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
        

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
        

Police just announced an arrest in the killing last year of a church caretaker in East Baltimore. James Johnson, 18, was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder in the death of Milton Hill.

The 70-year-old victim tended the grounds at the Ark Church in the 1200 block of East North Ave. He was found on the morning of July 30 2010 slumped against a fence in a pool of blood behind his home next to the church.

His death came five days after Johns Hopkins researcher Stephen Pitcairn was fatally stabbed while walking home in Charles Village, a killing that motivated the city's political establishment and helped Gregg Bernstein upset Patricia C. Jessamy as state's attorney. Pitcairn's killer was just sentenced to life plus 20 years in prison.

City councilmen held vigils for Hill amid concern that Pitcarn's death was dominating the news. At a community cleanup a month after Hill's slaying, The Sun's Jessica Anderson reported that officials talked about a new playground.

Earlier, Jessica had talked with Hill's eldest daughter, Lennoria Hill-Joseph, who said her father had been active and took pride in his job. Police did not release a motive but authorities at the time said they believed Hill's scooter had been stolen.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, East Baltimore
        

This just in from The Sun's Arthur Hirsch:

A jury has found a Baltimore County man guilty of first-degree murder in the murder-for-hire slaying of a Towson gas station owner in March 2010.

The case will next go to the penalty phase, which is scheduled to begin Thursday morning. Walter P. Bishop Jr., 29, now faces the possibility of being sentenced to death. He could be the first person to receive the death penalty since a new law took effect that requires DNA or video evidence or a video taped confession in such cases.

Bishop was accused of shooting William "Ray" Porter in a Hess station on East Joppa Road on the morning of March 1, 2010. Five others have also been implicated in the crime, including Porter's wife, Karla, her sister, brother and nephew.

Watch video of police interview with Bishop.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news, Courts and the justice system, Harford County
        

[Raw video of police press briefing embedded from YouTube page of James MacArthur, who was at the scene]

A man was shot multiple times in the back just before 6 p.m. on a lower level of an underground parking garage in the heart of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Medical Center campus, The Sun's Steve Kilar is reporting.

The victim, who appears to be in his mid-40s, is in critical condition but stable at a local hospital, said Detective Kevin Brown, a police spokesman. After the shooting, the assailant fled, he said. No shooter description was available by 9:15 p.m.

Police union President Robert F. Cherry, attributing information to a source, said on the union's Twitter page that the victim was a hospital patient who was robbed and shot three times. Cherry claimed the victim had been previously stabbed in a home invasion and treated at Shock Trauma.

Later, apparently incredulous that the city had not released more information, Cherry tweeted: "A patient leaving the University of Maryland is robbed and shot and no news from the BPD or City? This should outrage every citizen!"

Officers were still conducting a forensic investigation of the scene about 7:15 p.m., Brown said, and surveillance footage will be reviewed.

The University Plaza Garage, which is owned by the university and has an entrance off Redwood Street between Greene and Paca streets, is six floors deep, according to Patricia Fanning, a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown
        

UPDATED 2:14 p.m. Baltimore County police are now saying that the victim works at the Social Security Administration and was taking a stroll on his lunch break when the robbery attempt and shooting occurred.  That new information comes from Det. Cathy Batton, a spokeswoman for the department. Batton said the victim has non-life-threatening injuries.

UPDATED at 1:15 p.m. Police are now saying that the shooting was part of a robbery in the woods near the SSA, and not on the campus. Baltimore County police department spokeswoman Elise Armacost said the victim was shot on Walden Circle, but was able to walk to Parallel Road, where he collapsed. Parallel Road is near the entrance to the SSA campus, but Armacost said, "It has nothing to do with the Social Security Administration."

From Baltimore County Police: 

Baltimore County Police are on the scene of a shooting in the woods near Walden Circle. This is a street robbery and did not occur on the campus of the Social Security Administration. SSA was notified because the suspect has not yet been apprehended.

The call was dispatched at 11:43 a.m. The location was Woodlawn Drive and Parallel Road.

The victim, and adult male, has suffered non life-threatening injuries and will be transported to Sinai.

Earlier post: Baltimore County police have confirmed reports that there has been a shooting on the campus of in the woods near the Social Security Administration in Woodlawn.

Elise Armacost, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Police Department, said officials are still trying to determine precisely what happened, where it occurred and whether it had anything to do with Social Security. 

An email sent by Social Security officials to staff said the campus is on lock-down and that the gunman apparently has fled the area "and is some distance away."

We'll update the story as more details become available. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news
        

Baltimore police are responding to a shooting inside Union Memorial Hospital, on University Parkway in North Baltimore.

The victim is reported to be in critical condition. Police said they are investigating the possibility the man shot himself. More details as they become available. 

UPDATE: According to the hospital, the shooting happened just outside the emergency entrance around 11:30 a.m., and appears to be an attempted suicide.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Breaking news, North Baltimore
        

This just in from The Sun's Justin Fenton:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Southwest Baltimore
        

This post has been updated.

Amid pounding rain, city police were investigating an afternoon shooting in Northwest Baltimore.

Details were scarce, but police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed that officers were called to the 3300 block of Belle Ave., in the Ashburton neighborhood, for a report of a double shooting. Officers found a man who had been shot in the shoulder and stomach; police later said a victim was located.

The unidentified victims were transported to an area hospital, and their conditions were not immediately known.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northwest Baltimore
        

The Sun's Tricia Bishop reports breaking news from the federal courthouse:

After five hours of deliberation, a federal jury on Thursday convicted Antonio "Mack" Hall in the retaliation killing of an FBI informant, who told investigators that Hall liked to "bang the gun" and was connected to several drug-related murders in the city.

He was also found guilty of weapons violations and participating in a seven-year conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in the tiny South Baltimore community of Westport, where both he and his victim lived. Hall, 30, shot Kareem Kelly Guest a half dozen times in September 2009 as the man pleaded for mercy.

This is the case in which the victim's written statement to the FBI, which helped put numerous South Baltimore drug dealers in federal prison, was leaked by a defense attorney and posted around the neighborhood.

Read full story here.

Read background story.

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

Continue reading "Man guilty in killing police informant in Westport" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, South Baltimore
        

Sun reporter Steve Kilar is in Northeast Baltimore with this breaking news:

An elderly woman was fatally stabbed in her home in the 4700 block of Moravia Road in Northeast Baltimore, police said Wednesday evening.

Irene Logan, 91, was found on the floor by her daughter, Irene Ushry, around 4:30 p.m. when she came home from work, said Logan's son-in-law, Frank Ushry, who owns the house.

"Every time I think about it, it hurts me," he said.

Frank Ushry said his wife told him that the house was ransacked but there did not appear to be signs of forced entry. Irene Logan had been home alone during the day, he said.

Frank Ushry said home had been broken into a year ago but no one was home at that time.

We'll update this story as more information becomes available. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

Police tell me that they've arrested a suspect in the shooting of two security guards Thursday night in North Baltimore. Few details were immediately available but police say they should have an announcement soon.

The suspect is being questioned pending formal charges. Here is some background from a previous story:

Two uniformed, armed security guards who were patrolling a townhome development near Harwood Park were shot in the 2800 block of Mathews St. at about 8:30, said Detective Donny Moses, a city police spokesman.

A 32-year-old female was shot in the right eye and a 38-year-old male guard was shot at least once in the chest, he said. Both guards were taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital and were in serious condition Thursday night, he said.

Police do not know how many people were involved or what caused the shooting, Moses said. The male officer returned fire but it is not known if an assailant was struck, he said. The shooting happened on the property of the Oak Hill Townhome complex and the guards worked for Assured Protection, he said.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, North Baltimore
        

An 8-year-old boy who was abducted while walking with friends in Southwest Baltimore Monday night has been found safe in a vacant rowhouse just a few blocks from where he lived, a Baltimore police spokesman said.

Darrick Charles Brown was found unharmed in 300 Lyndhurst St. in West Baltimore, and he was being checked out by medics as a precaution, said the spokesman, Agent Donny Moses. Investigators have one suspect in custody and were interviewing him at police headquarters.

Moses said the suspect in custody is not the man who police named Tuesday morning. The spokesman said detectives are still “actively searching” for Raheem Taylor, 21, as a possible accomplice in the abduction.

The boy had been walking in the 300 block of Gwynn Ave. at about 6:30 p.m., when, witnesses told police, when he was taken by someone driving a green Ford Taurus Monday night, Baltimore police said.

"We live in different times," said City Councilwoman Helen Holton, whose district includes the area where the abduction took place. "When I grew up, when we went out to play, the door wasn't locked, and the neighbors were on watch. I'm just in shock."

Continue reading "Police said child abductors made ransom demand; child safe, hungry and nervous" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Breaking news
        

The 8-year-old child who was abducted Monday evening from a Southwest Baltimore street has been found safe, city police confirmed moments ago. Police said he was found in the 300 block of Lyndhursts Ave. in West Baltimore.

Police said a suspect is in custody. Authorities are promising are details shortly.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news
        

Baltimore police have named a potential suspect in the abduction of 8-year-old Darrick Brown, who was taken from a Southwest Baltimore street Monday evening. Authorities said they are searching for Raheem Taylor, 21. The child remains missing.

No other details have been released, including whether the suspect knows the child. In a statement this morning, authorities said:, 

The above listed individual is wanted for questioning in reference to the Kidnapping / Abduction of 8 yr old Darrick Brown Jr (m/b dob 7/25/02) from 300 blk Gwynn Ave. Anyone coming in contact with Raheem Taylor is asked to hold same and notify Det. Bennett or Sgt Simmons of Homicide at 410-396-2100.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Southwest Baltimore
        

From courts reporter Tricia Bishop:

The owners of Majestic Auto Repair pleaded guilty today as part of deal cut with federal authorities investigating kickbacks to dozens of Baltimore City police officers accused of steering business to the Rosedale shop.

Brothers Hernan Alexis Moreno and Edwin Javier Mejia admitted to extortion and conspiracy in back to back hearings in U.S. District Court in Baltimore. They each face a maximum of 25 years in prison and up to a $500,000 fine at their sentencings, which are scheduled for Nov. 18. They are likely to receive terms between six to nine years, according to court statements. Both have agreed to cooperate with investigators in the case.

Four Baltimore police officers have already pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing, while a fifth is expected to plead guilty later this week: Officer Eddie Arias is scheduled for arraignment Thursday on a criminal information charging him with one count of extortion.

A total of 17 city officers have been charged in the scandal and suspended from the police force without pay, and an additional 14 others were put on desk duty while the inquiry continues. Court documents have said that as many as 50 officers might be implicated in what has become one of the widest corruption probes of city police in recent years.

More details from Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office:

Continue reading "Majestic owners plead guilty" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Breaking news
        

An update on the investigation that has shut down I-295, just sent out by Maryland State Police:

Maryland State Police and Anne Arundel County Police are searching for an armed suspect in the area of I-295 and Rt. 195 in Anne Arundel County.  I-295 is currently closed in both directions at Rt 195.

Calls to police began shortly before 11:30 a.m. today reporting a man armed with a long gun (shotgun or rifle) along the highway at that location.  It is not known if shots were fired.  It is believed the suspect may have used a hammer to break out windows of a vehicle parked near the location.  No one has been injured .

The suspect is described as a white male, between 50-60 yrs old, wearing a black and red flannel shirt and blue jeans.

State and county police have established a command post at 295/195.  A search is underway with K-9, helicopters and police officers on foot.    

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Breaking news
        

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

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

Map city homicides here.

Here is a list of weekend shootings from Baltimore police:

Continue reading "Weekend shootings in city" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Sun reporter Julie Baughman:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Breaking news from Tricia Bishop:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore police now say that four people were shot on Cliftview Avenue Tuesday night, upping the initial total from three. A 12-year-old boy is among the victims; police say he was shot in the chest and is not expected to survive.

The shootings occurred about 9:53 p.m. in the 1700 block of Cliftview, near Lake Clifton Park. The 12-year-old boy was found lying in the street. Two more victims were found inside a house on the block, ages 15 and 19.  The fourth victim, 18, was found in another house on nearby East 25th Street.

All were taken to area hospitals. No arrests have been made. Police gave these details on the victims;

12 year-old: Shot in the chest
15 year-old: Shot in the buttocks
18 year-old: Shot in the abdomen
19 year-old: Shot in the buttocks 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

A 47-year-old attorney and magician who runs a children’s entertainment company in Baltimore County was arrested Monday and charged with flying to Florida to have sex with a 14-year-old boy, who turned out to be an undercover detective, according to police.

Howard Scott Kalin, who lives in the 1700 block of Anne Ave. in Essex, was being held without bail by the Lake County, Fla. Sheriff’s Office. Police said he runs “Funhouse Entertainment,” which has an address on York Road in Lutherville.

Members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office cyber crime division said in a statement that Kalin contacted them in January through an Internet chat line, using the name “Ben Aldridge.” The detectives posed both as a 14-year-old boy and as the boy’s caregiver, the police statement said.

“Mr. Kalin also told undercover detectives that he would bring a basketball to the child and planned on having sex with the boy during his visit,” according to the police statement. On Monday, police said Kalin travelled to Florida and was arrested at a undisclosed meeting place.

Continue reading "Lutherville magician charged with child sex crime in Florida" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news, Courts and the justice system, Crime elsewhere
        

From Tricia Bishop and Scott Calvert:

An on-duty Maryland State Trooper who might have been pursuing a speeding motorcycle was killed early Saturday in a crash on Interstate 95 in Howard County, according to police, who said the cruiser slammed into the back of a tractor trailer.

Police identified the trooper as Shaft S. Hunter, 39, an 11-year veteran and the father of six. The incident occurred about 2:40 a.m. on the highway shoulder south of Route 32. The trooper was pronounced dead on the scene.

A witness told police that a marked cruiser had been pursuing a fast-moving motorcycle shortly before Hunter’s car plowed into the truck. While Hunter had not radioed to his barrack that he was pursuing the motorcycle, the police statement said “that is not unusual when a trooper is in the initial moments of a traffic stop.”

Police said Hunter had been wearing his seatbelt.

The driver of the tractor trailer, Albert Sandino, 46 of Covina, Calif., told police he was headed from Aberdeen to Virginia with a load of household bleach when he pulled over to check for directions to his destination. Sandino was not injured.

The crash occurred near a rest area entrance ramp. Southbound lanes of I-95 at Route 32 were closed for several hours.

For more details:

Continue reading "Trooper killed in crash was father of six; might have been chasing motorcycle" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Breaking news, Howard County
        

[This post has been updated]

A 19-year-old South Baltimore high school student was fatally shot Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn, the second city homicide over a 12-hour period and fourth shooting since Wednesday night.

Marcus Nickens Jr., a senior at the Southside Academy in Cherry Hill who quarterbacked the football team, was shot multiple times just after 1 p.m. at 10th Street and Stoll Place, in the area of the Brooklyn Homes housing project, and died a short time later.

Police did not immediately confirm the victim’s name, but remembrances were being posted on social networking sites. The picture at right is from Nickens' Facebook page. A source said the school’s principal informed students over the intercom system.

City schools are in High School Assessment testing this week, and seniors have half-days. The school had planned to have an awards ceremony tomorrow morning, but instead will have an assembly with grief counselors on hand, the source said.

Details about the shooting were not immediately available.

Police also identified two recent victims:

Continue reading "19-year-old fatally shot in Brooklyn" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
Categories: Breaking news, South Baltimore
        

The 18-year-old woman charged in an attack on a transgender woman at a Rosedale McDonald's that went viral last month will face an additional hate crime charge after being indicted Monday by a Baltimore County grand jury.

Teonna Brown, of the 2000 block of Kelbourne Rd., now faces one count of first-degree assault, three counts of second-degree assault, plus the newly-filed hate crime charge. She remains held without bond since her April 25 arrest. Brown's attorney, Timothy Knepp, declined to discuss the case in detail, but said "anything that happened, happened in self-defense."

"She's a well-mannered, thoughtful young lady, and I firmly believe that when this case comes to trial, she'll be found not guilty," Knepp said. He said hate crime charges "certainly do not apply in this case."

A hate crime charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, which could be added to 25 years in the assault charge. Chrissy Lee Polis has said she was attacked in an apparent dispute over her using a women’s restroom.

Prosecutors “came to the only possible conclusion in deciding to try the assault on Chrissy Lee Polis as a hate crime,” said Lynne Bowman, the interim executive director of Equality Maryland. “Lack of understanding or fear about someone who is transgender is never an excuse for violence and when it occurs, it should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Sandy Rawls, who founded Trans-United, a Baltimore-based group that fights transgender discrimination, praised the work of police and prosecutors in the case but said the charge is not reason to celebrate.

“It’s a tragedy for everybody involved,” Rawls said. “It’s a tragedy for the community, it’s a tragedy for Chrissy and it’s a tragedy for those two young ladies” charged in the beating.

“They’re going to find out the wrong way” that you can’t attack those you don’t understand, Rawls said.

Continue reading "Hate crime charges in McDonald's attack" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (43)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news
        

The death of Phylicia Barnes, whose body was recovered from the Susquehanna River last month after she disappeared in December, has been ruled a homicide. Barnes, who was 16 when she disappeared, had been the focus of one of the largest missing persons investigations in the city in years.

Maryland State Police declined to release a cause of death, saying it would jeopardize their investigation. Here is their statement:

Continue reading "Phylicia Barnes' death ruled homicide" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news
        

A man who supplied drugs that federal authorities said led to a fatal overdose was senenced today to nine years in prison, according to the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office. Luis Reyes-Torres, 26, distributed morphine and methadone.

"Drug dealers should be on notice that they can be held accountable if anyone dies after taking the drugs that they distribute," Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement.

Reyes-Torres pleaded guilty to stealing drugs from the nursing home where he worked and giving them to a woman. That woman gave them to another man in exchange for marijuana. That man then sold the drugs for $60 to Brandon Sgaggero of Frederick.

On March 6, 2008, Sgaggero was found dead in his apartment. An autopsy found that he had overdoses on methadone and morphine. Two other intermediaries have pleaded guilty to selling drugs and are to be sentenced in June and July.

Prosecutors said this is the third case prosecuted in Maryland "in which the distribution of drugs resulted in a drug user dying from an overdose." A Boonsboro man was sentenced to 20 years in prison and an Olney woman was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2008.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Courts and the justice system, Crime elsewhere
        

Baltimore police announced Monday that detectives have linked last week’s fatal downtown shootings of a man sitting on a bench and another in his apartment and said that a single suspect has been arrested and charged in both cases.

Authorities said they believe robbery was the motive in both cases.

Isaac Tyrell Truss, 23, who lives in the 200 block of Park Avenue, just blocks from the slaying scenes, was arrested on Friday afternoon and charged with murder and robbery for the shooting of Edward Alfred Jones, 50.

Jones was shot about 3:30 Friday morning as he waited on a bench for a bus in the 200 block of W. Fayette Street. CityWatch cameras captured that shooting, and witnesses identified Truss as the person who attacked Jones, according to court documents.

Police said they then charged Jones in Thursday’s shooting of Keith Cooper, 47, a resident of a high-rise housing complex on West Conway Street near the Inner Harbor, according to charging documents.

Cooper and Truss were seen on security cameras entering the building together just before 1:30 a.m. Thursday, and Truss left by himself shortly after, according to charging documents. A ballistics comparison showed that the casings found in Cooper’s apartment matched the .38-caliber handgun used to shoot Jones. Cooper’s body was discovered about 9:20 a.m.

Police are also investigating several other shootings and stabbings:

Continue reading "Downtown shootings linked, city police say" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown
        

[Above, residents wait to return to their homes as police survey a nearby crime scene. Photo by me]

Three people were shot - one who suffered serious injuries - in West Baltimore's Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood Friday afternoon, police said.

At a crime scene that spanned several city blocks of mostly vacant homes, police said at least one gunman opened fire at about 3 p.m. on three males. An adult was struck in the stomach in the 900 block of N. Calhoun St., and a man and a 16-year-old were struck in the face and found in the 1200 block of W. Mosher St.

Police spokesman Det. Jeremy Silbert said the males shot in the face did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, though the man shot in the stomach was taken to a local hospital in serious condition. 

Detectives were interviewing possible witnesses, as groups of residents waited on the steps of vacant homes waiting for the crime scene tape to come down so they could return home. One woman could be overheard saying she saw one of the victims lying in the street and asking a fleeing friend, "How you gonna leave me here, homie?"

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Breaking news, West Baltimore
        

Baltimore's mayor and police commissioner announced this morning the Hometown Heroes Project, an effort to recruit community members to find people who want to be police officers. It's a renewed attempt to attract more city residents to the 3,000-member force.

"It's a way for someone to give back to their community while making Baltimore a safer place," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told reporters at a news conference this morning. Residents who sign up will be trained in the recruiting process and procedures.

Last year, despite budget shortfalls exceeding $120 million, the mayor promised to hire up to 400 new police officers. The department had been losing officers to attrition at a faster pace than hiring.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said that he began his career as a cadet when he was 19 years old. He said part of the program is also to attract cadets who could become future police officers.

Bealefeld started as a cadet in May 1981 on the midnight shift -- he attended community college during the day -- on what was called the "hot desk." His job was handle warrants. He also compared fingerprints of newly arrested suspects to prints on file. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said he used a magnifying glass "It's now what could be considered CSI-like, minus the technology," the spokesman said.

At the news conference, Bealefeld said: "We need to fill 300 positions over the next several months," Bealefeld said. "I've worked my way through the ranks. None of that I think would have been possible without the grounding, experience and start I got here when I was 19 years old." He said that being an officer "is not about car chases. ... What you do every day is help people to be safe, and help people across the city make their lives better. You can't get that experience through a recruitment poster. You really have to live that. ... What we really need are people who are dedicated to service."

Anyone interested in the program is urged to call the Baltimore Police Department recruitment section at 410-396-2340 or visit the department's web site.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Breaking news, City Hall, Confronting crime, Top brass
        

[UPDATE, 1 P.M.: Court records show Blackwell was stabbed 32 times, and Abdullah admitted to detectives that the stabbing occurred after an argument over him taking video games from her home escalated. Police tracked down a stolen XBox 360 system and games to a pawn shop, and located a Nintendo Wii from the Blackwell home inside Abdullah's residence, records show.]

Baltimore police have charged a 20-year-old acquaintance with last month’s stabbing death of a Coppin State University nursing student who was stabbed during an argument inside her home in North Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood.

Syron Abdullah, who turned 20 on Tuesday, was charged with first-degree murder and was awaiting a bail hearing in District Court. Police released few details this morning, but said in a statement that he had been arguing with the victim, Jhoma Blackwell, 18.

Police had confirmed on Wednesday that homicide detectives were detaining a “person of interest” in the March 29 killing. The president of the Remington Neighborhood Association had spoken with a homicide detective about the case.

Continue reading "Police arrest suspect in killing of nursing student" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Breaking news, North Baltimore
        

[UPDATE: County police say three people - two male teens and a female - were shot in the incident in Turners Station]

Police say a shooting in Turners Station touched off a chase that led through Baltimore and ended when the suspect vehicle crashed into a city police officer's cruiser in Northwest Baltimroe.

Details about the shooting were not immediately clear, but at least two people were struck, according to reports. At about 8:30 p.m., I started getting Twitter messages from people who reported seeing a large number of police cars flying through Southeast Baltimore. It's fairly typical for me to get a message or two like that in a given night, but they kept coming in, and from all over the city - Fells Point, downtown, Northwest Baltimore.

Police say the chase ended in a collision at Northern Parkway and Reisterstown Road. A city police officer was injured and taken to Maryland Shock Trauma with non-life-threatening injuries. Amid that chase, authorities were also responding to the shooting of a female in the 4500 block of Westchester Road north of Leakin Park, and two fires in Northwest Baltimore. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news, Northwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

City police say they have arrested and charged a 22-year-old man in the stabbing death of a 43-year-old in Brooklyn that occurred late Sunday.

Police say Eric Monroe Phillips, of the 5000 block of Brookwood Rd, approached the victim, Antonio Miranda, in the 3800 block of S. Hanover St. just before midnight and attempted to rob him. Phillips is accused of hitting Miranda with a blunt object, then stabbing him multiple times. Phillips is charged with murder and robbery, among other charges, and was being held without bail. 

It took police a few days to identify Miranda, who does not appear to have a criminal record, and police said the case was solved through "community intelligence."

Phillips has pending theft charges in Anne Arundel County from January, and in August 2009 pleaded guilty to fourth-degree burglary there, receiving 18 months in prison with all but six months suspended.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Breaking news, South Baltimore
        

City police confirm that they have detained a "person of interest" in the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Jhoma Blackwell, a Coppin State nursing student found dead inside her Remington home last month.

But Anthony Guglielmi, the department's chief spokesman, said no charges had been filed and that the case remains ongoing.

Word comes after Joan Floyd, president of the Remington Neighborhood Association, told The Sun she had spoken with a detective on the case who notified her of an arrest. Last night, Floyd told residents at the community association meeting that detectives told her they were closing in on a suspect, which a commander from the Northern District confirmed.

We'll post updates as they become available. 

The arrest in the stabbing death of Blackwell comes as residents in the Remington neighborhood mount an effort to try to spark tips in another stabbing death of a woman inside her home - the 2008 killing of 74-year-old Nancy Schmidt. 

Earlier today, we posted a YouTube video uploaded by a woman identifying herself as Blackwell's older sister, in which she addressed the killer: “You may be pondering if you are going to get away with this…You may be even trying to rationalize in your head that she deserved this for whatever reason and you may even elude the authorities, but let me tell you something, you can’t elude God.”

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Breaking news, North Baltimore
        

Prince George's County police have arrested two suspects in the Jan. 11 killing of a student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Justin Vance Desha-Overcash, 22, of Bel Air, was shot on 38th Avenue in the off-campus areas.

In a news release, police said the motive was robbery. But authorities have in the past said the killing was drug-related. The Washington Post is reporting police sources saying the victim was selling drugs and that detectives found scales and marijuana-laced lollipops in his home.

The victim's mother has denied her son was linked to drugs. Police identified the suspects as Stephan Weaver, 22, and Deandre Ricardo Williams, 23. Both have been charged with first-degree murder.

More details:

Continue reading "Arrests made in killing of College Park student from Bel Air" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Crime elsewhere, Harford County
        

I'm always reluctant to write Crime Scene columns like I did on Sunday, criticizing Baltimore County police for lagging days, even  weeks posting crime news to their website. It comes off as an angry reporter whining and demanding special treatment. That's certainly the sentiments on some of the comments from readers:

Please let the police do their job and stop whining. I am sure you would like them to announce the local theft at 7-11 too. It is impossible to announce every crime. They do get to decide what crimes should be public while an investigation is going on. ... Why don't you mind the scanner a little more and stop whining about what is spoon fed to you.

Obvious case of the baby not getting his bottle when he wants it. Don't try to make this out that the county police are endangering the lives of residents by not telling the paper about every crime as it happens.

One of the few notes of praise I got came from none other than a Baltimore County police officer who distributes a weekly crime report in the Towson area. It's just the sort of compilation of crime citizens need and want, and I wish it could be repeated throughout the county and in other jurisdictions:

Mr Hermann, read your article in Sunday's edition of the "Baltimore Sun" and I appreciate the favorable words you used on my behalf. Thank you, reading those words or hearing from community members who like receiving that weekly report reinforce in me the need to send out that report every week.
Thanks, Sgt Stephen Fink

So let me try and explain again:

Continue reading "Baltimore County police and too slow news" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news
        

Homicide detectives have identified the man found stabbed to death in an East Baltimore alley on Friday as 46-year-old Reginald Leon Wragg, whose last known address was on the westside, police said today.

Wragg was found shortly before 7:30 a.m. on Friday in the 2100 block of Barclay St. Police said he had suffered multiple stab wounds and lacerations to his body and neck. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Police said Wragg last lived in the 1400 block of Mosher St. in West Baltimore. He has an extensive arrest record; he was convicted of second-degree assault last year and sentenced to a year in jail.

Wragg’s body was found just blocks from a vacant rowhouse where another man was found stabbed to death on Tuesday. Andre Drummond, 48, was found with stab wounds in the 500 block of east North Ave. Police have not said if there is a connection to Friday killing.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, East Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Police say the standoff is over -- the 31-year-old female has been released and the 20-year-old man is in custody. According to family members of the woman who spoke with The Sun, she called and urged them to come get her. "I heard, 'Get down on the floor,' and the phone went dead," the woman's mother said. As police set up a crime scene several blocks away, her family sat in an SUV with the woman's children less than a block away from the hostage scene, watching officers set up around the house. Police say a semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the suspect, who has not been identified because he has not yet been charged.

Continue reading "Police at standoff in Cherry Hill; school locked down" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, South Baltimore
        

A 44-year-old man convicted two months of raping one woman and trying to rape another was sentenced today to life in prison -- with all but 50 years suspended -- after pleading guilty to killing two other women in 2003.

“The defendant targeted defenseless, vulnerable young women facing challenges such as
mental issues, addiction, and poverty," State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein said in a statement. "He believed that these women were expendable and that we wouldn’t pursue their killer with vigor because of their backgrounds. He was wrong on both counts. Nobody in our city is invisible, second class, or beneath our concern."

The killer, William Vincent Brown, from Gwnn Oak, dumped the bodies, and a third victim he tried to kill, in Leakin Park. The closure of this case helps shed light on a series of attacks that occurred several years ago. The Sun's Tricia Bishop documented the case in January, and her report can be found here.

More details from a statement issued by Bernstein's office:

Continue reading "Convicted rapist pleads guilty to two murders, sentenced" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Southwest Baltimore
        

A series of police raids over the past several days in Anne Arundel County has led to the arrests of several suspects and the seizure of drugs and guns linked to a suspected heroin and marijuana trafficking ring.

Police hit homes in Pasadena, Severn and Annapolis and traced packages containing suspected drugs through a parcel delivery service. Five people were arrested on drug and gun charges in operations conducted Wednesday and Thursday.

Authorities said they traced drugs being sent through the mail to various locations. The total value of the marijuana seized is estimated at $215,000 and weighted about 20.5 pounds, police said. Guns taken by police include an Uzi machine gun, four handguns and assorted rifles and shotguns.

The photographs are from the Anne Arundel County Police Department. For more information about the raids, read the police statement below: 

Continue reading "Raids in Arundel yield guns, drugs" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Breaking news
        

A man whose suspended sentence in an armed holdup in Guilford three years ago became emblematic of problems with the city’s criminal justice system pleaded guilty Thursday to two more violent attacks in the North Baltimore neighborhood and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

“You are a menace to the community,” Circuit Judge Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill told 21-year-old John Couplin. “The only thing that I can do is isolate you from the community. … There’s a possibility you will rehabilitate. Maybe.”

Continue reading "Man guilty in Guilford attacks; had received suspended sentence in earlier case" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Courts and the justice system, North Baltimore
        

View Larger Map

Baltimore police are saying a female victim who was wounded in a triple shooting this evening in Better Waverly has died from her injuries. Two male victims, ages 24 and 20, were in stable condition, police said.

Few details were immediately available, but police said three people were shot after coming out of a deli carryout at the intersection of Gorsuch Avenue and Independence Street, just south of the former Memorial Stadium site, at about 6 p.m. tonight. The shooting is right on the border of the Northern and Northeastern police districts. 

According to Facebook postings, Ervin appeared to have been staying at a nearby women's shelter. She did not have a criminal record.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore
        

The Baltimore police commander who heads the homicide unit was suspended today after he abandoned his unmarked cruiser on the side of I-95 near Route 32 in Howard County, city police confirmed. The suspension is described as routine and required because of the active investigation.

Maj. Terrence P. McLarney apparently ran off an exit ramp in Sunday night's rain storm. State Police said his car went into a ditch and there was minor damage to the front bumper. Another motorists called police to report seeing the vehicle off the road.

Why McLarney left the scene and how he got home remains a mystery at this time. City police said they suspended him with pay pending the outcome of the Maryland State Police investigation, and then they'll launch a internal investigation of their own.

More details later on The Sun's web site and in print on Tuesday.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Breaking news, Howard County, Top brass
        

Baltimore County police officers quickly arrested a man who held up a bank Thursday morning in Pikesville using a fake bomb, according to authorities.

Police said the man walked into a Bank of America branch in the 2800 block of Smith Ave. shortly after 9 a.m., approached a teller and demanded money. Police said in a statement that the man “told the teller that he had a bomb.”

The teller handed over an undisclosed amount of money and the man left the bank. While in the parking lot, police said the dye packs from the money “exploded inside the suspect’s bag.”

Bystanders told police which way the man had run and officers had him in custody with 20 minutes of the holdup. Police said he was found hiding, but they didn’t disclose other details. Police said the bomb was a hoax.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news
        

A Circut Court judge this morning upheld the firing of a Baltimore police officer who berated and pushed a 14-year-old skateboarder during a confrontation in the Inner Harbor in 2007. The ruling came after about an hour of arguments presented by an attorney for the police union and for the city.

The officer's lawyer argued that the police commissioner went beyond what was reasonable when he rejected an internal trial board recommendation that Rivieri be suspended for six days and lose leave time.

The trial board had found the officer not guilty of the most serious charges that included using excessive force and language. Rivieri was found guilty only of failing to write a police report, which his attorney described as a minor infraction. The attorney argued that the commissioner based his decision on parts issues that his client had been found not guilty of doing -- in essence conduct seen on the video.

But the city's lawyer argued that the failing to write a police report is not a minor infraction, and that Rivieri's failure to properly document his encounter with the youth was tantamount to covering up his use of force against a teenager.

There'll be more details later on the web and in The Sun's print edition.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (37)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Downtown, Top brass
        

This just in from The Sun's Nick Madigan at the Baltimore Circuit Court:

A Baltimore jury on Friday found Cleaven L. Williams Jr. guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his pregnant wife outside a city courthouse in 2008.

Deliberating for a fourth day Friday, jury members had indicated earlier this week that they were having trouble reaching a consensus. They sent a note to the judge late Thursday afternoon, but it was unclear what the document said.

Williams was also convicted of a weapons charge in the death of his wife, Veronica Williams, with whom he had three children. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news
        

Here's the video of Baltimore's police commissioner and the Maryland U.S. Attorney discussing the arrests of 17 city police officers charged with steering traffic accident victims to a specific auto repair shop in exchange for kickbacks.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Top brass
        

Baltimore’s police commissioner personally helped arrest more than a dozen city officers this morning who allegedly got thousands of dollars in kickbacks for steering accident victims to a towing company that was not authorized to do business with the city.

Federal authorities outlined a broad scheme in a 41-page criminal complaint and at a news conference in which 17 police officers conspired for two years with two brothers who own Magestic Auto Repair Shop in Rosedale.

The brothers, identified as Hernan Alexis Moreno Mejia and Edwin Javier Mejia, were also arrested, along with 15 officers who were lured to the city’s police academy under the ruse of and equipment inspection, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III said. Two officers had not been arrested as of this afternoon.

Bealefeld, in a calm voice, told reporters at a news conference at the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office (photo above by The Sun's Kenneth K. Lam shows Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein at the podium, flanked by Baltimore's FBI director, Richard A. McFeely, and Bealefeld).

that he thought for months about how he would explain the arrests to the citizens of Baltimore. He said he wanted the arrests done in a “very deliberate way” that was “meaningful and respectful,” but also sent a stern message to the 3,000-member force.

Continue reading "Bealefeld helps arrest fellow cops" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Top brass
        

A 45-year-old man was stabbed in the neck and killed Thursday afternoon after getting into an argument at a busy bus stop at North and Greenmount avenues.

The victim, who has not yet been identified, was waiting for the bus before 1 p.m. when he got into an argument with a young woman, said Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman. The argument escalated and a man began fighting with the victim, he said.

He was stabbed in the neck, and ended up across the street at a Rite Aid store. Moses said a private medic in the area treated him, but he died a short time later at a local hospital.

Moses said police did not have a suspect but were reviewing camera footage and speaking to witnesses. The crime scene briefly shut down traffic both ways on North Avenue.

Delores Austin, who said she is a minister at a Northwest Baltimore church, said she picks up medications at the Rite Aid and was stranded at the store because her vehicle was behind the caution tape.

She said other bystanders were surprised at a stabbing occurring in broad daylight, but it didn’t alarm her. “What do they care? Don’t none of them care,” she said.

Austin said both of her sons were killed in violence, including son Titus Austin, who was sitting on the front steps of a house when he was killed by a stray bullet during a gunfight in 1991. She didn’t want to talk about their deaths, but said the persistent violence keeps driving residents away.

“A lot of people that moved out left because of this,” she said. “Crime isn’t down.”

Continue reading "Man, 45, fatally stabbed at busy North Ave bus stop" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, East Baltimore
        

UPDATE: About three hours after the police commissioner left the community meeting, the Northeast District had its seventh homicide of the year. It occurred in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood, an area of particular concern. There have now been 21 slayings in the city this year, one more than noted below.

At times, the city's top cop resembled a pitch-man selling 25-year lows in homicides and other glowing crime stats to people living in an area with a spike in kilings this year (see The Sun's homicide map).

At one point, the Northeast District accounted for one-third of all this year's slayings. Now, iit's slightly less, with six of the city's 20 killings this year. It's tied with the Southern for the most. So you might forgive the residents if they were a bit skeptical (I'll have more about the meeting in Friday's Crime Scenes column).

But they politely allowed Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III to make his presentation during a packed meeting at Good Samaritan Hospital. The top cop is a bit frustrated that few people seem to know of the crime drops made in the past couple of years, even as his cops arrest tens of thousands of fewer people. It's targeted enforcement of gun and violent offenders over street corner sweeps.

Bealefeld pounded away that the image of Baltimore remains a deadly one -- "People are killed in the city every day," he quoted an oft-heard remark. He started at his audience and said bluntly, "It's a lie." The city went nine days once this year without a single killing, and non-fatal shootings are down from more than 750 in 2000 to 450 last year.

Yet Bealefeld lamented that more people know arcane stats about football and baseball players they follow than about the crime stats that impact the values of their homes.  "We don't know the stats that drives the engine that creeps peole out about the city," he said.

Still, Bealefeld acknowledged a problem in the Northeast and that it's no longer confined to one small area in the southern part of the district. "A lot more needs to be done in this area," he told the group. "It's unacceptable under anybody's standards. And it's moving -- it's moving east and west and we need to do something about it."

Residents peppered Bealefeld with questions but few demanded specific answers about the nature of the killings or what plans police had in place. The group appeared unanimous in its support of promoting the district's deputy major, Darryl DeSousa, to majoor, to replace the commander who just retired.

Bealefeld wouldn't give them an answer, despite repeated attempts, but said he will name a new district commander in a matter of weeks. After the commissioner left, DeSousa told his supporters, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Neighborhoods, Northeast Baltimore
        

A state worker was carjacked in Northwest Baltimore earlier today, sparking a pursuit using a police helicopter that ended with the arrests of two suspects.

The pursuit went from Baltimore and into the county and then back to Baltimore, and part of it was captured by a news crew for WJZ-TV, which broadcast it live during its 5 p.m. newscast. Here is The Sun's news story and the video from WJZ:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news, Northwest Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

UPDATE 2/16, 6:15 P.M.: Police say they have tentatively identified the man as a 46-year-old who suffered from seizures and hypertension; there were no visible signs of trauma. An employee of the Museum of Industry spotted the body and called police. An autopsy will be performed to confirm the man's identity and cause of death. 

Firefighters and police were on the scene of a discovery of a man's corpse in the Inner Harbor, near the Museum of Industry. The city fire union sent a Twitter message around 8:30 a.m. that fire boats were responding to pull the body from the water. Police said the body was discovered at around 8 a.m., in the 1400 block of Key Highway. An autopsy will be performed to determined the man's identity and cause of death.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown
        

The stabbing was reported at about 10:45 a.m. at the intersection of Liberty Heights and Gwynn Oak, in the Howard Park neighborhood, said Detective Jeremy Silbert, a police spokesman. He said two men got into an argument with another man, who produced an undetermined sharp object and stabbed them.

[Click photo for full size image]

At the scene, a trail of blood was visible from a gas pump to in front of the gas station. A crime scene technician flagged items of interest and took pictures as detectives huddled behind the gas station.

The victims were taken to a local hospital where one of them was suffering from life-threatening injuries, police said. Homicide detectives were notified and were investigating, police said.

Police were looking for a black male with dreadlocks, and were reviewing surveillance camera footage.

The incident was initially reported by the Police Department as having occurred at the intersection of Liberty Heights and Reisterstown Road.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northwest Baltimore
        

Baltimore police - out in force to watch over downtown night clubs - quickly arrested a man in a shooting on East Saratoga Street. We're awaiting more details of the arrest and to see what club to which it might be linked.

UPDATE: Police say the suspect and victim got into a "road-rage" dispute near a parking lot near I-83. The victim was hit in the elbow.

This morning's shooting is near where Officer Todd Strohman was shot back in November when he confronted a suspicious man on North Calvert Street. Just last week, the officer testified in front of an Annapolis Senate committee as part of the city's efforts to toughen gun laws (see article by Justin Fenton on why suspect was out on the street). A bullet remains lodged in the officer's chest, just above his heart. He returned to light duty last week.

Meanwhile, are are the latest details from Baltimore police spokesman, Detective Kevin Brown, on this morning's shooting:

NON-FATAL SHOOTING
200 Blk of E. Saratoga
2/13/11 - 02:15 Hrs

On the above date, time and location officers SWAT officers were monitoring area nightclubs for signs of disturbances.  While doing so they observed an individual begin shooting from his vehicle at another individual.  He was followed and his vehicle was stopped without incident. He was taken into custody and his firearm recovered. The shooting victim, a 26 year-old male, was located as he walked-in to an area hospital seeking treatment, suffering from a gunshot wound to the
arm. At last check he was in stable condition and expected to recover. No word yet on motive or suspect identity.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Downtown
        

From Sun courts reporter Tricia Bishop (this post has been updated): 

Prosecutors said Friday that they will retry the animal-cruelty case against brothers Travers and Tremayne Johnson, who were accused of fatally setting fire to a pitbull in 2009, after the first trial ended in a hung jury Monday.

The new trial is scheduled for May 4. 

"The Court's order prohibiting public comment about the case remains in effect. We will respect the Court's order and look forward to the retrial," Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein said in a statement.

Continue reading "Dog-burning case will be tried again" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Breaking news, Courts and the justice system
        

The animal cruelty trial of Travers and Tremayne Johnson, charged in the 2009 fatal burning of a dog nicknamed Phoenix, ended in a mistrial Monday when jurors couldn't come to an agreement about the brothers' guilt or innocence on any of four animal cruelty charges against them, The Sun's Tricia Bishop reports.

The brothers smiled as the result was read about 6:30 p.m., after several days of jury deliberation and five days of trial.

Prosecutors had little evidence to work with in making their case, and defense attorneys repeatedly pointed out the flaws in the dog-burning investigation, which they said began minutes after Phoenix was set on fire May 27, 2009.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Breaking news
        

[This post has been updated] 

A 19-year-old man was fatally shot Monday afternoon in Northeast Baltimore, leaving a trail of blood as he stumbled up a street before collapsing. By early Tuesday, police had made an arrest.

Officers were called to the 2700 block of Polk St. at about 3:15 p.m. for a report of a shooting. A 58-year-old resident, who would not give his name but said he’s a construction contractor, told a reporter that he heard at least four shots, then looked out of his window and saw a male fall down on the corner where two churches face each other.

Police would locate the victim, Craig Manuel, of the 2700 block of Carswell St., in next block up, on a patch of sidewalk where a crime scene technician photographed blood and clothing. 

Anthony Guglielmi, the Police Department's chief spokesman, said detectives made an arrest early Tuesday, taking 18-year-old Isaacier McQueen into custody. Guglielmi said "community intelligence" - police-speak for tips - played a role.

The witness said the area – in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood – is not particularly violent. “But those teenagers, they get a little fight in them, and the next thing you know, a gun is involved,” he said.

Manuel had recently been convicted on drug and auto theft-related charges, receiving a four-year suspended sentence. Records show he had also sought a protective order against a woman. 

Continue reading "Police investigating Northeast Baltimore shooting" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

Continue reading "Men stabbed, shot in Baltimore" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Juror were unable to reach a verdict Friday and will resume deliberations on Monday.

UPDATE: The Sun's Tricia Bishop reports --The jury deliberating in the animal cruelty trial of Travers and Tremayne Johnson sent a note to the judge Friday morning suggesting that they are having trouble reaching a verdict.

The 18-year-old twins are charged with setting fire to a pit bull known as "Phoenix" in 2009, in a case that has become the centerpiece in a series of animal abuse cases. Defense attorneys say the teens were wrongly accused by Baltimore police under pressure from outraged animal welfare advocates.

Complete details of Thursday's courtroom drama can be found here. The Sun's court reporter, Tricia Bishop, wrote about Thursday's closings:

Prosecutors had spent the fifth day of trial — highlighting the evidence, while the defense team pointed to the lack of it. Prosecutors Jennifer Rallo and Janet Hankin systematically connected the dots in their circumstantial case and asked the jury to consider the testimony of their key witness, city police Sgt. Jarron Jackson, akin to that of a reporter: someone who watches and interprets information.

A defense attorneys questioned  the timing of her clients on a video and provided a list of 41 things that the police allegedly failed to do in the investigation. They did not preserve the crime scene, she said; they waited a week to assign an investigator; they didn't collect important evidence; and they didn't investigate other suspects.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Courts and the justice system, West Baltimore
        

A federal jury on Thursday convicted the mastermind of a series of brazen robberies that netted more than $300,000 and left a Southeast Baltimore business owner zip-tied and duct-taped to a chair, the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Nikolaos Mamalis, 53, of Edgewood, faces at least 57 years in federal prison and could get up to life when he is sentenced in U.S. District Court in Baltimore in May. Four other conspirators pleaded guilty in the case and are to be sentenced over the next three months.

The guilty finding after a seven day trial brings to a close a complicated and violent scheme that led investigators from a city warehouse to a hotel in Atlantic City. The 54-year-old Southeast Baltimore vending machine owner, Constantine “Dino” Frank, died shortly after the robbery at his shop.

Federal prosecutors said Mamalis knew Frank and other victims and used his knowledge of their shops, homes and money they stored in them to plan the attacks. Police arrested them after learning through a wiretap that they planned to commit a home invasion in New Jersey.

Continue reading "Man guilty in robberies that left business owner dead" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Southeast Baltimore
        

This just in from The Sun's Tricia Bishop:

Serial drunken driver Thomas Lee Meighan Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in prison for the 2009 fatal hit-and-run of a 20-year-old Johns Hopkins student. He was also given an additional nine-year suspended sentence in connection with a similar hit-and-run that same year, in which five people were injured.

Several of those victims testified at the hearing Wednesday afternoon, along with the friends and family of Miriam Frankl, who was killed Oct. 16 after Meighan slammed his white Ford truck into her as she crossed St. Paul Street in Charles Village.

"The tragedy here … is the Miriam that will never be," said Julia Pilcer, one of Frankl's sorority sisters who looked up to the young scientist, recalled as kind, intelligent and driven.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, North Baltimore
        

A fire tonight destroyed the Charles Village Pub in Towson, a popular hangout for Towson University students.

The blaze was first reported shortly before 7:30 p.m. and might have started in the kitchen. About 100 firefighters battled the blaze, near the traffic circle, which shut down numerous streets on a busy Saturday night.

The photo was taken by The Sun's Jerry Jackson. Reporter Arthur Hirsch reported:

 "I spent half of my college existence in that building," said April Shaw of Towson, who graduated with a mass communications degree in 2003.  "I just texted my college roommates" to tell them about the fire, she said.

Paul Donhauser, who took some classes at Towson University and now works as law clerk nearby, said he goes to the restaurant occasionally for lunch and went often when he was in school. "It was definitely a college bar," he said. The fire appeared to be under control by about 8:30 p.m. but firefighters remained at the scene, still showering the building with water, although most of the smoke had dissipated by 10 p.m.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news
        

Baltimore's police commissioner and mayor are having a news conference (4:15 p.m.) to announce an arrest of a person they call a significant gun criminal. Police in Northwest Baltimore arrested the man, Michael Nichols, 31, Thursday evening.

He's at left in a police mug shot.

According to a police charging document, an officer got a call for an armed man in the 2300 block of Reiserstown Road. The man was wearing an Army camouflage jacket with a hat adorned with snowflakes and had just entered a location with an AK-47.

Police said the man jumped off a back second-floor balcony when the officer arrived but was arrested by a back-up officer. According to the court document, the man admitted that he had two guns in the house and thought the cops were there to arrest him for violating his parole.

Authorities then obtained a search warrant for the residence and confiscated several weapons. They include: a 9mm Luger handgun loaded with nine rounds; a High Point .45 caliber handgun loaded with five bullets; suspected marijuana; and suspected heroin.

The court document also says that the man told police he had a Tech 9 gun hidden in his mother's basement in a tool box on Bentalou Street. Police said they found the gun, loaded with 17 bullets, along with a box containing 28 rounds of ammunition.

At this moment, police and the mayor are giving more details (watch the news conference here). Check back to the Baltimore Sun for a more complete news story.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Top brass, West Baltimore
        

The high school in Monroe, N.C., where 17-year-old Phylicia Barnes was senior, announced a reward of $25,000 for information leading to her recovery. The honor student disappeared Dec. 28 while visiting relatives in Northwest Baltimore.

The search has become one of the Baltimore Police Department's biggest missing persons cases, at one point involving half the agency's homicide squad. The FBI in Baltimore and Washington are still involved.

Here are some past news stories on Barnes, and the following is information from Barnes' school, Union Academy, in North Carolina:

"In November of this past year at the Annual Ultimate Charity Auction hosted by the Union Academy Foundation a fund was created to help students at Union Academy in financial need. This fund was named the Phil Hargett Memorial Fund in memory of the late City of Monroe Councilman, grandfather of Union Academy students and community leader. Over $25,000.00 was raised the night of the auction for this fund.

Since that time as you all know, Phylicia Barnes, a beautiful, loving and gifted student of Union Academy has disappeared while in Baltimore Md. during the Christmas Holidays. We continue to have faith that Phylicia is out there somewhere.

Continue reading "Reward up to $25,000 in finding missing teen" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Breaking news, Northwest Baltimore
        

Baltimore police just announced an arrest of a car jacking suspect:

"On January 25, 2011, Northwest District officers were flagged down by an individual who stated he was just car-jacked. Immediately, officers began a search of the area for the victims vehicle.

Officers located the Honda mini-van a short time later. The suspect was subsequently arrested after attempting to elude officers on foot.

Along with the victims vehicle, additional property taken during the incident was recovered as well.

The suspect has been identified as Dion Williams, DOB: 1/14/75.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northwest Baltimore
        

SNOWWWWWWWWWW! !

That's stating the obvious, I know, but it comes via Twitter, courtesy of the Baltimore Fire Department firefighters union #734. It's my way of passing along the latest public safety news!

Not to be outdone, Baltimore police put this up on Twitter: "DRIVING ADVISORY: Winter weather conditions are making area roads very slick. Please drive with care and consider staying home."

Of course, the rank and file firefighters and paramedics would be remiss if they didn't also remind you, again via Twitter, that the city continues to close fire companies to save money. So along with storm news, you get this:

Units closed to save money today are Engine 5 & Engine 8. Engine 43 is closed for maintenance. Use caution walking & driving in winter weather.

Engine 8 operates from a firehouse in the 1500 block of West LaFayette Avenue. The house also has a truck and a medic which are operational Engine 5 is out of the Roman Kaminski station in the 2100 block of Eastern Ave.

But enough politics. The last Twitter from Baltimore police was last night, with a man shot in the back in the 800 block of Lennox St. No word yet on his condition. Meanwhile, Liz F. Kay is reporting that the snow you see this morning is "just a teaser" of what we'll see later today and tonight.

Check out the rest of The Baltimore Sun for more snow news, including accidents and road conditions, and closing information. Or better yet, head to Frank Roylance's Maryland Weather blog, Let's see if the adage prove true -- more snow equals less crime.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Breaking news, Carroll County, Downtown, East Baltimore, Howard County, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Baltimore police have concluded their investigation into the October accident that killed a city police officer whose cruiser slammed into the back of fire engine.

The report concludes that Officer Thomas Portz Jr., 32, was most likely distracted by a film crew using the opposite lanes of U.S. 40 to record the final scene of an independent movie. The report, obtained under a Public Information Act request, says the officer was speeding at 71 mph (in a 50 mph zone) and was not wearing his seat belt.

Photo was taken by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor.

From our news story:

Just before the accident, the city Fire Department received a call for a sick person in the area and firefighters on Engine 8 had stopped in the eastbound lane of U.S. 40, near the Stricker Street footbridge, and were looking for the source of the call.

Portz also was driving east on the U.S. 40, and the report concludes he was probably looking at the film crew and didn’t see the stopped fire engine. Portz was not responding to an emergency call at the time. Police identified the firefighter driving the engine only as a 41-year-old male.

The report says Portz had been speeding at 71 mph — the speed limit is 50 mph on that portion of roadway — but slammed on is brakes 2.5 seconds before impact. Detective Patty A. Baur, a traffic collision reconstruction expert with the police crash team, said in the report that the police car was traveling 62 mph a split-second before impact.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Top brass, West Baltimore
        

Click here for the most updated version of this story.

UPDATE 11:45 p.m. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said police do not expect to provide more information today on the Sunday morning shooting. He said detectives will be gathering surveillance camera footage and reviewing physical evidence.

He said the three civilians who were shot and wounded were all women in the early 20s, who were shot in their lower extremities.

UPDATE: 10:10 a.m. Sources are identifying the officer killed this morning as William H. Torbit Jr., 33, who was assigned to the Central District operations unit. On Twitter and Facebook, friends are mourning the civilian victim, Sean "Loz" Gamble. Police are not confirming either victim's identity.

A friend, Corey Brown said Gamble had a young child and was engaged to be married. He worked for a waste management company and had no criminal record.

"He's not a violent kid - he's not in the streets," said Brown. "He's not even cut from that cloth. Apparently he got in a fight, and the cops start shooting. Not in the air - in the crowd, and they shot him."

Attempts to locate friends and family of Torbit were not immediately successful.

UPDATE: 6:45 a.m. Two Baltimore police officers were shot, one of them fatally, when gunfire erupted early Sunday outside of a club near downtown. Six people in all were shot and two killed.

Two sources said detectives are exploring whether the officer who was killed was shot by another officer amid a chaotic scene outside the Select Lounge in the 400 block of N. Paca St.

The incident occurred at about 1:15 a.m. when police were called to break up fights and control a crowd outside the club near Franklin Street in Seton Hill, said Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III. 

"There was an altercation that took place very near the club and some officers worked to intercede in that fight, at which time some gunshots were discharged," Bealefeld said. "Several officers fired multiple shots."

An eight-year veteran of the force whose name was not disclosed was shot and killed, Bealefeld said. A second officer, an 11-year veteran, was shot in the foot. Both officers were assigned to the Central District and were on duty, police said. One was in uniform and the other was in plainclothes, police said.

Continue reading "Two officers shot, one killed, outside downtown club" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown, Police shootings
        

UPDATE AS OF 6:30 P.M.: The suspicious package at the state office building on West Preston Street turned out to be computer accessories. Again, heightened caution after the explosive devices that were found earlier today in Annapolis.

UPDATE AS OF 5:45 P.M.: The suspicious package at the Mitchell Courthouse turned out to be a box of toner cartridges, according to police. In light of what happened in Annapolis today, people are being more cautious.

Baltimore police are at a state office building at 201 West Preston St. where a department spokesman says at least one suspicious package was found. Police have no other details of where the packages was or what it contained.

Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said "no detonation" occurred. There were conflicting reports about whether employees were told to leave; Preston Street is closed in the area; the state complex contains several state buildings, including the the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Howard and Preston streets was closed as of 4:15 p.m.

At the moment, we don't know whether the package contained an explosive or if this is the result of heightened suspicions following the explosives found in two other state buildings in Anne Arundel County..

Also, Maryland State Police just sent out an update on the explosive devices found in two state buildings in Hanover and in Annapolis. No explosion, but a chemical reaction did cause an injury to one mail room employee.

Here's a statement from police:

Continue reading "Suspicious packages at city court house, state office building, unfounded" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown
        

Explosive devices have been found in  two state office buildings in Annapolis, near the State House, and in Hanover, according to authorities.

Bomb squad technicians and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force are investigating. Details are still coming in, but it appears that a State House mail room employee was hurt while handling one of the packages.

State mail room offices have been shut down.

Keep checking the Baltimore Sun web site for updates of this breaking news.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Breaking news, Confronting crime
        

The father-and-son team behind one of Baltimore’s largest bail bond services will plead guilty next week to federal charges filed against them, the Daily Record reports.

Milton Tillman Jr. and Milton Tillman III of 4 Aces Bail Bonds Inc. are scheduled to be in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Wednesday afternoon, according to a notice of a hearing filed Thursday. The Tillmans were indicted in February on multiple counts of tax, insurance and wire fraud.

The elder Tillman is a well-known businessman with two federal convictions, vast property interests  and a major chunk of the city's bail bonds market, including holding insurance policies for a slew of others in the industry. The CityPaper in August 2008 described Tillman this way:

"To white-collar prosecutors he's a target. According to Drug Enforcement Agency documents and a deceased narcotics prosecutor, he's a violent drug trafficker. But to people he's done business with and public officials who know him, he's a plain, soft-spoken, and successful minority businessman."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Breaking news, Courts and the justice system
        

[This is a breaking news update. The original post is after the jump]

A pharmaceutical delivery driver was abducted while making his rounds in West Baltimore on Monday morning by thieves who made off with a truckload of drug products, police said.

Police called the morning heist “incredibly thought-out,” and were looking for three suspects. The robbery occurred at about 9 a.m. in the 2000 block of W. Pratt St., outside the tiny Westside Pharmacy and Wellness Center.

The 55-year-old driver was forced at gunpoint into the back of his delivery truck and transported to an unknown location where the suspects unloaded about 80 crates of drug products. He called police from the 2000 block of Annapolis Rd. in Westport at about 10:10 a.m.

“The value of the drugs is significant,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, who said he could not place a dollar figure. “We believe the individuals responsible might have had knowledge about where and when the truck was going to be.”

Guglielmi said police were in contact with the local FBI and DEA.

At the pharmacy, located along a struggling commercial corridor in West Baltimore, a handwritten, neon yellow sign tells customers when the store will be closed, and a flier for a lost dog is in the door. The inside resembles a hardware store, and the service counter is located in the back.

A manager who declined to give his name said he didn’t know what had happened until detectives visited the store later in the day. He said the driver drops off supplies every weekday morning but that he did not know his name.

“This is the first time we’ve had something like this happen in eight years,” he said. “We’re just happy he was not harmed.”

Police did not give out a description of the suspects.

Continue re