A Baltimore man has been arrested in the killing of a 26-year-old Northeast Baltimore woman, a development that parents of a runaway Virginia teen hope may yield new leads in the case of their daughter's mysterious death.

Police say Darnell Kinlaw, 21, confessed to fatally shooting Lakeisha Player inside her home on Nov. 11 and stealing her candy-apple red car, a purchase which friends say had been a point of pride for her. Kinlaw told police that Player was his girlfriend.

The troubled man has a long record, charged eight times with stealing cars and twice with burglary, one case which was filed by his mother who said he broke into the family home and took valuables after being kicked out for stealing.

One of the car theft cases was connected to the 2008 death of Virginia teen Annie McCann, who ran away from home and was found dead in an East Baltimore housing project.

An autopsy determined that Annie, 16, had died from a lethal does of lidocaine from a bottle of Bactine, used to treat pierced ears. Police say the death points to suicide, but her family has rejected that conclusion and say police never did a proper investigation.

The McCanns pressed police to charge Kinlaw and two juveniles for taking Annie's car and driving it to a gas station five blocks away. One of the teens admitted to removing Annie's body from the car and putting near the trash bin. The juveniles were found responsible for the unauthorized use of the car; but charges against Kinlaw were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Annie's father, Daniel McCann, said that he might use the arrest to press authorities to question Kinlaw about more details in his daughter's death. He said he felt police did not question the young man hard enough after charging him with taking his daughter's car.

"He's facing murder one," McCann said. "This might be the time to press him to learn about additional cases. He might be more forthcoming now than he every will be."

Click the "Annie McCann" tab below for previous coverage of her death, or here for the rest of this article. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Annie McCann, Northeast Baltimore
        

A 29-year-old man was fatally shot Wednesday night in Southwest Baltimore's Carrollton Ridge neighborhood, police said.

At the scene, in the 500 block of S. Bentalou St., police lit up the street to search for clues as residents congregated behind police tape. Police said a man dressed in black "attacked" victim Kenneth Davis, of the nearby 2200 block of Wilkens Ave. and shot him in the head and back. He was taken by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

Police did not provide a motive. Anyone with information was asked to call homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Southwest Baltimore
        

The shooting call on Greenmount Avenue came out just as kids in costume were hitting the streets on Halloween night. At first, we feared the worst. The victim wasn't out trick or treating, however, but was a retired bus driver caught in a robbery at Yau Brothers in Waverly.

The fourth fatal shooting in the tiny carryout since 2009.

For some merchants trying to turn Greenmount around East 33rd Street into something more upscale than a worn and tattered commercial strip, this latest killing might be the final blow. The owner of Darker Than Blue Cafe is threatening to leave, complaining the city has given up.

But other store and restaurant owners aren't so sure the strip is a lost cause. The city police focused on the area last year, after a security guard for the Afro-American was gunned down in Yau Brothers during another robbery. While proprietors question the city's last commitment, they say want to stay and give it a try.

Greenmount Avenue and East 33rd are crossroads for a diverse community, where Waverly meets Oakenshawe meets Charles Village. There's a widely popular farmers market on Saturdays, the YMCA with ballfields around the corner, an expensive restaurant fusing live jazz with food and an active merchant's association.

There's also places like Yau Brothers that according to one city councilwoman, "attracts homicides." Read the full story here, including video of latest shooting. Some quotes representing divergent viewpoints of the Greenmount Avenue strip:  

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

A Howard County man has been charged with breaking into a church and a preschool, and is suspected in several other burglaries. Police said he was caught after trying to use a credit card from the school at a drug store.

Authorities also said he stole musical instruments from the church and a camera from the school. Police said they found the digital camera at the suspect's house. Here is a statement with more details from Howard County police:

"Howard County police have charged an Ellicott City man with three commercial burglaries and are
investigating his involvement in additional cases.

Craig Nathaniel Webster, 46, of 3295 Corporate Court in Ellicott City, is charged with two counts of
second-degree burglary, two counts of theft and attempted credit card misuse.

Detectives are investigating a series of burglaries from Oct. 10 to Nov. 23 where five religious institutions and one preschool in Ellicott City were targeted. Webster has been charged with burglarizing Bethel Korean Presbyterian Church on Nov. 11 and La Petite
Academy on Nov. 12 and 23.

Police are investigating his possible involvement in the other cases. Police developed Webster as a suspect after he tried to use a credit card stolen from La Petite Academy at a nearby drug store. Detectives obtained surveillance footage of the transaction and recognized Webster from past interactions.

While investigating the theft of musical instruments from Bethel, police determined Webster had sold the stolen items at a music store over a number of days in October and November. After conducting a search warrant at Webster’s home, police seized a digital camera stolen from La Petite in the second burglary. Police are working to determine if additional suspected stolen property can be tied to other cases.

Webster was arrested Nov. 23 is being held at Howard County Detention center on $125,000 bond.
If any other churches or businesses were burglarized but did not report the incident, please call police at 410-313-2200."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Howard County
        

In the case involving an altercation last week between Baltimore Clerk of Circuit Court Frank M. Conaway Sr. and a blogger, State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein has said his office won't make the decision on whether to file criminal charges or handle any ensuing court proceedings.

That responsibility will instead fall to Steven I. Kroll, a former Baltimore County prosecutor who now works as a coordinator for Maryland's association of state's attorneys. In recent months, Kroll's position has evolved from one that deals with ethics and training issues, to also serving as a special outside counsel for cases in which prosecutors say their offices have a potential conflict of interest.

Kroll will be sworn in, review the case, and, if he determines charges should be filed, will handle the proceedings.

Traditionally, prosecutors often tap neighbors in other jurisdictions to take on the cases in which there's a possible conflict of interest. Eventually, they repay the favor.

But, with prosecutors faced with tightening budgets and a reluctance to ask others to add to their burden, Kroll has presented an alternative. He receives no additional pay for taking on these cases, and makes decisions independently of any prosecutor's office, instead drawing on his 26 years as a Baltimore County prosecutor.

Kroll did not respond to requests for comment, but those who have worked with him say he was eager to return to the courtroom.

"Steven Kroll was a great option," said Wicomico County State's Attorney Matthew Maciardello, who asked Kroll to handle a case involving a supporter of his campaign. "He's ready, willing and able to come down, and nobody can question his integrity or his motives."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Speaking at a forum on witness intimidation, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings offered praise of new Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein and urged law enforcement leaders to be vigilant in protecting witnesses and victims of crime.

Cummings praised Bernstein for hosting the forum, at the University of Baltimore law school, and said: "You have made a difference already ... The confidence of our citizens has skyrocketed."

One year ago this month, Cummings was among a core group of supporters of former State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy who hung around into the early morning hours following Election Day anxiously awaiting the results. Cummings had joined others in criticizing Bernstein's plan for crime-fighting as one-sided.

But Bernstein's decision to hold a witness intimidation forum addressed one of law enforcement's most pressing issues - and one that is close to Cummings, who has pushed a bill in the Senate that would give millions to states for witness protection. 

Cummings recalled the 2002 firebombings of the Dawson family, as well as the Stop Snitching video that circulated underground, and said he has tried to be a role model for African Americans by advocating the importance of cooperating with law enforcement. "We've got to get people to understand that they have a duty to testify and cooperate. But they've got to know they'll be protected," Cummings said.

Cummings also referenced the murder this summer of his nephew in Norfolk, Va., a case that remains unsolved. "Our family is convinced it has to do with witness intimidation," he said. 

During a brief panel discussion, before the rest of the event was closed to the media, authorities discussed ways to make victims and witnesses safe and comfortable. Angela Alsobrooks, the recently elected state's attorney for Prince George's County, said many people become untrustworthy not when they are victimized or witness a crime, but through prior interactions with law enforcement that involve relatives.

Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger, noting cases where information about victims and witnesses has been leaked onto the streets, said authorities need to continue to "push the envelope" with judges to keep crucial information withheld. Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III also noted increased efforts to intercept jail and prison communications.

"The people retaliating are not the defendants themselves - it's other gang members, their family members," Bealefeld said. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

A 21-year-old man has been arrested and charged in the Nov. 11 killing of a woman found shot to death inside her Northeast Baltimore home, police confirmed.

Darnell Kinlaw was being held without bond in the shooting death of Lakeisha Player, who was killed in her home in the 2600 block of Kentucky Avenue. In addition to murder and assault charges, Kinlaw, of the 5100 block of Harford Rd., is charged with car theft and theft less than $100, indicating there is a robbery aspect to the case. Police said the killing was domestic-related, but they declined to elaborate.

Kinlaw has two prior convictions related to car theft charges, court records show. 

Here's what a friend told me about Player earlier this month:

"She was a beautiful young woman full of life and love. She was born and raised in Baltimore City. A wonderful mother of two young children that she loved dearly and do anything for. She was working very hard to give her children more than they would imagine. There were her life she adored them. She will be sadly missed but not forgotten at all."

Police also said they had made an arrest in the Nov. 22 shooting death of 25-year-old Tavon Toney, who was fatally shot while walking in the 900 block of W. Franklin St. at about 7:45 a.m. Jerome Burgess Jr., 19, of the 2600 block of Springhill Ave., was arrested later that day, police said, though the arrest was not initially disclosed. He is charged with attempted first degree murder; a police spokesman was unable to explain the discrepency.

The arrest is the fifth time Burgess has been arrested and charged in a crime this year by city police, including prior cases of drugs, theft and robbery. 

Unsolved is the Nov. 14 shooting death of Steven Pennington, 32, of the 1900 block of Walbrook Ave. Pennington was shot at about 9:30 a.m. while walking in the 1700 block of Moreland Ave. in West Baltimore, police said. A gunman approached him and shot him multiple times before fleeing. A motive is unknown.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Dwuan Dent and Antwan Askia were on opposite sides of an East Baltimore drug turf war in the 1990s that killed at least four people, according to federal prosecutors who charged Dent with murder and conspiracy and Askia with various drug counts.

Both were convicted only of drug distribution charges, but because of tough-on-crime guidelines that imposed greater penalties for crack than powder cocaine, Dent was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison and Askia to 20.

Now Dent and Askia are among scores of prisoners across the country who are being released early — the beneficiaries of efforts to change those sentencing guidelines that critics say disproportionately affected low-income people and minorities who faced longer prison terms for crack-cocaine charges. Some authorities, however, warn that potentially dangerous criminals with records of violence also could be released.

Since the 1980s, possession of one gram of crack carried the same penalty as 100 grams of powder cocaine. The bipartisan U.S. Sentencing Commission voted unanimously last year to narrow the gap between the guidelines that applied to each drug, and the change is being applied retroactively.

An estimated 12,000 prisoners across the country are eligible for release as the lighter sentencing guidelines are applied to their cases. Federal prosecutors and public defenders in Maryland are reviewing some 900 cases, so far recommending the release of 24 inmates; federal judges have signed off on those releases. Officials say another two dozen are likely to be released before the end of the year, and a few more after that.

While only those convicted of drug offenses — and no other charges — are eligible for review, Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein said prosecutors in some cases didn't pursue convictions on harder-to-prove allegations of violence because the drug charges carried such heavy sentences. He declined to comment on specific cases.

"In some cases, their record may not reflect the violent crimes in which they were engaged," Rosenstein said. "When prosecutors had these crack penalties, they used those to incarcerate people for lengthy periods of time without proving the violence. It's much more complicated to prove that somebody's involved in shootings and murder."

But Sapna Mirchandani, a federal public defender in Maryland who is leading an effort to identify inmates who should be released, took exception to that assessment.

"The fact that they were able to use the amount of crack in their possession to trump up the sentence shows how the crack law was being used to imprison people for large chunks of time with little in the way of investigation and proof," she said.

To continue reading about this issue, click here.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The jury had just been seated, pared down from 55 citizens to 12, and judge, Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill, was admonishing the jury about not talking about the case. No Twitter notes. No Facebook. Don't spill the days testimony at the family dinner table. Don't read the papers.

Seconds later, a female juror raised her hand. She sheepishly told the judge that, before she was selected to the panel, she had called her husband and said, "You won't believe the case I'm on."

The judge told her not to do it again, and then told the jurors the case they were on would generate publicity. The back two rows were filled with reporters watching jury selection, a tedious process usually skipped by the media.

The case involves Paul Schurick, an aide to former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., accused of orchestrating a robocall campaign to suppress the the black vote during last year's governor's election won by Democrat Martin O'Malley. Read story here.

Ehrlich is expected to take the witness stand, as is Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, along with a cast of political characters who might open up the world of dirty tricks and political intrigue in Maryland politics.

The judge, appointed by O'Malley but having won an independent election that keeps him on the bench through 2025, admitted to receiving one of the robocalls, telling voters the election was over, O'Malley had won and there was no need to vote even though polls were still open.

Schurick, charged with conspiracy to commit election fraud, is represented by a prominent black defense attorney, who plans on calling the black congressman Cummings to talk about his counter robocalls and whether there was some giant political conspiracy afoot.

Let the political games begin.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

He is, the deputy police chief of Chestertown says, the "town nuisance."

He's also Frosty the Snowman, and he's under arrest, charged with kicking a police dog in a parade while dressed up as the famous character. The story went around the world, and The Sun's Tricia Bishop contributes with a gem of a story detailing the snowman's turbulent history with cops and his past arrests.

He's been banned from public meetings (he stood outside banging pots and pans in protest one day) and called police in April pretending to be part of a CNN crew seeking an interview. Here are some unforgettable holiday lines from Tricia's story:

"Within minutes, two police officers had the so-called jolly, happy soul face down on the sidewalk in front of the Compleat Bookseller, raising a ruckus as his hands were cuffed behind his back. The round, white head lay forlornly at his feet, top hat and carrot nose still in place."

"While the Frosty of holiday lore has only a brief run-in with a traffic cop (who famously hollers "stop"), the Frosty of Chestertown, 52-year-old Kevin Michael Walsh, has a history of tangling with police."

He said he spent three hours in the suit, handcuffed to a wall, before someone made him take it off so it could be returned to the costume shop. He was released on his own recognizance that afternoon. And by Monday, he'd come to a realization: "I've got to get a lawyer, before I melt," he said.

Check out other coverage -- The Cecil Whig: Frosty Iced by Police and The Star Democrat in Easton has Man playing Frosty says he did nothing wrong.

Read The Baltimore Sun's complete story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Crime elsewhere, Crime humor
        

A man who authorities say robbed banks from Glen Burnie to Brookings, South Dakota, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Monday. Gary Allen Densmore, 56, who used to live in Anne Arundel County, faces up to 20 years on each of three counts of bank robbery.

Prosecutors say that on Feb. 2, he tried to rob the Carrollton Bank on Crain Highway in Glen Burnie by handing a teller a bag and a demand note. He ran out of the bank when the teller hesitated. The next day, prosecutors said he walked into the Severn Savings Bank on Crain Highway, handed the teller a note and a bag, and fled with $2,300.

The Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office said Densmore stole a car and left Maryland. They said he hit banks in February and March in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Iowa before being arresrted in Minnesota.

More details from a statement by the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office:

"Gary Allen Densmore, age 56, formerly of Glen Burnie, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to three counts of bank robbery.
 
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; Anne Arundel County Police Chief James Teare, Sr.; and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee.
 
According to his plea agreement, on February 2, 2011, Densmore entered the Carrollton Bank on Crain Highway North in Glen Burnie and handed a teller a  bag and a demand note. When the teller hesitated, Densmore fled the bank. The next day, Densmore entered the Severn Savings Bank on Crain Highway in Glen Burnie and again provided a demand note and bag to a teller. The teller placed $2,300 into the bag and Densmore fled with the money. Shortly thereafter, Densmore fled Maryland in a vehicle that he stole.

Densmore’s crime spree continued in other states. On February 10, 2011, he similarly robbed the Tri City Bank in Wauwatos, Wisconsin of $5,154. On February 14, 2011, he robbed the Dakotaland Federal Credit Union in Brookings, South Dakota of $6,730; and on March 1, 2011, Densmore robbed the US Bank at 6150 SE 14th Street in Des Moines, Iowa of $3,290. Densmore was arrested a few days later near Savage, Minnesota, on suspicion of operating a stolen vehicle.
 
At the time of the robberies, Densmore was on supervised release after being convicted in a federal court in Georgia in 1997 for multiple bank robberies, including some armed robberies, in Georgia and Florida.
 
Densmore faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the three counts of bank robbery. Sentencing is scheduled for February 23, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett.
 
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Anne Arundel County Police Department and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution.  Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys P. Michael Cunningham and Rachel M. Yasser, who are prosecuting the case."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Courts and the justice system, Crime elsewhere
        

A Guatemalan national has pleaded guilty in Howard County Circuit Court to two counts of attempted first-degree murder for setting a house on fire in Elkridge that was occupied by his estranged wife and 10 other people.

Santiago Adalpho Gonzalez-Miner, of the 6300 block of Forrest Avenue in Elkridge, could go to prison for up to 20 years when he is sentenced in January. Prosecutors said that a second defendant, Edvin Giovanni Ceron-Eyes, has a pre-trial motions hearing scheduled for next month.

The plea agreement filed by the Howard County State's Attorney's Office contains some riveting plot lines and describes how the occupants made harrowing escapes:

"On February 18, 2011, 911 received a call from Jody Coleman at 11:52 p.m. that 6345 Louden Ave was on fire.  She lived directly across from the home.  She advised that there were people inside and she observed someone jumping from the roof.   Howard County Police and Fire responded to the location.

PO Mooney was the first person to respond and observed that the house was fully engulfed.  As he arrived to the location from Southbound Washington Blvd he could see flames coming from the residence. Several neighbors advised that there were people inside. PO Mooney observed flames coming from the front of the house on both levels.

The fence had to be kicked in so he could gain access to the home. He observed approximately 10 Hispanic family members crouched in a corner in the yard.  He escorted them out of the yard and made contact with fire and rescue and advised that there were possibly 2 people trapped.  He and other officer were directed away from the home since the fire and smoke was high.  PO Mooney inhaled a large amount of black smoke and was treated by EMS.

Other officers identified the subjects within the residence as:
Lilliam Gonzalez
Mauricio Herrera
Reina Palma
Carlos Magana
Kervin Mata
Luis Tovilla
Keisie Tovilla
Felipe Menjivar-Torres
Luis Palma
Wendy Mata
Mario Anabisca

All the people were able to escape the house.

When firefighters arrived they would testify that the house was heavily involved (meaning over 50%) on fire.  The house was extinguished at 4:28 a.m. Fire Marshal and Investigator Carl Saunders was called to lead the investigation to determine the cause and origin of the fire.  He interviewed the witnesses, bystanders and occupants of the home.  The following witnesses advised the following:

Luis Tovilla:
He lived at 6345 Louden Avenue on the 2nd floor in a room with his wife Wendy and their daughter, Keisie.  On the night of the fire he had just arrived home approximately 15 minutes before the fire with his brother in law Kerwin Mata.  They (Wendy , Kerwin and Keisie) were all in the room when he saw flames outside the  window. He grabbed his daughter and ran out the house yelling for everyone to get out.

Wendy Mata:
She lived at 6345 Louden Avenue and on the night of the fire Luis arrived with Kerwin after 11 pm.  They were in their room and Luis was facing the window, Kerwin was holding Keisie, when Luis said he saw flames in the window. Luis grabbed their daughter and says the house is on fire.  As they were heading down the stairs, saw smoke and that the windows were broken and the front door was blocked by fire. They were able to escape by the back door into the backyard and waited for help.

Felipe Menijivar:
He was living at 6345 Louden Avenue in the basement. He was asleep and heard people upstairs running and making noise. Approximately 15 minutes later Luis Palma was knocking on his door and saying the house is burning up.  He went up to the 1st level and saw more smoke and large flames at the front of the house.  As he tried to exit the house he saw Mario sleeping in the living room and woke him up. There was so much smoke he felt dizzy and ran out the back door in the kitchen into the yard.

Mauricio Herrera:
He was living at 6345 Louden Avenue on the 2nd floor in a room with Lilliam Gonzalez.  He was asleep and Lilliam woke him up and said something about Santiago because of a commotion.  He heard the commotion. Their bedroom door was closed but saw a lot of smoke. He went to the side window and saw fire coming from where the cars were parked to the left of the house. He opened the door and saw fire coming in. They decided to open the window and escaped by jumping from the roof above the porch.

Lilliam Gonzalez:
She went to sleep at 9 p.m. and woke up after hearing Wendy calling her and glass breaking.  She opened the door and saw smoke and went back into the room. She and Mauricio went to exit through the window. She jumped off the roof and received scrapes/bruises.

During the initial investigation Fire Investigator Saunders opined that the fire originated on the exterior of the building on the right side under the covered porch.

The fire was extensive and extended to the side of the home.   High wind conditions contributed to the spread of the fire.

An accelerant K-9 trained in detecting ignitable liquids was brought for an examination initially on 2/19/11 and alerted to the presence of petroleum based ignitable liquids near the corner of the home on the covered porch.  Investigator Saunders collected deck floor and fire debris and deck floor comparison from the alert locations and submitted them for analysis to MSP.

On 2/20/11 police learned that a suspect by the name of Edvin Giovanni Reyes-Ceron had stated he placed the house on fire by pouring gas on the front porch and near the front door and poured the remaining gas on a car in the driveway; then lit the gas on fire.

He further advised that he was picked up by Santiago Gonzalez Miner at the liquor store located at the corner of Washington Blvd and Louden Avenue. Through investigation it was learned that Santiago Gonzalez Miner had been in an altercation several days earlier with his estranged wife Lilliam Gonzalez and Mauricio Herrera (both residents of the Louden home.) After the altercation, Lilliam Gonzalez moved to 6345 Louden Avenue to be with her boyfriend Mauricio Herrera; leaving her husband Gonzalez.

Pursuant to a search and seizure warrant signed by the Honorable Mary Reese police and fire investigators responded to 6345 Louden Avenue to retrieve samples from the home and the 1999 Ford Mustang on 2/22/11.

Several samples from the scene were collected: the front doorway and soil under the porch (directly below where the accelerant K-9 had alerted prior to the execution of the warrant.) All samples were submitted to the Forensics Science Division for the MSP and after examination: gasoline was detected on the deck floor and fire debris, the soil sample and the threshold of the front door.

A check of the value of loss from the fire was estimated at $300K for the structure, $1498 for the contents and $4K for the car (Mustang.)

Based on the totality of his fire investigation, Investigator Saunders (who the State would have called as expert), concluded that the fire was incendiary (caused by human hands)in nature.  The area of the origin was the front porch of the house and the fire was started by the pouring and igniting of a petroleum based liquid.

Information was received as to the suspect Santiago Gonzalez-Miner and an inquiry was made on 2/24/11 confirming through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that the suspect Gonzalez had left the country on 2/22/11 to El Salvador.  Further investigation would reveal that the suspect purchased the ticket on 2/21/11 with a final destination of Guatemala, with a return date of 3/22/11.

On July 6, 2011 arrest warrants were issued for both suspects and on July 7, 2011 both defendants Santiago Adolfo Gonzalez-Miner and Edvin Giovanni Ceron- Reyes were arrested. After being advised of their Miranda Rights and Prompt Presentment rights; both defendant’s agreed to speak with Detective Rodriguez, a Spanish speaking officer. During their taped interview the following was advised:

Santiago Gonzalez-Miner
•    That his wife, Lilliam, left him January 30, 2011 and moved in with Mauricio Herrera after an incident at the pharmacy.

•    Herrera used to work with him.

o    “She didn’t want anything to do with me.”
o     “They were in the back of the parking lot.”
o    “They were talking.  I went and knocked on the window.”
o    “And then—she didn’t want to open the window.”
o    “So then I found—a stick there and broke his window.”
o    “I broke the window and he left.” [pg 24 Gonzalez ]

•    Lilliam left that day and didn’t come back.
•    He found out she moved to Louden Avenue with Mauricio.
•    She took the 2 youngest kids with her.
•    The week of the fire she told him not to call her anymore and he said he didn’t.  [pg 27 Gonzalez]
•    He admitted that he had been by the house the Friday night (the night of the fire) around 7 or 8 p.m.
o    “I went once to exchange the car.  She had the car, the Tundra.”
o    “I told her I was going to need the truck. That I was going to give her the small car.”

•    He sent his son in with the keys and told him to give her the message.
•    After that he and Reyes were together.

o    “We were at Beechfield drinking.  We started talking and I started crying.  He said to me, ‘Why are you crying?’ I don’t know why. ‘Let’s teach them a lesson.’ I told him no. I love her.  He said ’No.’ I think she is his aunt.”

o    “He said, ‘She is a whore,’ he said.  ‘Don’t cry for her anymore. Let’s teach them a lesson,’ he said. ‘You won’t have to get involved in anything, I will do everything.’ And what are we going to do? ‘Let’s look for some gas ‘  he told me. But dangerous I said.  Hmm,  just you?  “Yeah.” We went to Forrest.  I got the Suburban.  He went to get a can of gas behind the house.  I took him up to Highland.”

o    “From there he went on foot and I went down to wait for him at the liquor.”

•    When Reyes returned to the car he told Gonzalez it was done and he took him home.
•    When he got home his son told him the house was on fire where his mother lived and wanted to check on her.
•    He admitted that he knew that there were more people in the house besides Lilliam and Mauricio. [pg 62 Gonzalez]
•    After the fire he took his son to locate his mother at the hospital.
•    Mauricio was there but he didn’t speak with him and didn’t give him a ride.
•    He took Lilliam back to his house, where she advised would not sleep in the room with him and stayed on the couch.  
o    “She told me she was going to stay on the couch.”
o    “That she didn’t want anything, she told me.” [pg 42 Gonzalez ]
•    He left for work and when he returned Lilliam was gone.
•    That Monday he went to the travel agency.
o    “I went to pay for the plane ticket.  They said there was one at three in the morning.”

•    Then he left for Guatemala without notifying anyone.
Edvin Ceron Reyes
•    That he came to the country; Lilliam Gonzalez is his aunt
•    Santiago Gonzalez was her husband and helped him get a job
•    He is good friends with Gonzalez
•    On 2/18/11 he was drinking with Gonzalez
•    He was upset that Lilliam had left Gonzalez for Mauricio who was younger and that he had helped Mauricio when he first came to Maryland.
•    Gonzalez brought up burning the house on Louden
o    “He wanted to light the house on fire…….that’s fine, light it.  I know.” [Pg 41 Ceron]
•    That they went to back of the residence and retrieved gas.
o    With a can of a gas
o    Where did you get the can of gas?
o    There at the house
o    His house on Forrest?
o    Mm-hmm
•    That Gonzalez drove him to the location on the corner of Highland and Louden Avenue
•    That the Ceron alone poured gas on the front of the house
o    “On the door (ran alongside the house)”
o    “That he used a lighter to light the fire.” [pg 42 Ceron]
•    That he ran.
o    “Behind the liquor store.”
o    “He (Gonzalez) was there in the car.” [pg 43 Ceron]

•    That he knew that people were inside the house at the time of the fire
•    At the conclusion of the interview defendant asked the house residence for forgiveness.
o    “I write because of the harm I caused them.  That’s why I asked them to forgive me.”
o    “I regret it, see.  When I was there I was drunk that day too.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Howard County
        

Baltimore County police are seeking a 26-year-old woman who they say carjacked another woman in the parking lot of a Safeway grocery store on Baltimore National Pike on Thanksgiving Day. Police said the suspect was armed with a knife and the victim was cut when she tried to grab it and escape.

The next day, police said they found a car linked to the suspect that was reported stolen in an armed carjacking in Fairfax County, Va. Police say the woman has no known ties to Baltimore County and may be staying in a hotel.

Stephanie Lynn Schwab is described as a white female, 5’3” tall, 165 pounds, with blond hair and green eyes.

Anyone with information can 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 Stoppers.

Those contacting Metro Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000. For more details, read the statement from Baltimore County Police:

Baltimore County Police are asking for the public’s help in locating Stephanie Lynn Schwab, 26, who is wanted for first degree assault and related charges after an incident in Precinct 1/Wilkens on November 24.

On November 24 at approximately 2:15 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 5400-block of Baltimore National Pike, 21228 in Precinct 1/Wilkens for a stabbing.  A 26-year-old victim reported that she had given a ride to a woman from the parking lot of the Safeway grocery store at the corner of Baltimore National Pike and Ingleside Avenue to the parking lot of the Shoppers Food Warehouse in the 5400-block of Baltimore National Pike.

The victim reported that when she stopped her car, the suspect displayed a knife and told her to keep driving. When the victim asked a man walking by for help, the suspect attempted to climb into the driver’s seat. The victim attempted to grab the knife from the suspect, and was cut on the hand. She was transported to St. Agnes Hospital for treatment for a non-life threatening injury. The suspect was last seen running eastbound on Route 40 towards Baltimore City.

On November 25, detectives investigating the case located a silver 2003 Acura 3.2TL in the Safeway grocery store parking lot. The vehicle had been reported stolen in an armed carjacking in Fairfax County, Virginia. Detectives were able to connect Stephanie Lynn Schwab to the crime and have obtained a warrant charging her with first degree assault, attempted kidnapping, and second degree assault.

The suspect has no known connection to the Baltimore County area and may be staying in a hotel. Police are asking motorists to use caution as she may approach other drivers asking for a ride.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Baltimore police officers serving a warrant on a man wanted in a minor crime said they stumbled on a stash house in Mount Vernon where more than eight pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $25,000 on the street was being stored.

Det. Jeremy Silbert said the rowhouse where the drugs were found on Monday is in the 800 block of Cathedral St., near the Baltimore School for the Arts and Mount Vernon Park, where the Washington Monument. A holiday lighting festival is scheduled there on Thursday.

Police said officers with the Warrant Apprehension Task Force were looking for a man wanted for failing to appear in court on a drug charge. Silbert, a city police spokesman, said the officers arrested the man when he answered the door.

Seeing suspected drugs, Silbert said officers obtained a warrant and members of the Violent Crime Impact Section searched the rowhouse, near West Madison Street, and found what he said was eight pounds of marijuana and large amount of cash.

The suspect’s name was not immediately released pending the filing of formal charges related to the drug seizure.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

Don't sit too close the federal air marshals.

A 34-year-old man from South Carolina was charged Monday with assaulting a federal air marshal during what prosecutors describe as a fight on board an airplane making its descent into Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner ordered the suspect, William D. Barna, from James Island, to undergo five to seven days of alcohol rehabilitation then spend 28 days in an inpatient program. Once released, the said he cannot fly on a commercial airline until this case is resolved.
The incident occurred Sunday night aboard Delta Airlines Flight 1624 from Atlanta to Baltimore.

Prosecutors said that 15 minutes from landing, Barna, seated in seat 3A, yelled at a passenger sitting next to him, in 3B.

The criminal complaint says Barna struck the passenger, identified in court documents as Krystopher R. Holloway. But Federal Air Marshal Colby W. Swift, was sitting behind the suspect, in Seat 4C, and his partner, was directly in front of him, in 3C.

The complaint in U.S. District Court in Baltimore says Swift and his partner broke up the altercation and seated Barna away from the other passenger. The court documents say that Barna appeared to fall asleep, but that he suddenly “woke up, threatened Federal Air Mashal Swift with a raised, clenched fist and then attempted to strike him with a clenched left fist.”

Colby and his unidentified partner then tried to subdue Barna and prosecutors said in court documents the three rolled around the aisle and that Swift was “forced to employ a leverage technique in order to gain … control of the subject’s right arm.”

Prosecutors said the air marshals subdued him until landing and that once on the group, police with the Maryland Transportation Authority put a “split face shield and leg restraints” on the suspect. The court documents do not describe what the initial altercation was about; Holloway could not be reached for comment.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

[UPDATE: Here's our updated article with information from this morning's press conference at police headquarters.]

Baltimore police have made an arrest in the kidnapping and rape last month of a 13-year-old girl who was pulled into a vacant building while walking through East Baltimore, according to court records and officials.

Court records show Alvin Ray Wright Sr., 48, of the 1600 block of N. Milton Ave., was taken into custody on Thanksgiving and charged with rape, assault, false imprisonment, sexual solicitation of a minor, and kidnapping of a child under age 16, among other charges. He was ordered held without bond by a District Court Commissioner last week.

Additional details were not immediately available, but police said they were expecting to announce the arrest Monday. 

The attack occurred in the 800 block of N. Caroline St. at around 9 p.m. on Oct. 17, police said. The victim, according to television reports, was walking from a friend's house to the store, and the man pushed her into a vacant dwelling. He implied he had a gun, though the girl said she never saw one.

Wright does not appear to have a prior record of sex offenses, according to court records. In 2009, he received probation after conviction for a drug charge and was handed a 12 year prison sentence, but 11 years, 10 months and 16 days were suspended, records show.

In 2006, drug charges were dropped by prosecutors, and in 2002 he was charged with car theft and pleaded guilty to an unauthorized use of a vehicle charge that carried a six month jail term. Five months and 23 days were suspended, records show.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

A man arrested earlier this month and charged with holding up gas stations and convenience stores in Harford, Cecil and Baltimore counties was found unresponsive in his jail cell on Thanksgiving Day and has died.

Michael Ray Malpass, 26, was being housed in a segregated area of the Harford County Detention Center for medical reasons. The Sheriff's Department said staff found him and rushed him to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where he died at 12:08 a.m. on Friday.

He was being held without bail awaiting trial on charges of armed robbery and assault. Here are details of the allegations against Malpass from a Maryland State Police statement: 

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

The Sun's Tricia Bishop writes about a man cleared of murder by DNA, and who is now suing the city:

James L. Owens Jr., who spent 20 years behind bars on burglary and murder charges only to be freed in 2008 by a DNA discovery, has filed a $15 million lawsuit claiming Baltimore police and prosecutors intentionally suppressed exculpatory information in his case.

Owens, 46, says investigators pressured a key witness, who was later convicted as an accomplice in the case, into changing stories mid-trial in 1988 and that a jailhouse informant, who claimed Owens confessed, testified in exchange for special favors. The defense team wasn't told of either circumstance, according to the civil suit, which was moved into federal court recently from the city, where it was originally filed.

It's a disturbing case in which the only certainty is that a 24-year-old woman — a phone company employee and community college student — was brutally murdered a quarter century ago, stabbed, strangled and sexually assaulted in her Southeast Baltimore row house.

Read full story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Southeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore police released this statement on today's shootings in Charles Village: 

"The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a double shooting that occurred this morning within Northern Baltimore.

Officers responded to the intersection of Charles and 23rd Streets just after 10 am this morning for report of a shooting. Once there they located two victims within a burgundy SUV, a 36 year-old female (suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to include the hip and leg) and 38 year-old male (suffering from a gunshot wound to the arm). They were both transported to an area hospital and at last check were in serious but stable condition.

Further investigation revealed that the shooting occurred a few blocks away within the 100 Blk of E. 22nd Street, where the vehicle and its victim occupants were struck before driving to the intersection of Charles and 23rd Streets.  

Detectives are now vigorously investigating the incident and scouring the area for witnesses and possible surveillance camera footage. At present there are no suspects or motives. Anyone with information is asked to call the Northern District Detective Unit at 410-396-2455."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

Baltimore police are reporting two people shot on North Charles and 23rd streets in Charles Village. The shooting occurred shortly after 10 this morning. Few details have been released, but homicide detectives were responding because of the severity.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

Baltimore County are investigating a shooting in Woodlawn that has left a 19-year-old in critical condition, and an apparent domestic dispute in North Point that left a man suffering severe burns. Here is a statement from police:

Precinct 2/Woodlawn Shooting:
On November 22 at 10:39 p.m., officers responded to the 2500-block of Molton Way for a shooting.  They discovered a 19-year-old male with multiple gun shot wounds. The victim was transported to the hospital for treatment, and is currently listed in critical condition. Detectives believe that the victim had a confrontation with two black males as he walked to the 7-11 store.  No other information about the suspects is known at this time.  Detectives are asking anyone with information about the case to contact the Baltimore County Police Department at 410-307-2020.  This case is eligible for Metro Crime Stoppers.  
 
Precinct 12/North Point:  Burn Victims
On November 22 at 10:45 p.m., officers responded to the 2900-block of Liberty Parkway, 21222 for two patients with burn injuries.  A 33-year-old female was transported to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Unit as a priority 1 patient for treatment of her burns.  A 35-year-old male was transported to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Unit as a priority 2 patient for treatment of his burns. The victims live at the location together and are in a domestic relationship. Both victims got an unknown type of flammable substance on their clothing, which ignited causing the burns.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Detectives are investigating the incident and it has not yet been determined if the burns were accidental or intentional.  

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Steven Blackwell, the 27-year-old reputed leader of an East Baltimore drug organization that authorities believe engaged in a prolonged street war with a rival faction, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to heroin conspiracy charges, money laundering and tax evasion.

The case, which was scheduled to go to trial next week, came to a quiet resolution with Blackwell agreeing to a plea deal that could send him to prison for 20 years in a case in which he faced life. Wearing a burgundy jumpsuit, he admitted to directing a drug operation that stretched from New York to the Dominican Republic, and laundering money through gambling proceeds and by purchasing winning lottery tickets.

Though Blackwell was not charged with any allegations of violence, authorities have long suspected Blackwell and his associates of being key players in a wave of violence sparked by the abduction of Blackwell's younger brothers in Catonsville, which prompted an Amber Alert and was quietly resolved without criminal charges.

As many as 27 people may have been shot in the violence that ensued over the next 15 months, according to court documents and sources.

Gunmen struck back against the abductors at a family-owned appliance store on East North Avenue, with the father of one of the abductors among the two who were killed.

Blackwell associates were then targeted for violence, including a man abducted and found floating in the Patapsco River, a fatal shooting outside a funeral, and the wounding of 12 people – including Blackwell himself – when a gunman sprayed bullets at a backyard cookout.

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

ALERT: Baltimore police said the victim has died .... A city police officer shot and wounded a man this morning who officials said was brandishing two knives on Edmondson Avenue. As is typical at such scenes, police had a wide area blocked off with crime scene tape, and about the only view was of officers milling about and the flashing lights atop cruisers.

Read full story here.

But just as police spokesman Det. Kevin Brown was about to address the television cameras, several young men and women standing at a nearby corner tried to shout him down. "They was wrong," one young man said of the officer who fired.

One woman wanted to know why the officer didn't user her Taser. Another shouted cover-up, pointing to how far back the public was kept from the scene. Brown took the bait. "How many people did we shoot this year?" he asked.

"Twenty-five, thirty," one answered.

"How many times have your own people shot your own people?" Brown asked, "You're worried about this? Really?" He pointed out that we were near a shooting earlier this year in which six people were wounded, and few if any witnesses stepped forward, or voiced outrage at the violence.

One man said the officer "just pulled up and didn't know what was going on" before she fired her weapon.

Another police spokesman, Det. Donny Moses, pleaded with the onlookers to step forward if they actually witnessed the shooting. "Please, we have detectives who want to talk to you," he said, walking over to the group. "If you saw it, help us out."

But pressed by a reporter and police, the man and others said they had not seen the actual shooting. As for the actual numbers of police-involved shootings, our numbers differ from city police, who count incidents.

According to city police, there have been three police involved shootings that resulted in fatalities and six in which people were wounded. Our numbers, which include how many individual victims were were at each scene, show five fatalities and eight wounded. That includes January's shooting outside Select Lounge in which officers accidentally shot and killed an undercover officer, who had just fatally shot a man, and wounded three bystanders.

There have been 182 homicides so far this year in Baltimore.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Police shootings, Southwest Baltimore
        

An intruder died on Tuesday while struggling with an intruder -- a man police said lives on the same block.

The incident occurred in Harford County. The Sun's Steve Kilar reports that no charges have been filed as of yet in the case. Read Steve's story here. More details from the Harford County Sheriff's Department:

"At approximately 4:40pm on Tuesday, November 22, 2011, Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to burglary in progress in the 2000 block of Rockwell Street in Edgewood, MD. The caller identified that a male had entered her home and was currently being restrained by her husband and a neighbor awaiting police arrival.  

When the intruder, identified as Joseph Augustine Breckenridge, age 53, of the 2000 block of Rockwell Street, entered the residence, the female fled to a neighbor’s home, where her husband was visiting at the time. The husband of the woman and a neighbor returned to the residence to find the intruder was still inside.  When asked to leave the residence by the husband, Breckenridge refused and a struggle ensued. When Harford County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the scene, they found Breckenridge still alive but unconscious. Mr. Breckenridge was transported by ambulance to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center by Joppa Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company.  He was pronounced deceased at the hospital shortly after 5:30pm on November 22, 2011.

Still considered to be an active investigation until results from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) are concluded; detectives of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division consulted with the Harford States Attorney’s Office and it was determined that no charges will be placed at this time."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Harford County
        

Two articles today from The Sun's Arthur Hirsch:

"The president of the Baltimore County police union has been suspended with pay and stripped of his police powers after an internal department investigation, months after he received probation before judgment on misdemeanor assault charges, a department spokeswoman said.

Sgt. Cole B. Weston, who has led the Baltimore County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 4 for 12 years, will be suspended pending an administrative hearing that has not yet been scheduled, said Elise Armacost, a department spokeswoman. He could face further disciplinary action, she said.

Weston, who is 49, had been placed on administrative duty and had his police powers revoked early this year, after he was charged in connection with an alleged altercation with a man that took place near his home in Parkville in March. He was restored to full duty in August, immediately after the assault case against him was resolved in Baltimore County Circuit Court."

Benefits claim:

"Two Baltimore County Police officers who were denied health benefits for their same-sex spouses have won their cases before an arbitrator, the first disputes of this kind to be decided in the department.

Officers Margaret Selby and Juanika Ballard got the word on Tuesday that an independent arbitrator ruled in their favor, meaning the county must provide health benefits to the women whom they each married out of state in the summer of 2009. In a 10-page opinion, the arbitrator ruled that the county violated the terms of the union contract by denying the benefits in August 2010.

"I'm very happy and my family is very happy," said Selby, 47, who works on patrol in the Essex precinct and has been with the department for 10 years. "I just want the same benefits that are provided to other married couples in the department."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

State police say Clerk of Courts Frank Conaway Sr.'s permit to carry a concealed handgun expired in March, raising the possibility that he could face criminal charges after Monday's altercation with a blogger.

According to city police, Conaway "brandished" a firearm during an altercation with blogger Adam Meister outside his Northwest Baltimore home. Conaway said he had a permit for the weapon, but state police spokeswoman Elena Russo said records show it expired in March.

A major sticking point: Even if Conaway's permit lapsed, he would be allowed to possess the gun on his own property, Russo said. But it is not clear whether Conaway left his property. Conaway, 78, said that he had approached the 35-year-old Meister at his front gate after hearing a knock at his front door, and Meister says Conaway chased him a short distance down the sidewalk. The incident that was witnessed by plainclothes Baltimore Police officers who were already in the area on other business.

Conaway, who asserted Monday that his permit was up to date and initially declined comment Tuesday, said he never left his property. As for his lapsed permit, he said: "I was never notified. I think there's an obligation on the part of the state police to notify" permit owners.

A spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department said that officers are consulting with prosecutors on whether charges should be filed against the two men.

Concealed carry permits are difficult to obtain in Maryland - applicants must demonstrate a "good and substantial need" and go through background checks. Permits are good for three years and must be renewed.

Carrying a handgun without a permit is a misdemeanor that carries a minimum penalty of 30 days in jail and a maximum of three years. Conaway, who ran for mayor in the September primary, has been clerk of courts since 1998.

Conaway has said he didn't pull a gun on Meister and had no need to, asserting that he could have "handled" Meister on his own. Meister, for his part, also says that Conaway displayed no handgun, but police saw it holstered on him when they approached the court clerk.

Meanwhile, some of the city's black leaders were rallying around Conaway. Marvin "Doc" Cheatham, president of the Baltimore chapter of the National Action Network, sent an email to Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III and State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein, "express[ing] concern for the life and safety of my friend."

Tessa Hill-Aston, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, joined in on the email, saying Meister's behavior "appears to be harassment."

"Mr. Conaway was on his property minding his business. Does he slow up and holler at others as he passes or did he decide just harass the Conaway family," Hill-Aston said. "Someone should advise to pick another route."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Anne Arundel County police had been looking for Cornelius Keith Johnson for nearly week in the killing of a man outside a seafood restaurant and Glen Burnie.

Authorities said Johnson unwittingly came to them.

On Nov. 13, the 24-year-old reported to the Baltimore County Detention Center to serve a weekend sentence -- total four days -- for driving on a suspended license. Jail officials discovered there was a warrant out for his arrest.

He was detained and on Monday was taken to Anne Arundel County and charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 13 killing of Andrew Michael Johnson, 25, outside MO's Seafood on Ritchie Highway.

Police have not released a motive or said what led them to the suspect, who is not related to the victim. The shooting occurred about 10:30 p.m. The suspect lives in the 4200 block of Shamrock Ave. in Northeast Baltimore.

Correction: Police said on Tuesday that the suspect and victim are believed to be half-brothers. Read the full story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system
        

Armed robbers have hit two Goodwill stores four times since Nov. 11, stealing money from places in Towson and Cockeysville that take donations and practically give items away.

The latest occurred Friday about 8 p.m. at the Cockeysville Goodwill in the 200 block of West Padonia Road. Police said a masked man armed with a handgun forced several customers and employees into an office and took money from the registers and safe. The same store was robbed Nov. 11, according to Baltimore County police.

The Towson Goodwill store, in the 1700 block of East Joppa Road, was robbed Nov. 11 and Nov. 16, according to police, who said they believe all the attacks are related. Anyone with information is urged to call 410-307-2020.

For more crime in the area, here's a list that is distributed weekly to citizens from county police:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Last week, we reported on court documents showing that ATF agents were involved in a gun battle in South Baltimore with a group of men recruited by an undercover officer to steal back cocaine for a Mexican cartel supplier. Officials have declined to comment on whether the premise of the operation was a ruse, but consider this article from the Austin American Statesman last year:

The five men met at a South Austin hotel last month with someone they thought was a disgruntled member of a local drug-trafficking organization.

They brought pistols, rifles, gloves, duct tape, zip ties , bulletproof vests and extra boxes of ammunition for what they thought would be a robbery that would net them as much as 30 kilograms (about 66 pounds) of cocaine from a local drug stash house, according to a federal court affidavit.

But the person who set up the robbery was an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the men accused of being prepared to carry it out were arrested.

The Aug. 18 bust was the second in about a month made by the ATF in Austin under similar circumstances, according to arrest affidavits: An undercover agent tells a suspect that he knows of a drug stash house and asks the suspect if he wants to rob it. That suspect recruits others, and when they are about to carry out the robbery, they are all arrested.

Sound familiar?

In the article, defense attorneys raised the possibility that the informant and agents had committed entrapment. But court records show those hopes were quickly dashed - all pleaded guilty within a few months and received lengthy prison sentences.

In the South Baltimore case, agents say they have Dawron Kip Mason on tape explaining how he was experienced in such home invasion/robberies and would get together a group to carry out the task. Agents moved in for the arrest after Mason and the undercover agent discussed the final preparations, but the suspects tried to speed off, striking cars and driving through a fence before firing at officers, according to court documents.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

[For the most recent version of this article filed for Tuesday's print edition, click here.]

Baltimore Clerk of Courts Frank M. Conaway Sr. and blogger/activist Adam Meister are under investigation after an altercation between the pair outside Conaway's home, police said.

Anthony Guglielmi, the Police Department's chief spokesman, said officers saw Conaway "chasing Mr. Meister" and stopped to intervene. "There was some discussion about Mr. Meister being on Mr. Conaway's property and refusing to leave, and Mr. Meister became aggressive," Guglielmi said. "During that process, it is reported that Mr. Conaway brandished a firearm."

Conaway, 78, said police were watching the entire incident from inside a cruiser parked nearby. He denied that he "brandished" a firearm but did not dispute that he was carrying one, and said he has a permit from the state to carry a concealed weapon.

Meister, an avid jogger, said he was running home from the supermarket at 10:30 a.m. when he saw Conaway walking in the street. "I wondered why he was not at work - he makes $100,000 a year, doesn't he?" Meister told The Sun. "I expressed myself about what his daughter did to me; I was yelling at him, he was yelling at me."

Meister said Conaway then took a swing at him, and Meister said he continued running.

Conaway said he never threw a punch: "I don't aimlessly throw punches. If I threw one, I wouldn't have missed." He said officers approached him moments later and told him they had witnessed the altercation. "I don't think there's any turning back on the story," he said. "I was fortunate that they were sitting across the street."

Meister said he never saw police until an officer pulled up alongside him later. "He asked me why I was running, and that was it," Meister said. Meister also said he never saw Conaway with a handgun.

Here's an account from Meister posted at his blog, which appears on Charm City Current, a platform for local bloggers that is hosted by The Baltimore Sun.

Meister, a 35-year-old Reservoir Hill activist and blogger, was sued for $21 million by Conaway's daughter, outgoing City Councilwoman Belinda Conaway, after he reported that she was receiving a homeowner tax credit on two properties. Meister prevailed in the lawsuit, which was dropped by Belinda Conaway, and he has vowed to continue investigating the Conaway family.

"I encourage all of you to jump on the anti-Conaway bandwagon because being anti-Conaway is being pro-Baltimore," he wrote on Nov. 9. "FRANK JR. IS NEXT!" he concluded the post, a reference to the state delegate who is Conaway Sr.'s son.

Police were taking statements from the two men and were investigating who, if anyone, was in the wrong. Guglielimi said the findings would likely be presented to the State's Attorney's Office for a decision. Conaway, who has been Clerk of Courts for Baltimore City since 1998, has an office in one of the downtown courthouses. His wife, Mary Conaway, is the register of wills.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
        

A Georgia woman was arrested last month in Washington after a stripper from Baltimore's red light district told authorities that the woman was administering illegal buttocks implants in downtown hotel rooms, according to court documents.

Kimberly Smedley, 45, seen at right, has been under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration since a Baltimore dancer was hospitalized in March following four silicone treatments in a room at the Renaissance Hotel, records show. The woman paid $1,000 for each injection but later became ill, and doctors found that the silicone had spread from her hips and buttocks to her lungs, according to records.

The dancer told investigators that she met "Kim" at an undisclosed club on The Block, where most of Baltimore's strip clubs are located. The victim "said she heard through word of mouth from other exotic dancers of a woman who administrated silicone injections into the buttocks of customers so they would have larger and fuller buttocks."

After the procedure went awry, the victim sent a text message to Smedley saying, "You almost killed me." 

Smedley, who is not a licensed doctor or nurse, has been apparently performing such surgeries for years. The New York Post, in a 2008 article titled "Rear and Present Danger" that was found by authorities doing an Internet search for Smedley, sent a reporter undercover to receive injections from Smedley. They met in a Manhattan hotel room, where Smedley brought a Poland Spring jug full of silicone.

"It's illegal here, but legal in other countries, like Mexico," Smedley told the reporter, according to the article. "It lasts forever." 

The dancer said she met Smedley in October, December, February, and March, and agents confirmed that Smedley had checked into the Renaissance on those dates. She had checked into Marriott hotels across the country 106 times from Jan. 16, 2010 to May 2, 2011.

The Smoking Gun, which first reported Smedley's arrest, said she was taken into custody at a Washington hotel, where she was carrying three 18-gauge medical needles in one of her handbags and had a text message on her phone from a DC woman indicating that they were to meet for a procedure.

Agents reviewed Smedley's bank accounts and believe she may have purchased the silicone from stores like Lowe's and Home Depot.

An arrest was made in a similar case in Miami recently. The photo that accompanies this story is rather unique.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Downtown
        

[UPDATE: Maryland Transportation Authority police said there is no foul play suspected in the death at the World Trade Center building. A 57-year-old man was found dead in one of the floors leased by a private company. A spokesman said: "As far as we're concerned, this is an unattended death."]

An adult male was shot this morning in West Baltimore's Harlem Park neighborhood. Police had few details; the shooting occurred about 7:45 a.m., and it was unclear whether it was inside a residence or on the street

City police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the victim was shot in the head in the 900 block of West Franklin St. and while the man's condition was not clear, he said that homicide detectives had been notified.

City police officers were also at the scene this morning investigating the suspicious death of a man whose body was found inside the World Trade Center at the Inner Harbor. Guglielmi said the man was found unresponsive.

No other details were immediately available. The 27-story building contains offices and a Top-of-the-World observatory for tourists. Police did not say on which floor the body was found.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: West Baltimore
        

Two men who robbed a bank in April, and threatened to kill a teller, each face up to 25 years in prison when they are sentenced in February. Prosecutors said they stole $6,730 from a cash drawer, money that was later recovered in a vacant house.

The Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office said that Torre Laron Johnson, 35, of Baltimore, and Otis Nelson, 46, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty on Friday. Both were convicted in U.S. District Court in Baltimore for robbing the PNC Bank in Reistertown Road Plaza.

Prosecutors said Johnson stood by the entrance as a lookout. They said Nelson jumped over a small door separating the customer and teller areas, holding a small black semi-automatic handgun, and demanded money. "Nelson threatened to shoot the teller if she tried to give him any die pack," prosecutors said in a statement.

The duo left in a car driven by a third person. Police spotted the car about 10 minutes at Garrison Boulevard and Boarman Avenue after the robbery. Johnson was quickly caught; police said they found a ski mask next to him. Nelson ran down an alley, according to police, and was caught hiding under a porch, with rubber gloves in his pocket.

Prosecutors said police found the money in a vacant house along the escape route.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northwest Baltimore
        

On Saturday night, activists prepared to camp out in front of City Hall to raise awareness to the plight of the homeless. They'd even asked Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to join them. But after 9 p.m., city police told the group they had to leave, and they joined up with the Occupy Baltimore protesters at the Inner Harbor's McKeldin Square.

The activists told the Baltimore Brew that they found the city's reaction ironic:

“Every night we allow 4,000 of our fellow Baltimore residents to be homeless every night but the city couldn’t allow a small group of us to be here in solidarity with them for one night,” said [Lisa] Klingenmaier, who has been on television and radio all week talking about homelessness.

The group had a permit for an event lasting only from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and city officials say they could not allow them to stay past the permit. Participants said in prior years they were allowed to stay overnight, though last year's event was at the Inner Harbor, where they eventually ended up last night. 

A police official told me the reason the group was moved is that "people are not permitted to sleep at City Hall." But neither are they allowed to camp out at McKeldin Square, where officials have been warning Occupy protesters that they are in violation but have largely avoided a confrontation.

So why a blind eye to the Harbor, while activists shooed away from City Hall? Just because it's being allowed at McKeldin Square "doesn't mean we turn the rest of Baltimore into a camp site," the official said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Walter Oliver joined the Police Explorers youth volunteer program, presumably, because he had an interest in becoming a police officer one day.

But along the way, authorities in two jurisdictions say, he began swiping equipment from officers who took him under their wing.

According to charging documents, he broke into Officer Joseph Tracy’s locker and took a police radio; He took an expandable baton and a wooden espantoon from Officer Charles Connolly; When Officer Karen Crisafulli wasn’t looking, he took her badge; and while on a ride-along with Officer Robert Hankard, Oliver took his Taser. After raiding his family’s Parkville home, police say they found a trove of other items.

Oliver, 18, is charged with multiple counts of impersonating a police officer and theft in Baltimore City and Baltimore County, according to police and court records.

Said Anthony Guglielmi, the city Police Department’s chief spokesman: “If he was interested in a career in law enforcement, he made some poor decisions. Now he’ll never, ever hold a job in law enforcement here or anywhere else.”

A relative reached at Oliver’s home Friday said he would have no comment.

Police say the alleged thefts appear connected to Oliver’s work as a security guard. He worked for a private company called Signal 88 Security, and surveillance video pulled by city detectives shows he wore Baltimore police gear while patrolling a treatment center in Southwest Baltimore.

Guglielmi said that doesn’t make the thefts any less serious.

“These were multiple, malicious attempts at violating people’s trust,” Guglielmi said. The Explorer’s program “is designed to foster relationships between police and kids, and he completely took advantage of that.”

Oliver had previously been a member of the Baltimore County Explorers program, which runs under the auspices of the local Boy Scout Council and exposes youths between the age of 14 and 20 to various aspects of law enforcement. Though participants are volunteers, they are subjected to a background check and have to follow rules that include maintaining a C average in school. Members participate in ride-alongs, help with traffic details and go on field trips, sometimes out of state, with police officers.

Elise Armacost, a county police spokeswoman, said Oliver joined the Towson precinct’s Explorers program in 2007 but was dismissed in 2010 for failing to follow rules; she declined to specify the violations. He later joined the city Police Department’s Explorers program for the Southeast District.

Oliver was dismissed from the city program on Oct. 25 for stealing from Tracy’s locker, according to court records. Detectives investigating Oliver learned that he had been fired from his private security job after he showed up with a holstered handgun, according to court records.

“Without authorization [for a handgun], our policy is immediate termination,” said Tim Siman, a manager with Signal 88. “He was in violation of our company policies, and we handed the information we had to police. We are fully in cooperation with them.”

Surveillance footage from the Pine Heights Treatment Center, where Oliver worked, showed him holding a gun and standing near a doorway with what appeared to be a police badge, police said.

When officers went to raid his family’s Parkville home, they saw him assisting his grandmother inside while wearing a bulletproof vest, according to a city police report. Inside the home, police found scores of police-related items: dashboard lights, a BPD baseball hat, uniform shirts and “eight-point” hat, plastic handcuffs, a city police badge, and a gun belt. They also found a .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun, a 12-gauge shotgun, two rifles, and boxes of ammunition.

In a separate report, county police say they recovered a bulletproof vest belonging to county Officer Scott Defelice that was valued at $1,150, as well as handcuffs taken from the locker of Officer Eugene Korn.

City police say he admitted taking the items. Authorities believe Crisafulli, who was pregnant and working at the front desk, was in the bathroom when Oliver took her badge. Connolly said in court records that he had locked up his possessions with a combination lock, and didn’t know how they were taken.

Oliver was initially held on $50,000, but at a bail review hearing he was released on his own recognizance. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 28.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County, Southeast Baltimore
        

A West Baltimore man complained to a television station last night that police wrongly raided his house looking for drugs, but police say there's more to the story.

Arnold Armstrong told WBAL he was sitting in his home Wednesday night in the 1800 block of Wilkens Ave. watching TV when police kicked in his door, handcuffed two of his friends and searched his home. He demanded an apology from the city.

"[An officer] said, 'This is a search and seizure warrant for possession of drugs and weapons.' I said, 'Well, I believe you have the wrong house.' He said, 'No, we have the right house,'" Armstrong told the station. "One kept insisting that there were weapons still in the house, but they still left. My question was, if you believe that there's something still in this house, why are you leaving?"

But Anthony Guglielmi, a city police spokesman, said that officers had made an undercover drug purchase inside the house last week, and after raiding the home said Armstrong "admitted to getting high from time to time, and that he lets people use his house while he's at work." Guglielmi confirmed that police found no drugs during the raid, but he said police suspect that the people using the house during the day were using the house to sell drugs.

Asked why police knocked down the front door, Guglielmi said police first knocked on the door and heard people running around inside. He said the officers believe that the men were destroying evidence or arming themselves. "There is a documented drug buy at this location, and the homeowner admits that he sometimes uses illegal narcotics," Guglielmi said. "Therefore, this was an authorized police raid with a warrant signed by a judge."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: West Baltimore
        

The mother of an abused woman who was fatally stabbed by her husband in 2008 has sued the Baltimore Police Department, alleging a police commander who was friendly with the husband "allowed him to remain free to commit his crimes."

The suit was filed this week in Baltimore Circuit Court by Carlin Robinson and Eunice Graves, the cousin and mother, respectively, of Veronica Williams, who was stabbed outside the North Avenue District Courthouse by husband Cleaven Williams after she had appeared at a hearing seeking protection from him.

The suit names former Eastern District Deputy Maj. Dan Lioi as a defendant; The Sun in 2009 reported that Lioi had been suspended by the department after investigators learned that he had exchanged text messages with Cleaven Williams, then the president of the Greater Greenmount Community Association, trying to arrange a time for him to turn himself in. At one point, he visited the Eastern District station to do so, but officers could not locate the warrant.

According to testimony at Williams' trial, on Nov. 17, Williams told Lioi by phone that he was on his way to his lawyer's office and that he would "get back" to him, according to the police commander. About an hour after that, Lioi learned that Williams had been arrested in the stabbing of his wife of almost 10 years, as well as resulting in a miscarriage of the child she was carrying.

"The misconduct of the Baltimore City Police Department and its officers rises above mere complacency," the lawsuit says. "Officers actively warned Mr. Williams and refused to arrest him despite the warrant ... This was done with the full knowledge that a judge had already determined Williams to be a threat to the life and safety of the deceased."

The suit further claims that Veronica Williams had been in hiding prior to the court appearance, and had Cleaven Williams been arrested that day, he would have missed his only opportunity to commit the murder. "The defendants placed Mrs. Williams in a police-created zone of danger by intentionally conspiring with Mr. Williams to permit him to remain free despite ample opportunity to arrest him," the suit says.

Lioi, a popular commander both in the Police Department and among East Baltimore residents, was suspended for a few months but cleared of wrongdoing. He was recently moved from the Eastern District and oversees the department's District Detective Units, and could not be immediately reached for comment.

Though the lawsuit does not appear in the state's case search database, a copy was obtained and posted online by the Courthouse News Service website. An employee at the law firm of Cary Hansel, a Greenbelt attorney for the plaintiffs, verified its authenticity.

Here's a longer piece about Veronica and Cleaven Williams, written by The Sun's Melissa Harris in December 2008.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: East Baltimore
        

Maryland State Police have arrested a 25-year-old man in a series of armed robberies of gas stations and convenience stores in Baltimore, Cecil and Harford counties. The attacks include a robbery of a gas station at an I-95 rest stop and several along Pulaski Highway.

The suspect is identified as Michael R. Malpass, 25, of Cecil County. Police said they got tips from photos of the suspect distributed to the news media. Police stopped him Thursday night driving a 2008 Chevrolet Impala on Pulaski Highway in Perryville. 

Police said they found evidence linking him to the robberies, and that the car he was driving when arrested was the getaway vehicle. Here is more from a statement from Maryland State Police:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County, Confronting crime, Crime elsewhere, Harford County
        

Here is the moving opening of a story by Justin Fenton, The Sun's crime reporter, in January of last year:

"In Lennice Hudson's home, a refuge for foster children, Darius Ray found stability.

He became a track star at his Gaithersburg high school, graduated, flirted with college and ultimately joined the Marines. Between his foster brothers and sisters and Hudson's two biological children, he had a family, one he would join every week for dinner. On Sunday, the family was planning to celebrate his 20th birthday.

"I love you and I want a red velvet cake," he texted Hudson in anticipation.

But Ray would not make it to his own celebration. He was fatally stabbed in Northeast Baltimore the day before at a party thrown by friends."

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge on Thursday sentenced Michael Wiggins to life in prison for killing Ray for asking him to leave the party. He was one of three active or current members of the armed services killed in Baltimore in two months.

Read Justin's story on Darius Ray.

More details from a statement issued by the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office:

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge Marcus Z. Shar sentenced Michael Wiggins today to life in prison for murdering a United States Marine at birthday party for the victim.

After being asked to leave the party for Marine Corps Private Darius Ray on January 23, 2010, Wiggins returned with two knives and stabbed Ray, killing the 20-year-old. In October 2011, a Baltimore jury convicted Wiggins of first-degree murder, first-degree assault and other counts.

Two other men involved in an altercation that night, but not the stabbing, have been convicted as well. Vernon Beverly pled guilty to first-degree assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with 18 of those years suspended. Nicholas Woodward pled guilty to second-degree assault and is scheduled for sentencing on February 14, 2012.

“While I am gratified by the conviction and life sentence, I continue to mourn the loss of a young man who was dedicating his life to our nation and the protection of others. I hope this outcome can help Private Ray’s loved ones achieve a sense of closure,” State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein said 

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

A former member of a police program for youths has been charged with stealing equipment from Baltimore city and county police, and officials said they are looking into whether he may be connected to some of the recent police impersonator robberies reported in the area.

Walter Oliver, 18, of Parkville, had been a member of the Police Explorers program in Baltimore County and Baltimore City. He was dismissed from the Towson precinct's program in 2010 for failing to follow rules, then joined the city's Southeast District program. He was dismissed from the city program about a month ago, officials said.

A city officer recently observed Oliver with a police radio, and Oliver explained that an officer had lent it to him, according to police. But officials realized that there had been a recent break-in of a Southeast District officer's locker, and obtained a search warrant for Oliver's home.

Inside, county and city police say they found numerous items including an $1,100 bulletproof vest, holsters, strobe lights, handcuffs, uniform shirts, patches and other items, according to city and county police officials. He's been charged in the city and Baltimore County with multiple counts of theft, as well as malicious destruction of property for the break-in, and was released on his own recognizance. But police say they are concerned about why Oliver had collected all of the items.

"There's a concern for police impersonation," said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the city police. "We're dealing with multiple incidents of impersonation and home invasions, and it's a pretty serious offense. It preys on the trust that police have in the community."

Elise Armacost, a spokeswoman for Baltimore County police, said the alleged thefts are not indicative of the Explorers program as a whole. Though Explorers are volunteers, they have to pass a background check and maintain a minimum grade point average.

"This kind of experience is extremely rare," she said. "We like this program because it's a recruitment tool for us, a way for young people with an interest in law enforcement to cultivate that interest."

A phone message left at Oliver's home was not immediately returned.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Baltimore County, Southeast Baltimore
        

A 15-year-old girl walking along a street in Woodlawn Wednesday afternoon told police that a gunman forced into the front seat of a car, where a man later sexually assaulted her and then held her in a house for an hour.

Baltimore County police said the attack occurred about 3 p.m. in the 1800 block of Woodlawn Drive. The girl said the assailants were in a teal-colored, four-door sedan with tinted windows, possibly a late 1990s or early 2000 model.

The girl said that two men talked to her, threatened her with a gun and forced her into the car. Two other occupants were wearing masks. They ordered her to cover her eyes and drove to her to an unknown location, possibly in Baltimore City, police said.

Police said three men left the car and the other one sexually assaulted her. They then drove her to a house, where she stayed for an hour, and was then returned to Baltimore County. The victim walked to the Woodlawn precinct and reported the attack to police.

Anyone with information is urged to call Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7-LOCKUP. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to four life prison terms for executing a federal witness who fingered a dozen suspected drug dealers in South Baltimore's Westport neighborhood. The victim, Kareem Guest, pleaded for mercy before being shot a dozen times on the street in 2009.

Guest was outed as an informant after an FBI report detailing his cooperation was leaked and posted throughout the neighborhood, where Guest and his killer lived. The shooter, Antonio "Mack" Hall, 30, was found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in August.

The Sun's court reporter, Tricia Bishop, recounts the chilling details of the case in her coverage of the trial. Testimony revealed that Hall had a history of retaliating against witnesses and so-called "snitches," and was linked to the killing of a teen-aged drug dealer, shot as he played video games, and to the shooting of a junkie who had helped police arrest one of his friends.

Guest, arrested on heroin distribution charges in 2008, had agreed to cooperate with the FBI to bring down a gang selling heroin branded "Dynasty." His help led to the convictions of eight defendants, including the ring-leader who went away for 22 years.

A defense attorney for one of those suspects was given a copy of Guest's FBI statement so he could prepare his defense. Defense attorneys are allowed to share the information with their clients, but not hand over hard copies. The attorney admitted to giving a copy to his client and to his client's mother.

Once on the street, the document became a virtual wanted poster, prosecutors said, leading to the killing of Guest. The attorney, a former federal prosecutor from Detroit, was not prosecuted, but he was later disbarred for taking on clients and pocketing fees without telling his own law firm.

Lawyers for Hall argued that Guest had many enemies and that their client was the killer, but the jury rejected the arguments. The case highlighted the troubling issue of witness intimidation and showed how dangerous it is to be an informant.

Guest's statement to the FBI was tacked to telephone poles and to a basketball hoop in Westport and a copy was even found in a jail cell in New Jersey. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, South Baltimore, Witness intimidation
        

The Smoking Gun is calling him "the ex-boyfriend from hell."

Christopher Scott, a 20-year-old college student and former Stevenson University lacrosse player, has been charged in Pennsylvania with uploading a video of him having sex with a former girlfriend in a dorm at the Baltimore County campus. According to documents posted by the web site, Scott told investigators that he posted the video 11 months ago because he was "depressed" over his break-up with the 24-year-old victim.

He admitted that he was "trying to be hateful" and "realized the implications it could have," the site reported. The victim, who was not a student, told police that word of the video spread, leading to her employer asking for her resignation and harassment on Facebook.

The encounter was recorded on his laptop, which was seized from his family's Delaware County home. Also found on the computer were "several files indicative of child pornography." 

Scott is charged with four misdemeanor counts related to the creation and distribution of the video of his ex-girlfriend, as well as two misdemeanors related to drugs found in his Newton Square, Pa. home.

When reached tonight, Stevenson lacrosse coach Paul Cantabene declined comment.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County, Crime elsewhere
        

The Bureau of Justice Statistics today released a report on homicide trends in the United States between 1980 and 2010, showing that homicide nationwide have declined to the lowest point in four decades.

The largest decline was in cities with a population of one million or more, where the homicide rate dropped from 35.5 homicides per 100,000 residents in 1991 to 11.9 per 100,000 in 2008. The nationwide rate during that time period fell from an all-time high of 9.8 homicides per 100,000 in 1991 to 4.8 in 2010.

If you've been following what's happened in Baltimore over the past few years, you know that the city's rate has been declining consistently, but the decline took longer to begin than many other cities and hasn't been as drastic. Baltimore's rate peaked in 1993 at 48.8, and fell to 34.8 last year. 

The report says that most murders are intra-racial - the victimization rate for blacks was 6 times higher than for whites, while the offending rate for blacks was almost 8 times higher than the rate for whites - and the number of homicides known to be caused by gang violence has quadrupled since 1980.

Click here for the full report.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

The vehicle accident and exchange of gunfire in South Baltimore Monday came as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives moved to arrest a group of men who were en route to commit a home invasion and robbery, documents show.

Details of the operation have been scarce, and the agency did not initially disclose that shots had been fired. Documents, however, show that the men had traveled to the area to meet with an undercover ATF agent under the guise of making final preparations for the robbery.

On Nov. 3, a confidential source met with Dawron Kip Mason, 25, at an undisclosed YMCA, and told Mason that a disgruntled drug courier wanted to contract Mason to obtain cocaine that was property of a Mexican drug cartel, documents show. Mason "assured [the source] that he was experienced in this area and wanted to commit the robbery," the documents say. "This is ... what we do," Mason is alleged to have said.

Five days later, Mason met with an undercover agent, who explained the set up of the house they were planning to hit. It is not clear from the documents whether the entire operation was a ruse, but Mason told the agent he had a "couple of dudes that will go straight in there, knock them off." He said he would "knock down [an armed guard], tie him up, go for the second dude, tie both of [them] up," and knock them unconscious, according to records.

The undercover agent and Mason agreed to meet Nov. 14, and at about 3:45 p.m., they met on Patapsco Ave. Mason had six other men with him, and they went over the outline of the robbery. "Is that cool, we straight?" he said. 

Agents then decided to move in. Mason attempted to flee by driving a white Ford Explorer into a moving van being utilized by police, then through a six-foot-high chain link fence, and through a parking lot where they crashed into a bystander's vehicle, agents wrote in court papers. The Explorer continued across four lanes of traffic but crashed into a telephone pole.

All of the men attempted to flee on foot but were captured by law enforcement agents. Agents found two spent shell casings inside the Explorer, as well a 9 mm Glock pistol, a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver, and a .45 caliber Springfield Armory 1911-A1 handgun, according to documents.

Charged in the case are: Mason, Michael Allen Smith, 19, Brandon Sykes, 25, Douglas McArthur Thomas, 22, Donte Terrell Thornton, 27, and Christopher Lee Turpin, 28. They are each charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime. 

The men all appeared to have previous criminal records. Mason was charged in 2009 with attempted first degree murder and armed robbery, and pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and received six months in jail, court records show.

Turpin was charged in 2004 with first-degree murder and was convicted of manslaughter, receiving 10 years in prison. According to an account in The Sun, two women were fighting when Thomas Grimes got involved. Turpin, a friend of one of the women, shot Grimes. 

Sykes, meanwhile, was sentenced to five years in prison for firearm possession in 2007, records show.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

The Sun's Luke Broadwater and Scott Calvert report today:

"The city's budget office revealed at an investigative hearing Tuesday that it has spent $10.4 million over the past three years — an average of about $3.5 million annually — defending the Baltimore Police Department against lawsuits.

Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke called for the hearing over what she called an "especially troubling" trend of the Police Department paying out millions over brutality claims while other parts of the budget, such as recreation centers, suffer cuts.

"Not only do they siphon off scarce funds that could have been used to address other pressing problems in Baltimore, but each judgment also can represent an instance where citizens were avoidably harmed by the actions of officers whose job it is to protect them," Clarke stated in a resolution that called for the hearing.

Police officials testified Tuesday that they have instituted better training for officers, which has reduced brutality complaints, and City Solicitor George Nilson argued that sometimes the city needs to spend more on legal fees to ensure lower settlements or judgments. About 65 percent of the cases against police allege excessive force, officials said."

Read the complete story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: City Hall, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Top brass
        

Add a two more life terms to the sentences judges have handed drug kingpin Johnny Butler.

On Tuesday, a city judge sentenced Butler to two consecutive life terms plus 10 years in the killing of Sintia Mesa, a 25-year-old who in January 2007 was abducted, tortured, raped and killed because Butler and his crew wanted access to her drug dealer boyfriend's money. You can read more about the case here, where we covered opening statements.

Butler was convicted of murder by a city jury on Oct. 14. Circuit Judge Alfred Nance handed down the sentence Tuesday.

Butler had already been sentenced to life plus 15 years in federal prison for drug conspiracy and firearms charges.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Marquis Jones’ family can rest a bit easier.

Police have made an arrest in the slaying of the 19-year-old, whose family held a vigil after his death that was interruptedwhen a man approached and made a gun gesture with his hand, sending mourners scrambling with fear.

“Everybody's already tense, because the person who did it is still out here,” uncle Brandon Jones said at the time.

On Nov. 8, police charged Antwon Lee, a 19-year-old from Brooklyn, and he was arrested the next day. Hand-written court documents don’t provide a motive for the crime, only saying that witnesses identified Lee as the shooter. Relatives said they were told that Marquis Jones had been involved in an altercation hours before he was shot Oct. 16 in the 200 block of Aiken St.

After the murder but before Lee’s arrest, Jones’ mother, Tonya, said she was unsure whether an arrest would bring closure.

“As far as [the suspect], he’s already in his own personal jail,” she said. “I want the police to apprehend him and make him serve his time, [but] it won’t bring my son back.”

The arrest comes in a year where homicide detectives have been struggling with a declining rate of cases solved. The unit’s longtime commander was replaced last month.

Lee is being held without bond. His criminal record consists of a handful of drug possession cases and a trespassing charge, all of which were dropped by prosecutors. Court records do not list an attorney for his case.

Jones was one of four children, whose mother had to leave the family after witnessing the death of a relative. He got into trouble with the law, but at his funeral family members recalled his positive traits and decried the city’s culture of acceptance toward violence.

Violence has continued in the East Baltimore-Midway neighborhood where Jones was killed – on Saturday, 18-year-old Kevin Lofland was fatally shot in the 2300 block of Aiken St. It was not clear if the cases were connected.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: East Baltimore
        

Talk about job security.

A 35-year-old man pleaded guilty today to burning down the tire shop where he worked, but his boss said he'd hire the arsonist again after he serves his 10 years in prison and completes 100 hours of community service.

The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office said Jason T. Hicks admitted to "flicking a lighter near a paint brush saturated with a mixture of tar and gasoline and a five-gallon bucket filled with liquid." He told police he was angry because he wanted to use a colleague's paint brush.

The September 26 fire at Belvedere Tires in Northeast Baltimore burned for days and sent plumes of dark smoke over several neighborhoods in Baltimore. It badly damaged the two-story shop that had been owned by the same family for generations.

But prosecutors said the owner didn't want Hicks jailed and "has said he would be willing to rehire the 35-year-old upon release."

The state's attorney's office said Hicks also will have to tour the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center as part of his release.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northwest Baltimore
        

[UPDATE: Above, watch surveillance video WJZ-TV obtained showing part of the raid, including snipers on the roof of a building and a car crash.]

At least one federal ATF agent exchanged gunfire with a suspect during an initiative in South Baltimore Monday evening. That information was not disclosed by a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives until pressed for details this morning.

Special Agent Clare A. Weber confirmed reports from city police sources and some witnesses. She said at first only that shots had been fired and that any more details were part of a "shooting review" done by commanders. She later that "gunshots were exchanged."

Further details of the operation were not divulged. City police, who are not involved in the investigation, release information about police-involved shootings almost immediately after such incidents occur.

One agent and several people were injured in the initiative in the 1000 block of West Patapsco Ave., near Magnolia Ave., in Cherry Hill, west of Brooklyn. Authorities would not say if it was an arrest operation or the serving of search warrants.

None of the injuries were serious and none resulted from gunfire, Weber said. There was an accident involving a sport utility vehicle, and reports from the city fire union that a pedestrian was hit and possibly pinned by a car.

Federal authorities would not say whether the arrests stemmed from the investigation, the crash or the gunfire. Witnesses told WJZ-TV that agents chased the SUV across a parking lot. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

Baltimore police have confirmed the passing of the police commissioner's father:

"It is with deep regret that we inform you of the passing of Mr. Frederick H. Bealefeld, II, father of Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld, III and retired Detective Charles E. Bealefeld.

Mr. Bealefeld passed away yesterday following a lengthy illness. His family was by his side.  Please keep the Bealefeld family in your thoughts and prayers. As soon as funeral arrangements are finalized, we will share them with his BPD family.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Top brass
        

Anne Arundel County police are seeking a Northeast Baltimore man in Sunday's fatal shooting outside Mo's Seafood restaurant on Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie. Police said the victim was found outside on the parking lot about 10:30 p.m.

Andrew Michael Johnson, 25, of the 100 block of Sloane Drive in Glen Burnie, was pronounced dead at Harbor Hospital of a gunshot wound to the upper body.

Police have charged Cornelius Keith Johnson, 24, of the 4200 block of Shamrock Drive, in Baltimore in a warrant with first-degree murder. Police have not disclosed a motive but said the "killing was targeted and was not a random act."

The suspect is at left in a police mug shot. Police said they do not believe he is related to the victim of the same name. Court records show that Cornelius Johnson was convicted of a handgun possession in 2005 in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court, but got a 30 day suspended jail sentence and one year probation.

In 2008, he accepted probation before judgment on a drug possession case and was sentenced to two years probation. 

Anyone with information should contact Detective N. Cooper at 410-222-3453 or Metro Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

The University of Maryland Baltimore campus put out a crime alert on Monday afternoon. It was not Tweeted by the Baltimore Police Department, perhaps because no one was struck by the gunfire: 

"ATTEMPTED ASSAULT by SHOOTING AT CAMPUS RELATED LOCATION: 500 Block West Lexington Street (Near Lexington Market).

On November 14, 2011 at 1:05 PM, an attempted assault by shooting at occurred in the 500 Block of West Lexington Street near Lexington Market. The Baltimore Police Department and the University of Maryland Police Force responded to the scene. According to information from the scene, the suspect fired one shot from an unknown caliber handgun at the victim before running away from the scene. Neither the suspect nor victim could be located. It appears that the victim and the suspect are possible acquaintances; neither are affiliated with the University of Maryland.
 
SUSPECT INFORMATION:
Suspect: Black male, 25 - 30 Years of age, medium build, wearing beige jacket, green sweat shirt and brown two tone sneakers."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Downtown
        

The Sun's city school reporter Erica L. Green, reports today that weapons are a problem in Baltimore Schools:

After at least three weapons-related incidents in as many months, including one in which a student was stabbed in the abdomen, city school officials acknowledge that they are struggling with a problem that has led to dozens of students being expelled and more than 100 weapons being confiscated last year.

According to discipline data requested by The Baltimore Sun, the system has seen a steady stream of weapons filtering into schools since 2008, ranking among the highest numbers of disciplinary sanctions. Since the school year began in September, school officials have publicly acknowledged that police have retrieved three deadly weapons from students, including two handguns and the knife that was used in the Nov. 3 stabbing.

In the 2010-2011 school year, the district noted slight increases in the number of weapons incidents referred to school police and weapons-related expulsions. Last school year, there were 122 incidents of weapons possession reported to city school police, compared with 109 the year before, and 82 students were expelled for possessing weapons.

Read Erica's full story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Confronting crime
        

A federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was injured Monday evening while serving arrest warrants as part of an operation in South Baltimore, a spokeswoman for the agency said.

Details were still coming in but city police report that West Patapsco Avenue at Magnolia Avenue is closed in both directions as of 5:15 p.m. The Baltimore fire union reports on Twitter that the incident involves an accident with a pedestrian struck.

Special Agent Clare Weber, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore ATF field office, confirmed that an accident occurred but she had no details on how the agent was injured. She said the agent suffered non-life threatening injuries during an enforcement operation in which several people were taken into custody.

No other details were immediately available.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

Commanders in the Anne Arundel County police department who oversee gambling investigations have side jobs as security guards for the developer building Arundel Mills, the Annapolis Capital's Scott Daughterty reported this weekend.

Chief Col. James Teare Sr. told the newspaper that he sees no conflict with the security work - and in fact, Daugherty reported, Teare himself - who earns $138,000 annually - works a side security job for BGE. County Executive John Leopold defended Teare and the command staff, while union officials and ethics and law enforcement experts were critical:

The after-hours security work for Cordish - which the department first authorized in May - shocked the former chairman of the county's Ethics Commission and several law enforcement experts.

"Having people who regulate gambling working for a casino operator is just mind-boggling," said Christopher S. Rizek, who headed the Ethics Commission from 2004 to 2008.

"Anybody working vice, narcotics or organized crime should under no circumstances work (secondary employment). It compromises the officer and it compromises the agency," said Andrew J. Scott III, a former chief of the Boca Raton (Fla.) Police Department who now consults privately on police policies. "It just doesn't look good."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

A 15-year-old girl walking to school in Severna Park told police that a man tried to abduct her Monday morning by reaching through a window of his car. The girl broke free of his grasp, Anne Arundel County police said, and she ran to her school.

The incident occurred about 9:30 a.m. on White Oak Drive near Cear Road. The suspect is described as a Hispanic or White male in his 40’s with a dark complexion, medium build and short, dark hair. He was last seen wearing mirrored sunglasses. The vehicle was described as a dark green, older model, two door pick up truck with tinted windows.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Dave Wood or Sergeant Tim Davis with the Criminal Investigation Division at 410-222-3466 or 410-222-3470.

Information on a reward:

If you have information on the above incident, please call, email, or text your tip to Metro Crime Stoppers Hotline Available 24-Hours A Day Toll Free at 1-866-7LOCKUP or Text “MCS plus your message” to CRIMES (274637), or visit Metro Crime Stoppers.

Phone calls are not recorded and callers remain anonymous. You may also be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000!          

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

A man and a woman were each convicted in federal court of wire and mail fraud on Monday for running a complex rental car scheme that defrauded as many as 1,500 people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Erica Brown, 29, of Laurel, and Lamondes Williams, 52, of Baltimore, each face up to 20 years in prison when they scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 16. A jury in U.S. District Court sat through a nine-day trial before convicting the suspects on a combined 23 counts of wire fraud and 16 counts of mail fraud.

Authorities said the suspects advertised on the Internet that people could rent cars for as little as $15.95 a day, drive up to 3,000 miles for free and receive a break on gas. But customers lured by the ads found themselves being sold something else instead.

For more details:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system
        

There were a number of fatal shootings across the city over the weekend, violence that continued this morning when an unidentified man was fatally shot at about 9 a.m. in the 1700 block of Moreland Street. With apologies to City Paper's "Murder Ink," here's some information that became available today on the weekend crime:

-Police said one of two men shot Saturday night in the East Baltimore Midway neighborhood died that night from his injuries. Kevin Lofland, 18, of the 2200 block of Asquith St., was found shot at least once at in the 2200 block of Aiken St. and taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died at 8:08 p.m. According to court records, Lofland did not have a criminal record.

A second victim, who was 17 years old, was found in the 1200 block of Darley Ave. and is expected to survive. Police did not release a possible motive.

-Police identified the woman found fatally shot inside her Northeast Baltimore home Friday night at 26-year-old Lakeishe Player. Det. Jeremy Silbert, a police spokesman, said officers were called to the 2600 block of Kentucky Ave. for a report of shots fired inside a home in the block. Officers knocked on the door and got no answer and made forced entry, where they found Player suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. The case remains open and police did not provide a possible motive. According to court records, Player did not have a criminal record.

-Police also identified a man fatally shot Nov. 5 in the 4100 block of Parkwood Ave. as 21-year-old Davon Diggs. His killing also remains unsolved, police said. 

The killings bump the number of people slain in Baltimore this year to 181. That's down from 193 at this point last year. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

From The Baltimore Sun:

A 25-year-old man died after he was shot Sunday night in the parking lot of Mo's Seafood in Glen Burnie. The Anne Arundel County police department identified the victim as Andrew Michael Johnson of the 100 block of Sloane Drive in Glen Burnie.

According to police, officers responded to a report of a shooting about 10:34 p.m. Sunday outside the seafood restaurant, in the 7100 block of Ritchie Highway. Officers found the victim in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the upper torso, police said. A fire department crew took him to Harbor Hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Johnson received six months of probation before judgment in a 2007 drug possession case, after he entered an Alford plea — acknowledging there was evidence to convict him but not admitting to the crime, according to court records. In 2009, he was sentenced to a year in jail followed by a year of supervised probation after he pleaded guilty in another drug case, according to court records. Both were in Anne Arundel County.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

UPDATE: Baltimore County police say they believe the motive in the shooting was robbery.

Two teenagers have been charged as adults in last week’s shooting in Baltimore County of a Morgan State University student, who remains in critical condition at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, according to police.

Police identified the suspects as Jerry David Hawkins, 16, of the 800 block Judy Lane in Pikesville, and Brandon Rickman White, 17, of the 5400 block of Orange Grove Court in Ellicott City. Each has been charged as an adult with attempted first-degree murder and handgun violations.

The victim, Ian Holland, 21, who lives in Northwest Baltimore’s Ashburton neighborhood, was shot about 12:15 p.m. Wednesday in the first block of Tent Mill Lane, in Milford Mill. Baltimore County police have not released a motive, but spokeswoman Cathy Batton said it was not a random attack.

Clinton R. Coleman, a spokesman for Morgan State University, said Holland enrolled in the school in the fall of 2008 and has enough credits to qualify as a sophomore. The suspects are being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III tells "60 Minutes" that he's wary of police using Tasers to control suspects. The CBS news show broadcast a segment Sunday night about how officers overuse the device.

Police agencies have long tried to find ways to control combative suspects without resorting to deadly force. The Taser, which sends electricity into a person's body, is billed as a non-lethal way of controlling people.

People have died from being hit by Tasers, and officials debate the merits of the device constantly (here's one study from Stanford University). And here's a report on Tasers from the Maryland Attorney General's Office. Also, the National Institute of Justice conducted a study on Taser deaths in 2008, and followed it up with another study in 2011.

The Sun's crime report, Justin Fenton, and health reporter Meredith Cohn, explored the use of Tasers in Maryland in an article last year, after the death of a Baltimore County man.

We can't recall Bealefeld speaking out about Tasers before, but he did testify in 2009 against civilians being able to use them, calling the Taser an "extraordinary weapon."

The CBS show concentrated on police using Tasers too much, as a substitute for other ways of controlling suspects.

Two Baltimore police officers interviewed by the show said the loved Tasers and Bealefeld himself said his own troops are clamoring for them. Here's the exchange with Bealefeld from the show, from the "60 Minutes" website:

Tom Smith: It's putting out about 2.1 milliamps. It's a very, very low current. The battery that runs this is basically the same battery that would run a digital camera.

So while the voltage is high the amount of electricity or current the Taser puts out is low. And that's the difference between being electrocuted and living to tell about it.

Frederick Bealefeld: I'm not a huge fan.

Baltimore's Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld may be Taser's most reluctant customer.

Bealefeld: I recognize, one, the utility of this device. It makes the public safer in a lot of situations. It has helped contribute, in some measure to reductions of deadly force.

David Martin: But you're not a fan?

Bealefeld: On a personal level, no. I'm absolutely not a fan.

Bealefeld is a third generation cop who believes there are better ways than Taser to avoid the use of force.

Bealefeld: If you don't emphasize the training, and that's a key component, and the oversight, the use of them - it could lead you down a path of over dependence on that device. That's been a chief concern that I've had. That we don't substitute our basic responsibility to a short-cutted method of deploying a Taser to get people to comply.

And he believes that, even though the Baltimore police department has used Tasers for over 10 years.

Bealefeld: Even now less than 500 of the devices are deployed across the whole police department. I have 2,800 sworn members.

David Martin: What do the ones who don't get a Taser think about it?

Bealefeld: They're clamoring for 'em.

David Martin: Do they all want it?

McCartin: I think everyone wants one, yes.

David Martin: You know they're not all going to get it. I just talked to the commissioner.

McCartin: Well, I got mine.

Sergeant Harvey Baublitz who patrols Baltimore's inner harbor with its tourists and night life has only used his once but it frequently comes in handy.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Police shootings, Top brass
        

It's been nearly a year since 19-year-old Patrick Dolan was stabbed to death while walking along Juneway in Belair Edison. Police haven't made an arrest in the case, and his parents are trying to renew some publicity to help them grieve and bring closure.

This was the young man who went to his final resting place wearing not a suit, but the No. 21 jersey of the Ravens cornerback, Lardarius Webb. It was Dolan's prized possession, and he had worn it just once before he was killed about 10:45 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2010, in a robbery in Northeast Baltimore's Belair-Edison.

Patrick Dolan was the city's 200th slaying of last year, and Webb and other players signed a ball for the family, who are big Ravens fans. The mother, Geraldine, has sent letters to the paramedics who treated her son, to the mayor and to the people living on and around Juneway. There are tribute pages on Facebook and a basketball tournament in his honor. The photo, with the ball signed by Webb, is from the family.

The mother wrote me:

"A reality of never getting over Patrick's death, but hopeful we will get through. A reality, we believe, many do not understand. Our faith and Patrick's spirit will keep us grounded, no doubt. But we live each day with a pain that seems to have no cure. Personally, an aching in my heart that never goes away, a weight so heavy in my chest, no human could ever lift, and a feeling of emptiness in my soul that only my first born child could fill. Yet our hearts are still beating and we have become living proof, it is possible to survive with a broken heart.

"My husband and I know we are being guided by a strength that is not humanly possible. We promised to keep believing more than ever for each other and for our children's sake. We also want to share with others who have lost a child what we are learning in our recovery of Grief, 'Our love did not end the day our children died, We will always love them no matter where they are.'"

Here is a tribute that a friend wrote for Patrick.

Here is the story that I wrote a year ago on the burial and an interview with Webb.

Below are some of the letters Patrick's parents sent out: 

To the Baltimore Fire Department paramedics, Mathew Fifer and John Brinkley:

"Your efforts in getting to our son and helping him best you could will be with us always.  Sadly Patrick did not make it through the heart surgery but the doctors assured us Patrick fought very hard and that it was a miracle he did not die instantly. They couldn’t explain how he was still alive when he arrived at the hospital, especially with two punctures to his heart.

With every ones efforts to save Patrick’s life that day, and a reason beyond my understanding, he passed away. But we believe in our hearts, Patrick knew he was with those who wanted to help him. And he was not alone. As his mother, that means more to me than words could ever explain. The last 9 months have been very hard for our family, but we realize the many who reached out to support us in any way they could. In our eyes, you were the first ones to do that. Thank you again."

To Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake:

"We are from Baltimore and lived here 16 years of Patrick's life, but never imagined my son's vibrant life would be taken at the age of 19 by someone with no regard for life at all. It has been
heart breaking for our family, but sadder to see in our youth, no message of a better way of living it seems. I am sure there are programs in place for youth in Baltimore but during my grieving, I thought, could there be a way I could possibly make a difference by sharing what happened to Patrick and the pain our family, Patrick's father, his brothers, his sister, and hundreds of family and friends, have been dealing with since this tragedy occurred."

To the people who live on and around Juneway:

"I WAS VERY ANGRY AND KEPT ASKING HOW COULD SO MUCH EVIL BE IN THIS WORLD AND HOW THE FATE OF MY SON, (JUST VISITING BALTIMORE THAT MORNING TO VISIT WITH A FRIEND), ENDED HIS LIFE. I FELT HATRED TOWARD BALTIMORE AND THE PEOPLE IN IT WHEN THIS HAPPENED, AND I LOOKED FOR EVERY BAD THING I COULD FIND TO TRY AND MAKE SENSE OF IT ALL.  BUT I CAN’T!

THEN I WAS REMINDED OF PATRICK’S BEAUTIFUL SMILE, HIS ZEST FOR LIFE AND HOW HE BROUGHT OUT THE POSITIVE IN EVERYTHING ABOUT HIS LIFE, BOTH GOOD AND BAD. HE
NEVER HATED ANYONE, ESPECIALLY NOT  THE CITY THAT WAS THE FOUNDATION OF OUR
FAMILY, A PLACE WE SHARED ENDLESS MEMORIES, AND IN SPITE OF THIS HORRIFIC
TRAGEDY, A PLACE PATRICK WAS SO PROUD OF AND MADE COUNTLESS FRIENDS OF ALL
NATIONALITIES. PATRICK LOVED THIS CITY AND THE MEMORIES OUR FAMILY SHARED THROUGH THE YEARS. I  REALIZE I CAN’T LET ANYTHING KILL THE SPIRIT OF MY DEAR SON.  

PATRICK WAS A FIRM BELIEVER IN FORGIVING, NOT TO JUDGE OTHERS, AND WOULD HELP
ANYONE HE COULD. I MAY NEVER FIND THE  REASON THIS HAPPENED OR UNDERSTAND THE
MOTIVES BEHIND THOSE RESPONSIBLE. BUT I HAVE TO BELIEVE IT IS NOT FOR ME TO
JUDGE, OR WISH HARM UPON THEM.  I CAN ONLY PRAY FOR US ALL AND TRY TO FIND
PEACE WITHIN MYSELF SO I WILL BE ABLE TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH PATRICK WHEN I
LEAVE THIS WORLD. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE PRAY FOR PATRICK, OUR FAMILY AND THOSE
WHO HAVE LOST THEIR WAY, WE WOULD BE MOST GRATEFUL. God Bless You

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore police are investigating the fatal shooing of a man this afternoon in Heritage Crossing community in West Baltimore. It's the second shooting this month in a section of town houses built years ago to replace a highrise public housing complex.

Police said the victim was shot in the chest about 4:50 p.m. and was pronounced dead a short time later. It occurred in the 1000 block of Pennsylvania Ave. On Nov. 8, two men were shot in Heritage Crossing, which was built to replace the Murphy Homes highrises.

Baltimore police are also reporting several other shootings since Friday. Here is a statement from a department spokesman (not included is a double shooting Friday afternoon in North Baltimore's Harwood, which Justin Fenton covered):

November 12, 2011 - The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a fatal shooting that occurred yesterday, Friday, November 11th, just before 6:00 pm, within Northeast Baltimore. 
 
After being directed to the 2600 Blk of Kentucky Avenue, by a citizen who heard a gunshot, officers made entry into a dwelling to ensure the safety of any possible occupants.  Once inside, officers located the body of a deceased adult female.  The mortal wound is what appears to be a gunshot wound to the head. 
 
At this time, the investigation is in its very preliminary stages and there is no word on suspects or possible motive.  Similarly, the victim's identity has not been confirmed/released.  Homicide detectives are investigating and are urging anyone with any information concerning this incident to contact police immediately at 410-396-2100. 
 

November 12, 2011 - The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a non-fatal shooting that occurred yesterday, Friday, November 11th, just after 10:30 pm, within Northeast Baltimore.
 
Officers responded to the 2000 Blk of Hillenwood Road for report of a shooting.  Upon arrival they located the 28 year-old male victim at the entrance-way of a dwelling suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.  He was transported to an area hospital and at last check was in serious but stable condition.  Further investigation revealed the incident may have occurred within the 1900 Blk of Hillendale Road. 
 
No word, at present, on suspect or possible motive.  Anyone with any information is asked to contact Baltimore Police Northeast District shooting detectives at 410-396-2444. 
 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Anne Arundel County police have identified the victims and suspect in Friday night's double homicide outside the Arundel Mills mall (read full story here):

On November 11, 2011 at 11:55 p.m., officers responded to the parking lot of the Arundel Mills Mall located at 7000 Arundel Mills Circle in Hanover for a reported double shooting.  Officers arrived and discovered two victims, a male and a female, outside the mall on the parking lot.  Both were pronounced deceased at the scene.  Homicide detectives responded and continue to investigate the case.

**UPDATE**

Witness information later lead detectives to the 8100 block of Rydal Road in Prince Georges County. At that location, the possible suspect in the case, James Coleman, was shot and killed during an encounter with P.G. County Police. The following is identification information for both victims at Arundel Mills and the suspect.

Victims:
- Chonsay Laquez Green, male, age 30, of the 4200 block of Torque Street in Capitol Heights, Maryland.
- Jeneen Desiree Dunn, female, age 25, of the 7700 block of Hanover Parkway in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Suspect:
- James Edward Coleman, male, age 22, of the 8100 block of Rydal Road in District Heights, Maryland.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

From The Sun's Arthur Hirsch:

The man suspected of fatally shooting two people outside of Arundel Mills mall late Friday was shot and killed in an exchange of gunfire near Capital Heights this morning, Prince George's County police said.

Anne Arundel County Police spokesman Lt. Francis Tewey had said early Saturday that the victims in the mall shooting were a male and a female, but he had no further information about them. He said the incident was "probably not a random act of violence."

The shootings occurred shortly before midnight outside Dave & Buster's restuarant at the mall in Hanover. Few other details of the shootings have been released. Read the full story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Breaking news, Crime elsewhere
        

Three more makeshift firebombs were thrown against houses in Northwest Baltimore early Saturday, causing little damage and no injuries but raising concerns that a spate of nine similar attacks in September has renewed.

Baltimore police said they are conducting forensic testing on the bottles used in the Molotov cocktail attacks – including a Remy Martin and a Colt 45 – but thus far have few clues and no suspects.

In one case, a bottle bounced off a screen; in another the bottle went through a window but the lighted wick fell off and burned out outside. In the final incident, the lighted bottle broke through a window and set living room drapes on fire, according to fire officials.

“They appear to be attacking random houses,” said city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, who added that detectives are investigating whether Saturday’s incidents are connected to the ones two months ago.

Two homeowners heard cars pull off early Saturday but were not able to provide a description. “These are happening at a tough hour,” Guglielmi said. “People are sleeping. It’s clear the ones last night are most likely from the same person. It’s probable that these are all from the same group of people.”

The spokesman said extra police and other security measures he would not discuss are being implemented in Northwest Baltimore, where most of the attacks have occurred. Thus far, there has been no significant damage.

 “All we need is for one of these to catch and a house will go up,” Guglielmi said. “We’re not taking this lightly.” Police added in a statement: “The potential for serious injury or life-loss from such acts of arson is substantial.”

Saturday’s attacks occurred between 1 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Two were within three blocks in the West Arlington neighborhood, and a third occurred about eight blocks to the south.

Police said that in the first firebombing, reported at 1:13 a.m. in the 4100 block of Belvieu Ave., attackers threw a Colt 45 bottle at a first-floor rear window of a house. Baltimore Fire Capt. Stephen Gibson, the lead investigator, said it bounced off a screen and burned out on the ground.

Nine minutes later, police said assailants threw a Remy Martin bottle at a first floor window of an apartment building. Gibson said the bottle broke the window and landed inside, but the wick dropped off outside and burned out. The only damage was to the window.

About an hour later, police said a house in the 3300 block of Liberty Heights Avenue was attacked. Gibson said a lighted bottle went through a living room window and set drapes on fire. He said the occupant used a bucket of water to put out the flames and then called 911.

There was a fourth arson fire in Northwest Baltimore early Saturday – in the 4500 block of Rogers Ave. Gibson said someone stuff a rag into a door frame and lit it on fire, but investigators believe that was an isolated incident and not related to other fire bombings.

Guglielmi, the city police spokesman, said arson investigators are “vigorously investigating the incident” but have few leads. They are hoping to obtain fingerprints from the bottles; efforts to gather similar evidence in September did not materialize, police said.
 
In September, city police commanders held a news conference after nine fire bombings occurred in three weeks. Most were reported in Northwest Baltimore, but there were others scattered around the entire city.

Police at the time, and on Saturday, said the apparent random nature of the crimes is the most perplexing, and is making it difficult to solve. There is connection between victims and the attacks have occurred in different neighborhoods and targeted both single family homes and apartment buildings.

In one case in September, someone threw a lighted whiskey bottle at the side of a house owned by Mavis Mallet on Yosemite Avenue in Ashburton. The bottle crashed threw a window but bounced off a screen and burned out in potted plant on the patio.

The 70-year-old worried that had the bottle gotten inside, it could’ve quickly burned down her house complete with wooden beams and built in 1934. A visitor sleeping upstairs thought someone was breaking into the house and she grabbed a pair of scissors to defend herself.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northwest Baltimore
        

Anne Arundel County police say that the victims of Friday night's shooting outside the Arundel Mills mall in Hanover were a man and woman. Police also said they're searching for a dark silver or gray hybrid SUV seen being driven away from the scene.

Few other details were released, including the identities and ages of the victims. Police did clarify that the shooitng just before midnight occurred outside the mall in a parking lot. A woman who said she saw he aftermath said the crime scene was in front of a Dave & Buster's restaurant. The mall closes at 9:30 p.m. on Friday's but restaurants and the move theater are open later.

Both victims were pronounced dead on the scene. No other details have been released. Arundel Mills is the site of a future casino that is to be the state's largest. Many residents who live at Arundel Mills protested the site as unacceptable.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Two people were shot and killed Friday night at the Arundel Mills mall in Anne Arundel County, according to police. Few details were made available this morning, and it was not clear from an initial statement whether the shootings occurred inside or outside the mall.

The address that police provided, 7000 Arundel Mills Circile, is the same for the movie theater. While the mall closes at 9:30 p.m. on Fridays, movies are shown there past midnight. A casino is planned for the mall site as well.

Police said the shootings occurred minutes before midnight and that detectives were searching for a dark silver or gray hybrid Sport Utility Vehicle. Information on the victims, such as their names and ages, were not immediately provided.

Anyone with information is urged to call Anne Arundel County Police at 410-222-8610.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Police were investigating what was believed to be a double-shooting Friday afternoon in the Harwood neighborhood of North Baltimore.

Officers responded to a call of a shooting in the 300 block of E. 27th St. and found a man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the back inside a residence. Detectives later located a crime scene about two blocks away in an alley behind Lorraine Street at Barclay Street.

Another man with gunshot wounds walked into a local hospital around the same time, and police believe both were injured in the same shooting. Both were expected to survive.

Neighbors said there is rampant drug dealing in the block, and one woman said police often have a marked cruiser at the intersection of Barclay and East 27th Street. She said the officer wasn't there when the shooting occurred. "They never here when you need them," she said.

The crime scene was eerily quiet for a time after the shooting. After an ambulance pulled away, there was only a handful of officers - shooting scenes usually draw scores of them.

"They got us at shift change," one officer said.

Later, a dozen officers were canvassing the neighborhood and inspecting the area. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

A 12-year-old girl at a Baltimore middle school has reported that a teenage boy sexually assaulted her in a classroom last month, according to city police. The story was first reported on Fox-45 TV.

Police said the girl told detectives that she was attacked about 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 4 inside Harlem Park Elementary/Middle School, but did not report the incident to police until two weeks later. The school is located in the 1400 block of West Lafayette Ave. in Sandtown-Winchester.

Det. Jeremy Silbert, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department, said the case is under investigation and no charges have been filed against the 13-year-old suspect. He said detectives are trying to determine whether the girl was raped or sexually assaulted.

The mother told television news stations that she was upset that the boy remains in school; officials said the investigation is ongoing. "I had to remove my daughter from out of class, and he can walk around the school Scott free," the mother told WBAL-TV.

Meanwhile, the school system has installed metal detectors at Baltimore Civitas School after a stabbing a week ago, WBAL radio reports. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Schools, West Baltimore
        

Either we at the paper write too much about crime or not enough. Either we're complicit in covering up the violence to help the mayor or we're out to scare everyone away from the city and leave it to ruin.

Two readers shared their opinions on crime coverage. One was upset that we referenced Morgan State University in a short story on a fatal shooting. Another was unhappy with crime coverage in Charles Village, which he thought excessive for one neighborhood.

The Morgan man writes:

Every other day people are murdered or assaulted near a John Hopkins building, dorm, or establishment and never are these issues linked together as such. Either it is ineptitude, racism, or bad judgement? Either way, I just don't get how or why this is a story about Morgan State?

I grew up in an impoverished neighborhood near one of the wealthiest universities in the world and although a ton of crime occurred, the local news never connected it with this ivy league institution. Morgan State is a safe place that girds that entire community and Baltimore. Without it, it things in some of those neighborhoods would be tragically worse.

First, it's just wrong that a person a day is murdered or assaulted near any university in the city. There isn't even a person murdered a day in the entire city. The killing occurred Wednesday night in front of a dorm located off campus. The story mentioned location, and said that the university was trying to determine if a student was the victim. We later learned the shooting wasn't connected to the school and the story was update accordingly. But the institution as a locator for the shooting remains valid.

The gentleman complaining about Charles Village owns property there, and I've learned, and I understand, that property owners get upset when we cover crime in their neighborhoods. Many people also get upset when they see a police car speeding by their home and wonder why it wasn't reported in the morning paper.

Charles Village is an important neighborhood in the city, home to a major university, and crime is a problem. It's where Johns Hopkins researcher Stephen Pitcairn was killed, and where another man was shot in a robbery just a few weeks ago. A Hopkins student was sexually assaulted in an alley last month, and break-ins are routine fodder for the university's crime log.

The story to which the writer objects was how a Hopkins student pointed out a suspicious man crouching on a rowhouse rooftop. Police arrested the man, who it turned out was wanted by police on charges that he broke into a house full of Hopkins lacrosse players. It was both a story on a suspect sought in a series of burglaries, and an alert citizen (and student) who helped police do exactly what they ask of us each day -- be alert and report suspicious activity.

It's true that Charles Village is one of the more active neighborhoods, and they report crime and other goings-on with great frequency to us and to each other. That in turns gets them more attention than other communities. But I also received several emails from Charles Village residents thanking me for the coverage.

Here are the emails from the resident, Shaun Carrick. I'd love to hear what everyone else thinks: 

Dear Mr. Hermann:

It seems that you have something against Charles Village – you are regularly reporting on and rehashing crime stories that have some connection to our neighborhood (using words such as “adjacent” to Charles Village) – perhaps it is because we are a community of mainly white residents and readers read and react more to crimes in predominantly white communities.

Readers are often left with an impression that our community is one of the more crime-plagued communities in the City which is certainly not the case – we have crime as do most all city neighborhoods but your stories go well beyond simply reporting a crime – you seem to use your stories to accentuate fear and anxiety and oftentimes rehash crimes from the past to enhance your story.

“Steadfast” homeowner implies that we have a fortress mentality and that is far from the case.  I trust you have some appreciation for the damage you inflict on a community with your manner of reporting.

I would ask that you please consider the ramifications of how your report crime and characterize a community and its residents – if you and your newspaper continue to report in such an irresponsible manner you will eventually run all of your readers out of the City – I’m not sure that is an accomplishment worthy of a journalist or a reputable newspaper.

I had to laugh when I read in your newspaper’s editorial earlier this year about how the perception of crime in Baltimore was out of proportion to actual crime in the City – despite year to year declines in crime the perception of most Baltimore area residents is that crime has increased – it is your newspaper and to be frank your stories in particular which I believe are responsible for this disconnect between perception and reality.

Unfortunately, perception is oftentimes more important in motivations behind actions than reality and at some point perhaps my partner and I will decide it is time to give up on Baltimore before your newspaper succeeds in convincing everyone that they should stay clear of one of “America’s most crime-ridden cities”.

I would ask that you please give some consideration to the impact of your stories and the role you play in the exaggerated perceptions of crime in the City.  You really do this City a disservice.

Shaun Carrick

I responded, much the way I did above, and he wrote back:

Thank you Mr. Hermann for your response. I agree that you have a responsibility to report crime honestly and I also agree that crime is an important issue for our City and community.  Although it is true that Baltimore remains among the top cities for crime on a per capita basis, using a per capita statistic can be misleading as it simply compares communities on a relative basis – it does not necessarily reflect the reality of crime and true risks of crime for a city’s residents.

In Baltimore (as in many cities), the average law abiding citizen does not have a significant risk of being the victim of crime – my guess is that if you studied crime statistics (particularly violent crime statistics), those most at risk are themselves criminals or those involved with drugs.  In particular, those most at risk are young black men involved in drug trafficking – Mr. Pitcairn’s case is a tragedy but is also the rare exception.

The wounds of Stephen’s horrific death will never heal completely but we do need to keep such a tragedy in perspective.  Fortunately, the criminals in that case have been brought to justice and we all must move on as best we can.

It is ironic to me that because our community has a few outspoken residents (whose work on the court watch issue I very much appreciate) more information is made available to you which in turn ends up in relatively more crime stories about our neighborhood than other neighborhoods.

I recognize that there are citizens who do not trust government or the press but I would ask that you keep their views in perspective as they do not always characterize the views of a majority in the community – they just happen to be more outspoken.

In any event, we can certainly disagree on what is the best way to report on crime – I recognize your right and responsibility to report facts – what I struggle with is the embellishment that may accompany those facts or the choice of which facts to report when the consequence is to add to an exaggerated or even incorrect perception.

As we both know, how facts are reported and which facts are selected to report can result in very different conclusions and perceptions. I first moved to Baltimore in the early 80s when homicides were almost twice what they are today and when I had neighbors in Mt. Vernon and Bolton Hill who were victims of violent crime – today the situation is very different – crime is still a problem but it is unfortunate that the public perception is that matters have gotten worse when in fact the opposite is true.

I have never been the victim of crime (except in the parking garage at Towsontowne Mall) so perhaps my view is distorted by my own personal experience but I would like to see at least the other side of the crime story told more regularly – it may not be as newsworthy or salacious but it would help provide balance on this highly charged issue.

One item in your recent story which gave me concern is the fact that a judge released a repeat offender after only 13 days in jail despite his 2 or 3 year sentence – it seems to me that part of the problem is the laxness of judges in our criminal justice system; Mr. Davis should have been in jail.

It seems to me to be appropriate to report the names of these judges in your stories so that they can be held accountable for their contribution to crime – perhaps they would be cognizant of their actions.  I recognize that there may be extenuating circumstances that cause a judge to ignore sentencing guidelines but the conduct of judges would seem to be a story worth reporting.

I do appreciate the difficulty in reporting on crime but I would ask that you and your colleagues consider the bigger picture of how your stories may affect public perception – it is no one’s interest to create a perception that is out of proportion to actual facts but instead is based on fears or anxieties stoked by reporting.

I did see that your article in the published newspaper had been revised from the electronic version on-line to remove the word “steadfast” which I appreciate – the vast majority of those living in our neighborhood very much enjoy our neighborhood and choose to stay because of its many amenities – we are not walled up in our homes living in fear.

Again, thank you for taking the time to respond to my letter.

Regards

Shaun Carrick

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Confronting crime
        

Federal authorities in El Paso, Texas have filed additional charges against 10 people from Baltimore being held in a trafficking case involving The Block and strip clubs across the country. Prosecutors are calling the case a "forced prostitution" scheme.

The alleged leader, Alarcon Allen "Tha Don" Wiggins, 43, and nine other city residents had been charged with transporting for the purpose of prostitution. A superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit human trafficking and sex trafficking by force.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Texas alleges the group leaders called themselves concert promoters to allegedly lure women into their group and then force them to dance at strip clubs, including at The Block, and to be prostitutes. One of the bars mentioned in the indictment is Chez Joey on East Baltimore Street, shown above in the picture by The Sun's Gene Sweeney Jr.

Prosecutors said the group had strict rules, confiscated the women's cell phones and identification cards, and set minimums for pay, all of which were taken by the leaders. Rules, prosecutors said, "prohibited any communication by the victims and personal interaction with anyone outside the group without the defendants permission."

On Sunday, The Sun published a long article on the case and interviewed one of the women involved. The story documents how several women escaped, helped others to get out and then helped the FBI. All 10 suspects were arrested at a single family house off Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore.

Here is a statement from federal prosecutors on the case:

EL PASO FEDERAL GRAND JURY RETURNS SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT IN BALTIMORE BASED FEDERAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATION

United States Attorney Robert Pitman and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Mark Morgan announced that ten individuals, including the C.E.O. of 424 Records, 1 Team 1 Family Entertainment, DBD TV and DBD Productions in Baltimore, Maryland, face additional charges in connection with a forced prostitution scheme based in El Paso and Baltimore.

Alarcon Allen Wiggins (aka “Alarcon Tha Don”), age 43, and nine other Baltimore residents are charged in a superseding indictment returned late yesterday afternoon for their roles in a human trafficking/forced prostitution operation. The other defendants include: 20-year-old DeAngelo Perry Smith (aka “D-Lo”); 23-year-old Deyonta Thompson (aka “Wezz Fresh”); 18-year-old Marc Corey Williams (aka “DJ Yung Rock,” “J-Rock”); 28-year-old Martes Milton Jackson (aka “Tuesday”); 25-year-old Shelby Nicole Smith (aka “Bebe”); 30-year-old Roxanne Michelle Mitchell (aka “Nakira,” “Foxy,” “Roxy,” “Mama,” “Cherish”); 26-year-old Amanda Gayle Darbonne (aka “Kristale,” “Kristal”); 24-year-old Holly N. Reemer (aka “Amira”); and, 22-yearold Brandi L. Minnich (aka “Natasha”).

The superseding indictment charges all of the defendants with conspiracy to commit human trafficking; conspiracy to transport for prostitution; conspiracy to coerce and entice for prostitution; benefitting financially from forced labor; and, three counts of sex trafficking induced by force, fraud or coercion. Wiggins, Smith, Thompson, Williams and Jackson also face three counts of forced labor. Wiggins is also charged with two counts of concealing, removing or confiscating identification documents; Thompson and Smith, one count of concealing, removing or confiscating identification documents.

The superseding indictment alleges that defendants Wiggins, Smith, Thompson, Williams and Jackson–all self-proclaimed recording artists–used their ties to the music industry to recruit young women then force them to work as strippers and prostitutes.

Furthermore, the indictment charges that defendants Smith, Mitchell, Darbonne, Reemer and Minnich allegedly trained the recruited women to work as strippers and prostitutes, then enforced the organization’s rules including preventing the victims from fleeing or seeking help. The indictment alleges that the defendants confiscated all means of communication from the victims, namely cell phones and laptop computers; confiscated all identification documents from victims; prohibited any communication by the victims and personal interaction with anyone outside the group without the defendants’ permission or in their presence; and, collected all victims’ earnings for the benefit of the defendants.

The superseding indictment also charges that since January 2009, the defendants, aided and abetted by one another and under the direction of Wiggins, knowingly transported individuals in interstate commerce, as well as enticed individuals to travel in interstate commerce, to El Paso and other locations, to engage in prostitution.

“This indictment represents the culmination of hard work done by federal, state and local agents in El Paso, Texas and Baltimore, Maryland. Human Traffickers often target innocent victims seeking a better lifestyle for themselves or their families. The FBI is committed to rigorously investigating these types of criminal violations in an effort to maintain safety throughout the El Paso community,” stated Mark Morgan, FBI Special Agent in Charge, El Paso Division.

The indictment also contains a notice of criminal forfeiture whereby the government is seeking to forfeit $1 million dollars, which represent proceeds allegedly derived from the criminal activity.
Upon conviction, each defendant faces: a minimum of 15 years and up to life in federal prison per count for conspiracy to commit human trafficking and sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; up to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to coerce or entice for prostitution; and, up to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to transport for prostitution.

Also, Wiggins, Smith, Thompson, Williams and Jackson face up to 20 years in federal prison upon conviction for each forced labor count. Thompson, Smith and Wiggins are subject to a maximum five years in federal prison for each concealing, removing or confiscating identification documents charge.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Baltimore Police Department S.W.A.T. team assisted in making the arrests. Assistant United States Attorney J. Brandy Gardes and Daniel Crumby are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
As a note, the Western District of Texas has been selected as the site of one of six Pilot Federal Anti-Trafficking Coordination Teams (ACTeams).

The ACTeam Initiative, adopted jointly by Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, brings together federal agents from FBI, ICE-HSI, DOL Wage and Hour Division, and DOL OIG, and federal prosecutors in United States Attorneys

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Crime elsewhere, Downtown
        

Yesterday, we wrote in this space about Reuel Belt, a 28-year-old who was pulled over in Ridgely's Delight while helping with the production with the television show "Kitchen Nightmares." Belt was upset that the officer had suspected him of being a potential burglary suspect, and said he felt the stop amounted to racial profiling. Police retorted that there had indeed been a rash of burglaries in the area and that officers had been encouraged to stop people acting suspiciously.

Now comes word that police have charged a suspect in at least four recent burglaries in the area. And the arrest was made by the same officer - James O'Brien - who Belt says pulled him over. 

A recent victim of a burglary in the 600 block of Portland St. called police at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday and said that she saw a man walking in the neighborhood holding a black and red bag that had been stolen from her in a recent burglary. The suspect was identified as 26-year-old Raymond Causion (seen at right), and police ran a check of pawn shop records that showed Causion had pawned laptops, a Nintendo Wii, DVDs and jewelry that had been stolen from the victim on Oct. 25. The estimated value of the items taken was more than $7,000.

Causion denied involvement in the burglaries and said he found the red and black bag in an alley, police wrote in charging documents.

"Over the last few months there have been numerous burglaries in this area with the same m.o. as the burglary that occurred at the victim's home, where the suspect kicked in the front door of the residence," police wrote in a statement of probable cause. Court records show Causion has been charged in at least three other cases and was being held on $50,000 bond.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

On Wednesday, The Sun's Meredith Cohn wrote about the efforts to save a runner in Baltimore's recent half-marathon. Police Lt. Col. Ross Buzzuro was one of the saviors, but he did not want to talk about what he did.

Police held a news conference today, trying to highlight the good works of one of their own, even a reluctant hero.

Meredith wrote:

Organizers from the Baltimore Running Festival handed out plaques to a collection of good Samaritans and medical personnel Thursday for their part in saving a 55-year-old runner who suffered cardiac arrest just before the finish line of the half marathon.

Among them was Lt. Col. Ross Buzzuro, who was running the race and stopped when he saw Bob Pohl fall to the ground. He’s declined to speak publicly about the event, but has traded many phone calls with the family – who tracked him down through another police officer who is also a family friend of the Pohls.

Buzzuro was also able to see the organizers award a finishers medal Thursday to Pohl, as well as a complimentary registration for next year’s festival, but only for the kids’ fun run. Even after stopping to aid a fellow runner, Buzzuro still beat about 50 percent of the runners in the half marathon with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes and 40 seconds.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Top brass
        

A student at Community College of Baltimore County in Essex has been charged with having a box cutter and a shank while on campus, according to police. The 18-year-old female was arrested Wednesday while standing in a cafeteria lunch line.

Jamersa Daikyra Kinlaw, of the 5100 block of Harford Road, was charged with two counts of possessing a dangerous weapon on school property. She was released on personal bail and has a court hearing scheduled for next month.

A school spokeswoman, Hope Davis, said her case would probably be referred to the school's judiciary committee, and that she would normally be on interim suspension until the outcome of the criminal case. She said it the first time this semester that a student has been charged with possessing a weapon.

Cathy Batton, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Police Department, said a school security guard was tipped off about the student about 9:30 a.m. He approached the student in "B Building," at the grill in a cafeteria, and asked the student about the complaint.

Batton said the student said she had a box cutter. The police spokeswoman said the guard, a special police officer, also found a "small piece of metal attached to a plastic handle."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Anne Arundel County police are asking for help identifying the driver of this car and driver who sped away from an accident that killed a tow truck driver who was preparing to hook up a vehicle on Route 100 in August.

Here is a statement from the police:

"On August 24, 2011, at approximately 8:04 a.m., officers responded to the area of Maryland Route 100 and Oakwood Road for a report of a Fatal Hit and Run accident.

The initial investigation revealed that the suspect vehicle was traveling eastbound on MD Rt. 100 in the far right lane (#2 lane), west of Oakwood Rd when it struck a pedestrian, (Ted’s Towing driver) who was near the shoulder of the roadway.

The pedestrian was performing his duties, preparing to tow a vehicle from the shoulder of the road when struck. As a result of the impact pedestrian sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. After the impact, the suspect vehicle fled the area continuing east on MD Rt. 100 exiting onto Oakwood Rd and was captured on film travelling north on Hospital Drive.

Based on evidence recovered at the scene and witness statements, the suspect vehicle has been identified as a 1987 to 1995 Nissan Pathfinder, maroon or burgundy in color. The suspect driver is described as a white male with a thin build in his early to mid 30’s with  crew cut or short brown hair.  

The suspect vehicle involved in this hit-and-run sustained damage to the right front fender area. The right front turn signal and possibly headlight were damaged in the crash. The passenger side mirror was broken from the vehicle during the crash. The vehicle should also be missing a hubcap, similar to the one in the photo. Photos below are of the actual suspect vehicle fleeing the scene.

If Your Tip To The Hotline Leads To The Arrest And Indictment, For This Felony Crime, You May Be Eligible For A Cash Reward Of Up To $2,000 from Metro Crime Stoppers. In addition, a $10,000 private reward has been offered by Ted’s Towing for the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for this crime."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Howard County police are searching for two robbers who held up different banks on Monday -- a PNC Bank branch in the 15900 block of Old Frederick Road in Woodbine, the other at a Wells Fargo Bank in the 9200 block of Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City.

Police said of the Woodbine robbery:

"A man had approached the teller and demanded money. The suspect did not display or imply a weapon, and the teller refused to comply. The suspect fled the bank on foot toward Lisbon Shopping Center. No money was obtained, and no one was injured in the incident.

The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 50 years old, 6 feet tall, medium build, curly gray hair, wearing a black ski mask, black and red striped shirt and blue jeans."

Police said of the Ellicott City robbery:

"Two men entered the lobby, displayed guns and demanded customers get on the floor. One of the suspects jumped over the counter and removed money from the drawers while the other suspect stayed in the lobby. The suspects fled in a vehicle. No one was injured in the incident.

The suspects are described as males of unknown race wearing all black clothing and dark glasses. The first suspect was a slim build and athletic. The second suspect was approximately 5’10” to 6’ with a medium build."

Anyone with information is urged to call 410-313-STOP.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Howard County
        

Anne Arundel County police say a man who asked to see a gold necklace at Kay Jewelers at the Marley Station Mall last month grabbed it and ran out of the store without paying. A surveillance camera captured the man, and police are asking for help finding him.

Here's a statement from police:

On October 27, 2011, the above suspect walked into the Kay Jewelers in Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie, asked to see a 22” men’s gold necklace valued at $7,000 and indicated that he intended to purchase the necklace. When the sales associate retrieved the necklace and brought it to the register, the suspect grabbed it from the sales associate and ran out of the store. Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect is asked to contact Detective B. Cornwell of the Northern District Detective Unit at 410-222-6135 or Metro Crime Stoppers at the following:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

NEW UPDATE: A spokesman for Morgan State University says the victim was not a student, and was not connected to the school.

UPDATE: Police have identified the victim as Santos Villanueva, of the 7000 block of Surrey Drive in Northwest Baltimore. Still no word on whether he's connected to the university.

A 25-year-old man was chased down and fatally shot Wednesday night near a Morgan State University dorm, according to city police. The victim's name has not yet been released, and we're checking to see if there's any connection to the school.

Police said the shooting occurred about 9:10 p.m. when the victim was confronted by at least one gunman in the rear of the 4300 block of Loch Raven Boulevard, near the Northwood Shopping Center. Police said at least one assailant chased the victim to the 4100 block of Loch Raven Boulevard, and shot him in the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Morgan State's campus is on the eastern side of the Northwood Shopping Center, but there is an upperclassman apartment on Loch Raven -- Marble Hall Gardens -- where the shooting occurred.

The university's web site promotes the complex as providing "a taste of what life may be like for students who graduate and need to enter the 'real world' instead of moving off-campus."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

When Christina Warner spotted a man on a rowhouse roof in Charles Village, she had no idea it would help police catch a man they had been looking for since September.

The 21-year-old Johns Hopkins senior, who wants to be a lawyer, was on a community public safety walk, and pointed out the suspicious man to police.

Authorities quickly arrested 56-year-old Glen Davis, who was on probation from another burglary in the area and was being sought in a warrant charging him with breaking into a home on Calvert Street and stealing a camera from Hopkins lacrosse players.

Davis has a long criminal history. Here is a bit of what we learned about the suspect: 

Court records show that he was convicted of breaking into a business in 1993 and of burglary in 1995 and 1998. The longest prison sentence he served was three years; judges imposed longer sentences but suspended most of the time.

He was arrested in August this year and charged with 4th degree burglary and possession of burglar tools. Police charging documents say a man noticed him standing on a neighbor’s back porch trying to pry open a door of a house. It happened about 1:30 a.m. in the 2900 block of Wyman Parkway in Remington, adjacent to Charles Village and just south of the Hopkins campus and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Police said they caught Davis with two screwdrivers. He pleaded guilty on Sept. 14 and was sentenced to three years in prison. But the judge suspended all but 13 days, and he was essentially released having served the two weeks he spent in jail leading up to his plea agreement. He was put on two years probation.

Two weeks later, on Sept. 29, a Hopkins security guard stopped Davis in the 3000 block of North Calvert St., after seeing him using a flashlight to peer into homes, according to a city police report. The guard pulled a camera from the man’s pocket, according to the report, and found pictures of the lacrosse players on it.

Police said a house where several of the players lived had been broken into through a kitchen door. But police said in the report that by the time city officers arrived, the Hopkins security guard had released the man. The victims identified Davis from mug shot pictures and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He was caught Tuesday night, police said, when Warner spotted the man on the rooftop on Guilford Avenue. Police said they are now investigating connections to other burglaries in the area.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

Baltimore police and correctional officers are still searching for a man who escaped from the downtown booking center and forced authorities to briefly shut down the Jones Falls Expressway when he apparently ran across the highway.

In an unrelated incident at the city detention center, located near the booking center, prison officials said a detainee was stabbed during an altercation at recreation.

Correctional officials said the detainee who escaped, Maury Figueroa, 29, got through a secured, controlled entryway while working on a sanitation detail. A statement says an officer tried to stop him as he climbed a fence in an employee parking lot.

Both directions of the elevated JFX ear the West 28th Street bridge were reopened after about 15 minutes. Police initially reported being in a standoff with the suspect, but later said he got away. The escapee was described as a low-level offender behind held on $75,000 bail on drug charges.

More details:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

A man who shot the popular owner of Yours convenience store in Catonsville, and killed a customer, during a robbery in 2009 was sentenced today in Baltimore County Circuit Court to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Braderick Greene, 37, used a .45 caliber handgun to shoot Sudhir Shah, the owner, and Brian Meise. Shah was shot in the head and spent months recovering; he has reopened his store. Meise, the lone customer, was killed.

The life sentence is tacked on top of 11 life sentences he received for shooting at nearly a dozen police officers when they arrested him in the Catonsville shooting. The officers had stopped Greene in Baltimore City and exchanged gunfire with him as he fled. Police said he used the same gun to shoot as the officers as he did to shoot Shah and Meise.

Here is a statement with more details from Baltimore Count prosecutors:

On Wednesday, November 9, 2011, Braderick Greene was sentenced to life without parole for murder by the Honorable Patrick Cavanaugh in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County.  The Judge made this sentence consecutive to the sentence Greene is currently serving.

On October 13, 2011, Braderick Greene, 37, was convicted by a County jury of the murder of Brian Meise and the attempted murder of Sudhir Shah at the Yours Convenience store on Frederick Road in Catonsville, Maryland.  Greene resided on Melrose Avenue in the same neighborhood where the store is located.

On November 17, 2009, Greene entered the convenience store armed with a .45 caliber handgun and having his face concealed with a bandana.  Shah, the owner of the store, was behind the counter and Meise was the lone customer.  The masked Greene walked in and almost immediately and without provocation shot and killed Meise.  Greene then proceeded around to the rear of the cashier area and robbed and shot Shah in the head.  Shah was able to call 911. 

Days later in Baltimore City Greene was captured by police after fleeing from a traffic stop in which he was a passenger.  As soon as the car he was in came to a stop Greene exited the passenger door and began shooting at police.  He continued to fire as he fled on foot. Police pursued and ultimately shot Greene causing him to drop the gun.  Greene was arrested and taken to the hospital.  Ballistics testing revealed this was the same gun used to kill Meise and shoot Shah in the county.   Greene has previously been convicted of eleven counts of attempted murder for the City shooting, receiving eleven Life sentences.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

UPDATE, 5:30 PM: Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said police have been grappling with a series of burglaries in Ridgely's Delight and officers were told to stop people who were "demonstrating suspicious behavior." He said the efforts appear to have paid off - police yesterday took into custody a "person of interest" in those crimes, he said.

Reuel Belt was cruising around downtown with production staff for the television show "Kitchen Nightmares" on Tuesday afternoon when a city police officer pulled him over and began running his information.

Belt, who is black and grew up in blighted Baltimore but went on to attend private school, play college lacrosse and work for the state attorney general's office, said he's frustrated because he believes the stop was an example of racial profiling.

"[The officer] told us we looked suspicious because we were driving slow," said Belt, 28, who tweeted about the situation as it was happening (see below). "It's foolish, and I worry about other young males, who don't know what to do when they get pulled over by the cops. What do they do when that happens?"

Belt reels off an impressive list of credentials and contacts. He said he has been employed at Johns Hopkins University and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, worked under Attorney General Douglas Gansler and with Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III, and counts super lawyer Ron Shapiro among his mentors. He credits his single mother, who made sure growing up that he was busy with sports, drama and other extracurricular activities, with keeping him out of trouble as a kid. 

These days, he's pursuing acting and modeling, and was assisting the production crew of Chef Gordon Ramsay's "Kitchen Nightmares" as it puts together a piece focused on Baltimore and Cafe Hon. 

He was helping the crew gather footage of city landmarks when they drove into Ridgely's Delight around 2 p.m. Belt says he made a wrong turn and was slowing down to figure out his way when they were pulled over. He says the officer first said that there had been a rash of burglaries in the area and that the van appeared suspicious. After collecting their IDs and running a warrant check, he said they were ticketed for having a broken tail light on the rented vehicle. Though it ultimately was nothing more than a hassle that led them to miss a few stops on their tour of the city, Belt said the stop was indicative of a larger issue.

Police did not respond to requests for comment on whether officers had been instructed to step up patrol in Ridgley's Delight and whether the stop was within protocols. In recent days, others have contacted The Sun alleging police harassment - one man from Southern Maryland, who was white, said he was taken to Central Booking for driving on a suspended license, another said his wallet was taken during a traffic stop and he has been unable to get it back.

"I love Baltimore. I'm trying to push the city, I'm getting stopped for foolishness," Belt said. "Other kids here, they don't have nearly as much public and social skills. ... Something's got to be done."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (24)
Categories: South Baltimore
        

A Johns Hopkins University senior out on a community cop walk helped police catch a suspected burglar who was crouching down on a rowhouse roof. (An update: police said the man was charged with trespassing but is suspected in a series of break-ins).

An off-duty Baltimore police officer working for Hopkins helped arrest the man, who authorities say might be involved in other break-ins in Charles Village, where many Hopkins students live. A blurb on the arrest is posted on the Johns Hopkins security web page.

The arrest was made Tuesday night in the 3000 block of Guilford Ave Here is the statement that Hopkins posted:

ARREST –Trespassing / Wanted Subject – 3000 Blk. Guilford Ave., rooftop- On Nov. 8^th at 8:04 PM, a student was walking with the Neighborhood Walkers on Patrol security program. At this time, she observed a suspicious male on the rooftop of a residence. An off-duty Baltimore Police officer working for JHU was also on the walk and called for additional officers. The officers accessed the rooftop and a male suspect was located on the roof and was arrested for trespassing. The suspect was also wanted on an open arrest warrant for a burglary that previously occurred in Charles Village. Investigation continuing.

I'll have more posted here and in Thursday's print editions after we get the suspect's name and more details from the police. It happened in the same block where police said an intruder stabbed a man during a break-in in August. We're checking to see if the incidents are related.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

A Howard County teenager shot and critically wounded by Howard County police officers had told authorities before that he wanted to be shot. On a standoff with police in early October, authorities said he told an officer to shoot him -- "just do it" and "make it quick."

Here's an account of the shooting by The Sun's Andrea F. Siegel:

The shooting of a teenager by six Howard County police officers comes several weeks after he told officers to shoot him and "make it quick," and was his third incident with local police in two months, department officials said Tuesday.

"He's had some psychological problems, but he's never hurt anyone but himself," said Kenneth Nichols, whose son, Jeffrey Dustin Nichols, 19, suffered eight gunshot wounds Monday. He was in critical condition Tuesday at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
 
Kenneth Nichols said his son was a whiz in math and science, and had been a student at the Community College of Baltimore County. He said his son took this semester off to focus on personal issues, and had recently been hospitalized. Now, he said, "I just pray he makes it."

Read here for the complete story, including names of the six police officers involved in the shooting.

Howard County police released a new statement on the shooting Wednesday morning, saying that the teen had on prior occasions threatened officers with a knife and was cutting himself. Police also said that in the latest shooting he was armed with a pellet gun that looked like a real gun.

Here is the statement:

Howard County police are releasing additional details today about a shooting Monday in which officers shot an armed man who refused to drop his weapon. The suspect remains in critical condition at Shock Trauma.

Police received a 911 call around 3 p.m. Monday that a man with a gun had fired shots in Hanover. Police responded and saw an unidentified man with a handgun walking near Loudon Ave. and Melrose Ave. The officers ordered the man to drop the weapon, but he did not comply. Officers continued to follow the man, who walked along railroad tracks to the back parking lot of an industrial park in the 7400 block of Hi Tech Drive.

Officers repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon, but he continued to refuse. Officers fired shots at the suspect, striking him. The suspect has been identified as Jeffrey Dustin Nichols, 19, of the 6600 block of Grouse Rd. in Elkridge, Md. He suffered a total of eight gun shots to his torso and extremities. He is at Shock Trauma where he remains in critical condition.

Investigators have determined his weapon was a pellet gun designed to look like a real, semi-automatic handgun.

Prior to this incident, Nichols had been taken into custody by Howard County police last month following a stand-off with officers at his home. In that incident, which occurred Oct. 7, Nichols called 911 indicating that he needed assistance. Officers arrived and found Nichols outside brandishing a knife. According to the police report, Nichols made statements to officers that he wanted police to shoot him, to “just do it” and “make it quick.”

Nichols ignored commands to drop the knife and began stabbing and cutting himself. Tactical officers took him into custody and transported him to the hospital for evaluation. A similar incident occurred at Nichols’ home on Sept. 11. Police were called to the residence for a subject cutting his
arms with a knife. According to the police report, officers found Nichols bleeding and took him to the hospital for evaluation.

Investigators have confirmed the following officers fired their weapons during Monday’s incident:
PFC Joshua Mouton, 4-year officer
PFC Brian Klakring, 5-year officer
PFC James Zammillo, 7-year officer
PFC Bryce Buell, 10-year officer
PFC Ryan Saulsbury, 10-year officer
Sgt. Jayson Janowich,12-year officer
One additional officer was involved in attempting to apprehend Nichols during this incident:
PFC Ronald Mabe, 13-year officer

The details of the case remain under investigation. All officers are on paid administrative

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Howard County, Police shootings
        

The Sun's Meredith Cohn today has this story about a Baltimore marathon runner who was literally brought back to life after his heart stopped during the race. What's the crime beat angle? One of those who stopped to help was Lt. Col. Ross Buzzuro, the longtime Northern District commander who now oversees eastside patrol operations (Buzzuro didn't return phone calls for the story). Here's the beginning of her piece in today's paper:

Like many veteran marathoners, Bob Pohl always had an eye on the clock.

"I used to tell my wife that if I drop in a race to stop my watch because I don't want to go to the hereafter with a bad time," he said. "The joke was funnier before."

The 55-year-old Marriottsville runner did collapse during a race. He was about 200 feet from the finish line of the Baltimore half-marathon on Oct. 15 when a blockage in a main artery stopped his blood from flowing — and his heart from beating.

Now seconds seriously mattered.

The minutes lost in receiving aid typically make it rare for someone to survive sudden cardiac arrest outside a hospital. But close on Pohl's heels this day were a Baltimore police officer, a Columbia chiropractor, some Howard County paramedic trainees, a Union Memorial Hospital doctor and other medical professionals who swiftly provided CPR, a shock to his chest and a trip to the emergency room.

"He went from dead to alive in a matter of minutes," said Dr. Cynthia Webb, chief of Union Memorial's emergency room who has been coordinating medical care at the Baltimore Running Festival for three years along with the event organizer, Corrigan Sports Enterprises.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A Maryland jury on Tuesday found Sen. Ulysses S. Currie not guilty of accepting bribes from two Shoppers Food Warehouse executives, acquitting all three men of extortion and conspiracy charges, The Sun's Tricia Bishop reports.

The ruling, reached after three days of deliberation, ends a lengthy federal trial that lasted weeks and a bribery investigation that spanned years, sending nervous shock waves throughout the state legislature.

Currie, a well-liked Prince George's County Democrat who chaired the Senate's powerful budget committee, was indicted last year on charges he took cash payments from Shoppers Food Warehouse executives R. Kevin Small and William J. White, his codefendants, in exchange for legislative favors.

The men were accused of covering up the scheme through a consulting contract in which Currie promised assistance with minority business issues and community relations and received a monthly salary that added up to a quarter million dollars over a five-year period.

But in actuality, "they were buying a senator, that's what they were doing," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Gavin told jurors during closing arguments last week.

Currie's federal public defender, Joseph Evans, stressed his client's innocence throughout the six-week trial, calling the senator a "decent, honorable and forthright" man. He admitted that Currie neglected to disclose the Shoppers payments and recuse himself from voting on matters that affected the company, but claimed the digressions added up to nothing more than a conflict of interest — not bribery.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A 36-year-old man was ordered held without bail on Tuesday after being arrested and charged with killing his grandmother inside her Northwest Baltimore home, according to city police and court records.

Demond Tyler was charged with first and second degree murder and assault in connection with the death of Shirley Tyler, 67, who was found by a family member Saturday morning unconscious inside her home in the 3200 block of Spaulding Ave in Central Park Heights.

Her death had not been previously reported because at the time it was listed as a suspicious death. Det. Jeremy Silbert, a city police spokesman, said there was no sign of trauma. A family member found the body, and police interviewed that person and the suspect, who lives in the house.

The state Medical Examiner’s Office said Tyler died of asphyxiation and ruled her death a homicide. Police interviewed Tyler again, according to Silbert, and he was arrested and charged. Silbert said detectives have not ascertained a motive.

Tyler was being held without bail at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center and could have a bail hearing in District Court on Wednesday.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northwest Baltimore
        

The reputed leader of a Maryland-based prison gang that has spread throughout the country made his first appearance in federal court today after being indicted along with 21 others in a racketeering conspiracy that accuses Dead Man Inc. of murder, drug dealing and other crimes.

Perry Roark was led into the courtroom wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, his pony tail falling across both shoulders. The hulking man - he is a power lifter - was only in court briefly, as his attorney said he is already being held without bond in Anne Arundel County on a separate murder charge, making a detention hearing moot. 

But a hearing for a co-defendant - John Zion - allowed U.S. Attorney Robert Harding to outline some of the investigative tactics and allegations against the gang, including new details on two of the murders - the fatal shootings of Eugene Chambers and Walter Milewski - the group has been linked to. 

Harding said Milewski was a "dawg" in the gang who was told to execute a fellow member named Jeremy Ridgeway; Milewski was supplied a gun and went to Ridgeway's home in Curtis Bay on Sept. 18, 2009 to kill Ridgeway. When he got to the home, Harding said, there were two people on the front porch - one of them was Eugene Chambers. Milewski asked if he was "J-Rock," a nickname for Ridgeway, and Chambers said no. But Milewski, apparently distrusting Chambers, shot him multiple times.

"It should be clear, he did not intend to kill Eugene Chambers. It was a case of mistaken identity," Harding said in court. 

Within hours after realizing the mistake, Harding said, the gang decided to execute Milewski. Harding said Zion was involved in those discussions and supplied the gun to Milewski. A man named John Henry Adams, 23, was charged by Baltimore County police at the time.

Zion's attorney disputed the account, saying Ridgeway, who is also charged in last week's indictment, is friends with Zion. He said Zion, who is a construction worker with a few assault charges on his record, was a "small fish" who had been caught up in investigators' wide net. 

Harding countered that the case involves wiretaps and recordings of Dead Man Inc. gang meetings, where the killings and other crimes were discussed. He noted that of the 20 people who appeared before the federal grand jury, all but "two or three" were DMI members. 

Harding also said Ridgeway's friendship with Zion didn't negate the attempted murder accusations. "Mr. Ridgeway is the last person to know of Mr. Zion's role to kill him," Harding said dryly.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Gangs
        

In 2009, Michael Voorhis used a baseball bat to beat a man attacking his girlfriend as he held up the Fells Point store where she worked.

"I don't regret it at all," Voorhis told me today, after the suspect was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. His girlfriend, Brittany Byers, called the ordeal "absolutely terrifying" but still works at the store, Killer Trash, on Broadway.

Federal prosecutors said the suspect Mark Lomax, 41, was sentenced to prison on Tuesday. He was convicted by a federal jury in June at a trial during which both Byers and Voorhis testified. Lomax committed 14 other holdups in a month during the summer of 2009 at shops in Mount Vernon, Fells Point and downtown.

Lomax held up Killer Trash three times in eight days. On the final time, Voorhis, worried about his girlfriend, was waiting. When Lomax came in, he hit him over the head with a baseball bat, bragging later that he had gotten "three or four clean shots at his head."

The suspect got away, but dropped the $4 he managed to get from the register and his baseball cap. Both items had DNA that matched Lomax, prosecutors said. Police said he used a collapsible wooden yard-stick covered in tape and wrapped in a plastic bag to resemble a firearm.

Byers, who joined her boyfriend in going after Lomax, hitting him with a jewelry bag, said: 

“It was absolutely terrifying. It was intimidating to see him again in the courtroom. But there’s a part of you that says, you have to stick up for yourself. I couldn’t back down out of fear. This store is my livelihood. I’m not going to let somebody bully me out of my life.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Downtown, North Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

A city police officer trying to make a drug stop in West Baltimore was dragged nearly two city blocks by a vehicle this morning, according to a department spokesman. Police said the officer fired two rounds from his gun, but does not believe he hit anyone.

The incident occurred about 9 a.m. at North Monroe Street and Penrose Avenue. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the officer, a member of the Violent Crime Impact Division, was investigating reports of drug activity and approached a gold or light colored Ford pickup truck.

The officer apparently reached into the vehicle and "the driver fled," Guglielmi said, "and dragged the officer to the 1800 block of West Lexington Street." He said the officer fired twice from his 9mm handgun and fell from the vehicle.

The officer is being treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Police are looking for the pickup truck but had few other descriptive details and no license plate number. It was occupied by a white male driver and white female passenger.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Breaking news, West Baltimore
        

As I walked around the pretty campus of Frostburg State University on Monday, covering yet another alleged student-on-student killing, some things stood out. Police in this small Western Maryland town, just as in Baltimore, leave their crime scene tape behind.

And a sorority up the street from the killing put up a Baltimore-like memorial -- minus the votive candles -- on a pole at Maple and College. There was a teddy bear, a note and plastic flowers honoring the victim, Kortneigh McCoy. The girls who put it there didn't even know the victim. "We just thought it would be nice because it happened on our street," one told me.

But the aftermath was this -- a promising gospel choir vocalist and physics major who graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic is dead, and a business senior from Waldorf is behind bars, facing first-degree murder charges. Read full story here.

Campus officials talked about the problems with alcohol -- the fight that led to the stabbing came after a crowded house party and involved one of the girl's renting the home, who police said was collecting admission at the door. The fight started when police that girl argued with one of the victim's friends -- she thought he would not get out of the way.

Such petty fights -- just two months ago, a female student at Bowie State University was charged with fatally stabbing another student in an argument over music and an iPod. And the killing at Frostburg was the second in two years involving students.

The bail hearing for the suspect, 23-year-old Shanee Liggins, was short,with her held without bail, and her parents and a lawyer disappeared into a private conference room. The mother and father walked out hand-in-hand but had little to say to reporters.

At a news conference back on campus, the vice president of student services, Thomas Bowling, recalled visiting the hospital emergency room where 20 of McCoy's friends gathered, and learned of her death. 

He recalled McCoy's mother -- "In the midst of her own unspeakable grief, she was focused on providing comfort to the friends of her daughter." She went around the room and hugged them all.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Crime elsewhere
        

A 14-year-old West Baltimore boy has been charged as an adult in a double-shooting that occurred last week on Edmondson Avenue, records show.

Nefatea Hector - who stands just 5 feet 4 inches tall, according to court records - faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder and was being held without bond after being arrested Nov. 4.

The shooting occurred Nov. 2 at about 5:15 p.m. Police found Joseph Esdelle, 20, lying in the street suffering a gunshot wound to his head, and later located a second victim - Anthony Samuel Johnson, 24 - at Bon Secours Hospital suffering from a gunshot wound to his right thigh and left ankle, according to charging documents.

Witnesses told detectives that Esdelle was in the 2800 block of Edmondson Ave., breaking up a fight between two women, charging documents show. Police say Hector walked up to Esdelle and pulled out a handgun, firing four shots and shooting Esdelle in the face. Johnson was also struck, apparently by stray bullets.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Categories: West Baltimore
        

Federal prosecutors today announced an indictment of a marijuana smuggling organization stretching from Jamaica to New York that authorities allege was responsible for the disappearance and killing of a 50-year-old Woodlawn man.

It's the second indictment in a week that has prompted federal authorities to praise Baltimore County detectives for bringing forward crucial information that spawned a wider investigation. William Winter, special agent in charge for U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcemen's Homeland Security Investigations, said in a news release that county homicide detectives uncovered and solved the murder of Michael Paul Knight, seen at right, who they say was a member of the drug organization. 

The indictment alleges that in December 2009, three Jamaicans - a woman named Jean Brown, 42, and two men, Hubert Downer, 51, and Dean Myrie - kidnapped and murdered Michael Knight "for the purpose of gaining entrance and maintaining and increasing their positions in the Brown Organization." The indictment says that Knight was killed "in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse to the victim."

According to documents filed in court last year and reported by the City Paper, Knight went missing on Dec. 19, 2009 after leaving his Woodlawn home. Documents filed last year said he had been holding one million dollars for Brown, a portion of which went missing. The documents say he was beaten, tied up and dismembered with a "power-type saw.".

Brown has been incarcerated since last year after being charged with trying to smuggle $560,000 from BWI Airport to Jamaica. As authorities continued to build a larger case, she pleaded guilty to the smuggling charge and received 37 months in federal prison.

The indictment also charges three other people - Dmytro Holovko, 53, of Hillside, N.J., Jason Carnegie, 41, of Lauderhill, Fla., and Anthony Hendrickson, 71, of Gardena, Calif. - with being part of a conspiracy to distribute and possess at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. All have been detained except for Myrie, who goes by the nickname of "Journey." Anyone with information about his whereabouts were asked to call ICE at 1-866-DHS-2ICE, or 802-872-6199 if calling from outside the United States. 

Last week, U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein praised Baltimore County officials for approaching them about a killing that they said was linked to the Dead Man Inc. prison gang. Rosenstein said that conversation led to a broader investigation that culminated last week with the indictment of 22 reputed DMI members. 

Here's the search warrant affidavit submitted by Baltimore County police a year ago this month, laying out what police had at that time (via the City Paper):

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

With less than two months to go in 2011, officials are quietly discussing the possibility that Baltimore could end the year with fewer than 200 homicides. It'd be a watershed moment of sorts for a city that saw it's homicide rate peak at 353 in 1993, and while possible, the statistics say it's not likely.

As of this morning, 175 people have been slain, the number former Mayor Martin O'Malley famously vowed in 1999 would be the city's murder total within three years if he was elected. That compares with 190 at this time last year, an 8 percent drop.

To register fewer than 200, the city would have to see 24 people or less killed between now and Dec. 31. How likely is that to happen? It's getting colder, and common sense says colder temperatures drive people inside. Yet, police say colder temperatures also mean baggy clothing, which makes it easier to conceal handguns, and the final two months of the year have not historically been any kinder than their warmer counterparts.

Since 2007, murders have spiked in the last two months of the year. That first year ended on a quiet note, with 31 people slain. The following year, after not exceeding 25 murders from January to October, 30 people were killed in a bloody November, followed by 21 in December. The same was true in 2009 - the city stayed under 22 homicides each month that year, until 26 were killed in November and 25 were killed in December. And last year, 39 people were killed in the final two months of the year. [It should be noted that some of these were "prior year deaths," or people who died from injuries suffered in prior years, whose deaths were later classified by the medical examiner's office as homicides.]

To see these trends in a bar graph, click here to our homicide map and scroll down to the charts, which you can navigate by clicking the arrows on the sides. 

Regardless of whether the city stays under or surpasses that milestone marker, homicides continue on a downward trend here. More realistically, the city will likely register its lowest number of murders since 1983, when 201 people were killed in a city that had 150,000 more people than today's Baltimore.

A sobering reminder: Even that feat, based on last year's FBI statistics, would leave the city with the fifth-highest murder rate in the country among cities with 100,000 people, and still significantly far from exiting the top 5.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Police have charged a 19-year-old man in a quadruple shooting that occurred before dawn Sunday morningoutside a West Baltimore after-hours club.

The incident - initially reported as a double-shooting - occurred at about 5:30 a.m. as private security was clearing people out following a fight at an after hours club called "Rasta's" in the 2100 block of W. North Ave., according to police. Police said a gunman opened fire, striking three people, at least two of whom were employees of the club. A fourth victim was later identified after walking into a Baltimore County hospital for treatment.

Police spokesman Det. Jeremy Silbert said detectives this morning charged Karon Darren Shaw, of the 1600 block of Moreland Ave., with attempted murder.

Court records show Shaw has two prior arrests on his criminal record, both in the past month and for minor offenses - drug possession and gambling.

I've got a call in to the liquor board to find out more about Rasta's. There are several clubs in the city licensed to host after-hours parties, but others that operate illegally.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: West Baltimore
        

For the second time in a year, a student at Frostburg State University in Western Maryland has been killed. The Sun's Susan Reimer writes:

Kortneigh McCoy, a 19-year-old Baltimore Polytechnic Institute graduate, was fatally stabbed after a fight at an off-campus house party, police said. Police said officers arrived at about 1:30 a.m. to find her bleeding to death in the street outside the house from a wound to the head. She was declared dead at Western Maryland Hospital, police reported.

Arrested and charged with both first- and second-degree murder was Shanee Liggins, a 23-year-old senior business major from Waldorf, police said. She was being held by police Sunday until a bond hearing could be scheduled, police said. University officials said the party took place at Liggins' home on Maple Street in Frostburg.

Members of the Allegany County Combined Investigation Unit were not available to confirm those accounts Sunday afternoon. McCoy was a member of the United Voices Under God's Dominion, a student gospel choir, and was scheduled to sing as part of the group's regular Sunday worship.

Frostburg also was the site of a student-on-student killing in April 2010 that occurred after a fight at an off-campus party. Tyrone Hall of Glen Burnie opened fire with a 12-gauge shotgun, striking two fellow students in the abdomen. Twenty-year-old Brandon Carroll of Waldorf died; the other student survived. Hall was sentenced to a five-year prison sentence in November 2010.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Crime elsewhere, North Baltimore
        

The young woman who told her tale about being caught up in a sex ring and forced to strip and prostitute herself difficult to sit through. I asked her to start at the beginning and she finished 90 minutes later.

It was, she assured me, the short version.

What she had told me she told to the FBI, and it was a harrowing account of hooking up with a group she through were music promoters but instead took her on a cross-country sex tour, with stops in Laurel, New Orleans and El Paso.

She and others, according to the FBI, were forced to work at strip clubs on The Block and elsewhere and have sex for money. ID cards, driver's licenses, cell phones and laptops were confiscated, they said, and they were beaten if they didn't make enough money. All their proceeds went into the hands of their captures, authorities said.

Sunday's story recounts the woman's story and the FBI investigation that led to 10 arrests at a house off Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore, and details what happened in Texas. It also tells how many of the women managed to escape.

The photo above is by The Sun's Gene Sweeney.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

Authorities say they've arrested more police impersonators -- this time three men who cops said terrorized people in Southeast and West Baltimore.

Police said the suspects posed as officers, dressed in dark clothing and displayed gold badges. People in one case were robbed of money and cigarettes. Police said the suspects were pretending to "raid" the houses, seeking someone on a warrant.

Police arrested the men a short time later while "they were confronting another victim."

City police have been troubled by a spate of armed robberies and home invasions by people pretending to be police. Here is one of the latest stories by The Sun's Justin Fenton. The suspects are pictured here in mug shots.

More details from a police statement below:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

A 17-year-old has been arrested and charged with the Halloween night killing of an Army veteran and airport shuttle bus driver who was in a North Baltimore carryout getting dinner as three masked men robbed the corner establishment.

Markell Shelton Jones, of the 2300 block of Westerwald Ave., was charged as an adult with first-degree murder, two counts of assault, armed robbery and several handgun counts. He lives about eight blocks from where the slaying occurred, in the same Better Waverly neighborhood.

Det. Donny Moses, a city police spokesman, said Jones’ parents turned their son into authorities after seeing his picture on a surveillance video that captured the robbery at Yau Brothers, in the 2900 block of Greenmount Ave.

The youth’s parents escorted their son to police headquarters on East Fayette Street and to the homicide unit, Moses said. The spokesman quoted the lead detective saying the gesture gave him a sense of “renewed hope” in a city saddled by drugs and violence.

Police are still searching for two other assailants in the killing of 52-year-old Freddie Jones, who was in the carryout and on a cellphone when three masked men burst inside about 6:30 p.m. on Monday. One was wearing a Santa Claus hat.

Jones was shot multiple times in the chest when he fought back against the attackers, according to police and the video. Two days after the shooting, homicide detectives canvassed the street searching for witnesses.

Monday’s shooting was the fourth at Yau Brothers in the past three years. Two were killed in a triple shooting there in March 2009 and a 72-year-old security guard at the Afro newspaper was killed there in April last year. He too had been getting food and was shot in a robbery, this one netting $13.

The wife of the latest victim, Jones, was a cousin of one of two people convicted of killing the guard. Jones was a city bus driver until he became ill from diabetes, according to his niece, but took a job at BWI driving a shuttle bus when he became healthy again. He frequented the carryout.

Monday shooting has prompted cries from politicians to shut down the carryout.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

Arteesha Holt, who was 14 years old when she held up two men at gunpoint and fatally shot one of them for laughing at her, was sentenced this week to 50 years in prison with all but 20 years suspended for second-degree murder and related charges.

On Aug. 13 last year, two Honduran men — Jose Rodolfo Gonzalez-Coreas, 43, and Wilmer Bonilla, 26 — sat talking on rowhouse steps near Patterson Park, when Holt approached them, demanding cash, a prosecutor said at her plea hearing in July.

"Mr. Bonilla and Mr. Gonzales-Coreas did not take her seriously and began to laugh," Assistant State's Attorney Nicole Lomartire said during the plea hearing, reading aloud from a statement of case facts.

Holt fired the gun, grazing Bonilla and fatally wounding Gonzales-Coreas, who died a week later.

Holt fled and found her brother, Lomartire said. She was crying and repeating, ''I did it, I did it.'"

Her brother, Shawn Palmer, got her out of the area and retrieved the gun, which he later showed off around town, telling people he planned to sell it, according to court records, but police got to it first. Analysts later recovered Holt's DNA from the weapon, Lomartire said.

Here's our original story from when Holt was arrested, including an interview with her mother who said Holt had an explosive temper and was uncontrollable.

Circuit Judge Martin Welch handed down the sentenced on Wednesday, according to court records. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

A man who was shot in the left arm by a Baltimore sheriff's deputy, and described as alert and talking as he was rushed to a hospital, is now in critical condition at Johns Hopkins. The man's mother told me he's on life support.

The mother of Jontae L. Daughtry said she was told her son became combative when corrections officers were doing what's called a "bedside commitment," essentially a hospital-room arraignment. The mother said doctors told her they gave him a sedative and that he suffered an allergic reaction. She also said he hit his head.

Daughtry has a history of psychological problems and police said that last Friday he climbed into the front seat of a marked sheriff's cruiser that was stopped at a light in Northeast Baltimore and lunged at the deputy with a knife. The deputy shot him once.

More details here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Police shootings
        

Erik Stoddard was convicted three times in the death of a 3-year-old girl he had been watching in Northeast Baltimore. An appellate court overturned one case, a judge the other. This week, the Maryland Court of Appeals said that was enough.

Judges unanimously turned down Stoddard's attempt to get a fourth trial, and upheld his conviction for involuntary manslaughter and his 40 year prison sentence. Stoddard had claimed a judge was wrong to force him to make up his mind about testifying before his lawyer had finished putting on a case.

The 2002 fatal beating of the girl shocked the city at the time. Stoddard had said he was angry that he was unable to toilet train the little girl. Read more details of the case here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The cops in Arundel said they were looking for an elopee.

This was their chosen word for a guy who bolted from a prison detail. As my colleague John McIntyre over at the Paragraph Factory noted in his You Don't Say blog, this was probably not the best word choice: 

I assume that the police like elopee as a milder version of escapee, a prisoner wandering off from a work detail being less alarming to the public than a hopped-up thug scaling the wall at the Big House as sirens wail and searchlights play over the Yard. And I have no authority to deny them their linguistic innovations.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County
        

Barry Murel, even by Baltimore standards, has had his share of trouble. Federal authorities say he's been convicted 11 previous crimes. On Thursday, a judge sent him away again, this time for 16 years for selling drugs and possessing a gun.

His record spans two pages of the Maryland judiciary court website -- convictions mostly for drugs and assault. He's never made his way into the newspapers.

Here is what the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office has to say about the now 12-time convicted criminal:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northwest Baltimore
        

A report released today blames Baltimore police commanders for poorly supervising a chaotic response to the shooting outside Select Lounge in which four officers fatally shot a plainclothes officer they mistook for a gunman.

The long awaited report by an independent commission into the shooting of Officer William H. Torbit Jr., and of a man who was fighting him, recommends police better train officers and supervisors in how to handle crowds. The report says Torbit inflamed tensions that led up to the shooting.

The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office cleared the officers of criminal wrongdoing. At left, The Sun's Kim Hairston captures Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III holding the report.

Read a summary of the report.

Read the full report.

Watch video of the shooting.

Look at crime scene pictures.

Read account of the shooting by officers involved.    

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Downtown, Police shootings, Top brass
        

Baltimore County police say that a man might have killed his grandmother and then killed himself in a murder-suicide.

Police found the body of the woman Wednesday afternoon in her house on Sarah Lane in Parkville. Authorities later found her grandson dead in a car on Loch Raven Drive. Police said he was "deceased from an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound."

More details from police are below:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III has had to answer his share of questions about corruption and wrongdoing on the city's police force. Time and again, his standard answer is that there isn't more cops behaving badly, but his administration is more serious about finding wrongdoers.

The New York Times has an interesting article today on that point exactly, questioning whether the NYPD brass has adequately targeted corruption on the largest police force in the nation. The article raises doubt on whether the New York department can police itself.

The article points out that recent cases there against officers convicted of planting drugs and allegations of cops running illegal guns were uncovered by outside law enforcement agencies. Only a large-scale parking ticket fixing inquiry began with the department's own internal affairs division. The NYPD commissioner defends his department, saying his cops were involved in the investigatioins.

Back in Baltimore, Bealefeld has had to confront a scandal in which up to 50 cops were implicated in a scheme in which they got kickbacks to steer car accident victims to a specific garage. At least seven officers and the owners of the towing company have pleaded guilty to federal charges.

And another officer faces charges of dealing drugs in Northwest Baltimore, and had personal ties to a commander in the internal investigation section, who was later reassigned.

Bealefeld rigorously defended his tenure and agency on an August appearance on the "Marc Steiner Show." Read an article about the show and a summary of the recent cases against police in Baltimore.

In the picture above, Bealefeld, right, listens as Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein talks about officers charged in the towing scandal. In the background is Richard D. McFeely, the head of the FBI's Baltimore office. The picture was taken by The Sun's Kenneth K. Lam.

Read story by Justin Fenton on arrest of officer in drug case.

Read another story by Justin on reassignment of internal affairs commander after the arrest.

Read reporter Tricia Bishop's latest on police towing scandal. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Top brass
        

If it's true that what goes around comes around, Crystal Jenkins Jones says she now knows that better than most.

Last year, she says her cousin was one of two people who shot and killed a 72-year-old security guard picking up Chinese food at a carryout on Greenmount Avenue. And on Monday night, Jones' 52-year-old husband, Freddie, was slain in a robbery at the same restaurant.

"The death last year happened from a family member of mine," Jones, 43, said Wednesday, standing in a nearby parking lot. "It'll come back to you if somebody takes a life from someone, and it just so happened a life was taken from me."

Baltimore homicide detectives canvassed the Better Waverly, Harwood and Abell neighborhoods of North Baltimore on Wednesday morning in hopes of drumming up tips in the killing of Freddie Jones Jr., an Army veteran and shuttle bus driver at Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport.

Detectives are also seeking the identity of an unknown second victim who escaped the robbery. Surveillance video from the Yau Brothers carryout shows Jones talking on a cell phone at about 6:30 p.m. when three masked men, one of them wearing a Santa Claus hat, came inside and demanded money. Police say the second man was able to rush out, but Jones was shot multiple times in the chest when he fought back.

Det. James Lloyd said the killing was "senseless" and asked anyone with information to call police at 410-396-2100, or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP. A cash reward of up to $2,000 is being offered for information leading to an indictment.

Metro Crime Stoppers - Freddie Jones Jr.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: North Baltimore
        

Nearly two dozens alleged members of a homegrown prison gang that has spread throughout the country have been indicted on federal racketeering charges that include accusations that they conspired to kill four people, officials announced Wednesday.

Follow this link for the full story.

The alleged Dead Man Inc. members, who refer to themselves as "dawgs" and espouse an anti-government philosophy, used contraband cellphones to direct activities and spread its membership into South Baltimore, eastern Baltimore County, northern Anne Arundel County and at least three other states, authorities said.

Among those charged are the alleged co-founders Perry Roark and James Sweeney. Roark, a Dundalk native who is referred to as the "supreme commander," was charged earlier this year in another murder, days before he was to be released from a 25-year prison term.

"On our streets, this organization has been involved in street robberies, home invasions, property thefts, intimidation, assaults — you name it, they're involved in it," said Randall Jones Sr., an Anne Arundel County police commander. "The northern part of our county has been plagued by these individuals, and this is a major blow to this organization."

The gang formed in the late 1990s. Roark was reportedly close with members of the Black Guerrilla Family, law enforcement officials say, but that gang's rules prohibited him from joining because he is white. With their blessing, officials say he formed a new gang at the Jessup prison that would become an umbrella organization of sorts for other white gangs and performed hits for the BGF.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Gangs, South Baltimore
        

The Sun's Arthur Hirsch reports:

The Baltimore County man convicted of killing a Towson gas station owner for money was spared the death penalty on Wednesday, as a Harford County Circuit Court jury sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The jury found that mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating element of the first degree murder charge that was the reason the state pursued the death penalty: that Walter P. Bishop Jr., 29, shot William "Ray" Porter because he was promised he'd be paid to do it.

Bishop, a father of five children who was found guilty last week of shooting Porter on March 1, 2010, showed no emotion as he stood at the defense table beside his two lawyers wearing a black suit and shirt open at the collar.

Under this sentence, he could be eligible for parole in 25 years, but the terms of his eligibility could change depending on the sentences he receives on Wednesday afternoon from Judge Mickey J. Norman on counts of conspiracy and a handgun charge.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

It was a busy day on Tuesday's crime front. The picture by The Sun's Kenneth K. Lam is from Occupy Baltimore, which is embroiled in security issues (see blurb below).

Catch up on the latest headlines:

Today: Attorneys are scheduled to make closing arguments in the bribery trial of state Sen. Ulysses Currie in federal court. Currie, a Prince George's Democrat, is accused of selling his influence as chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee to do political favors for Shoppers Food Warehouse. Read how the state's power brokers are rallying around Currie, and other stories.

* The man convicted of killing a Towson gas station owner for money apologized Tuesday in Harford County Circuit Court to the victim's family and friends, saying "I'm sorry to the last fiber of my being." The apology came shortly before a jury was to begin deliberating whether Walter P. Bishop Jr. will be sentenced to death or life in prison.

* The Occupy Baltimore protest is now entrenched at the Inner Harbor, but its members are questioning whether they can sustain the movement amid a dwindling number of core leaders and allegations of crime and drug use. Reports that a woman was sexually assaulted in a tent, deemed unfounded by city police, have nevertheless put public safety at the forefront.

* A 52-year-old man died after being shot during a robbery at a carryout restaurant in Better Waverly on Monday night, renewing concerns in the community about the crime connected to the beleaguered business. The Yau Brothers carryout, in the 2900 block of Greenmount Ave., was closed Tuesday, as it was after similar shooting incidents in the past two years: In 2010, 72-year-old security guard Charles Bowman was fatally shot in a robbery there, a year after three men were shot following a fight that broke out inside.

* A former professional basketball player pleaded guilty Tuesday in the pistol whipping of his girlfriend's brother after a dispute at a cookout in Arnold.

* Towson University students and employees were briefly alerted to stay inside Tuesday afternoon, because police were looking for a man with a gun on campus. But the man turned out to be carrying a prop gun for an acting class, said Towson spokeswoman Gay Pinder.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Crime elsewhere, Downtown, North Baltimore
        

Baltimore County police are asking for help identifying a man who held up a clerk at a CVS Pharmacy in Essex last month. Police said he took two bottles of pills after displaying a handgun under his jacket and then ran out of the store.

The robbery occurred Oct. 24 about 8:30 p.m. at he store in the 500 block of Eastern Boulevard. Police described the man as a white male about 35 to 45 years old and standing 5 feet 10 inches tall. Police said he has a medium build and may have a mustache and a beard.

Anyone with information about the identity or whereabouts of the suspect 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."

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 5:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County
        

Baltimore police are saying they have no evidence to suggest that a woman was sexually assaulted at the Occupy Baltimore protest at the Inner Harbor. Police released a report that suggests the woman had a bundle of money stolen from her as she slept in a tent at the protest site.

Police said the tent had an open flap and could have been accessed by anybody. Police did question a potential suspect but did not file any charges. The woman complained of having a sore buttocks, and detectives had her examined at Mercy Hospital for a possible sexual assault.

Police issued this statement:

"Baltimore Police are investigating a reported assault and larceny that occurred Friday, October 28th at Mckeldin Square. This incident was reported to police Monday morning and detectives immediately began to investigate the allegations.  At this time, the facts and evidence do not suggest that a sex offense occurred.

While the victim at no time reported a sexual assault to police, detectives offered the victim a precautionary SAFE Exam at Mercy Hospital and reached out to the advocacy community to provide her with support. Detectives continue to investigate the alleged assault and larceny and are working with the advocacy community to provide outreach and support to the victim."

Earlier today, we posted about how the claims - which were apparently sparked by a report on Fox 45 - had led to discussions at Occupy Baltimore about broader issues of security. A document detailing how to handle sexual assault allegations had also drawn controversy last month. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Downtown
        

Baltimore police are investigating an assault and theft that allegedly occurred at the Occupy Baltimore protest movement at the Inner Harbor's McKeldin Square. Police said only that the attack occurred Friday, but wasn't reported to them until Monday morning.

Authorities released no other details. But that coupled with another report on Fox 45 TV of an anonymous woman who said she was sexually assaulted has sparked internal debate among the protesters over safety.

At a volatile General Assembly meeting at the square Monday night, people debated the role of police, their own security teams and a general feeling from some that the encampment is not safe for people staying overnight in tents.

Last month, the group distributed pamphlets that suggested victims of sexual assaults not contact police, but instead deal with the issue internally. Those guidelines were later revised to encourage contacting police, but they created a debate over whether the group can, and should, handle such issues themselves.

Baltimore police and city leaders have thus far taken a hands-off approach to the tent city, and have not enforced a curfew or the denial of a permit from the Department of Recreation and Parks. Police in other cities have broken up encampments.

We're awaiting more information from police and other city officials. This morning, the Occupy Baltimore movement issued this statement:

On Monday, October 31, serious allegations were brought forth of an assault on the site of the Occupy Baltimore encampent [sic].

Occupy Baltimore takes such allegations seriously, maintaining a zero-tolerance policy towards assault, harassment and on-site intoxication or inebriation of any kind.

Such activities are not welcome at, or condoned by Occupy Baltimore and violate the terms of our unanimously consensed [sic]-upon Safe Space policy.

Occupy Baltimore stands firm in its commitment to the values embodied in these policies and documents.

In keeping with our values, Occupy Baltimore supports formal investigation of these allegations, and pledges cooperation in the pursuit of facts and justice in this manner. Occupy Baltimore takes these allegations quite seriously.

Here's more of The Sun's coverage of Occupy Baltimore.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Downtown