-year-old victim told police she was helped away from the park by a member of the group. She said he led her to the basement of an unknown house, where he sexually assaulted her and left her, Brown said. Police identified Gilbert as a suspect through interviews.

Police issued a warrant for his arrest on June 13, and records show he was taken into custody on Wednesday.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Southwest Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Officer has two more surgeries scheduled today; police have now determined she was forced off the elevated highway by a car, and did not jump to get out of the way. 

The Sun's Liz F. Kay reports:

Baltimore Police Officer Teresa Rigby remains in critical condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center Wednesday morning after she fell or was knocked off an elevated section of Interstate 83 near the Pepsi plant, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Rigby underwent surgery Tuesday, said Shock Trauma spokeswoman Cindy Rivers.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the officer has another surgery scheduled Wednesday.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The Sun's Outdoors Girl brings us sad news this morning -- police are searching for the killer of the state's last known goshawk. There were three chicks in the nest, and with no female, they died as well. Read full story, and learn more about the goshawk here.

From Candy:

The goshawk's nest, near Savage River State Forest close to the intersection of Westernport and McAndrews Hill road, was being closely monitored by Department of Natural Resources biologists because of the bird's "highly rare" status. Dave Brinker noticed the absence of an adult at the nest in early June and found the carcass last Friday. The shooting occurred outside any legal hunting season.

"You'd like to think that in this day and age, these things don't happen," said Brinker, who has led the state's efforts to restore the bird for the last 30 years. "We'll try and get something good out of this, use it to educate. This is not the right way to behave in 2011."

The Maryland Legislative Sportsmen's Foundation is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the shooter. NRP is asking anyone with information about the crime to call the Poacher Hot Line: 1-800-635-6124.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Crime elsewhere
        

A city police officer at the scene of a disabled vehicle on the JFX this morning was struck and forced off the elevated highway, falling 25 feet to the pavement below. Police said a car hit her stopped cruiser, which then either hit or or forced her to jump.

Read full story here. The picture of the crash scene is from The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor. More details from The Sun's Justin Fenton, Liz Kay and Steve Kilar:

Police identified the officer as Teresa Rigby, 27, a three-and-a-half year veteran of the department assigned to the Northern District patrol. Dr. Thomas Scalea, physician-in-chief of the trauma center, said Rigby was on life support and would be going into surgery. Officials initially said she was in serious but stable condition.

Rigby had "arrived arousable but not awake," Scalea said. She was "still in a very dynamic stage of care" and doctors needed to stabilize her before surgery.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she spoke with Rigby's family and said they were "remarkably calm." "Everybody's praying for a speedy recovery," Rawlings-Blake said.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld said Rigby was standing near a disabled vehicle that was to be towed from south of Coldspring Lane, near the Pepsi Plant. At about 9:20 a.m., the driver of a black Saab lost control and hit the rear of her police cruiser. It was not clear whether she was struck or jumped from the highway to avoid being hit.

The roadway was wet at the time of the crash.

The highway northbound was shut down from Falls Road to Coldspring Lane for nearly four hours, and southbound lanes were choked, though police said traffic resumed moving in both directions around 1:20 p.m.

The officer suffered multiple leg fractures, among other injuries, Guglielmi said. He said she had been conscious when she left in the ambulance.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

The second of 17 Baltimore police officers charged with extortion in an alleged kickback scheme involving a towing company pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Officer Jermaine Rice, 28, of Woodstock, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced Sept. 23. His colleague, Officer David Reeping, 41, pleaded guilty to the same charge on June 8.

The officers were arrested in February as part of a sweeping indictment involving widespread corruption on the force. Many of the officers were assigned to the Northeast District. An additional 14 officers who were implicated were suspended but not criminally charged.

Federal prosecutors allege that the officers directed motorists involved in car accidents or with stranded vehicles to Majestic Towing in Rosedale, saying company officials would waive towing fees, help them with insurance and save them money hauling their cars using the city’s designated “medallion” towing companies.

Prosecutors said many unsuspecting drivers took the officer’s up on their offer, not knowing they were skirting the rules by using an unapproved company. The indictments allege Majestic owners paid the officers $300 for each car steered to their shop.

Rice admitted in court to running the scheme between July 2010 and Feb. 2011. The plea agreement says that Rice pocketed $1,500 in kickbacks from the repair shop owners. Rice’s attorney, Richard Seligman, did not return calls for comment.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

From Sun reporters Justin Fenton, Steve Kilar and Liz Kay: 

UPDATE: For updates on this story, please go to this link.

A Baltimore police officer was rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma Center this morning after she was struck by a car on Interstate 83, thrown off the elevated highway and fell 30 feet onto a concrete parking lot, according to a police spokesman.

“All you see was her going over,” said Butch Davis, 63, who was working at a nearby construction site. He said he looked up when he heard a car braking and tires screeching. “The brakes locked up,” he said. “That got my attention. I just hope she’s alright.”

Photo of the crash by The Sun's Frank Roylance.

The highway northbound has been shut down from Falls Road to Northern Parkway. Two lanes of southbound I-83 are open, police said. Baltimore Police warned drivers via Twitter to expect delays due to the crash.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the female officer was standing near a vehicle that was to be towed from an accident south of Northern Parkway, near the Pepsi Plant. He said about 9:20 a.m., the driver of a car lost control, hit her police cruiser, and the cruiser hit the officer.

She suffered multiple leg fractures, among other injuries, Guglielmi said. He said she was conscious when she left in the ambulance. Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III was at Shock Trauma this morning.

Chief Kevin Cartwright, a Baltimore Fire Department spokesman, said three other people in addition to the police officer were injured — the driver of the car that was being towed, the tow truck driver and the driver of the vehicle that hit the cruiser.

There were no immediate information on their conditions or to which hospitals they were taken.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

UPDATE: County police said in an e-mail sent out at about 3:35 PM that Markel was found earlier this afternoon. 

From Baltimore County Police:

Baltimore County Police are asking for the public’s help in locating Markel Justin Dates, an 11-year-old boy missing from the Woodlawn Precinct. The child lives in the unit-block of Cahill Court, 21244. 

Markel Dates was last seen in the area of Richglen Drive and Kafern Drive, 21207 at       6 p.m. yesterday. Friends reported seeing him walking in the direction of his house. He did not come home last night, and his family reported him missing this morning. 

Markel Dates is a black male, 11 years old, 5’6” tall, 120 pounds, with brown eyes and short black hair.  He was last seen wearing black jeans and a black shirt. He may also have a green and yellow polo shirt with him. 

Baltimore County Police are asking anyone who may have seen Markel Dates to call the Baltimore County Police Department at 410-887-1340 or 410-307-2020. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

A Baltimore police officer was rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma Center this morning after she was struck by a car on Interstate 83, was thrown off the highway and slid 30 feet down an embankment, according to a city police spokesman.

The highway northbound has been shut down from Falls Road to Northern Parkway. Two lanes of southbound I-83 are open, police said. Baltimore Police warned drivers via Twitter to expect delays due to the crash.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the female officer was standing near a vehicle that was to be towed. He said the driver of a car lost control, hit her police cruiser, and the cruiser hit the officer. She suffered multiple leg fractures, among other injuries, Guglielmi said. He said she was conscious when she left in the ambulance.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III was at Shock Trauma this morning.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, North Baltimore
        

                                                                               There are college classes devoted to The Wire, using the fictional HBO series to explore the impact of drugs, crime, schools and urban renewal crumbling cities. David Simon, a former Sun cop reporter, has won accolades for the vivid, raw series and for his books. Recently, he got a mention from the U.S. Attorney General.

Now, the Maryland Court of Appeals has weighed in (read decision here), quoting from his book recounting a year with the Baltimore Police Department's homicide unit, in an opinion on a Miranda case. They use cite a passage from "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets" to explore "street-cred."

At issue was whether it was legitimate for the prosecutor in a murder trial to question the defendant on his desire to remain silent, a fundamental right of anyone under arrest. Typically, prosecutors are not allowed to explore such issues in front of the jury, because his silence cannot be used to impune guilt.

But in this case, the trial judge in Cecil County allowed the prosecutor to raise the question because the defendant at first told police he would cooperate, and then later recanted. The appellate judges overturned the conviction.

At the opening of the decision, the judges quote from Simon's book, citing a passage that recounts how Miranda is viewed on the Baltimore's mean streets:

David Simon, in his journalistic work, “Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets,” translates into “street-cred”1 rhetoric the now-well-known Miranda2 rights/protections:

“You have the absolute right to remain silent.” . . . . Criminals always have the right to remain silent. At least once in your . . . life, you spent an hour in front of a television set, listening to this book-’em-Danno routine. You think Joe Friday was lying to you? You think Kojak was making this . .. up? No way, bunk, we’re talking sacred freedoms here, notably your Fifth . . . Amendment protection against selfincrimination, and hey, it was good enough for Ollie North, so who are you to go incriminating yourself at the first opportunity? Get it straight: A police detective, a man who gets paid government money to put you in prison, is explaining your absolute right to shut up before you say something stupid.

“Anything you say or write may be used against you in a court of law.” 

Yo, bunky, wake . . . up. You’re now being told that talking to a police detective in an interrogation room can only hurt you. If it could help you, they would probably be pretty quick to say that, wouldn’t they? They’d stand up and say you have the right not to worry because what you say or write in this . . . cubicle is gonna be used to your benefit in a court of law. No, your best bet is to shut up. Shut up now. “You have the right to talk to a lawyer at any time – before any questioning, before answering any questions, or during any questions.”

Talk about helpful. Now the man who wants to arrest you for violating the peace and dignity of the state is saying you can talk to a trained professional, an attorney who has read the relevant portions of the Maryland Annotated Code . . . . Take whatever help you can get.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

An officer at a prison in Jessup suffered a broken jaw and cheekbone during an attack by an inmate, and another officer at the Baltimore City jail was sexually assaulted by a detainee, according to state prison officials.

The first assault occurred Monday at the Maryland Correctional Institution at Jessup. Authorities said the officer was trying to move an inmate from one housing unit to another about 2:20 p.m. when he was hit. It took six to eight other officers using Mace to subdue the inmate, officials said.

On Saturday, prison officials said a correctional officer at the Baltimore City Detention Center reported being sexually assaulted by a detainee. Authorities said an investigation is underway and a person of interest is being questioned. No further details were released.

The Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services reports that serious assaults by inmates on officer has fallen over the past few years, with down 50 percent since 2007. Attacks involving sexual offenses are down 35 percent during that same period.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Confronting crime, Downtown, Prisons
        

Federal prosecutors are cracking down on people who sell drugs that lead to overdose deaths. For the third time in Maryland, the U.S. Attorney's Office has gone after the sellers and secured prison time.

In the latest case that wrapped up Monday, a federal judge sentenced April Lynn Baker, 30, to three years in prison. A nursing home worker in Western Maryland sold Methadone and morphine and gave it to Baker who then traded it to another man in exchange for marijuana.

On March 1, 2008, that man sold a $40 wafer of Methadone and $20 worth of morphine to Brandon Sgaggero, who was found dead in his apartment five days later. An autopsy concluded that he died of an overdose of the two drugs. Prosecutors said they found two text messages from the seller to Sgaggero asking whether he wanted more "shampoo," described as a code word for morphine.

More details here:

“Drug dealers should be on notice that they can be held accountable if anyone dies after taking the drugs that they distribute,” U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in prepared remarks.  “We are partnering with local law enforcement to charge similar cases because holding illegal drug dealers accountable for drug overdose deaths may save lives.”

The Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement:

This is the third federal case recently prosecuted in Maryland in which the distribution of drugs resulted in a drug user dying from an overdose. On December 20, 2010 Mark Alan Bryan, age 23, of Maugansville, Maryland, was sentenced to 14 years in prison. 

In a another unrelated case,  Robert Carroll Eichelberger, age 40, of Hagerstown, formerly of Boonsboro, and Kathleen Ann Harris, age 42, of Olney, Maryland, also formerly of Boonsboro, were sentenced in December 2008 to 20 years in prison, and 13 years in prison, respectively.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Crime elsewhere
        

The Sun's Washington correspondent John Fritze reports:

The federal government has added Harford County to a regional taskforce created by the federal government to funnel additional resources to drug interdiction efforts, the White House announced Monday.

The county will be a part of the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, in which local law enforcement officials coordinate efforts and resources with the federal government to target drug shipments. There are 28 HIDTA programs across the country.

Harford County Sheriff L. Jesse Bane, who has long sought the designation, said the county's drug interdiction effort "takes a lot of people and it takes time."

"When you're a county that is small like us, getting additional resources is very important," he said.

Created in 1994, the Baltimore-Washington HIDTA already includes Baltimore city and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's and Charles counties.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Harford County
        

From Sun reporter Julie Baughman:

City police are searching for two men who are suspected of stealing a car and shooting a man who authorities said had stopped to ask directions early Monday in Southwest Baltimore.

Police said the victim had stopped his car in the 3500 block of Winterbourne Road about 1:25 a.m., and asked two men for help. Police said the men gave directions, but then got into the car, pulled out a gun and demanded money.

At some point, the car’s 35-year-old occupant was shot in the arm, police said. Authorities are searching for a white Lexus sport utility vehicle with Maryland tags 5AD0872.

Also on Monday, police were investigating a shooting that occurred about 1:20 p.m. in the 3400 block of Ravenwood Ave., in Northeast Baltimore. An adult male was shot in the head. And police said they arrested a suspect in Sunday’s shooting on Kirk Avenue that left a woman critically wounded. Andre Stokes, 46, of the 1500 block of East 29th St., was charged with several counts, including attempted first degree murder..

And police have released the name of one of the victim’s of Thursday afternoon’s shootings that left six people wounded on the front porch of a home on Denison Street in Southwest Baltimore. The lone fatality, according to police, was Charles Michael Lassane, 55, of the 3300 block of Edmondson Ave.

No arrests have been made.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Southwest Baltimore
        

From Sun reporter Julie Baughman:

Baltimore police are asking for the public’s help in identifying a man suspected of holding up several convenience stores in the city.

At least four robberies have occurred over the past two weeks in the north, northwest and northeast parts of Baltimore — all targeting 7-Eleven and Royal Farms stores.

According to police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, the gunman is considered “armed and dangerous.” Guglielmi said that the man typically enters the store during off-peak hours and approaches the cash register under the guise of buying an item.

Once he reaches the register, he draws a semi-automatic gun from his waistband or pocket and then points it at customers and store clerks until he is able to empty the register of cash and checks, Guglielmi said.

Police described the man as a black male between 25 and 30 years old, standing between 5 feet 11 and 6 feet tall and weighing 160 to 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing a tan or black baseball cap with a green or blue polo shirt, dark jeans, black tennis shoes, sunglasses and a watch on his left wrist.

Police would not disclose the exact locations of the targeted stores to avoid interfering with the police tactics during their investigation. Anyone with information is urged to call the police robbery unit at 410-366-6341.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore
        

Ever wonder what happens to bodies that go unclaimed, or those donated to scientific research? Every year, they are cremated, boxed and put into the ground during a mass burial at the Springfield Hospital Center, during a ceremony designed to be dignified.

Today, the remains of 600 people will be interred, joining 20,000 others. Reporters Jessica Anderson and Andrea Siegel take a look at the tragic deaths and sad lives of two people -- Stanislaw Ptak and Matthew Jon Ward -- are destined for this field under a lowly grave marker (seen at left in ths picture by The Sun's Gene Sweeney Jr.

Ptak died when he burned himself to death while trying to light a cigarette outside the Canton Safeway last December, the singe marks still there months later, as shown in this picture. Ward was found in a vacant rowhouse on Pitcher Street, and that house too remains vacant.

Ward's mother didn't find her son until years after he had been put to rest in Sykesville, and today she will mourn  Read the compelling stories about Ward and Ptak here. Photos of the vacant house and the singe marks were taken by The Sun's Gabe Dinsmoor.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Carroll County
        

A body pulled from the Liberty Reservoir on Sunday has been identified as the Baltimore city fire recruit who went missing n May and had been the subject of an intensive search. Rodney E. Goggins Jr., 20, had apparently left his car in the area, which was found shortly after he had disappeared.

"This entire ordeal has been especially troubling to the recruits and the members of the department. We all had held out hope and optimism of his return," said city Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright. "We continue to pray for the family."

Boaters had called the Baltimore City Watershed Rangers patrolling the reservoir shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday, reporting that they saw a body near the Carroll County shoreline area south of the Liberty Road Bridge. The rangers found the partially decomposed body in a remote area with dense vegetation, and contacted the sheriff's office and rescue dive teams from Gamber Volunteer Fire Company. Goggins' body was taken to the Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Readers had some questions after Friday morning's post on the Court of Appeals overturning the convictions of two men in the gruesome slayings of three children in 2004. My apologies for not updating the blog before I left.

The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office will have to decide whether to retry the two men, who will remain behind bars. As of Friday, no decision has been made. As the article states, it could be difficult becuase one witness is dead and most others left or were deported to Mexico.

If prosecutors do not retry the case, the suspects will likely be deported to Mexico; they are illegal immigrants. In case you missed it, the appeals court overturned the convictions saying the judge had erred by not sharing notes from the jury with the defense team, who argued they would've changed their strategy given what jurors were thinking.

The case involved the 2004 near beheadings of three elementary school children in Northwest Baltimore. An uncle and cousin were charged and convicted after a second trial; it was one of the most gruesome and complex cases in Baltimore in years.

Here is complete coverage of the decision and the case.

Read the Court of Appeals ruling.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northwest Baltimore
        

It was one of the most horrific slayings in Baltimore -- the May 2004 throat-slashing murders of siblings Lucero Espinoza, 8, Ricardo Espinoza, 9, and their cousin Alexis Espejo Quezada, 10.

The dead children's uncle, Policarpio Espinoza, and the victim's cousin, Adan Canela, were convicted of murder after two lengthy and complex trials. Today, the Maryland Court of Appeals overturned the convictions, ruling the jude's failure to turn over juror notes to defense lawyers prevented them from adequately presenting their case. The lawyers argued that they would've changed trial strategies based on the nature of the questions.

The city's new top prosecutor, Gregg Bernstein, now faces a tough decision. Can he retry this case a third time? It's made more difficult given that most of the witnesses were deported to Mexico after the convictions and one witnesses was killed in Mexico in a domestic dispute.

So far, Bernstein's office isn't saying much beyond he'll review the case. Here is complete coverage of this case, along with pictures, timelines and detailed trial coverage. \

Read the Maryland Court of Appeals decision.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northwest Baltimore
        

Pit bulls have a bad reputation.

But a pit bull named Mya is a victim.

A man and a woman have been charged with stealing the dog during a burglary at a Baltimore County home. Police said the dog's owner had left the pit bull home alone, but assure authorities that he checked on the pet daily.

Police say they do not know a motive for the dognapping. The suspect's are pictured in police mug shots at left.

Statement from police:

The Baltimore County Police Department announces the arrests of Eric Brandon Vocke, 35, of the 8200-block of Perry Hall Boulevard, 21236 and Katherine Brooke Vocke, 31, of the 8200-block of Perry Hall Boulevard, 21236. Both defendants were arrested on June 16 and charged for a burglary that occurred on June 10.  The two defendants are husband and wife. 

On June 10 at approximately 3:30 p.m., officers responded to the 200-block of Leslie Avenue, 21236 for a burglary. The police investigation revealed that an unknown male and female used unknown means to enter the home and steal a dog from inside. The brindle colored pit bull named Mya was carried away by the two defendants. The dog had been kept alone at the house by the owner who lived at another location. The dog’s owner indicated to police that she had been checking the dog daily and that the dog was in good condition.

Police investigation led to identifying the two defendants as being responsible for taking the dog. The defendants are not related to the dog’s owner and the motive for stealing the dog is unknown. Eric and Katherine Vocke are both charged with first degree burglary and theft less than $1,000. Both were released from custody on their own recognizance.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

A man driving a white van near Annapolis tried on Thursday to lure a 9-year-old child inside, telling the boy that he wanted to take pictures, according to Anne Arundel County police. Authorities believe the same van was seen outside Shipley's Choice Elementary School on the same day.

Police are warning parents and children to never enter a vehicle with a stranger.

The first incident occurred Thursday about noon when a man approached a boy on Robin Hood Hill in Sherwood Forest. "The male driver requested that the child enter the van so that he could take pictures of the child."

Police sad the child did not get in, but that the grandmother saw the van leave the area, and that it had dark lettering ont he side referring to a carpet business. The driver was described only as a white male.

Later Thursday, police said a 12-year-old boy riding his bicycle near the school reported that a van pulled up next to him and that a front-seat passenger rolled down the window slightly. The driver of the van drove off, apparently without saying anything.

The youth described the vehicle as a minivan with tinted rear windows and driving by a white or Hispanic male with short to medium length hair.

Anyone with information is urged to call Anne Arundel County Police at 410-222-6155.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

A Maryland State Trooper who had just completed a CPR refresher course helped save a man who suffered an apparent heart attack near the 11th fairway at the Congressional course in Bethesda.

Trooper Paul Zimmerman and Montgomery County Police Officer Deirdre Sugrue were escorting players as part of security when spectators alerted them to a man in his 30s who had collapsed on a cart path.

"After assessing the man’s condition, the trooper and county officer immediately began CPR," state police said in a statement.

The patient was transported to Suburban Hospital. His condition could not immediately be ascertained.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Heroes
        

[Photo by The Sun's Jed Kirschbaum]

Six people were shot, one of them fatally, after a gunman opened fire on a group of people sitting on a porch in Southwest Baltimore in broad daylight Thursday afternoon.

Police said two of the surviving victims were last reported in critical condition, while three people were suffering non-life-threatening injuries. Ages were not available, nor did police have a description of the suspect.

The shooting broke out at about 1:30 p.m. in the 500 block of Denison St., just off Edmondson Avenue in the Allendale community near Hilton Parkway. Detectives were inspecting the front yard area of a home on the end of the block, as well as an adjacent alleyway.

Dozens of people looked on from behind police tape, though none said they heard or witnessed the shooting. One woman said a man led away from the scene on a stretcher and put into an ambulance was her grandfather, but she did not know what had happened. [The grandfather did not appear to be seriously injured, if at all]. A sign at the intersection of Denison and Edmondson warns that there are cameras in the neighborhood "to enhance your safety and your security."

Police pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.

"If anybody saw anything, we need you to help us out," said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. 

The shooting continues a trend this week of daytime shootings - two men were killed in shootings at 1:30 p.m and 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday, and a man was also fatally shot at about 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
Categories: Southwest Baltimore
        

Every Baltimore resident has a rat story.

Marc J. Camarote, a Baltimore police sergeant, has a tale for the tabloids.

Early Wednesday, the 15-year veteran was riding shotgun in an unmarked cruiser, speeding down Hanover Street to a robbery call in South Baltimore. He felt something on the back of his neck, and thinking his partner was playing a joke, he took a swipe with his arm.

That's when he discovered a large rodent had crawled up his back.

The rat bit the palm and thumb of Camarote's right hand. The two struggled, and the sergeant was finally able to throw the rat out of cruiser and onto the southbound lanes of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Bridge.

His partner rushed to nearby Harbor Hospital, and they were told they needed to go back and find the rat, to have it tested for rabies. They returned to the scene of the crime, and according to a well-placed police source, found the suspected rat limping along Hanover Street.

A struggle ensued, the police source said, but in the end, Baltimore's Finest won the battle. A cop beat the rat to death with an umbrella. Must not have been carrying his Espantoon.

The officers bagged the rodent and it's being tested for disease. The sergeant is out on medical leave, awaiting to see if the rat is diseased.

Details, including the sergeant's name, came from the police source, but the incident itself was confirmed by the Baltimore Police Department's chief spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi. He did not officially release the officer's name.

It's not known how the rat infiltrated the cruiser; the source said the officers believe it crawled up through the underbelly and gnawed on some wires before it crawled to the passenger seat and up the sergeant's backside. It's not even clear if the rat knew he was breaking into a cop car.

Robert F. Cherry, the police union president, said that any cop from his first patrol days knows that running into alleys and onto streets means not only watching out for broken glass and drug needles, "but also rats."

Camarote can take comfort in knowing that he's not the first cop bitten by an animal other than a pit bull. Back in 1996, Officer Drew Dorbert got attacked by an 3-foot-long Ornate Nile Monitor Lizard that had beeng hanging out near Patterson Park.

Getting bitten by a rat inside a police car will most certainly earn Camarote a bit of unwanted fame, and ribbing by his colleagues. Cherry knew the sergeant when he patrolled the Western District, and wanted it know that he's a "good officer."

Camarote's only mention in the newspaper before now came in 2004, when retired police reporter Richard Irwin gave him the journalistic equivalent of a medal of valor -- a mention in the old police blotter for a drug arrest.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

Police and fire crews are racing to Denison Street, off Edmondson Avenue near Hilton Parkway, responding to calls that at least five people have been shot. The Sun's Justin Fenton is also headed that way an will report back.

Initial reports put at least one victim in critical condition. And word is coming out that there may be a sixth victim, found a block away, with wounds not considered serious. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Southwest Baltimore
        

Baltimore police have made an arrest in the fatal shooting of a 40-year-old Linthicum woman who was found dead in Leakin Park last month, charging her boyfriend with first degree murder.

Police determined through phone records that Lois Smyth had left her home to meet up with boyfriend Kenneth Brunetti and attend a picnic on the afternoon of May 29. Records show that police believe Smyth was "lured to the Gwynns Falls Trail" and down a wooded path, where she was shot in the head.

Records show Brunetti used Smyth's bank card to withdraw $700, and took her car. 

He was picked up June 1 on a violation of probation warrant stemming from a 2004 armed carjacking conviction (he received 20 years in prison, with 11 years suspended in that case), and was served with the murder warrant early this morning. Brunetti was being held without bail. 

Brunetti has a long record of crimes stretching back to 1989, in Baltimore County, Howard County and Anne Arundel County.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (79)
        

Baltimore police identified several recent homicide victims:

-About 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, officers found Angelo Maurice Winston, 36, lying on the sidewalk in the 600 block of Dumbarton Ave. in the Pen Lucy community of North Baltimore. Winston, of the 700 block of Cator Ave. walked past a vehicle and was shot by one of its occupants, suffering gunshot wounds to the head, torso and limbs, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

-In the other fatal shooting Tuesday, police identified the man found about 1 p.m. in the 2400 block of Greenmount Ave. as Henry Dominic Mills, 40, of the 600 block of Bartlett Ave. Police said he was walking in the block when a person approached and shot him in the head.

-Officers found Gary Anthony Gibson, 23, just before 2 p.m. in the 2900 block of Westwood Ave. suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest, police said. Gibson's last known address was in the 2700 block of Baker St.

-At 4 a.m. Sunday, Roy Murray, 29, who last address was not known, was killed in a double-shooting that also left a woman injured in the 2600 block of Park Heights Terrace.

Police have not made arrests in any of the cases and did not disclose possible motives. Anyone with information was asked to call the homicide unit at 410-396-2100.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Not mentioned among the command leadership changes in the Baltimore Police today is that Major Terrence McLarney is out as commander of the homicide unit. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the change, but said he did not have additional information including whether McLarney was retiring or taking another assignment. He said the department does not comment on personnel moves.

McLarney has headed the unit since July 2008, and has been a homicide detective since at least the late 1980s, when he played a prominent role in David Simon's book "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets." McLarney could not immediately be reached for comment.

Major David Engel will take his place on an interim basis, and Guglielmi said the department would conduct a national search for his replacement.

Here's a quote from McLarney from "Homicide," where he is trying to convince a fellow detective not to quit:

"You're a cop, Donald. [Expletive] the bosses, don't even think about the bosses. They're always going to be [expletive]ed up and that's all there is to it. So what? So [expletive] them. But where else are you going to go and be a cop?"

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

The Baltimore Police Department announced an expected shakeup in its top ranks Wednesday, including a new deputy commissioner and new leadership for the patrol and criminal investigations divisions.

The moves were triggered by the retirement of Deputy Commissioner Deborah A. Owens, who had held that position since Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III took over in 2007.

Col. John Skinner, who has overseen the patrol division, will take Owens’ spot, overseeing issues including finance, recruitment and discipline. During his time directing patrol efforts, the 18-year veteran developed a survey to gauge citizens’ satisfaction with the efforts of patrol officers, and he is listed as a part-time faculty member at Towson University.

In a statement, the department said Skinner had been “credited with fostering improved relations between police and the community.”

Col. Dean Palmere, a 10th generation Baltimore police officer and 22-year veteran, will become chief of patrol for the department’s nine districts. Palmere had overseen the department's Violent Crimes Impact Section, a job that grew in responsibility two years ago when the unit was merged with criminal investigations division, giving him oversight of sections such as the homicide and sex offense units.

Taking his spot will be Lt. Col. Jesse Oden, a 32-year veteran who currently heads the Warrant Apprehension Task Force. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the warrant task force will be run by a lieutenant and report to the Oden.

The moves also include Maj. Ross Buzzuro leaving his post as commander of the Northern District. Buzzuro was the longest-serving district commander, overseeing the district since 2007. Buzzuro, a 26-year veteran, will become an area commander overseeing the west side of the city.

Taking Buzzuro’s spot in the Northern District will be the deputy major of the Northwest District, Sabrina Tapp-Harper, a 24-year veteran.

Robert F. Cherry, president of the police union, praised the moves and particularly singled out Buzzuro. “He’s been one of those commanders under the radar, a cop’s cop who’s worked his way up and paid his dues,” Cherry said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: North Baltimore, Top brass
        

The city police and fire unions have called off plans to picket a national convention of mayors to be held in Baltimore this weekend, instead paying for another billboard over I-83 to display a message to the visiting leaders.

Police union president Robert F. Cherry had said in February that he would draft unions from across the country to press local officials to boycott the U.S. Conference of Mayors, being held for the first time in Baltimore. Mayors who entered the convention would be crossing an official labor union picket line, Cherry had warned.

“Based on the overwhelming response we received from our prior billboard, we feel the best way to get our message across will be to display it for all the visiting mayors to see, clear as day, in black and white,” said Rick Hoffman, President of the International Association of Firefighters Local 734, in a statement released by the unions today.

Cherry said in a statement that the unions didn't want to spoil the event. 

“We want the citizens of Baltimore to know that we stand by our oath to work for the betterment of Baltimore, despite that City Hall has not stood by us,” he said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: City Hall
        

A 30-year-old woman was sentenced today in Baltimore Circuit Court to 23 years in prison for attacking three women during altercations at West Baltimore clubs. The attacks left the victims with severe injuries.

The sentence came after Tiffany Williams had pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree assault. Judge Lynn K. Stewart ruled that the defendant’s pleas meant she had violated the probation she was serving for an earlier narcotics conviction.

More details on the case from The Sun's Nick Madigan:

The office of State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein said that in November 2009 Williams assaulted two sisters outside the Roots Bar & Lounge, at Vine and Smallwood streets, after a verbal dispute that started at another location, Club International, on West Baltimore Street.

A statement from Bernstein’s office said Williams beat one of the women with a baseball bat and stabbed the other eight times, puncturing one of her lungs — an injury that required abdominal surgery. Both women recovered.

Less than two months later, early on New Year’s Day, Williams was at Club International again when she slashed the face of a woman with a knife, producing a gash of almost four inches. She too recovered.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, West Baltimore
        

A 13-year-old girl is recovering from injuries suffered in a dog attack Tuesday afternoon in Northwest Baltimore, according to the city's Fire Department spokesman.

The attack occurred about 3:45 p.m. in the 5400 block of Narcissus Ave. Few details were immediately available, but officials said the girl had puncture wounds and cuts to her leg. She was being treated at Sinai Hospital.

Authorities had no details on what prompted the attack, or what happened to the dog.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northwest Baltimore
        

Police in Anne Arundel County have been investigating a multiple stabbing in Crofton that left a family injured (picture of crime scene by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor).

The Sun's Steve Kilar and Andrea Siegel report:

Shortly after 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, county officers and Fire Department rescue crews responded to a telephone call from one of the daughters saying that she, her mother and sister were stabbed by their father, police said. According to neighbors, the mother was brought out from the home in a pressurized suit, and the daughters were in better condition.

Police with dogs searched the area for the 49-year-old father. He was found about 7:30 a.m. in the woods behind the townhouse complex, in the 2400 block of Chelmsford Drive. Police said they had yet to determine if his injuries were self-inflicted.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Howard County police just sent out this announcement:

Howard County police made 24 arrests at two Phish concerts at Merriweather Post Pavilion this weekend and seized three vehicles containing drugs, as well as more than $2,000 in cash. Police also issued 22 alcohol citations for underage drinking.

Investigators focused enforcement efforts on drug distribution and seized controlled dangerous substances including marijuana, hashish, ecstasy, nitrous oxide and methamphetamine. Police also seized three vehicles containing drugs: a 2000 Chevrolet truck, a 2000 SAAB and a Honda motorcycle.

Police work in partnership with Merriweather Post Pavilion to ensure lawful conduct during the concert season. Additional resources were allocated for the Phish concerts, which have historically shown increased drug activity at the venue.

Here's a list of the people arrested:

• Michael W. Allen, 29, of Cockeysville (drug possession)
• James Bramlett, 41, of Florence, S.C. (operating the motorcycle, drug possession with intent to distribute)
• Brooks Steven Adelhardt, 29, of Berlin (drug distribution, drug possession with intent to distribute, other
charges)
• Samuel Walker Burnstein, 22, of North Easton, Mass. (drug distribution)
• Garrett Barkley Clark, 24, of Washington, D.C. (drug possession, drug paraphernalia possession)
• Alex Michael Costanza, 23, of Virginia Beach, Va. (operating the Chevy, drug distribution, drug possession)
• Kyle W. Davis, 25, of Medford, N.J. (drug possession)
• Joseph Jeffrey Davis-Diehl, 28, of Washington, D.C. (operating the SAAB, drug distribution)
• Kevin Patrick Flanagan, 28, of Baltimore (drug distribution, drug possession)
• Christopher S. Fowler, 26, of Virginia Beach, Va. (drug possession with intent to distribute)
• Samantha Michelle Haislip, 21, of Virginia Beach, Va. (drug possession with intent to distribute, drug paraphernalia possession)
• Benjamin Craig Hardy, 30, of Sebastopol, Calif. (drug distribution)
• Jonathan R. Hartman, 27, of Virginia Beach, Va. (drug possession with intent to distribute, drug possession)
• Parry D. Holt, 28, of Cincinnati, Ohio (drug distribution, drug possession with intent to distribute, seconddegree
assault, resisting arrest, other charges)
• Martine Shea Jehan, 24, of Altmar, N.Y. (drug distribution)
• Anthony Elmer Jones, 29, of Wilmington, Del. (drug distribution, drug possession)
• Christian David Kocher, 31, of Arlington, Va. (drug distribution)
• Matthias Joseph Kubrick, 19, of Altmar, N.Y. (drug distribution)
• Matthew Frank Nunnelly, 23, of San Antonio, Texas (drug distribution, drug possession)
• Daniel Robert Shenk, 28, of Columbia (drug distribution)
• Michael James Wall, 21, of Philadelphia, Pa. (drug possession with intent to distribute, drug possession, drug paraphernalia possession)

Non-drug arrests:
• Vincent A. Battagini, 29, of Chambersburg, Pa. (trespassing)
• Steven Kier Lieber, 34, of Ellicott City (disorderly conduct, trespassing)
• Michael Joseph Schickling, 21, of Jersey Shore, Pa. (disorderly conduct, trespassing)
Officers from special operations, vice and narcotics, traffic enforcement and patrol provided security at the event,
which drew more than 19,000 concertgoers on Saturday and 16,000 on Sunday.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Howard County
        

City police were investigating an afternoon shooting along Greenmount Avenue that left a man dead.

Officers were called to the scene at about 1 p.m. for a report of a man in his 30s or 40s who had been shot at least once in the head in the 2400 block of Greenmount Ave. He was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later, police said.

The shooting occurred on the sidewalk in front of a strip of homes that appeared to be mostly vacant, and homicide detectives and commanders from the Eastern District stood over the crime scene with Greenmount Avenue traffic blocked both ways. Police did not immediately have a motive or description of the suspect. The killing is the seventh so far in June, as the city remains ahead of last year's pace for homicides.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: East Baltimore
        

After years of watching Umar Burley beat various gun and drug charges, prosecutors in U.S. District Court have won a conviction with a 15-year prison term against the Baltimore drug dealer — part of a one-two punch strategy between state and federal officials.

But they could have gone for more, one local attorney said, raising questions about whether the "career offender" — who allegedly killed a police officer's father in a car crash last year — actually got off easy.

It's a strange twist in a strange case, The Sun's Tricia Bishop reports. Read more here.

[Remember this mug shot?]

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Here's a look at unofficial Baltimore city crime statistics through June 4, as they are presented each week at the department's Comstat meetings. Notably, rapes are up 64 percent (though this is likely more reflective of new classification procedures than an uptick in actual incidents), though rape arrests are also up to the tune of 138 percent (69 arrests this year compared with 29 at this time last year). Shootings, meanwhile, are up 13 percent, particularly in the Eastern District, which has been hammered with 36 shootings this year compared with only 13 last year. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: East Baltimore, Top brass
        

The U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced today the arrest in Baltimore of a known MS-13 gang member who was previously deported in the 1990s.

Saul Antonio Uriba, 34, from El Salvador, was convicted on July 11, 1996 in Arlington County, Va. of possessing burglary tools and tampering with an automobile, the agency said. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was deported at the conclusion of his sentence.

On June 9, ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations unit received an anonymous tip that Uriba had re-entered the United States and was living in Maryland. Within 24 hours of receiving the tip, Uriba had been arrested and was in custody, officials said.

"Street gangs pose a growing public safety concern to our communities," said ICE ERO Baltimore Field Office Director Calvin McCormick. "Our ERO officers in Baltimore, working closely with the LESC, were able to identify, locate and arrest this gang member in the name of public safety and security. Removing known gang members from our streets is an important step in maintaining the safety and quality of life that the citizens of Maryland expect."

It was not clear where in Baltimore that Uriba was found, or what led officials to believe he was involved in MS-13. In 2007, the National Drug Intelligence Center said MS-13 was the fastest growing gang in the Washington-Baltimore region, including a presence in the "Broadway area" of Baltimore. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

He's trading his gun for a Havard Law book.

Adam Braskich wants to become a lawyer. And this three-year veteran of the Baltimore Police force has gotten into one of the nation's most prestigious universities, Harvard Law School. And when he's done, he promises to return to the city's crime fight -- as a prosecutor.

"I realized fairly early on that I'd probably make a better prosecutor than a police officer," he told The Sun's Justin Fenton, who caught up with the 26-year-old guarding a body in a sweltering South Baltmore rowhouse. "I'm better at spotting logical faillacies than guns concealed in waistbands."

Well, he's pretty good spotting guns too.

While on a study break for his law school entrance exam, Braskich took a stroll around Hampden and stumbled on an armed robbery. He shot one of the suspects and chased down the other. He's one of 466 officers, out of 2,947, who hold four-year degrees. He's pictured here in photo by The Sun's Amy Davis.

Read more about Braskich here. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, South Baltimore
        

It seems an odd deal — plead guilty to gun possession, agree to be imprisoned in a federal penitentiary for up to 25 years, and then admit to killing a man on East Pratt Street in Upper Fells Point back in 2009.

But that’s what Antonio “Dollar” Edwards did last week in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. As part of his agreement with federal prosecutors, the 28-year-old will have to plead guilty to first-degree murder in state court. Once he does that, he will get to serve his time for both crimes in the federal system.

The Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office described this unusual plea deal in a statement and in court documents filed Friday. Federal authorities get a conviction on a gun case for a three-time felon, and state officials can avoid a trial in the slaying case.

The benefit for Edwards?

“He avoids the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail,” said his attorney, Christopher J. Purpura. “It was an offer he couldn’t turn down. When he gets out, he’ll have a little bit of life left.”

Edwards had been convicted on felony drug charges three times before he was arrested in January 2010 and charged by state authorities with murder in the death of Kinlaw “Baby Boy” Jones, and with possessing a .45-caliber Israeli Desert Eagle handgun.

Federal authorities labeled Edwards a “career armed criminal” based on his criminal history, and his attorney said he risked life in federal prison had he fought the gun charges in front of a jury and lost.

According to his plea agreement filed in court, Edwards shot 21-year-old Jones two days after Christmas in 2009, chasing him down the street in the often crowded nightlife district, firing eight times from the high-powered handgun.

Baltimore police quickly arrested and charged Edwards in the slaying, based on the accounts of several eyewitnesses, according to the plea agreement. A few days later, an anonymous caller told police that the Desert Eagle gun used in the shooting was inside a house in Northwest Baltimore, where Edwards stayed with an ex-girlfriend.

Police said they searched the house in the 3000 block of Kenyon Ave. and found a baseball hat, a black beanie, photographs of Edwards taped to his bedroom ceiling, an Israeli Arms .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, a holster and a box of ammunition.

The plea agreement says that ballistic tests confirmed that the six bullets that hit Jones came from the gun found on Kenyon Avenue. That, coupled with the eye-witness accounts and DNA evidence linking Edwards to Jones, gave state prosecutors a seemingly strong case.

Purpura said his client would have likely been convicted of murder in state court.

So why did prosecutors agree to the deal?

The city State’s Attorney’s Office declines to comment on pending cases, and Edwards has yet to plead guilty to the killing.

Purpura said the witnesses are involved in drug dealing and might not have appeared credible to a jury. But even more important, the defense attorney said, prosecutors didn’t want to risk publicly exposing the witnesses at trial, fearing for their safety. The state court took the unusual move of hiding witness names from documents for their protection.

As a result, Edwards will plead guilty in state court to murder, with the agreement calling for his sentence to be served concurrently in federal prison on the gun case. And he should get out of prison shortly after he turns 50.

“It’s not something we get every day,” Purpura said. “It’s very rare.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Southeast Baltimore
        

It's not often Crime Beat gets to cross-blog with John McIntyre's You Don't Say blog, this paper's grammar policeman. And actually, this gem comes from Laura Vozzella's Baltimore Insider blog, though McIntyre gets credit for breaking the news in a Tweet:

Howard County police emailed a news release just now that inspired Sun grammar guru John McIntyre to tweet: “I worry about opening this message.”

The subject line reads: "Attached is a copy of a Fatal Press Release in Howard County."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Crime humor, Howard County
        

One man was shot and killed and another man was critically wounded in separate shootings on opposite sides of Baltimore Thursday night, according to city police. (plot city homicides at The Sun's crime map)

The fatal shooting occurred about 11:15 p.m. in the 3000 block of Spaulding Ave., in Park Heights. Police said a 26-year-old man was confronted by at least one gunman on the street and was shot several times.

Authorities said the victim, whose name was not released pending notification of relatives, was taken to Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead at 11:57 p.m. Police said they know of no motive and have not made any arrests.

About an hour earlier, at 10:20 p.m., police said officers responding to a report of a shooting in Northeast Baltimore found a 49-year-old man sitting in a car and suffering from a gunshot wound to the right side of the face. Police said the car was parked in the 3300 block of Erdman Ave.

The victim was taken to an unidentified hospital and was listed in critical condition Friday morning.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore
        

A corrections officer who was associated with the Black Guerrilla Family gang has been sentenced to 37 months in prison. Alicia Simmons was accused of helping to smuggle heroin and cell phones into the downtown Baltimore prison through the laundry.

Prosecutors also said she allowed gang members to fight and tried to identify police informants. The Sun's Justin Fenton wrote in July that evidence seized from a raid on her Pikesville apartment linked her to a who's who of Baltimore criminals.

That included a letter from a Bloods member with a signature tinted red contact lenses, another man linked to several killings and the producer of the infamouse Stop Snitching videos. She got caught up in a sweeping take-down of the BGF gang.

Here is a statement from the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office on the case: 

U.S. District Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Alicia Simmons, age 34, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 37 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to conduct and participate in the activities of the Black Guerilla Family (BGF), a racketeering enterprise.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Ava Cooper-Davis of the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Field Division; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Secretary Gary D. Maynard and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

“Prisons are much more secure when the criminals are the people in the cells and the keys are in the hands of law-abiding correctional officers,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein.

According to court documents, the Black Guerilla Family (BGF), is a nationwide gang operating in prison facilities and major cities throughout the United States.  Founded in California in the 1960s and introduced into the Maryland correctional system in the mid 1990s, BGF in Maryland is increasingly active on the streets of Baltimore City, as well as in various prison facilities in Maryland.

According to court documents, BGF conducts its affairs through a pattern of criminal activity, including: narcotics trafficking, robbery; extortion; bribery; retaliation against a witness or informant; money laundering; and commercial robbery.

BGF members arrange to have drugs, tobacco, cell phones, food and other contraband smuggled into Maryland prison facilities, sometimes recruiting and paying employees of prison facilities, including corrections officers, to assist BGF and its members in the smuggling of contraband, the collection of intelligence and in the concealment of BGF's criminal activities.

BGF members use violence and threats of violence to coerce incarcerated persons to pay protection money to BGF, to enforce the BGF code of conduct, and to increase their control of the Baltimore City drug trade and the underground "prison economy" in Maryland correctional facilities.
 
Simmons admitted that from 2006 through June 2010, while she was a correctional officer employed by the Division of Corrections for the State of Maryland, she was a  BGF associate and smuggled contraband items, including cellular telephones, tobacco, and drugs into correctional institutions where she was working for various inmates, including members of the BGF and other gangs.

Simmons further admitted that at times she was paid a bribe by members of BGF and other gangs, to smuggle the contraband into the correctional institution where she was working.  Finally, Simmons admitted that she participated in the drug trafficking activities of the gang and specifically was responsible for members of the conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute between 80 and 100 grams of heroin.         
      

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Gangs
        

A 16-year-old speeding along a winding road.

A 3-year-old sitting in his aunt's lap, in the back seat, with a seat belt wrapped around both.

Occupants screaming for the teen to slow down.

This is the scenario described by Anne Arundel County police after a car filled with teens and the child crashed into a tree Wednesday night in Hanover, just north of Patapsco Valley State Park. The toddler died.

Police and prosecutors are still investigating the deadly crash. The picture from The Sun's Gene Sweeney Jr. shows the skid marks, painted blue by police investigators, and the tree alongside Ridge Road, near the Elkridge Furnace Inn.

Here is the full story by The Sun's Liz Kay, and the full statement by Anne Arundel County police follows:

NORTHERN DISTRICT

FATAL SINGLE VEHICLE CRASH 

Type of Collision: Single Vehicle 
Location of Incident: Ridge Road near Furnace Avenue
Date & Time: June 8, 2011 at 8:03 p.m.

Motor Vehicle #1: 1995 Plymouth Acclaim

Driver: Buck John Benny, 16, of 3013 Bero Road, Halethorpe, Md
Injuries/Condition: Critical/stable

Passenger #1: Gary Wayne Ellison, 18, of 742 5th Avenue, Landsdowne, Md
(Right Front) 
Injuries/Condition: Critical/stable

Passenger #2:  John Raymond Ward, 16, of 1950 Hollins Ferry Road, Baltimore, Md
(Right Rear) 
Injuries/Condition: Critical/stable

Passenger #3: Britney L. Shiflett, 18, of 3009 Frederick Road, Baltimore, Md
(Center Rear)
Injuries/Condition: Critical/unstable

Passenger #4:  Joseph Eugene Sutherlin, 3, of 3009 Frederick Road, Baltimore, Md
(Center Rear)  
Injuries/Condition: Fatal

Passenger #5: Jamie L. Shiflett, 17, of 3009 Frederick Road, Baltimore, Md
(Left Rear)  
Injuries/Condition: Critical/stable

Synopsis: 

On June 8, 2011, at approximately 8:03 p.m., officers from the Northern District responded for a report of a vehicle collision on Ridge Road near Furnace Avenue in Hanover. Officers arrived on scene and located a 1995 Plymouth Acclaim, which struck a large tree. 

The initial investigation revealed the vehicle was traveling south on Ridge Road when it lost control for an unknown reason. The vehicle then struck a large tree adjacent to the roadway. The vehicle was occupied by five passengers and the driver. All of the vehicle occupants sustained severe injuries. The three-year-old juvenile male was seated on the lap of the center, rear passenger and not in a child safety seat. The three-year-old was transported to St Agnes Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased by medical staff. All of the remaining vehicle occupants were transported by ambulance to the University of Maryland Hospital Shock Trauma Unit.

Preliminary investigation determined that speed, reckless driving and driver error were contributing factors to the crash. The severity of the injuries and the death of the three-year-old child were the result of the non-usage of occupant safety restraints/seat belts and a child safety seat. The investigation is continuing.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Edward R.K. Hargadon issued a detailed, written ruling explaining his decision to find city Officer Gahiji Tshamba guilty of manslaughter for shooting an unarmed Marine outside a Mount Vernon night club.

It's long, but well worth the read:

This case involves the death of Tyrone Brown on the morning of June 5, 2010. There is no dispute that the Defendant shot Mr. Brown 12 times and that the shooting was the cause of Mr. Brown’s death.

There is also no dispute that the Defendant and three female friends were at the rear door of the Red Maple at Eager & Morton Streets at around 1 AM. Mr. Brown, his sister, Ms. Kangalee and Ms. Dodge were walking south on Morton Street. Ms. Ramsay, one of the Defendant’s friends, was on the ramp outside the Red Maple, when Mr. Brown touched her inappropriately on the buttocks.

From this point forward, the versions of the various witnesses differ. The court has had to grapple with what are seemingly very divergent accounts of what happened. From this standpoint, it is important to determine which witnesses were credible. Credibility is determined not just by whether someone is literally lying, but also by whether the witness had a bias or motive not to be completely straightforward, whether intentionally or subconsciously, whether the witness was able to see or hear things about which they testified, does the witness have an interest in the outcome of the case, did the witness appear to be telling the truth, and what was the witness’ behavior on the stand and manner of testifying.

The rest of the ruling:

The court believes that Ms. Kangalee was a very credible witness. Ms. Kangalee was the victim’s sister. She was called as a hostile witness by the defense, and she testified to matters which were not beneficial to the State’s case. She did not gloss over the inappropriate actions of her brother toward Ms. Ramsay and she stated that her brother was walking toward the Defendant - with his hands up and out. She was close to the central events which occurred in this case. Her demeanor was balanced on the stand. In short, although she was quite upset about the death of her brother, she was not going to lie about what happened, nor did it appear that the time which has elapsed since the incident has in any way affected her memory. Of all the witnesses who testified, her testimony was the most credible, and the Court believes that her version of what occurred is in fact what did occur. 

Except for their testimony about Mr. Brown inappropriately touching Ms. Ramsay, the Court does not believe that the testimony of Ms. Ramsay and Ms. Atkinson was credible as it related to what occurred at the ramp. First, both women are close friends of the Defendant. Specifically, as it pertains to Ms. Ramsey, her statement that the victim was “running after the Defendant” at the ramp scene was simply not believable in light of the testimony of Ms. Kangalee and Ms. Dodge. Even the primary witness who had the victim moving toward the Defendant, Ms. Kangalee, had him doing so in a walking manner with his hands up. Also, Ms. Atkinson’s testimony that the Defendant came in between Mr. Brown and Ms. Ramsey was inconsistent with any of the other testimony and did not make sense. 

 The testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Hill and Ms. Dodge, as their testimony pertains to the interactions of Defendant and Mr. Brown in back of Eddie’s, is discounted by the Court. This is so given that Ms. Kangalee was closer in distance to what occurred. This does not mean that the Hills or Ms. Dodge were not testifying honestly about what they thought they saw. In fact, the Hills would be expected to be the most objective witnesses since they did not know any of the witnesses, the Defendant or Mr. Brown. However, the vantage point of these witnesses was simply not as close as was Ms. Kangalee’s.

The Court rejects the testimony of Mr. Deveaux. He did not appear to be telling the truth on the stand, and he seemed evasive. He testified as to facts that were far afield from what the other witnesses testified to – e.g. he had the confrontation between Ms. Ramsay and Mr. Brown, and the subsequent drawing of the gun by the Defendant, as being in the street and further south of the ramp. The court visited the site yesterday, by agreement of the parties, and it is not clear Mr. Deveaux could even see the portion of the street where he claims the altercation to have occurred. He also could not have seen what was going on at the ramp. 

So before reviewing the Defendant’s testimony for credibility, the Court will look to the testimony of Ms. Kangalee, which again the Court finds to be credible. The Court will also summarize what the photos show and what the Court observed in its visit to the site yesterday.

Ms. Kangalee stated that Mr. Brown touched Ms. Ramsay’s buttocks and Ms. Kangalee grabbed Mr. Brown’s wrist and stated, “That’s disrespectful.” Mr. Brown said, “My bad.” Ms. Ramsay then spoke to the Defendant, approached Mr. Brown and then tried to slap Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown blocked the slap and Defendant pulled his gun, Mr. Brown pushed the Defendant, and Defendant said  “Go ahead do it again do it again” and “get your m/f ass on the ground.” The Defendant did not show a badge or otherwise identify himself as a police officer. So, Mr. Brown said he was not going to get on the ground. Mr. Brown did however state, “Dude, you need to calm down.” Mr. Brown had his hands up while Defendant was waving the gun around, including in the direction of people on the ramp. Ms. Kangalee said “Stop waving that gun around.” Defendant was in front of Mr. Brown and in his face. Mr. Brown moved around to block his sister and Ms. Dodge from the Defendant. Mr. Brown then began walking toward the Defendant and away from the ramp, with his hands up and slightly outward and said “Calm down. Let me talk to you.” The Defendant was taunting Mr. Brown, and Mr. Brown was saying “let me just talk to you.” Ms. Kangalee then shouted for someone to get the police (2 police cars were on the corner), and one of the women on the ramp said “He [meaning the Defendant] is a cop.” Ms. Kangalee said, “Are you f’en serious?” Ms. Kangalee still did not believe the Defendant was a cop, but she went to Mr. Brown and said “Stink, come on.” Mr. Brown turned to speak to Ms. Kangalee and told her to move back. He turned back around toward the Defendant, with his hands upright and not outward, and the Defendant began shooting.  The Defendant was approximately five feet away from Mr. Brown when he shot him. The Defendant initially shot Mr. Brown twice. Ms. Kangalee said that Mr. Brown was then trying to push the gun away awhile shots were being fired. She went over and then attempted to give her brother CPR. The Court finds the facts as stated by Ms. Kangalee to be true. One caveat is that the Court finds the placement of the Defendant and Mr. Brown was slightly to the north of where Ms. Kangalee placed them, but certainly close enough that that fact does not diminish her credibility in this Court’s mind.

The Court visited the site of the shooting yesterday. This was by agreement of the parties and - also by agreement of the parties - I went without them present. What appears to be clear from the visit is that the area is, in some respects, much smaller than what may appear from the aerial photos, and in other respects, the photos can be deceiving. From where the shell casings are located in the exhibits and from the testimony, the Court concludes that the Defendant first shot Mr. Brown while Mr. Brown was up on the concrete slab shown in Defense Exhibit 13H, and that the Defendant was standing at the base of the slab near where Marker Number 9 is in State’s Exhibit 28J. What was also clear to the Court in visiting the site was that from where the Defendant was standing, there was a clear and very open path to the parking lot. Prior to visiting the site, the Court believed that the Defendant had his back up against the dumpster, but that was simply not so. In looking at where the dumpster is located in State’s Exhibit 28L, the entire parking lot to the south was open. And there was nothing to prevent the Defendant from continuing to move backward in that direction. The ground from where the Defendant shot Mr. Brown to where he could have continued moving was completely open. There was flat dirt and asphalt. From the photos in Defense Ex 13a and State’s 28L, and from this Court’s survey of that area, there was nothing unsafe or uneven about the surface which would have prevented a reasonable police officer from simply continuing to back peddle in a southwesterly and southern fashion when faced with an unarmed man and before resorting to deadly force. Finally, the Court notes that there was a trail of blood from the slab to the site where the Defendant fell. This can be seen in Defense Ex.13a and 13i and State’s Exhibit 28J. There may also be a spot of blood on the concrete slab as seen in Defense Exhibit 10. It does appear that the Defendant shot Mr. Brown while he was standing on the concrete slab and after he turned back from talking to his sister.  Mr. Brown then fell or moved forward and collapsed at Marker A in State’s Exhibit 28J 

The Court rejects the Defendant’s version of the facts that he and the Defendant were locked in a grip in which the Defendant was attempting to get the Defendant’s gun. There is no blood on the Defendant’s clothing except for a spot of blood on his shoe. The facts seem to be, as explained by Ms. Kangalee, that Mr. Brown was pushing the gun away from being pointed at him. This would more likely be an arms length struggle which may explain the lack of blood on the Defendant’s clothing. It was however certainly reasonable for the Defendant to be concerned that Mr. Brown may have been trying to extricate the gun from him and therefore reasonable to shoot in order to prevent that from happening. But all this occurred after the Defendant had initially shot the victim.

The Court also does not believe Defendant when he states that he did not see the police vehicles in which Officers Taylor and Miller were sitting on the northwest corner of Morton and Eager. When the Court visited the scene yesterday, I stood on the ramp and at the base of the ramp. To be blunt, you would have to be blind to have not seen those cars and one would only have needed to shout to get their attention. They were very close to this incident.

The Court also does not believe the Defendant when he testified he identified himself as a police officer. This is based upon the credibility of Ms. Kangalee, and as corroborated by Ms. Dodge. Finally, the Court does not believe that Mr. Brown told the Defendant he was a Marine until they were walking westward on the concrete pad. Mr. Brown was asking the Defendant to put the gun down, while telling him he was a father and a Marine.

As to the reasonableness of the Defendant’s actions it was certainly not reasonable for the Defendant to pull his gun at the ramp.  What had happened to that point was that Mr. Brown had inappropriately and illegally touched Ms. Ramsay. Ms. Ramsay then spoke to the Defendant, walked over to smack Mr. Brown and Mr. Brown stopped her from striking him by blocking her hand. This is the circumstances in which the Defendant pulled his gun. The Defendant did not advise Ms. Ramsay or one of the other women to go get Officers Miller or Taylor, nor did the Defendant get them. The Defendant did not show his badge and order Mr. Brown to sit down while Officers Taylor and Miller were notified. No, he pulled his gun. The standard for when a police officer should draw his or her weapon is if an officer has a reasonable belief that there is a threat of death or serious injury to themselves or others. There was no imminent danger to safety posed at this scene. If Mr. Brown began taking aggressive action toward Ms. Ramsay after she attempted to slap him, that may have been a different scenario. But that had not happened. The most aggressive act that any of the individuals took at the site of the ramp was taken by the Defendant when he drew his gun when it was not at all necessary. Now this Court is aware that the reasonableness of the actions of a police officer is to be construed from the vantage point of the officer and not with 20/20 hindsight. But in viewing this from the officer’s vantage point at the scene, the Defendant grossly overreacted and in fact exacerbated this whole tragic set of events which led to Mr. Brown’s death. The Court cannot help but conclude that the Defendant allowed his personal relationship with Ms. Ramsay to cloud his professional judgment and that he felt obligated to “defend her honor”.

Defendant’s poor judgment is due to some extent by the fact (which the Court now finds as true), that Defendant was impaired by alcohol. Major Russell stated that the Defendant’s speech was slurred and his eyes glassy after the incident. Sgt. Wilson testified similarly, but also stated that Defendant smelled of alcohol. Sgt. Wilson said,
“I would not have let the Defendant drive my car.” The Court rejects Defendant’s testimony that he had consumed only one beer. Defendant showed all the indicia of being impaired, and he was impaired while carrying a firearm. In fact, Major Russell took his gun because he believed Defendant was impaired. Defendant’s impairment and consequential poor judgment can also be evidenced by his comments to Sgt. Wilson while they were en route to Mercy Hospital and then the Homicide Division. The Defendant had just killed a man and he wanted to talk with Sgt. Wilson about the “hot chicks” Defendant was with that night. Defendant’s actions were either the result of impairment and he was trying in some sophomoric way to impress Sgt Wilson, or the Defendant has a very warped mind.

The Defendant also did not act as a reasonable police officer when he shot Mr. Brown. The Defendant had been walking backward and Mr. Brown was walking toward him and talking. The Court would note that up to this point there is no credible evidence that Mr. Brown even knew the Defendant was a police officer. Mr. Brown was not running toward the Defendant and he was not lunging toward him. The Defendant was holding the gun on Mr. Brown and there was no reason the Defendant could not simply have continued walking as he had been until such time as (a) the two continued to back toward Eager Street, (b) Officers Miller or Taylor were summoned and responded, or (c) Mr. Brown did something which was more threatening than he had done to that point. According to the use of deadly force guidelines of the Baltimore Police Department, deadly force may be justified when confronted by an unarmed suspect if the officer cannot withdraw without unreasonably exposing himself to danger.  The Defendant had an opportunity to withdraw by continuing to walk backwards. There was no reason for the Defendant to stop moving and shoot Mr. Brown after Mr. Brown turned away from his sister. A reasonable police officer would have continued to walk prior to being in a position where he felt the need to shoot Mr. Brown.

As to whether Mr. Brown or the Defendant was legally the aggressor or the provoker of the events which led to Mr. Brown’s death, the Court looks to three separate instances of aggression. When Mr. Brown touched Ms. Ramsay, that was an act of aggression. When the Defendant overreacted Mr. Brown’s actions, he committed an aggressive act and escalated the situation. However, when Mr. Brown pushed the Defendant and began walking toward him, he became the aggressor. The Court therefore concludes the Defendant was not the aggressor or the provoker of the immediate incident which led to the use of deadly force. However, for the reasons stated, the Defendant’s actions were not reasonable.

There is one portion of the Defendant’s testimony which this Court does find credible: The Defendant was afraid. This was corroborated by Mr. Hill’s observations of his face.  It is also supported by the fact that, from the Defendant’s perspective, Mr. Brown was continuing to walk toward him even though the Defendant had a gun on him, and Mr. Brown was a large man. Having said that a reasonable police officer would not have used deadly force in that situation because he could have withdrawn from the situation, the Court is convinced that the Defendant believed he was in imminent danger. The Court therefore finds that Defendant did not act in self-defense but did act imperfectly to defend himself.

Therefore, the Court finds the Defendant not guilty of First Degree Murder since the State has not shown premeditation. The Court finds the Defendant Not Guilty of Second Degree Murder since the Defendant was acting honestly, but unreasonably, in defense of himself. The Court therefore finds the Defendant Guilty of Manslaughter and Guilty of Use of a Handgun in the Commission of a Felony or Crime of Violence.    

       _______________________________
       JUDGE EDWARD R.K. HARGADON

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Gahiji Tshamba
        

Breaking news from Tricia Bishop:

After a six-day trial, a judge on Thursday found Baltimore Police Officer Gahiji Tshamba guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death last year of Tyrone Brown, a Marine veteran haunted by war.

[Read Tshamba's first public account of the shooting]

The attorneys wrapped up their arguments shortly before noon, and Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Edward R.K. Hargadon recessed for two hours to make his decision.

“The defendant overreacted and in fact exacerbated this whole tragic” set of event, said Baltimore Circuit Judge Edward R.K. Hargadon. Picture of Tshamba leaving the courthouse on Wednesday is by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor.

More than 21 witnesses appeared over six days, offering varied accounts of what happened — or was likely to have happened — the morning of June 5, 2010, when Tshamba, who was off duty, shot Tyrone Brown a dozen times in a Mount Vernon alley way, as bars were letting out.

“What happened in that alley dealt with male ego, alcohol, women and a gun,” Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Wiggins said during his final arguments Thursday morning. “Anywhere you put that, that’s a bad combination.”

Brown, 32, had been drinking, and he groped one of Tshamba’s female companions that morning, sometime after 1 a.m. — that was one of the few uncontested facts in the case. But what happened afterward was harder to gauge, as testimony of one witness frequently contradicted the testimony of another.

Prosecutors said Tshamba was power mad and angry, using his weapon to intimidate — and eventually kill — Brown, a much bigger man. While the defense claimed Brown charged the officer, who had to react with lethal force to save his life and that of others’.

Defense attorneys entered a nine-page selection from the victim’s military records into evidence Thursday morning that showed Brown had a history of violence.

The judge’s decision came down to credibility and which witnesses he believed. “The court rejects the defendant’s version of events,” Hargadon said.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Breaking news, Gahiji Tshamba, Police shootings
        

Anne Arundel County police arrested two suspects in an armed robbery of a Severna Park pizza shop, and are trying to link them to a series of other holdups:

On June 7, 2011, at approximately 8:34 p.m., officers from the Eastern District responded to the Carini’s Pizza located in the 100 block of Ritchie Highway in Severna Park for a report of an armed robbery.

Upon arrival, officers spoke with employees, who indicated that a male suspect entered the business armed with a shotgun and announced the robbery. A store employee complied by handing over an undisclosed amount of personal money to the suspect, who fled the business and entered a waiting Chevy Camaro being operated by a female suspect. The vehicle was observed fleeing west on Earleigh Heights towards Light Street.

Suspect #1: Robert Lee Thomas, Jr., 30, of 3 Maple Avenue, Pasadena, Md.
Suspect #2: Carrie Marie Bryan, 29, of 104 Garrett Road, Glen Burnie, Md.

Details on other incidents, from a police statement:

On June 7, 2011, after the Carini’s Pizza robbery took place, responding patrol units were able to locate the suspect vehicle (Chevy Camaro) at 3 Maple Avenue in Pasadena. Robbery Unit detectives continued the investigation, conducting several interviews as well as executing a search and seizure warrant at 3 Maple Avenue. The suspect vehicle, a 1995 Chevrolet Camaro, was seized and taken to the Evidence Collection Unit garage at Police Headquarters, where a search and seizure warrant was later executed on it.

As a result of the ensuing investigation and evidence gathered, both suspects were taken into custody during the early morning hours of June 8, 2011.

Both suspects have been charged with Armed Robbery and related charges in connection with the Carini’s Pizza robbery. An application for charges has been submitted to the court commissioner for review yesterday with similar charges against both suspects in three additional cases. Both suspects are currently in custody at the Anne Arundel County Jennifer Road Detention Center. The four incidents are as follows:

Xtra Fuels – On May 17, 2011, at about 1157 p.m., a lone male suspect entered the Xtra Fuels located 7760 Balto & Annapolis Boulevard Glen Burnie. The suspect approached the service counter, produced a long gun and demanded cash from the cash register. The on duty clerk complied with the suspect’s demands and surrendered cash. The suspect was then able to make good his escape.

Shell Gas – On May 22, 2011, at about 930 p.m., a lone male suspect entered the Shell Gas Station located 345 Hospital Drive Glen Burnie. The suspect approached the service counter, produced a long gun and demanded cash from the cash register. The on duty clerk complied with the suspect’s demands and surrendered cash. The suspect was then able to make good his escape.

Lowest Price Gas Station/Pasadena Service Center – On June 1, 2011, at about 705 p.m., a lone male suspect entered the Lowest Price Gas Station located 8149 Ritchie Highway Pasadena. The suspect approached the service counter, produced a long gun and demanded cash from the cash register. The on duty clerk complied with the suspect’s demands and surrendered cash. The suspect was then able to make good his escape.

Carini’s Pizza – On June 7, 2011, at about 8:34 p.m., a lone male suspect entered the Carini’s Pizza located 160 Ritchie Highway Severna Park. The suspect approached the service counter, produced a long gun and demanded cash from the cash register. The on duty clerk complied with the suspect’s demands and surrendered cash. The suspect was then able to make good his escape.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Those are the words of Gahiji Tshamba, the Baltimore police officer who shot an unarmed Marine a dozen times during a confrontation outside a Mount Vernon nightclub. The officer spoke for the first time during his murder trial.

He said he was being chased, backed into a corner and shot the man as he advaanced on him. An expert witness, a retired city cop who wrote the department's rules of force, testified on behalf of Tshamba, while the judge who is hearing the case without a jury questioned the officer's account.

Read the full story here. The incident started after the Marine, Tyrone Brown, grabbed the buttocks of a woman who was with Tshamba, who'se pictured at left coming out of the courthouse on Wednesday, in a photo by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor.

The officer testified:

"I immediately told him to let her go [and] identified myself as a police officer." He withdrew his weapon — which he said was cradled in a department-approved off-duty holster, and not in his waistband, as others have claimed — and a fight began.

Brown hit Tshamba in his left shoulder, who then retreated, running backward with his eyes and gun still on Brown.

"Mr. Brown continued to come forward. He had his hands outreached as if he was trying to take the weapon out of my hands." As Brown got closer, Tshamba fired. Brown reached for the gun, he said, and tried to sweep Tshamba's feet out from under him.

Brown "physically grabbed ahold of me. He grabbed the gun, and he [put] his other hand around my neck." Meanwhile, the officer kept firing.

"The guy was just way bigger than me. He was overpowering. I believed that he was going to take the weapon [away] from me."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Downtown, Gahiji Tshamba, Police shootings
        

The Sun's Don Markus reports:

Two weeks after a 12-year-old boy was fatally shot while watching an NBA playoff game on the porch of his Northeast Baltimore home near Clifton Park, police are pleading for help finding the killer, who they believes may live near the victim.

While police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that the May 24 shooting of Sean Johnson and his death two days later “galvanized the city,” the spokesman noted, “We are running out of witnesses and evidence to further fuel our efforts.”

Speaking during a news conference at Southern District station on Wednesday, Guglielmi added, “We’re asking, we’re begging, we’re pleading for anyone with any information in that case to contact us.”

Guglielmi said that police are working “round the clock” to find those responsible.

Johnson and three others were shot as they sat on the porch watching the game on the porch of the home in the 1700 block of Cliftview Ave. Shawnta Little said her son was shot twice in the head and once in the neck and leg. A bullet lodged in his spine. He died two days after the shooting. The three other teens were slightly injured.

Guglielmi said that “we have a direction that we’re going in, and that we’re looking at, I don’t want to say too much to compromise the case. We need some additional evidence to further our progress, additional witness testimony for corroboration.”

Police believe that the shooter — or shooters — live in Baltimore, perhaps even in the Lake Clifton neighborhood where the shooting occurred.

“As the police commissioner said, ‘The individuals did not come in from California, they did not drive down from New York to commit this murder’,” Guglielmi said . “These are individuals that are in that neighborhood. We know this. The community knows this, and we really need to do some justice for Sean here to find the individuals responsible for his death.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office just advised that a Baltimore police officer pleaded guilty today in the scandal involving a kickback scheme in towing vehicles. More than a dozen officers have been charged in the case; he is the first to plead guilty.

Here is a statement from federal prosecutors:

Baltimore Police officer David Reeping, age 41, of Arbutus, Maryland pleaded guilty today to extortion under color of official right in connection with a scheme in which a repair shop owner paid Reeping to arrange for the repair shop, rather than a city-authorized company, to tow vehicles from accident scenes and make repairs.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland  Rod J. Rosenstein, Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III.

The Baltimore Police Department requires that when police request vehicle towing services, they only use towing companies that are under contract with the City of Baltimore to provide towing services for the BPD.

According to Reeping’s plea agreement, Reeping was a Baltimore Police Department officer assigned to the Central District. Sometime in 2009, Reeping was introduced to the owner of an auto repair and towing shop in Rosedale, Maryland (the Repair Shop) and told that he could make extra money by having vehicles towed to the Repair Shop.

The Repair Shop is not an authorized tow company with the City of Baltimore. The Repair Shop owner instructed Reeping to tell accident victims that the Repair Shop would pay for the deductible to induce them to have the car towed to the shop.

Between 2009 and February 2011, when Reeping would encounter an accident, he contacted the owner of the Repair Shop, rather than an authorized tow company with the city, to tow the vehicle.  For example, on December 21, 2010, Reeping called the Repair Shop owner who arranged to tow a car from an accident scene.  The next day, the driver of the car called the Central District inquiring about where her car was. When questioned, Reeping falsely advised  his supervisor that the driver directed him to tow the car to the repair shop.

Reeping received approximately $1,000 in total from the Repair Shop owner.

Reeping faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the amount of gain or loss derived from the offense. U.S District Judge Catherine C. Blake scheduled sentencing for September 14, 2011 at 9:00 a.m.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

The Sun's Tricia Bishop reports:

Baltimore Police Officer Gahiji Tshamba, who’s on trial for murder, took the witness stand Wednesday before a packed courtroom and said he was in fear for his life the morning he shot a former marine a dozen times outside a Mt. Vernon night club.

“I was scared, I was in fear” Tshamba said. “This man was chasing me.”

His testimony, which took less than an hour, opened what’s expected to be the final day of trial in the shooting death of Tyrone Brown, a 32-year-old father of two, the early morning of June 5, 2010.

Once the defense finishes its case, only closing arguments are left. Then it will be up to the judge to decide who’s side is more credible; Tshamba elected a bench — rather than jury — trial.

More on Tshamba case.

More on this morning's testimony:

Prosecutors say Tshamba was an aggressive, hotheaded police officer, who gunned down Brown because he “was pissed” that the former Marine had groped a woman and then refused to follow orders. Defense attorneys claim Tshamba was in danger from a drunk, much larger man who was out of control.

On the stand, Tshamba described Brown as the attacker. They had both been out partying separately with friends the night of June 4, 2010, into the next morning, before colliding as strangers in an alley behind the Red Maple Lounge.

In Tshamba’s version of events, he was talking to several women outside the lounge’s back entrance, when Brown came up behind one of them — Crystal Ramsey — and “oput his hand up under her butt and grabbed it” saying “’I’m going to take this ass home’ or something to that effect,” Tshamba said.

Ramsey hit Brown, who “phsyically grabbed her and he raised his hand to hit her,” Tshamba said, leading him to act. “I immediately told him to let her go [and] identified myself as a police officer,” he said.

Tshamba said he withdrew his weapon and they fought, Brown hiting him in the left shoulder. Tshamba retreated, keeping his eyes and the gun on Brown, running backward until he smacked into a parked car.

“Mr. Brown continued to come forward,” Tshamba said. “He had his hands outreached as if he was trying to take the weapon out of my hands.”

As he got closer, Tshamba said he fired, and Brown reached for the gun while they wrestled, trying to sweep Tshamba’s feet out from under him.

Tshamba said he continued to fire because “the guy was just way bigger than me. He was overpowering. I believed that he was going to take the weapon [away] from me.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Gahiji Tshamba, Police shootings
        

UPDATE: Baltimore police corrected the name of the suspect -- he is Karriem Mason, 37, with a last known address in the 1100 block of McKean Ave. That's in West Baltimore, in the Sandtown-Winchestern neighborhood, two blocks from the Western District police station.

He was arrested on a charge of marijuana possession on May 28, and has a court date scheduled for June. Court records show two other drug possession arrests in 2010, but no convictions. 

Baltimore police have charged a man with raping a woman in her apartment in Mount Vernon:

This morning, 37 year old Kareem Mason has been formally charged with rape and sexual assault for the attack which took place yesterday afternoon in the 900 block of St. Paul Street. Mr. Mason is accused of raping a woman in her twenties while she was moving personal items into her apartment.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Downtown
        

UPDATE 2: After we made some inquiries, police provided a bit more information, saying it occurred in the 900 block of St Paul St and that a "person of interest" has been detained but not charged.

UPDATE: Another reader forwarded this e-mail that was sent two hours later:

MVBA has just been informed by Major Smith of the Baltimore City Police Department that the rape suspect involved in the rape reported earlier this evening, has been apprehended and identified by the victim and is currently being held at the police department. Our E-Link broadcast generated a few calls to the police department which helped lead to the suspect's arrest in east Baltimore.  Our thanks to those who were able to respond to this most unfortunate incident.

The following e-mail from the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association was forwarded to us tonight. City police said they would provide more information tomorrow:

A rape occurred mid-day today as a female was moving into her apartment.  This happened in the heart of Mt. Vernon.
 
The rapist is described as a dark skin, heavy set black male, wearing a white t-shirt, khaki shorts, stud earring in each ear with a black cap with the letter "c" on it. 
 
After the rape, the victim was forced to shower and clean herself.  Items were then stolen from her apartment.
 
Any person with information should contact 9-1-1 immediately and ask for the Sex Offense unit.
 
Major Smith has alerted Midtown Safety Patrols and additional segway patrols in the area are being coordinated as we speak.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Downtown
        

City authorities have cited pit bull owners with letting their dog off a leash after it attacked a 78-year-old woman in Southeast Baltimore's Greektown community, leaving the victim hospitalized and her neighbors seething.

The Sun's Jean Marbella reports (read full story here):

Athina Neofitou, a member of the church, remained in intensive care at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, her son-in-law Dennis Koulatsos said. She underwent facial reconstruction surgery, one arm is broken in two places and doctors are checking on whether she has other fractures as well, he said.

“It’s been a nightmare,” Koulatsos said. “She was screaming in pain.”

The one-year-old dog, named Blue, was put down on Tuesday, and the Baltimore City Health Department said it would be tested for rabies. Its owner, Henriett Rouzer, who lives across the street from Neofitou, was cited by animal control officers for allowing the dog to run free and failing to license or vaccinate it.

Rouzer, 38, said she had the dog euthanized after hearing that Neofitou’s family had requested it.

“We understand that they are upset,” said Trina Moore, 36, who lives with Rouzer in the 700 block of Ponca St. “If it were vice versa, we would be upset too. But it was an accident.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Southeast Baltimore
        

An Anne Arundel County man has been charge with a firearms violation and animal cruelty after police said he shot his Severna Park neighbor’s pit bull that had “aggressively” barked and growled at him.

Police said the shooting occurred about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in the 300 block of Benfield Road. “The male subject reported that the dog was aggressively barking and growling at him,” police said in a statement. The man pulled out a gun and shot the dog once, police said.

The dog ran away and later died. Charles McConnell Jr., 39, of the 300 block of Benfield Road, was charged with discharging a firearm in a residential area and animal cruelty, both misdemeanors.

Police said prosecutors are reviewing the case and that the investigation continues.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

The trial of the Baltimore police officer charged with fatally shooting an unarmed Marine continues today. Here is some new information from The Sun's court reporter, Tricia Bishop:

Chantay Kangalee complicated three days of work by prosecutors Tuesday morning when she took the stand as a reluctant witness for her brother’s killer, Baltimore police Officer Gahiji Tshamba, and testified to a scenario that contradicted the state’s carefully built murder case.

Kangalee, the first defense witness called, said Tshamba pulled a gun on her brother, Tyrone Brown, outside a back entrance to Mount Vernon’s Red Maple lounge in the early morning of June 5, 2010, confirming what’s been said in court so far. But she added that Brown pushed the off-duty officer and steadily advanced — hands out — toward Tshamba, who was backing up the entire time with his gun drawn.

The two men were about three feet apart when Tshamba, 37, fired, his back to an alleyway trash container, unloading his service weapon into Brown, who struggled to push the Glock away, Kangalee said.

The testimony flipped the places of Brown and Tshamba, putting the officer — a much smaller man, standing 5 feet, 8 inches tall to Brown’s 6 foot 2 — in a physically defensive position with no place to go. Other witnesses had earlier testified that it was Brown, 32, who was in the vulnerable position.

Kangalee firmly implied that her brother was the victim, however, despite their physical placement. Tshamba aggressively waved his gun, even as he backed up, she said, and purposely baited Brown, a Marine veteran, who had offended the officer by grabbing a woman’s buttocks moments before their confrontation.

“Do it again, do it again,” Tshamba dared Brown before backing up, Kangalee said, telling her brother to “get his [expletive] on the ground.” Brown moved to shield his sister and several other women standing in the area, and eventually advanced on Tshamba, saying, “Dude, just calm down, calm down, let me talk to you,” Kangalee said.

He turned to tell his sister to back up, and when he whipped back to face Tshamba, the officer fired. Brown didn’t fall until the last bullet was spent, reaching a hand out to his sister, she said, before he dropped.

Kangalee was expected to be called as a witness for the prosecution, but Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Wiggins rested his case Monday without asking her to testify. Instead, she became the first witness for the defense, rigidly answering questions from Tshamba’s attorney, while refusing to look directly at the defendant.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Gahiji Tshamba, North Baltimore
        

A statement from Howard County police:

Howard County police are working to identify a woman who assaulted and robbed a customer at an area bar last week. Detectives are releasing a video of the suspect assaulting the victim and offering a reward of up to $500 for information leading to her identity and arrest.

The robbery occurred on May 29 at approximately 2 a.m. at Second Chance Saloon in the 5800 block of Robert Oliver Place in Columbia.

The victim, a 27-year-old female, was walking into the bar when the suspect struck her and stole her purse. Police do not believe the victim knew the suspect and do not believe there was any communication between the two before the robbery.

The victim was treated at the scene for minor injuries to her face.

The suspect is described as a black female; approximately 230 pounds; approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall; dark brown hair in a pony tail; wearing a short-sleeved yellow shirt and short black skirt or shorts.

Anyone with information about the suspect’s identity or her whereabouts is asked to call the Stop Crime Tip Line at 410-313-STOP. Callers may remain anonymous.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Howard County
        

Cops are lucky when they have a face to put to a bank robber. But Baltimore County police are asking a lot if they expect to make a bust based on this surveillance picture.

All they got was a rear-end -- literally.

Police say two men on May 19 held up the PNC Bank in the 13800 block of York Road, a branch located inside the Broadmead Retirement Community.

They approached the teller about 2:20 p.m., and one jumped over the counter and pushed an employee down.

They took and undisclosed amount of money from the drawer and ran out a back door. The suspects are described as black males, 20-30 years old, with a medium build, and dark complexion. 

Anyone with information about the identities of the suspects is asked to call Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587).

To text a message to Metro Crime Stoppers, send to "CRIMES" (274637), then enter the message starting with "MCS," or e-mail a tip to Metro Crime Stopper.

Those contacting Metro Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

The sister of Tavon Burks called me today offering new information about the case profiled in Sunday's piece, "Eye for an Eye," which looked at the stabbing death of a 13-year-old boy, Tywonde' Jones, and the eventual retaliatory killing of Burks, the 16-year-old deemed responsible for it.

Sharonda Burks told me "people need to know" these details and offers them up as mitigating factors, though they're just as twisted and impossible to justify as the version given by Tywonde' Jones family. Tywonde's older brother told me the killing was payback for a schoolyard fight, but police and prosecutors had said they believed it was gang-related.

[Sharonda had declined to speak with me during my reporting, and his mother had called his involvement a mere "allegation."]

According to Sharonda, the killing indeed begins and ends with gangs. She said Tywonde' had asked Tavon, who she said was the leader of a Bloods set, about how to become a member. Tywonde's older brother was a Crip [He acknowledges this], and Tavon's reply was that Tywonde' would have to kill his older brother. Tywonde' said no, and Tavon told him to get out of his face, Sharonda said.

Later, Tywonde' and his friends returned, Sharonda says. This time, they were standing across the street, and flashing Crips gang signs at Tavon and his friends. Tavon and his friends told Tywonde' and his crew to stop, she said, but they kept going. They were crossing the line.

"That's when it happened," Sharonda says, referring to the 228 times Tywonde' would be stabbed and slashed. "He [Tavon] didn't do it alone."

Sharonda said the Burks family was stung by the comments in the story from Tywonde' Jones' family that Tavon got what he deserved and that they were happy about his death. Sharonda said that she had been sad for the Jones family, but her feelings changed as that family has refused to let go of the bad blood.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

In case you missed it over the weekend, Friday was community policing day for the Baltimore Police Department. Residents got a chance to ride with cops throughout the city, as well as meet the commanders at an open house.

The Sun's Nick Madigan and photographer Gene Sweeney Jr. went along for the ride (read full story here):

Two years ago, John T. Bullock was walking his dog near his home on Baltimore's West Lafayette Avenue when three pit bulls escaped from a nearby yard, charged over to Bullock and his dog and attacked them both.

"The police showed up right away and took care of it," Bullock recalled. "One officer even came to the emergency room — I was having my hands stitched up — to ask me how I was doing. He followed up."

Carrollton Bullock, 32, an assistant professor in political science at Towson University, was impressed — and he wanted to know more about how the police do their jobs and how to establish a working relationship with the officers in his neighborhood.

Bullock was one of hundreds of people who took advantage Friday of the Baltimore Police Department's Community Partnership program, which gave citizens the opportunity to ride along with officers on their rounds, sit in on roll calls and briefings, and challenge commanders with questions in face-to-face meetings.

"That's something people in the community say they want — more interaction with the police," Bullock said from the passenger seat of a Ford Explorer patrol vehicle as a 30-year veteran of the force.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Top brass, West Baltimore
        

In Sunday's paper, we examined the brutal 2007 killing of 13-year-old Tywonde' Jones, and the ripple effect it had as his death was avenged on the streets. The case only recently came to a conclusion, with the man who killed Tywonde's killer being sentenced to life plus 50 years in prison.

You can read the full story here.

I became aware of the case when Leroy "Kenny" Taylor was charged in late 2008 with the murder of 16-year-old Tavon Burks, and later learned that Burks himself had been a suspect Jones' death. That alone merited a closer look, but the twisted connections between the three people - each so young - and the bare emotions family members laid out in our interviews made for a more compelling story than I could have imagined. One of the more remarkable aspects of the story is that in many ways, it's not remarkable at all. Much of the violence here and in similar areas in some way stems from ongoing feuds, and involves people taking justice into their own hands. For some, it's survival - kill, or be killed - but for others, it seems like the only satisfying and appropriate conclusion.

And then there's the story within a story of Detective James Lloyd (seen above, in a photo by The Sun's Jed Kirschbaum), the lead detective on the case, who grew up in arguably just as bad if not worse circumstances than anyone he investigates, but persevered and is one of the best homicide detectives in the department. He told me he always tries to relate his upbringing to what his victims, witnesses and even suspects are going through.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Anne Arundel County police are investigating the fatal shooting of a pit bull in Severn. It apparently occurred during a fight between two dogs, and the man who opened fire said the only way to stop it was by using gunfire.

And authorities in the city are investigating a pit bull attack on an elderly woman in Southeast Baltimore's Greektown neighborhood. The dog has been quaranteened until the investigation is complete. We don't have an immediate update on the woman's condition.

Meanwhile, Tricia Bishop reports that one of the twins accused of setting fire to a pit bull two years ago has been arrested again and charged with drup possession. The animal cruelty trial ended with a hung jury and is to be tried again.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Southeast Baltimore
        

Attorney General Eric Holder has something to say to the creators of HBO's Baltimore crime drama "The Wire," the Washington Examiner reported earlier this week: Bring the show back.

At a press conference with some of the shows cast members on May 31, Holder said he wants to see another season of the show, or maybe even a movie. "I have a lot of power," he joked, according to the Examiner:

"Holder and other government officials are touting the show because of how accurately it depicts the plight of kids who are exposed to the use, manufacture or trafficking of drugs."

Don't tell that to Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, who earlier this year said the show was the "most unfair use of literary license that we've borne witness to" and called it a "smear on this city that will take decades to overcome." Creator David Simon retorted in a letter to The Sun: "A more lingering problem might be two decades of bad performance by a police agency more obsessed with statistics than substance, with appeasing political leadership rather than seriously addressing the roots of city violence, with shifting blame rather than taking responsibility."

Holder's comments came during a Justice Department panel discussion in which "Wire" actors Wendell Pierce, Sonja Sohn and Jim True-Frost discussed drug abuse, families and at-risk children, part of an initiative to help children from becoming victims of violence. Sohn has started a non-profit for at-risk kids in Baltimore that The Sun profiled last year.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

From The Sun's court reporter Tricia Bishop:

Twelve bullets from an off-duty officer's gun struck Tyrone Brown, but it wasn't until the last one hit that the former Marine dropped.

Seven of them lodged in his 32-year-old body — they were later recovered from his buttocks, back, thighs and pelvis — and three passed clean through, an autopsy shows. Two others grazed him, leaving behind superficial wounds. And one hit him twice, entering and exiting a pinch of skin near his right hip, then driving back into his soft tissue and coming to a rest in his right buttock.

That one, which left a trail of wounds, likely hit Brown while he was bent over, Assistant Medical Examiner Melissa Brassell testified Thursday — the second day of the murder trial of Brown's killer, Baltimore Police Officer Gahiji Tshamba.

Tshamba, 37, got into a row with Brown outside a Baltimore bar on the morning of June 5, 2010, and shot him a dozen times as patrons emptied from the Mount Vernon bars. The officer says it was in self-defense, but prosecutors say Tshamba was the aggressor, drunk with power and alcohol.

Read full details from Tricia's story. The photos by Tricia are of Tshamba right after he shot Brown, and of his gun and the bullets, all of which are now part of his court trial.

In case you missed it, here's a compelling story, also by Tricia, of the opening day in Tshamba's trial, with a riviting account by a witness who acted out the shooting.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Gahiji Tshamba, Police shootings
        

Remember Thomas M. Dibiagio?

He's the Maryland U.S. Attorney who quit in 2004 -- later saying someone threatened him over his pursuit of pubic corruption. He's most famous for being reprimanded by his federal bosses for an internal email in which he "pressed his staff for three 'front-page' corruption indictments before Election Day."

Prosecutors make a living off intercepting the communication of others -- all those fun wiretaps catching criminals and politicians incriminating themselves -- so it should be of no surprise when their own internal communications get leaked.

Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein gets his reminder in today's Baltimore Sun, where Justin Fenton got hold of his internal emails to his staff about a police misconduct case that the city's top prosecutor had tried, getting two convictions on lesser charges than he had sought, and one acquittal.

In the memo, Bernstein criticizes the lead internal police detective (remember how he said during his campaign that unlike his predecessor, he wouldn't blast cops -- publicly at least), takes a swipe at the judge and jokes that one of his assistant's made him look good. 

Here are the highlights of the memo, which can be read in full here:

“The case (how should I put it?) had some issues … Our ‘crack’ IID detective neglected to tell us about recorded interviews of three witnesses that we discovered during the trial. She also began her examination by defense counsel (we certainly did not call her) by denying she had testified in the grand jury. … Michelle told the detective 4 times to read her friggin’ file, which she refused to do. I could go on and on, but I suspect most of you are thinking, ‘Welcome to the State’s Attorney’s Office.”

“Judge Doory (who otherwise ran an excellent trial; very impressive) stated, in essence, that he did not believe police officers were capable of ever being guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault, because by definition, this is what they do every day (I am not making this up).”

Speaking of two fellow prosecutors who helped with the case:

“Michelle Martin and Paul Pineau did a superb job of making your boss look good (and isn’t that what this is all about?) who was trying his first case as a prosecutor in a long, long time. Hopefully, I did not embarrass those of you who have been doing this for a while.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein on Thursday afternoon announced the creation of a new "major investigations" unit that will be tasked with building proactive cases against violent, repeat offenders. 

To lead the unit, Bernstein landed a coup with the recruitment of Thiru Vignarajah from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Maryland. Vignarajah is a graduate of Woodlawn High School who went on to attend Yale University and Harvard University, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He also clerked for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. 

"Research and data reveal that a relatively small number of violent, repeat offenders commit a disproportionately large amount of violent crime. By strategically and aggressively pursuing, prosecuting and imprisoning these individuals, we will have a dramatic impact on the level of violence in the city, and as a result make Baltimore a safer place to live and work."

Many of the major cases brought in federal court are a result of state-authorized wiretaps, and involve the cooperation of federal and local authorities. The new unit is expected to help specifically develop such cases.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

That near-record low in homicides in Baltimore for May wasn't what it seemed, as police failed to disclose two homicides late in the month - including one case in which they even made an arrest.

The two victims are:

-Anthony Sherman, 27, of the 2600 block of E. Hoffman St., was shot in the head just after midnight on May 25th in the 1600 block of Ward Ct. in East Baltimore. He was found lying on the sidewalk and taken to a local hospital, where he was not expected to survive. Police spokesman Kevin Brown said Sherman died the next day, May 26.

-Kevin Jones, 57, of the 2700 block of Maryland Ave., was stabbed in the chest at 10:50 a.m. May 26 in the 1200 block of W. Ostend St. in Pigtown. Jones was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died at about 5 p.m. that day.

Police arrested Corey Arnell Crosby, a 40-year-old man, on May 27. Brown said the motive was an argument. The murder arrest was the fourth time Crosby has been arrested this year; now, he is being held without bond on the murder charges.

Attempts to learn more about the victims were not immediately successful. Court records show Jones in August received a 15 year prison sentence for drug distribution, but the entire sentence was suspended except for time served.

The killings are two more than police had previously disclosed, though the revised 15 killings for the month is still the first time the city has recorded less than 20 in the month of May since 1998 and only the second time since 1989.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: East Baltimore, South Baltimore
        

Justin Fenton reports:

Two Baltimore police officers convicted of misconduct for stranding two 15-year-old boys far from their homes received 18 month suspended jail terms and probation Wednesday, with a judge refusing prosecutors’ request to strip them of their badges.

Detectives Tyrone Francis and Milton Smith asserted their innocence before Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Doory handed down the sentence. “I still believe the only thing I’m actually guilty of is doing my job,” Smith said.

The father of one of the victims had asked that Doory send the men to jail. Francis and Smith were acquitted by a jury of kidnapping, false imprisonment and assault, and convicted on two counts each of misconduct. A third officer, Gregory Hellen, was acquitted by Doory in a rare dual judge-jury trial.

It was the first case personally tried by State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein.

The officers were accused of picking up two teens in West Baltimore at separate points on May 4, 2009, dropping one off on a street corner in East Baltimore and taking the other to the side of the highway that runs through Patapsco Valley State Park in Howard County. That teen, Michael Johnson Jr., was left in the rain without shoes and said his cell phone had been broken in half and thrown out of the window.

More details:

Defense attorneys said that the teens were providing information to officers and concocted the stories to cover their tracks. They cast doubt on whether the teen’s cell phone was broken, and presented evidence suggesting the prosecution was politically motivated.

Doory said the fact that Johnson was left in Howard County without shoes “stood like a monument” in the middle of the case and remained inadequately explained. “What I don’t understand is the ‘why’,” Doory said. “I can only conclude that this was done for fun, … or as homage to the legends of the good old boys, or was a convoluted attempt to teach someone respect.”

Before sentencing, defense attorneys Kenneth Ravenell and Michael Belsky argued that Bernstein and Assistant State’s Attorney Michelle Martin had made inappropriate statements during closing arguments, including one remark by Bernstein suggesting the officers had committed similar acts before but were only in this case being caught. The attorneys also said the jury had been given poor instructions on how to decide guilt on the misconduct charges.

Doory denied those motions and said the issues raised would not have swayed the case. Defense  attorneys said they believe the case is ripe for an appeal.

Smith and Francis’ relatives then made appeals for leniency. Francis, whose father was a homicide detective, grew up and lives in the city and often returns to his old school to talk to children about making the right choices. For his police work, he received a Bronze Star in 2008 and has been honored with several other commendations.

He told Doory he “wouldn’t dare fraud you or anyone else in this courtroom. … I never meant to cause anybody harm.”

“He’s lost two years of his life,” said his attorney, Belsky. “Most important, he’s lost his reputation. There’s no greater punishment that can be bestowed upon him than that.”

Smith, meanwhile, was going through the process to be a task force officer with the Drug Enforcement Administration. His father died six years ago, and he’s taken on a greater role in his family, relatives said.

“[Smith] has lost so much, but he never lost faith in the city,” said a sister. “He still feels he can make this world a better place.”

Prosecutors asked for a two-year suspended sentence, a $5,000 fine, and community service. Martin said their conduct “disqualifies them from being police officers” and that stripping them of their police powers would send a message to other officers.

“I truly feel both of them should never, ever be police,” said Michael Johnson Sr., the father of one of the victims.

Though Doory rejected that request, the officers face an uncertain future when their cases go before internal police trial boards.

Doory said he did not believe jail and a fine were appropriate punishments. But he did sentence them to 250 hours of community service, to be served in the area where the teens were taken from.

“I want something to be built out of what happens here,” Doory said.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

B's Luke Broadwater profiles Baltimore homicide victim No. 71, Darian Kess, a standout wrestler killed during a robbery:

Darian Kess could have gone on to finish high school as a four-time state champ (a rare accomplishment in Maryland). He could have gone on to be a star in college. He could have used wrestling to get an advanced degree. He could have done a lot of things with the special skills he had.

Instead, at age 27, Kess died last month in a bed at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He had been stabbed during a robbery, another casualty of Baltimore’s seemingly unending pattern of violence.

Kess’ death warranted a small mention in local newspapers, no more than a few sentences. He was now a statistic, homicide No. 71 of 2011. But each murder victim is immeasurably more than just a cause of death and a block number and another notch in the murder tally — typically the last things we read about them. Each victim had hopes and dreams and promise. Each has a story.

Darian’s story is of a special kid with unique athletic abilities. It’s a story about the easy wrong and the hard right. It’s a story about beating cancer. It’s a story about finding meaning in fatherhood. It’s a story about trying to get right with God. And, ultimately, it’s a story about tragedy.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein told residents at a North Baltimore community meeting that the juvenile justice system is weakened by a lack of facilities to house young offenders.

"The juvenile justice system is not good," said Bernstein, in response to a question about teenage drug dealers. "There is no real accountability.  There are no real repercussions."

Bernstein, who was sworn-in as state's attorney in January, joined Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III at a meeting hosted by Councilman Bill Henry.

"Limited facilities to commit juveniles" mean that they are "put right back in the communities" where they are getting into trouble, said Bernstein.

Bernstein told attendees that the state's attorney's had a better working relationship with the police department than it had under his predecessor, Patricia Jessamy.

"We have a much more cooperative relationship with the police department where we understand our roles and work together," he said.

Posted by Julie Scharper at 12:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

A day after two photographers complained and threatened to sue (through the ACLU) over being ordered because of security concerns to stop taking pictures of trains and the light rail, the chief of Maryland's Mass Transit Administration said he would apologize.

Mike Dresser writes:

The head of the Maryland Transit Administration flatly repudiated Monday the efforts by some of the agency's police officers to forbid photographers from shooting pictures of MTA equipment or from MTA property, vowing to settle all the issues raised by the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland before a lawsuit can be filed.

Read more on Dresser's Getting There blog.

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

Excerpts from this week's Baltimore Guide police blotter for South and Southeast Baltimore (For more, click here):

-S. Collington Avenue, 300 block, May 20, 9:50 p.m. A man told police that a second man whom he did not know entered his home through an unlocked door, pulled a handgun and told the man, “You know what I want and you can thank Chris.” The suspect took oxycodone and $250 cash, then walked out

-S. East Avenue, 1100 block, May 16, 9:10 a.m. The Department of Transportation reported that someone had taken a boot off a car and driven away with it.

-1000 block Light St., Friday, May 20, 10:58 p.m.: A bar security guard was bitten by a 22-year-old patron who had stolen a purse from the bar.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Best of the Blotter, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

City police today are identifying the woman found shot to death in Leakin Park on Sunday night.

Lois Smyth, 40, who was also known as Lois Vance, was found by a jogger in the 3900 block of Windsor Mill Road, between the Gwynns Falls Trail and a stream, police say. Smyth was from the 400 block of W. Maple Road in Linthicum, and had no criminal record.

Police are interviewing people of interest and have a motive, though it was not disclosed for investigative reasons. According to The Sun's homicide map, Smyth is the fifth female killed in Baltimore this year, and just the second white victim out of 83 victims.

On Facebook, friends of Smyth were organizing a candlelight vigil at Old Mill Senior High School for Thursday night.

Police also provided names for two other recent victims of fatal gun violence:  Fareed Abdullah, 28, of the 8600 block of Pine Road in Jessup, was identified as the man shot while sitting in a vehicle on Saturday morning in Northwest Baltimore, while Maurice Gray, 35, of the 800 block of Bradhurst Dr., was identified as the man shot and killed Tuesday night in the 700 block of E. Eager St.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Southwest Baltimore
        

Anne Arundel County police are seeking help identifying a bank robbery suspect who held up a 1st Mariner Bank on May 6. Police said the man walked in to the branch in the 1600 block of Annapolis Road in Odenton about 11:15 a.m.

Police said the man walked up to a teller, "announced a bank robbery and gave verbal commands.

 The suspect brought a bag into the bank with him and had the bank teller put the bank money in the bag." Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Clifford Van Hoesen of the Robbery Unit at 410-222-3469 (3566) or Metro Crime Stoppers.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

May in Baltimore concluded with 13 homicides, one higher than the lowest total ever recorded for the month of May since 1970, the furthest that statistics are available. For comparison, last May saw 23 homicides, and since 1999 the city averages more than 21 homicides in the month. 

This is the second month already in 2011 that the city - still one of the most violent in the country, according to FBI statistics - has marked a notable low, after there were just 10 killings in February, tying the lowest total of any Febraury since at least 1970 and marking one of the lowest monthly totals ever. It was even lower, yes, than February 2010, when the city was hit with "Snowpocalypse," the heavy snowfall than critics still chalk up as the major reason why murders declined for the year.

There was also a stretch of 12 days without a homicide earlier this year, which, in a city that sees two killings every three days, was one of the longest such stretches dating back at least several years. For the year, the city is still ahead of last year's pace due to a big spike in April. A man fatally shot in the 700 block of E. Eager St. Tuesday night became the city's 83rd victim of the year, compared with 79 at this point last year. Ninety-five people had been slain at the same time in 2009.

[These statistics also come with the obvious disclaimer that Baltimore's population has declined considerably since 1970]

City officials are hoping to stem future violence with a new summer warrant initiative to lock up violent and/or at-risk offenders who have outstanding warrants. It's helped by a $152,000 grant from the governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Top brass
        

The off-duty Baltimore police officer who shot and killed a Marine outside a Mount Vernon nightclub had been drinking, prosecutors said two city police sergeants are prepared to testify at the officer's murder trial.

In court on Tuesday, a prosecutor said one sergeant will testify that Officer Gahiji Tshamba's speech was slurred and he appeared "glassy-eyed." Tshamba had refused to take a breath test after he shot Tyrone Brown, who had drunkenly grabbed the buttocks of one of Tshamba's female companions. The officer says Brown advanced on him and he fired to defend himself.

The prosecutor said that during a ride away from the scene right after "shooting a man 12 times," Tshamba talked about "how hot the chicks were." The trial, before a judge, is scheduled to start this morning.

Both men have troubled pasts linked to alcohol. One issue unresolved is whether the judge will allow the victim's medical records documenting alcohol abuse and other problems into the trial. The officer was disciplined several times, including for shooting a man while drunk during an argument with people in a car.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

Fresh off a story about a teacher stopped by police for handing out leaflets promoting vegetarianism at the Inner Harbor, we get word of another problem -- train buffs stopped by police from taking pictures of, you guessed it, trains.

Mass Transit Police, referring to the Patriot Act and Sept. 11, told two photographers in Baltimore that taking pictures of trains such as the Light Rail was not allowed without permission.

The Sun's Mike Dresser documents the issues and notes that the Maryland ACLU is threatening a lawsuit. These issues just don't seem to go away. Here is Mike's full story and a video of one of the photographers posted on YouTube of his encounter with MTA police. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: North Baltimore