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
        

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
        

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
        

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:

Continue reading "Feds file more charges in Block trafficking case" »

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

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:

Continue reading "Search for escapee continues; another detainee stabbed" »

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

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
        

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
        

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
        

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 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:

Continue reading "City police investigating assault at Occupy Baltimore" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Downtown
        

You'd think that the one person who could escape a parking ticket from the city, and a boot, would be someone driving a city vehicle.

Think again.

 Apparently no one can escape the wrath of the parking agents, who have targeted a vehicle owned by the very same city that writes their checks.

And for anyone hopping mad over a fine, here's a picture guaranteed to brighten your day. Yes, someone, I would assume a ticket agent, booted a car owned by the housing department.

The Sun's city government reporter Julie Scharper snapped this pic  [go to Julie's Twitter page] outside City Hall this morning, and we're awaiting an answer from transportation officials. Read more on the politics blog.

So far, they haven't been able to say how the car got booted, and whether one city agency owes another city agency money for parking tickets.

Can't wait for to see someone try to argue this one in front of a judge.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

With a deadline looming for the Occupy Baltimore movement to vacate its overnight encampment at the Inner Harbor, the city's mayor would not describe what action authorities might take. The Sun's City Hall reporter, Julie Scharper, reports:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Downtown
        

A day after the city declared the Occupy Baltimore movement an illegal encampment, protesters are awaiting the next move from authorities. But it appears the police aren't moving in just yet.

The Sun's Luke Broadwater reports that at last night’s meeting of what the group calls their General Assembly, protesters said city officials had indicated to them that a representative from the city’s Department of Recreation and Parks would attend tonight’s 8 p.m. meeting. City officials did not immediately confirm that information, but had tentatively set today as a deadline for the protesters to come to an agreement with City Hall.

In the photo above by The Sun's Karl Merton Ferron, college student Brandie Cross holds a flag raised in distress, whose stars are instead symbols of large corporations.

Police and city officials have been circumspect about telegraphing their next move, perhaps to avoid a confrontation similar to what has occurred in other cities, most recently Oakland, where police moved in with tear gas, or to keep the element of surprise. What does seem clear is that the city is gearing up for some action to evict what they've determined has morphed from a protest to a campground.

Also today, after having distributed pamphlets that advocates and police said discouraged victims of sexual assault from going to authorities, the Occupy Baltimore has revised its guidelines.

The new pamphlet now lists services available to victims. Gone is controversial language that said the protesters would rather handle complaints amongst themselves, and that while they wouldn't prevent someone from going to police, they would prefer not to involve law enforcement.

The memo now reads, in part: 

Instances of sexual abuse and assault will be handled according to the expressed desires of the victim. The Security and Medical teams are equipped with a list of resources, including contact information for the police, hospitals, sexual assault hotlines, and women's shelters. In these instances, #Occupy Baltimore welcomes the involvement of the Baltimore City Police and encourages victims to report crimes.

The complete memo on sexual assault is below:

Continue reading "Occupy Baltimore awaits city action; revises sexual assault guidelines" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Downtown
        

A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for helping rob a bank in Harbor East and stealing $157,000. Federal authorities said that the man's accomplice has already been sent to prison for 15 years.

Bank robberies in Baltimore typically net only a few thousand dollars -- the so-called "bait money" that tellers set aside. The typical bank robber is armed with a note more often than a gun. But this case was far more brazen.

Prosecutors with the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office said the gunmen hit the Harbor Bank branch in the 1000 block of Lancaster St. on March 11, 2010. The man sentenced Thursday, Jenerette Dixon, 35, jumped over the counter and forced tellers at gunpoint to open the vault.

Police said the Dixon and his accomplice used a fake bomb to slow police response.

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

Continue reading "Bank robber sent away for 20 years for stealing $157,000" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Downtown
        

The deaths 14 months apart of Harsh Kumar, 30, and Emily Hauze, 23, are purely coincidental, city police said on Wednesday. That the two victims went down the same trash chute at the same apartment building, the Park Charles, is a bizarre coincidence, the police say.

Beyond that, police have released next to no information on how Hauze, a recent honors graduate of Loyola University Maryland, died on Sunday morning. Her family has not talked, and neither have officials at the school.

Tenants of the high-rise apartment at Charles Center have expressed doubt that anyone could accidentally or purposely go down the chute, which have oven-like doors that are heavy and spring-loaded.

But police reiterated on Wednesday that Kumar likely died an accidental death. An autopsy report I reviewed on Wednesday shows that Kumar had been drinking and taken powerful sleeping pills before he died:

The report says he suffered numerous cuts on his head, face, arms, chest and legs, and that his fingernails were dirty and bloody. It also says that his black tank top had “large tears and blood stains.” Kumar was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 156 pounds, according to the report.

The report concluded that Kumar “bad been consuming alcoholic beverages prior to his death and also took Zolpidem concurrently.” Zolpidem is a sedative that slows the brain to help people sleep and is prescribed to treat insomnia. The manufacturer warns that sleep can come quickly and last several hours, and that the drug should not be taken with alcohol.

Pathologists did not say how much alcohol Kumar had consumed or how many pills he had taken. The report concluded: “The facts of the investigation did not demonstrate overt signs of suicidal intent.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Downtown
        

The Occupy Baltimore movement is trying to become its own community, complete with its own rules, committees and general assembly. But a pamphlet advising how victims of sexual assaults should handle alleged crimes has gotten rape counselors concerned.

The pamphlet instructs victims to report to the "security committee" and advises that the group would prefer to mediate issues internally. One paragraph reads:

Though we do not encourage the involvement of the police in our community, the survivor has every right and the support of Occupy Baltimore, to report the abuse to the appropriate law enforcement.

A spokeswoman and the author of the memo -- herself a victim of a sexual assault -- say the directive in no way discourages victims from contacting police. But heads of advocate groups, such as Jacqueline Robarge of Power Inside, complained the tone says different.

"It might actually passively prevent someone from seeking justice," Robarge said.

The pamphlet came to our attention from a blogger posting on Andrew Breitbart's big government web site. The memo's author told me she only wanted to make sure victims knew they had an alternative to calling police.

Trouble is that victims of sexual assault already can get help at places such as Mercy Medical Center, and not involve police. Nurses there will preserve files and physical evidence for up to a year in case the victim changes her mind.

Here is the pamphlet in full:

Continue reading "Occupy Baltimore pamphlet on sexual assault causes alarm" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Downtown
        

For now, it appears that Baltimore police are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the Occupy Baltimore protesters who have pitched tents at McKeldin Square at the Inner Harbor. That's in contrast to police in other cities who have removed the groups from various places, in some cases by force.

Police report making no arrests and it appears the group is seeking a permit. The rules allow up to 25 protesters at the triangle-shaped park but any more requires permission from the city. That guideline was put in place while the ACLU and city finish negotiations over a free-speech lawsuit filed by the ACLU on behalf of a protest group arrested by police eight years ago.

At the moment, it seems police and protesters are locked in a battle of uncertainty. The protesters (seen above in a picture by The Sun's Gene Sweeney Jr.) don't have demands or clear goals, other than to raise awareness, and police say they have no timetable for acting. Of course, Baltimore's movement hasn't attracted nearly the numbers of other cities.

Here's what city mayoral spokesman Ryan O'Doherty told The Sun's Jean Marbella: 

"That's not to say we will not do that in the future. If we do take such measures, it will be at the time we think is appropriate."

O'Doherty said the city is responding to specific complaints, such as concerns about trash or pedestrian traffic being blocked, rather than the protest as a whole. Officials wanted to make sure, for example, that protesters would "share space" with the recent Baltimore Marathon, he said, and everything ran smoothly.

"There's no broad policy toward the protest movement to interfere with it in any way," he said. "We're trying to have a constructive dialogue with the protesters so things are dealt with respectfully."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Downtown
        

Baltimore police have been unusually quiet about the 23-year-old Loyola University Maryland student whose body was found at the bottom of a trash chute on Sunday at the Park Charles apartment building in the city's downtown.

What was Emily Hauze doing there? What led up to her death? Was she killed before someone put her down the chute? Compounding the mystery is that she's the second person to go down the chute in the past 14 months at the same building. That has got residents concerned.

The cause of death of the man who died last year was ruled undetermined (we are seeking the autopsy report but I wasn't able to obtain it on Tuesday). The Medical Examiner has not made a ruling on how Hauze died.

Hauze's relatives have not said anything publicly and the university has said nothing beyond a brief statement that their "thoughts and prayers" are with the family.  I'll keep you updated as we learn more. Photo above taken by The Sun's Jerry Jackson. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Downtown
        

The investigation into the mysterious death of Loyola University Maryland graduate Emily Hauze, whose body was found at the bottom of a trash chute at the Park Charles apartment building, continues with many unanswered questions.

We are pursing the case vigorously, including trying to determine how she died and got into the chute. One question raised by many readers and apartment residents is how anyone could've gotten into the chute.

Occupants describe the door as heavy and small -- roughly 14 by 16 inches -- and spring-loaded, so it closes automatically. Residents say they have to hold it open and struggle to get a trash bag inside, so they can't imagine anyone being able to climb in on their own.

Last year, police said a 30-year-old man did just that, and fell 16 stories to the trash compactor below, where he died. Now, police are trying to determine how Hauze got into the same chute. Here's a picture of a trash chute door from the Park Charles taken by a resident.

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

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office is confirming that the man shot during an apparent robbery in a downtown parking garage owned by the University of Maryland, Baltimore had been stabbed in March during a home invasion there.

The victim was identified through that home invasion as Amir Abbas Doulatshahi, 45, of Middletown, Md. Capt. Tim Clarke, the special operations commander for the Frederick County Sheriff's Office said investigators have turned over their files from that case to Baltimore Police, but would not comment on whether they believe the cases are related. "It's too early," Clarke said.

Sources had told The Sun that the shooting victim was in the parking garage near University of Maryland Medical Center for a follow-up appointment related to surgery for injuries he suffered during that home invasion. Clarke said Doulatshahi had come home on March 26 and encountered two men in his home, and was stabbed and knocked unconscious. According to news reports, he woke up six hours later and called police.

In the shooting incident, a police report shows Doulatshahi was found by a woman in the parking garage, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the back. He told her had been robbed and shot, but was unable to speak when police found him. 

City police have provided any updates on the shooting investigation, which as of last week was classified as an aggravated assault. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Downtown
        

Police were continuing to investigate the discovery of a body at the bottom of a trash chute at a downtown apartment building Sunday morning – the second time a body has gone down a trash chute in that building in the past year.

There were few details released by police. Officials said only that the woman's body bore no obvious signs of trauma and that she appeared to be in her early 20s. The body was found at 8:12 a.m. in the Park Charles building in the 200 block of N. Charles St.

In a letter to apartment residents, property manager Kisha Peterson wrote that “an isolated incident occurred on the community that resulted in death. This incident is currently under investigation and we have no details at this time that we are able to release.”

But residents questioned whether the incident was in fact isolated – in August 2010, a 30-year-old resident of the building was found dead after apparently falling down a trash chute and into a trash compactor.

Harsh Kumar, a resident of the 16th-floor, had no injuries to his body except those consistent with a fall, and the death was ruled an accident.

Current and former tenants told The Sun at that time that the trash chutes on each floor have a spring-mounted door that residents must pull. Justin Sausville, 29, a former resident of the building, said the opening is about 3 feet high by 2 feet across, and opens on an angle.

Another resident, who did not want to be identified, said he usually has to “push a little bit” to get a standard garbage bag to fit into the opening.

“It would be very difficult for someone to have put a body in the trash compactor without more signs [of a struggle] on the body,” police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said last year of Kumar’s death. “We don't know why he would go down the trash chute or if he was impaired by anything, but that's where we are, and that's where the evidence is taking us.”

Such incidents are not unheard of. On Oct. 11, a man was found dead after falling down a trash chute from the ninth floor of a San Diego apartment building. Two years ago, a 34-year-old man fell 25 stories down a garbage chute in New York last year after jumping out of a cab without paying and running into a luxury apartment building, according to news reports. And last February, a Central Illinois man became stuck in a trash chute and suffocated.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Downtown
        

[This post has been updated]

A 45-year-old Frederick County man and hospital patient who was shot and seriously injured Thursday evening in a downtown parking garage was a victim of an apparent robbery, officials said.

Police said that the condition of the unidentified man, who is from Middletown, Md., had improved and confirmed that the man had been a patient at a nearby hospital, but declined to specify a motive for the shooting, which occurred on the sixth level of an underground garage at Greene and Redwood streets.

Robert F. Cherry, president of the city police union, took to the union's Twitter page and said that the victim had been shot three times in a robbery try. He had been visiting the hospital for treatment after being stabbed in a recent home invasion, Cherry said.

A source with knowledge of the investigation corroborated that information, saying the gunman demanded the man's keys and wallet. The man refused, the source said, and was shot at four times as he ran away. Three of the bullets struck him in the back.

Cherry blasted the city and police department for not releasing more information.

“A patient leaving the University of Maryland is robbed and shot and no news from the BPD or City? This should outrage every citizen!” Cherry wrote on Twitter Thursday night.

Councilman William Cole IV also said police should release more information to the public. “I want to know as quickly as humanly possible what's going on. I do think the public needs to know what's happening, and at the same time I'd like to know what the next steps are going to be. I'd like to know if it was captured on video,” Cole said.

“The more information the better, so that people can respond appropriately,” Cole said.

Students at nearby University of Maryland, Baltimore were also critical of a lack of information disseminated while the crime scene was unfolding. An “alert” message went to students at 1:38 p.m. Friday.

The shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. in the busy garage, which is patrolled by a private security force. Officers were nearby, but not on that floor, a source said.

The victim has no prior criminal record, but detectives were exploring any possible correlation between the home invasion and the shooting, the source said. However, preliminary indications were that the shooting was a robbery gone awry.

Friday afternoon, the University Maryland sent out an e-mail to students and staff describing the suspect as a black male in his 20s, who was wearing a Ravens hat, a white t-shirt and blue jeans.

“The University of Maryland Police Force remains vigilant in its effort to keep the Campus and its surrounding community safe through the continued cooperation and intelligence sharing with the Baltimore Police Department. We have increased our patrols on Campus and in the garages,” the e-mail said.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Downtown
        

[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
        

Court records show DNA has linked a 50-year-old drifter to a fourth rape.

Carroll Thomas Santos was charged in November 2009 in connection with two separate rapes. As he awaited trial on those charges, police linked him to two additional cases, the latest a 2008 attack that occurred near the Walters Art Gallery, according to court records.

Police said the victim, who was 55 at the time, was walking in the 500 block of Cathedral St. on Sept. 16 at about 12:30 a.m. when a man grabbed her from behind and put her in a chokehold and told her not to scream. She was dragged into an alley and raped, police said. The man looked through her purse and then fled, police said.

Police received the DNA hit for Santos on Nov. 22, 2010 and assigned the case to a detective from the sex offense unit's cold case squad, who showed the woman a photo lineup in September. She said she had not had consensual sex with any of the men pictured, but could not identify her attacker.

Santos is set to go to trial on the other three cases on November 1, court records show. 

Last year, the Sun explored the difficulties prosecutors face even when they have seemingly slam-dunk DNA evidence. That story can be read here.

Santos has a prior record of sex crimes - in 2002 he was convicted of second degree rape and received 20 years in prison, but 15 years of the sentence were suspended. In 2008, he was convicted of indecent exposure, court records show.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

[Above, video shot by @Guttermagazine outside Eden's Lounge early Sunday]

Three people were stabbed early Sunday after an altercation inside a popular Mount Vernon club, police confirmed this morning.

Harold Edwards, the club's owner, said "this is not what Eden's Lounge stands for."

"This is not typical at our venue, and we don't know how it got started or why adults still act like this," he said.

According to the police report, officers were outside Eden's Lounge in the first block of W. Eager St. for routine crowd control when a man stumbled out of the club, his back covered in blood. The officer said the victim was "confused and highly intoxicated," and the officer asked him to remove his shirt, revealing five cut wounds to his upper back.

As the officer was assessing the man's injuries, two other men ran out of the club. Both had blood covering the top portion of their t-shirts, and were suffering from wounds to their back and necks. 

All three victims told the officer that they had not seen the person that assaulted them, and did not know what had prompted the stabbing, according to the report. Police haven't reported any arrests or a description of the suspects.

Eden's Lounge is located in the heart of Mount Vernon, and there's typically a strong police presence outside as its crowd along with several other clubs empty out into the intersection of Charles St. and Eager. 

Despite assertions from some residents that the club is a problem, liquor board chairman Steve Fogleman said they've received few complaints. Still, the stabbings will result in an inquiry by the board, he said. "There was a period ending about three or four years ago, where it was a little crowded, and had security issues from time to time. But lately, as far as 311 complaints, it's really not been on our radar. We're all a little surprised," Fogleman said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Downtown
        

Sun reporter Jacques Kelly recently talked to the owners of Imperial Half Bushel, who were burglarized and lost more than $100,000 in merchandise. We write a lot in this space about violent crime and gun violence, but this is a reminder of the toll of property crime:

The door at 831 N. Howard St. swings open to one of Baltimore's more charming salesrooms. But Friday, when I stopped by the place known as the Imperial Half Bushel, it was a dispiriting and depressing sight.

The 19th-century walnut and oak showcases were empty. Gone were the silver forks and spoons made by Baltimore silversmiths. The water pitchers, the cups, the napkin holders had disappeared. Sometime between Sept. 17 and Sept. 20, thieves looted $100,000 worth of silver from this little shop located on a stretch known as Antiques Row.

Fred and Nancy Duggan and their son, Patrick, opened their silver business in 1976. They operate an old-fashioned Baltimore shop, complete with marble steps and a brass rail and a set of louvered green shutters at the front door. They offered an inventory of estate silver — used and antique pieces — neatly displayed and well-polished in showcases you might encounter in an old museum or a great-aunt's dining room.

Patrick Duggan said that on Saturday, Sept. 17, he locked the front door and turned on the burglar alarm when he closed the shop for the weekend. When he went to reopen it the following Tuesday morning, the alarm did not sound momentarily, as it normally would. He walked in and saw that his showcases were virtually empty. The thieves had entered through a back window and cut the alarm telephone lines. When rifling through the showcases, they left the knives behind, apparently knowing the blades are not silver.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

So far, Occupy Baltimore, the Occupy Wall Street knock-off, looks nothing like New York.

Baltimore's so-far tamer version at McKeldin Park at the Inner Harbor attracted up to 50 protesters, not the hundreds or even thousands that have showed in New York. And Baltimore police, at least on the first day, took it all in stride.

A few motorcycle cops sometimes buzzed through the brick plaza, the helicopter circled but didn't hover long, and at most three police commanders stood casually on the other side of the square,  watching but doing nothing much else. The picture above was taken by The Sun's Amy Davis.

Yes, the police commanders in Baltimore wear white shirts (see picture), just like in New York, but we didn't have an incident here like they did there, where a deputy chief used pepper spray on a woman already fenced in by officers.

The New York Times reported Monday that the "white shirts," as they are called there, had taken on the "enforcer role" and were on the front lines instead of in the back supervising. New York police have arrested hundreds, drawing criticism that the cops were trying to prevent instead of protect the demonstrators.

Read how Baltimore police handled the first day:

Continue reading "So far, police, protesters in harmony" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Downtown
        

The "Occupy Wall Street" movement will materialize in Baltimore on Tuesday at the Inner Harbor, according to organizers. In New York, clashes between protesters and police may have helped draw attention to the already well attended event, with top commanders are now under scrutiny for their actions.

Here's what Baltimore Police are saying about Occupy Baltimore, via The Sun's Erik Maza and Jill Rosen:

In Baltimore, police were monitoring social media and news reports for updates on the protest, said spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. He said it wasn't clear if the protesters needed a permit. Police are only concerned that the protesters stay organized and don't disrupt traffic.

He declined to say how many officers would be deployed to the scene. "We will make sure we have resources in place so that it doesn't become a distraction."

We've written in this space before about the tricky free speech restrictions at the Inner Harbor, the subject of an eight-year-old lawsuit:

The American Civil Liberties Union sued the city in federal court in 2003 over what it says are restrictive free-speech rules in what it regards as a public park. Eight years later, the two sides are still engaged in talks meant to clarify how the First Amendment applies to the Inner Harbor.

"We're looking forward to the lawsuit being settled so everyone knows what the rules are," said Laurie Schwartz, the head of the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, a group that promotes the harbor, helps to keep it clean and employs security guards.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Downtown
        

Court records show authorities last week disrupted a human trafficking operation in which underage girls were providing sex for money in a downtown Baltimore hotel room.

Detectives with the Maryland Child Exploitation Task Force, looking for young girls that might be working in the Baltimore area, were led to a website where women were soliciting sex, police wrote in charging documents.

At 5 p.m. on Thursday, an undercover officer contacted someone from the site and set up a meeting with two girls and was told to go to the Marriott Hotel in the 100 block of S. Eutaw Street, according to records.

Three hours later, the officer went to the room and exchanged money with a 20-year-old woman and discussed sexual acts with her and a 17-year-old girl, according to records. Officers then closed in on the room and placed them under arrest.

Continue reading "Police disrupt human trafficking operation at downtown hotel" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

Former Ravens player Orlando Brown has been found dead in his downtown Baltimore home, officials and the team said. He was 40.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh announced Brown's death at the beginning of his news conference with reporters on Friday afternoon. City police and fire officials confirmed that they were at the player's home at the Harborview complex in South Baltimore. 

Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said medics were called after the player was found unresponsive in his home in the 1200 block of Harbor Island Walk. Medics called police to the scene at about 11 a.m. as a matter of protocol, and police say there were no signs of foul play or any initial indications as to the cause of death. The state medical examiner will perform an autopsy.

Official said "preliminary reports did not suggest a crime scene," though four hours later the street near the home was inaccessible and blocked off by crime scene tape. [Pictured above]

Brown played for the Ravens from 1996 to 1998, as well as a second stint from 2003 to 2005. He may be most well known for an incident when he played for the Cleveland Browns, when he was hit in the eye with a penalty flag, causing significant injuries and leading to an injury settlement with the NFL.

Continue reading "Former Ravens player found dead" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Downtown
        

When a police officer put Mark Chase in handcuffs for selling his paintings at the Inner Harbor on Sunday, he sparked a fresh debate over free speech at the waterfront attraction.

Chase, a self-professed agitator, had already won a temporary victory in Ocean City when a federal judge ruled that requiring permits for street venders was an unconstitutional violation of free speech. Now, Chase has taken his form of protest to Baltimore, which has similar laws.

Tying peddling laws to the First Amendment could complicate ongoing settlement talks between the ACLU and city attorneys over a lawsuit filed eight years ago when police officers arrested members of the peace group Women in Black for protesting at the harbor. The discussions are meant to develop broad guidelines for conduct at the city's premier tourist attraction, which the ACLU says also serves as Baltimore's town square.

Now, Chase's argument that the city not only cannot restrict speech, but also cannot regulate peddlers, adds a new dimension to the talks. Say what you will about chase -- he practically demanded a police officer arrest him -- but he knows how to make a point.

But does the judge's ruling, if it becomes permanent, mean that the Ocean City boardwalk and the Inner Harbor becomes an unrestricted free-for-all for anyone selling anything?

Picture of Chase was taken by Patrick Smith.

Read a complete article about the issues involved here. The police report is below:

Continue reading "Free speech at harbor under renewed debate" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Downtown
        

Mark Chase had just won a temporary victory when a federal judge ruled that he could paint along Ocean City's boardwalk, at least while his suit against the city moves forward. On Sunday, he took his work to the Inner Harbor area, and promptly got arrested.

A video captured part of the exchange between Chase and officers (Read The Sun's Andrea K. Walker's full story here:

The video shows Chase explaining that he had won a court injunction in U.S. District Court and had a right to paint where he was. Officers argued the laws were different in Baltimore.

"It is my constitutional right to be here without prior approval," Chase said to the officer at one point.

"Your constitutional rights have nothing to do with the law," the officer said.

"If you don't have a permit, you're trespassing," the officer said at another point.

In the federal case, the judge ruled that Ocean City could not enforce a permit process on street artists. Read The Sun's Tricia Bishop's story on the ruling.

Over the summer, Baltimore police officers moved city school teacher Bruce Friedrich out of the Inner Harbor for passing out fliers. Both of these incidents cry out for settlement of a years-long pending lawsuit filed by the ACLU protesting what the group calls restrictive rules governing free speech at the harbor.

The Harbor is actually a patchwork of quasi-public and private space with different rules governing assembly at different spots. What's allowed at one end of the harbor is not allowed at the other end. Talks between the two sides in the lawsuit are supposed to fix this.

Chase was in front of Harborplace, at Light and Pratt streets. We'll see today how that particular spot is interpreted. The ACLU believes the Harbor is entirely a public space. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Downtown
        

Think you’ve snagged the perfect, and free, spot to watch the Grand Prix by standing atop a building overlooking the track?

Think again.

Baltimore police are not happy with rooftop spectators that began popping up around the downtown on Thursday. Authorities say it’s too dangerous for the people watching, to the fans in the stands and to the racers themselves.

Police sent out an alert on Twitter: “Baltimore Police will gain access to these buildings and remove spectators from high roofs if needed to ensure safety. Many of these roofs are not suitable for seating or standing by unauthorized individuals and could pose a safety hazard.”

City police are even using surveillance cameras, of which there are an abundance downtown, to “monitor the area for improper standing or sitting on unsecure rooftops.”

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi could not provide specific addresses or the height of some of the buildings people had been spotted on top of. He could not say whether standing on a roof is a crime, but stressed, “It’s a public safety issue.”

The spokesman said the request does not apply to rooftop decks on private homes or elevated portions of private buildings designed for people to be on. He said police are concerned with commercial buildings with flat roofs that are “not equipped to handle people.”

Picture above is by The Sun's Jerry Jackson, from Friday's practice.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Downtown
        

UPDATED at 11:15 p.m.

A friend of a Baltimore Grand Prix official who purportedly was robbed of her cell phone and wallet Thursday night is refusing to speak with city police, who are trying to determine whether an attack took place and should be investigated.

“We are unable to locate a crime scene,” said the city police department’s chief spokesman, Anthony Guglielmi. “We are unable to locate a victim. We have no calls for service for something like that. I just cannot confirm that it happened or took place.

“We have several hundred officers who are trying to make this event safe,” the spokesman said. “We encourage victim cooperation. I think the circumstances of this are questionable. It is suspect that this took place.”

Word of the alleged robbery came from Tom Blattler, who runs Sports Management Worldwide, a public relations consulting firm based in Indianapolis that was hired by the Baltimore Grand Prix to run the media center.

Blattler told police that members of the Grand Prix crew — two men and a woman — had been robbed.

An earlier version of this blog post misstated that Blattler told a Sun photographer about the alleged crime.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Downtown
        

Four years for pushing a man into the Inner Harbor, killing him, is not enough time for the victim's family. The Sun's Justin Fenton writes:

Dissatisfied with the punishment expected to be handed down Tuesday by a city judge, the family of a 22-year-old man who drowned after being pushed into the Inner Harbor in 2008 said it has filed a $5 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the man convicted for his death.

Wayne Black, a 21-year-old from Pasadena, is scheduled to be sentenced to a four-year prison term as part of his plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to shoving Ankush Gupta, a University of Maryland engineering student, into the harbor three years ago. The circumstances of Gupta's death had been a mystery until police received a tip that he had been pushed by Black, who later confessed.

Black was initially charged with first-degree murder, which prosecutors later downgraded to second-degree murder. He pleaded guilty on July 28 to involuntary manslaughter It carries a maximum penalty of 10 years.

Read full story here.

Read about the suspect's guilty plea.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Downtown
        

It seems forever since last week when a Ravens player broke up a fight at an Inner Harbor restaurant. But now that Irene has blown through, we can return to our other all-consuming interest, and catch up with some crime we may have missed while battling winds and rain.

It didn't take long for the hurricane to pass before the gunmen came out: A 25-year-old man was in critical condition after he was shot in the chest Sunday afternoon by a masked assailant in northwest Baltimore, police said.

Here are some other headlines from the weekend:

* With a tap on his smartphone, University of Maryland student Shiv Krishnamoorthy can instantly alert police as he walks through the dimly lit corners of the College Park campus — and share with them his precise location, plus live video and audio.

* While concern about the economy has grown since the last mayoral election, crime remains the top worry among likely voters in Baltimore's Democratic primary next month. Thirty-nine percent of respondents to The Sun Poll rated crime, criminal justice or drugs as the most important challenge facing the city. That is down from 68 percent four years ago. Twenty-eight percent of the respondents ranked the economy, jobs or high taxes as the biggest challenge.

* A 15-year-old high school honors student in Ellicott City was secretly arrested when federal prosecutors say he went online to solicit money for a woman who called herself "Jihad Jane" and "Fatima LaRose." Authorities say that in Web postings two years ago, the youth "appealed for urgent funds" for the woman suspected of being a terrorist, whose real name is Colleen R. LaRose, 47, of Philadelphia. "I know the sister and by Allah, all money will be transferred to her," he allegedly wrote in a posting.

(Note: The Philadelphia Inquirer broke this story. Here is their first report, and a follow-up that details more of what federal authorities allege the boy had been plotting.)

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Downtown, Howard County, Northwest Baltimore
        

First, Tandon Doss says he broke up a fight at Five Guys at the Inner Harbor

Then, a few hours, he hit the field at M&T Bank Stadium and caught two passes for 28 yards. The picture at right, by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor, was taken this year at training camp.

The Ravens wide-out, a fourth-round pick from Indiana University, got a good taste of Baltimore Thursday night. After the fight, he posted on his Twitter account: "Jus had to break up a fight at five guys. Baltimore is too ratchet!!!"

When someone asked why he intervened on game-day, the 21-year-old responded: "wat day it is I'm not gonna sit there and let someone get jumped. idk where ur from but we don't do that in Indy."

It wasn't just a scuffle. Police said one of the men had a knife and cut the manager of the restaurant. Read here for full details. And here's a profile on Doss by The Sun's Chris Korman.

Before the fight, Doss said he had been at the National Aquarium, but left because it was too crowded.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Confronting crime, Downtown
        

Baltimore Police Commissioner went on the Marc Steiner show on Morgan State University's WEAA-Radio and confronted his critics. Listen to show here.

On police protecting their own: "One of things I've tried to do is avoid all these blanket indictments and over-generalizations. We should be constantly testing and challenging ourselves in the community. What kind of service do we provide or don't we provide? What kind of professionalism do we have?"

He noted the arrests of officers in a towing scandal and reminded people that the department lured them to the training academy under a ruse that their guns needed to be checked and then busted them. He said that despite rumors the arrest plan had been compromised, all but two officers showed, proving to him that the rumors were false. The other two had been out of town.

But he said he felt there were legitimate concerns about what sergeants and lieutenants were doing while officers were directing unsuspecting motorists to a towing company not approved by the city, but one that was paying off cops for the extra business. "If they were really paying attention to their people, why wouldn't they know?" he asked.

Continue reading "Bealefeld defends department on Steiner" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: City Hall, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Downtown, Neighborhoods, Police shootings, Top brass
        

The police officer who fatally shot the unarmed Marine outside a nightclub last year was sentenced today to 17 years in prison, with two years suspended. Officer Gahiji Tshamba was convicted last month of manslaughter.

There's still a potential lawsuit and unanswered questions about how Tshamba, who had a history of getting into trouble while drinking, had been allowed to continue on the force. The shooting outside the club was the culmination of an argument that started when the victim grabbed or patted the buttocks of a woman outside the Mount Vernon club.

A federal judge recently ruled that the victim's family can proceed with a lawsuit against the police department. The family is accusing the city of failing to control the officer, seen here being led out of the downtown courthouse during his trial. The photo was taken by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor.

More stories on Tshamba:

Judge will review Tshamba's troubled past in deciding sentencing.

A look at the victim, Tyrone Brown, and his own past as an Iraqi war veteran.

Witness accounts of the shooting.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Downtown, Gahiji Tshamba, Police shootings
        

In case you missed out on today's paper, here are some police stories to ponder:

Video of Select Lounge shooting released. This is the January shooting where police officers mistook a colleague for a suspect and fatally shot him outside a nightclub. Watch the shooting.

Roommate testifies that the suspect in the killing of Johns Hopkins researcher Stephen Pitcairn confessed to robbing him in Charles Village.

Annapolis teenager pleads guilty to killing toddler.

Nathan Krasnopoler, the Johns Hopkins University student who was struck and critically injured by a car while riding his bicycle along University Parkway in February, died Wednesday morning. A lawyer for the family said the 83-year-old driver who struck Krasnopoler has agreed to forfeit her license. Read Michael Dresser's Getting There blog.

Jurors are expected to begin deliberating this morning in the case of a man charged with killing an informant in a federal drug case. The victim's statement to the FBI was leaked and posted around his Westport neighborhood.

A series of mall robberies in the city, Anne Arundel and Howard Counties are linked, and also connected to a murder in Baltimore.

A Baltimore drug dealer is sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in a fatal hit and run crash.

A Glen Burnie man was fatally stabbed and his female companion is being held in her death.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Downtown, Howard County, North Baltimore, Police shootings
        

This just in from courts reporter Tricia Bishop:

A 21-year-old Pasadena man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Thursday for shoving a stranger who couldn't swim into the Inner Harbor in 2008 — an act previously characterized by one Baltimore judge as complete stupidity.

Wayne Black, who was 18 when he pushed 22-year-old Ankush Gupta into the water and ran, will be sentenced to four years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for Aug. 30, per an agreement cut with Baltimore Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock.

His mother dabbed tears as the deal was done, while Gupta's friends and family sat stone-faced on the other side of the courtroom. "That is not justice," Saneel John Masih said after the hearing. He and Rohit Gupta were longtime friends of Ankush, more like brothers than buddies.

Read complete story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Downtown
        

Baltimore police have released the 911 calls made moments after a car hit Courtney Angeles, 16, and Emerald Smith, 17, as they crossed Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on June 13. Police have questioned a potential suspect in the hit-and-run, but have not yet filed charges.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Downtown
        

Baltimore police say the man they believe responsible for stabbing a man with a broken bottle moments after the July 4 fireworks at the Inner Harbor has surrendered. From reporters Arthur Hirsch and Jessica Anderson:

Marcus Sterlin Harris, 32, turned himself in and was charged with first degree murder in connection with the fatal July 4 stabbing of 26-year-old Joseph Lorenzo Calo, who had been in town from Alabama visiting family. Both men were involved in a shoving match outside McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant on Pier 6, police said. Calo was later stabbed in the neck with a broken bottle.

Police provided few details nor a motive into the stabbing during a brief news conference Saturday at police headquarters, where Harris had turned himself in earlier. Police also had little information about a man who they said died after being stabbed in a fight at the corner of North Charles and Fayette streets around 1:30 a.m.

Lt. Col. Jesse Oden, chief of detectives, thanked the person who provided police with the photo of Harris taken during the incident, calling it "crucial evidence." He said "numerous people came forward with his identity" after police released the photo to news media.

Harris, whose latest address listed in court records was in the 400 block of Rosecroft Terrace in Baltimore, has a string of more than a dozen arrests, according to court records. Most of those arrests relate to drug and assault charges. In 2007 he received a three year prison sentence for drug distribution.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Downtown
        

A 25-year-old man was killed early this morning after a large fight broke out downtown at about 1:30 a.m., officials said.

Police said in a news release that two groups of people got into a dispute at the intersection of North Charles and West Fayette streets that became physical, and the victim was stabbed in the leg. He was rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma center, where he was pronounced dead. 

City officials often praise and have been expanded the network of surveillance cameras, which is nowhere more plentiful than in the downtown area, though the cameras appear not have helped investigators responding to the fight. A police spokesman said homicide detectives are reviewing footage in hopes of finding clues. 

The killing is the seventh to occur in the downtown area this year, according to The Sun's homicide map. That's more than the amount seen in the downtown area all of last year. It also comes on the heels of an Alabama man being fatally stabbed during a fight on Pier 5 during the July 4 fireworks, and three months after a man was fatally stabbed during a fight at the Bourbon Street club.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Downtown
        

From Sun reporters Steve Kilar and Rebekah Brown:

A stick-on bandage is the only thing covering Kavin Benson’s dime-sized bullet wound.

It hasn’t stopped the rambunctious 4-year-old, who was shot moments after the July 4 fireworks ended at the Inner Harbor, from dancing, jumping and climbing all over his family’s Brooklyn apartment. And it hasn’t stopped the toddler, sporting a red T-shirt and Dr. Seuss shoes, from seeking revenge.

When he finds the person who shot him, Kavin said, he’s going to “punch him in the face.”

The small-caliber slug, possibly from a celebratory shot fired into the air, entered the top of his right thigh near his hip. It seared its way down inside the length of his leg and lodged behind his femur, where doctors were forced to leave it.

“I could dance all night,” Kavin said Wednesday afternoon as he tried to spin on his head like a top, a little boy’s version of break dancing. He proudly displayed his bandage, pulling up his plaid shorts. Being hit by the bullet, he said, hurt like “getting a shot in the arm.” Kavin hates getting shots, said his mother Caitlin Moorhead.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Downtown
        

From Sun reporter Steve Kilar:

The 4-year-old boy who was shot at the Inner Harbor fireworks display on Monday is out of the hospital and, according to a relative, is “running like a maniac.”

“He's out [of the hospital] and he's running like a maniac,” said Kavin Benson’s great grandmother, Carla Moorhead. The hospital left the bullet in his leg, she said.

“He's a pistol,” she said. When Moorhead spoke with Kavin on the phone he was “laughing and carrying on,” she said.

Meanwhile, Baltimore police detectives are continuing to review footage from Citiwatch cameras for more information to find the source of the bullet that struck the boy’s leg minutes after fireworks ended in downtown Baltimore, a city police spokesman said.

Photo is a handout from family, from WJZ-TV.

In addition, police are still working to identify the suspect in the fatal stabbing of 26-year-old Joseph Lorenzo Calo during an altercation outside McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant on Pier 6 that night. A tourist captured images of the suspect on a digital camera, which were released Tuesday.

No one has been arrested or charged in either incident, police spokesman Kevin Brown said Wednesday.

Photo is a handout from family, via WJZ-TV.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

A few videos of the July 4 Inner Harbor disturbances are popping up on YouTube. They show crowds moving through downtown, and being moved, either after or during the stabbing and shooting that took place right after the fireworks ended:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Downtown
        

The resounding question after the July 4 violence at the harbor is whether it's safe. Various city officials, politicians, residents and pundits contributed to our coverage today.

At left, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake holds a picture of a potential suspect police are searching for in the fatal stabbing. A 4-year-old boy was also hit by a stray bullet. She's flanked by Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III on the left and Fire Chief James S. Clack. The picture was taken by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor.

Here is a sampling of what they said. We'd love to he hear from you:

"What goes on in these neighborhoods, it's basically hell on earth," said Ed Burns, the former city police officer who, with David Simon, wrote and produced such Baltimore-defining works as "The Corner" and "The Wire."

"We're very happy if it's confined to these neighborhoods because these people aren't us. But we can't expect it to stay in the neigbhorhoods," He said. "I'm all for people going to the harbor and having a good time. But I think people should pay more attention to their society. Consider the harbor [like] a gated community, like where the rich go to hide behind gates. When you put 600 police there, these people are relatively safe. That's a good thing. But to think that we don't pay attention to those people who aren't safe, that's another thing. It's us living in two separate worlds."

More observations:

Continue reading "Is the Inner Harbor safe?" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Confronting crime, Downtown, Top brass
        

City police have released an image of a man they are describing as a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a 26-year-old Alabama man in the 700 block of Eastern Ave., minutes after the downtown fireworks display had ended. The photo appears not to be from a Citiwatch surveillance camera, but a private photo taken by people attending the event. Anyone with information is asked to call the homicide unit at 410-396-2100.

A second image after the jump:

Continue reading "Police release photo of person of interest in fatal Harbor stabbing" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Downtown
        

Update: Police report holding a person of interest in the fatal stabbing; victim a 26-year-old from Alabama. 

On Monday evening, Baltimore's police commissioner assured residents that an earlier shooting at a garage on Water Street near thed Inner Harbor was between two rival groups, and not a random attack. He assured residents that hundreds of officers were deployed to keep people safe during the fireworks.

Then, just as the celebration ended, a man was stabbed outside a popular restaurant on the eastern side of the harbor, and an apparent stray bullet fired in a crowd hit a 4-year-boy in the leg.

Police plan a news conference for later this morning. Here is The Sun's Tricia Bishop with a story from last night:

Continue reading "Violence erupts after Inner Harbor fireworks" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Downtown
        

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
        

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The officer testified:

Continue reading ""I was scared, I was in fear" " »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The off-duty Baltimore police officer who shot and killed a Marine outside a Mount Vernon nightclub had been drinking, prosecutors said two city police sergeants are prepared to testify at the officer's murder trial.

In court on Tuesday, a prosecutor said one sergeant will testify that Officer Gahiji Tshamba's speech was slurred and he appeared "glassy-eyed." Tshamba had refused to take a breath test after he shot Tyrone Brown, who had drunkenly grabbed the buttocks of one of Tshamba's female companions. The officer says Brown advanced on him and he fired to defend himself.

The prosecutor said that during a ride away from the scene right after "shooting a man 12 times," Tshamba talked about "how hot the chicks were." The trial, before a judge, is scheduled to start this morning.

Both men have troubled pasts linked to alcohol. One issue unresolved is whether the judge will allow the victim's medical records documenting alcohol abuse and other problems into the trial. The officer was disciplined several times, including for shooting a man while drunk during an argument with people in a car.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

Want to demonstrate at the Inner Harbor? Make sure you're firmly in McKeldin Square. That's a patch of land near Pratt and Light streets, the one with the fountain. Want to hand out leaflets? Make sure they're of the non-commericial kind, and that your on the prominade but away from the water, and not near the aquarium.

The rules for what you can say and how you can say it at the Inner Harbor's premier tourist attraction are complex, and confusing, and vary from place to place. The area in front of the aquarium, for example, is considered private property, as a Baltimore school teacher discovered last week while handing out leaflets supporting vegetarianism.

Security guards and police ordered him to leave. What he discovered is a patchwork of rules governing speech and an eight-year-old lawsuit filed by the ACLU over the issue, which is still being discussed in settlement talks.

Here's a picture taken by the teacher's wife of two friends getting citizen contact forms after being ordered off the harbor by an officer identified only by his his name -- Johnson. Police tell me they're reviewing his conduct -- which can be seen in a brief video here -- but the issue over speaking out at the city's waterfront is awaiting settlement of the lawsuit.

Read the full story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Downtown
        

City police are asking for help identifying a vehicle involved in a downtown murder that occurred earlier this month. On May 11, at about 2:30 a.m., 31-year-old Willie Elliott was found shot to death inside his beige 1978 Buick. The shooting took place in the 100 block of N. Eutaw St. near Lexington Market, and was partially captured on surveillance cameras. Police said in an e-mail statement that it appeared Elliott was shot after being robbed, and his vehicle crashed into a gate near the light rail.

Homicide detectives are looking for a vehicle believed to have been driven by the suspects - a blue 2010 or 2011 four-door Chevrolet Aveo. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Downtown
        

An autopsy has identified the man whose body was found floating in the Inner Harbor last week as Pikesville resident Wayne Guy Paige, 25, who was reported missing in Baltimore County on May 7. There was no word on a cause of death, or whether police believe foul play was involved.

Paige had last been seen at his girlfriend's residence, following an argument. According to a police report, Paige had a history of depression.

The picture seen at right is from Paige's Facebook profile, where he wrote that he was a graduate of Harbor City High School.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Baltimore County, Downtown
        

Over the past 30 years, two items had been stolen from the Babe Ruth and Sports Legends museums, and both were recovered.

Officials at the Camden Yards museum are hoping for similar luck after a ring was swiped last week from a display case, part of a collection of items honoring legendary amateur coach and Orioles scout Walter Youse.

"We've provided all the information the police have asked for, and we're hopeful that it will turn up something here. Ultimately, the most important thing is the recovery of the ring," said Michael Gibbons, executive director of the museum.

[Photo courtesy Sports Legends Museum]

The stolen item is a championship ring for the 1996 All-American Amateur Baseball Association, presented to Youse by the local team's sponsor, according to curator Shawn M. Henne. Gibbons said it was on loan from family of Youse, who died in 2002. Officials have not been able to contact family, and are concerned that a week has gone by with seemingly no breaks in the investigation.

It was last seen on May 4 during a tour, and was reported missing when a custodian noticed it was not in its case on the afternoon of May 5.

Gibbons noted that two prior thefts from the Babe Ruth Museum led to the recovery of the items. In 1995, a baseball signed by some of the game's all-time greats - called the "Matchless Ball" because of its uniqueness - was stolen from its secure perch at the Babe Ruth Museum and later recovered under equally baffling circumstances when an anonymous tipster directed officials to a brown paper bag containing the ball. The ball was valued at between 500,000 and $1.5 million at the time.

A decade earlier, a trophy commemorating the Orioles' 1894 National League championship season and the 1944 International League champion was swiped and later recovered, Gibbons said.

In the theft of the Youse ring, Gibbons said the item was contained in a heavy glass case that was not easily accessible. Museum officials have since conducted a security review and were satisfied that other items are "totally secure." But he said the notion that someone would take a priceless item from the museum was distressing.

"It just gets you so upset," Gibbons said.

Anyone with information can call the Southern District police station at 410-396-2499.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown, South Baltimore
        

A male body was found Wednesday afternoon in the Inner Harbor, near the Spirit of Baltimore cruise ship, officials said.

Someone called 911 after the body was observed floating near the Light Street pavilion at about 5 p.m., fire department spokesman Kevin Cartwright said. It was unclear how long the body had been in the water, but Cartwrihgt said it appeared to be in a state of decomposition. The race and age were unclear.

He said the body was in possession of the Police Department will be sent to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy to determine an identity.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Downtown
        

[This post has been updated]

One man was killed in a downtown Baltimore shooting early Wednesday, and three others were injured in an earlier drive-by shooting in the Westport neighborhood, police said.

The downtown shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m. in the 100 block of N. Eutaw St., near Lexington Market. Officers responding to the scene found a 1978 Buick on the sidewalk near a Metro stop in the 400 block of W. Lexington St., with a man in the driver's seat suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, said Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman.

Investigators believe the man was shot on Eutaw Street — where shell casings were recovered — then traveled north until coming to a rest against a fence. The man's identity had not been confirmed as of Wednesday afternoon, Moses said.

In the earlier incident, reported about 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, police were called to the 2300 block of Sidney Ave., in Baltimore's Westport neighborhood, where they found a 21-year-old man, a 19-year-old man and a 20-year-old man suffering from gunshot wounds.

Continue reading "Fatal shooting downtown; three injured in Westport" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Downtown, South Baltimore
        

Five correctional officers at the city’s booking center, including a high ranking official with 16 years experience, have been indicted on charges of assault for allegedly beating a female inmate, the state prison system said on Monday.

“We cannot tolerate this type of behavior, here or in any of our correctional divisions,” said Gary Maynard, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. “Even in a very difficult environment, correctional staff must always act with the highest level of integrity and professionalism.”

The charges stem from an incident in January at the state-run Central Booking and Intake Center, which processes arrestees. Officials said a 26-year-old woman who faced minor disorderly conduct charges was beaten several times and in several different locations in the facility.

In a statement released Monday, prison officials said that “a number of correctional officers used unnecessary and inappropriate force against the woman multiple times.” The victim was taken to a hospital and treated and release with no serious injuries, officials said.

The statement from Maynard said staff members did not report the alleged assault. In January, eight corrections officers, including the acting warden, were suspended. The warden has since retired and was not among the officers indicted.

Those indicted on charges of first-degree assault were identified as Larry Morris, a 42-year-old acting major; Kimberly Livingston, 31; Shannon Rivies, 24; Aleesha Edmond, 22; and Torrence Taylor, 23.

Here is a statement from state prison officials:
 

Continue reading "Correctional officers indicted in assault " »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Downtown, Prisons
        

A man at a computer station at the Our Daily Bread employment center was stabbed in the stomach this afternoon and police caught a suspect after he ran across the street and right to the Baltimore City Jail.

Catholic Charities, which runs the employment center on The Fallsway, described the stabbing as an "extremely unusual and sobering event." It occurred on the first floor; the victim's condition could not be ascertained, the name of the suspect has not been released.

Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi could only confirm a stabbing shortly after 1 p.m. at the center's address. In a statement, Catholic Charities said the center was immediately closed and will open again on Saturday.

The statement called the attacked "unprovoked."

"We are widely appreciated as a place of welcome, compassion, and opportunity for our clients as well as our staff and volunteers," the statement said.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Downtown
        

A new update on the melee at the Inner Harbor and downtown Monday night, from Sun reporter Yeganeh June Torbati:

At least six people were arrested Monday night as police were called from across Baltimore to help disperse a crowd at the Inner Harbor, shortly after two teenage boys were stabbed several blocks away, according to the department.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi described those arrested as facing minor charges for non-violent offenses and said they were connected to the stabbings. He said about 100 teens came to the harbor after Easter Sunday, on one of the last days of Spring Break for city students.

“At the end of the day the police department is going to do whatever it takes to keep downtown, or the East side or West side safe,” Guglielmi said. “On this occasion, we brought in additional resources from other districts and were able to shepherd individuals out of the downtown area and encourage them to go home.”

Guglielmi could not say exactly how many police were called to the downtown area. A police helicopter flew overhead, and cruisers blocked intersections with their lights flashing.

Continue reading "Two stabbed, six arrested in Inner Harbor melee" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

A disturbance involving dozens of juveniles down by the Inner Harbor last night again highlighted the growing way that we're using social media to track crime. We used eyewitness accounts and listened to an online feed of the Baltimore Police scanner, as The Sun's Julie Scharper herself navigated the downtown area. Check out tweets from Julie and Justin Fenton here, and here's Julie's account of the incident that ended up in today's paper:

A teenager was stabbed as police struggled to disperse a large group of young people who converged downtown Monday evening, Baltimore police said.

The teenager, who was injured shortly before 10 p.m. near the intersection of Gay and Fayette Streets, was taken to a nearby hospital with non life-threatening injuries, said Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman. She did not know the victim's age or gender.

A least 100 teenagers roamed the streets near the Inner Harbor, City Hall, the Convention Center and the First Mariner Arena for more than two hours as police used megaphones to order them to leave.

About a dozen police cars and wagons, lights flashing, were parked along Calvert and Pratt streets. Police officers twirled espantoons and opened the wagon doors as they shooed the teens along. The young people walked in large, boisterous groups and did not appear to be heading toward a destination. Asked why they had gathered downtown, one young person said, "It's the day after Easter."

For a historical perspective, here's a Sun story from 1995:

Continue reading "Teen stabbed at Inner Harbor melee " »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Downtown
        

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
        

This post has been updated 

Six men were reported shot, one fatally, in separate attacks within a 24-hour period spanning Thursday night and Friday, according to a Baltimore police spokesman. There have been 58 people killed in Baltimore thus far this year, compared with 52 at this time last year.

The latest shooting was reported about 11:10 a.m. in Northeast Baltimore. Police said a man was found shot in an alley off the 1700 block of Homestead St. He was wounded several times, police said. There was no immediate update on his condition.

Another man was shot about 2 a.m. in the 200 block of West Fayette St., as clubs and bars let out in the downtown. Police had few details and could not say whether the gunfire was connected to nightlife activities.

Police did say they had a person of interest in custody.

Here are addition details from city police:

Continue reading "Five shot in Baltimore" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore
        

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UPDATE, 11 a.m. - Police say the shooting happened on the 14th floor of the Hanover Square building, a high-rise housing complex for seniors and the disabled, reports Liz F. Kay. The victim, a man in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to spokesman Kevin Brown. Police said they are exploring a number of possible motives and can't say whether there was forced entry. They were reviewing video surveillance and urging anyone with information to call police.

Brown called the shooting an "extreme abnormality" for the area.

City police are on the scene of a serious shooting just a block from the Inner Harbor. Police said on Twitter that a man was shot at about 9:20 a.m. in unit block of West Conway Street, which runs from the Harbor to Camden Yards and behind the Baltimore Convention Center. Additional details were not immediately available, but we have a reporter headed to the scene.

That specific block is the Sheraton hotel and the Hanover Square high rise apartment, though police say the shooting happened in the Central District, indicating the shooting may have occurred on the north side of the street where the hotel is located. The border of the Southern and Central districts splits Conway in half.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Downtown
        

City police are asking for help identifying two men who they believe committed 10 armed robberies over a span of a few hours Sunday morning. The addresses are all over the map, sweeping through West Baltimore, Mount Vernon and East Baltimore, and Lt. Scott Serio said the suspects were making quick work. Some of the robberies occurred in the vestibules of businesses such as a liquor store and a carryout, while others were street robberies, including stickups of two Sun newspaper hawkers. Police believe the suspects were getting around in a green, four-door Buick LeSabre. If you recognize the men pictured below, police are asking you to call the citywide robbery unit at 410-366-6341.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Downtown, East Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

[UPDATE, 10 a.m. Sunday: Police confirmed the identity of the victim, and it was the man whose name was given by the frantic women. Dwight Taylor, 27, was pronounced dead at Maryland Shock Trauma Center at 6:10 p.m.] 

The two women came barreling down the street, wailing as they sprinted over the downtown light rail tracks and towards the crime scene in front of a barber shop.

“Please tell me he’s not shot,” one shouted, holding a cell phone. “Please tell me no.”

A gruff police commander walked over. “How do you know he’s been shot? We don’t even know who it is,” he said.

After catching her breath, the woman replied, “It was on Facebook.”

Just before 5 p.m., police found a man shot several times inside the Focal Point barber shop in the 200 block of W. Saratoga St. It was not clear whether the women in fact knew the victim, but, as another commander said after they transported the pair to police headquarters, “It doesn’t look good.”

The shooting was the second violent incident during the day in the downtown area since Friday, when a 46-year-old man was critically wounded in a stabbing across the street from Lexington Market, also just before 5 p.m. Police said they were looking for a male and female suspect in that case.

The barber shop shooting had bystanders rattled.

Mario Worrell, 65, was passing through the area and mused that if he had been there 15 minutes earlier, he might have found himself face to face with the gunman. “It’s just so bold – the place full of people, on a Saturday afternoon,” he said. “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”

Another man, who lives in an apartment in the block and said he was too fearful to give his name, said he doesn’t personally feel unsafe but said there’s been a rash of what seems to be drug-related violence.

“It’s kind of unnerving,” he said, “but, it’s Baltimore.”

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

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City homicide detectives were investigating a stabbing across from Lexington Market in downtown Baltimore.

Police were called to the scene, at the intersection of West Lexington and North Paca streets, at about 4:50 p.m. Friday.

At the scene, crime scene tape blocked off a stretch of sidewalk in front of the Lexaco appliance store, across from one of the main entrances to the market. Blood could be seen on the sidewalk just outside the front door, while detectives stood over items marked for evidence inside the store.

Additional details were not immediately available.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown
        

The Baltimore Board of Estimates on Wednesday morning approved $45,000 that the Police Department spent on the funeral of Officer William Torbit, as well as $75,000 requested for the commission appointed to investigate his death.

Torbit was fatally shot by fellow officers in January after responding in plainclothes to a disturbance outside the Select Lounge. Torbit was said to have been overcome by an unruly crowd, and fired his service weapon, killing civilian Sean Gamble. Other officers in the area instinctively returned fire, killing Torbit, according to reports.

[Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron]

Police officials initially said the investigation into the shooting would take three weeks, but it dragged on for about two months. A police spokesman said a final report was handed to Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III last week, and a task force of experts appointed by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has begun reviewing the findings and will make recommendations.

The Sun's City Hall reporter, Julie Scharper, asked Rawlings-Blake about the expenditures:

Continue reading "City approves spending for officer funeral, shooting investigation" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: City Hall, Downtown, Police shootings, Top brass
        

When three men attacked and punched and robbed a man of his cell phone near downtown this weekend, the muggers apparently forgot about the hundreds of surveillance cameras watching over many of Baltimore’s street corners. At left, The Sun's Lloyd Fox captures officers monitoring surveillance cameras

One of the cameras captured the mugging, and police quickly arrested two men and recovered the stolen cell phone from one of the suspect’s pants pocket. Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III told this story at a budget presentation on Monday, in part to showcase the necessity of the program.

The attack occurred shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday on Park Avenue, near Liberty Street, about two blocks west of Charles Street and near a major city hotel. The victim and friends had just left an apartment on West Fayette Street when a man approached and said, “Give me everything in your pockets.”

For more details:

Continue reading "Mugging captured on camera" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Confronting crime, Crime humor, Downtown, Top brass
        

Baltimore police are reminding people headed to this afternoon's home opener at Camden Yards to expect heavy traffic and parking restrictions. Remember, it's still a work day, meaning garages will be full.

But let's hope this is the worst thing city cops and fans have to deal with on what's expected to be a warm spring day at the park. Here are some photos of opening day preparation (the one at left is by The Sun's Algerina Perna). A look at anticipation for today's game, and a report from the Maryland Weather blog -- yes, temperature in 70s! And if that isn't enough, here's a video of getting ready for the big game.

Here's some advice from the cops:

Continue reading "Orioles home opener brings traffic warning" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Downtown