A brief update:

Police have identified the woman found killed in a vacant lot in East Baltimore, a slaying that occurred in midst of a manhunt for at least two suspected rapists.

A Baltimore police sergeant's son was arrested after authorities said they found a half-pound of marijuana inside a house in which both he and the officer lived in East Baltimore.

A woman was fatally shot Thursday night after stepping outside a funeral home she had been visiting to pay respects to her boyfriend, who had been shot and killed a week earlier. Justin Fenton took the picture above of a bullet hole in the door of the funeral home.

City police say they probably thwarted a killing Wednesday night when they rescued a teenager who had been aducted and held in an abandon rowhouse for ransome. 

Police have a task force set up that includes homicide detectives and sex offense detectives. Anyone with information (sketches of two possible suspects are at left) is urged to call 888-223-0033.

My colleague Justin Fenton attended the meeting:

Maj. Melvin Russell, the commander of the Eastern, said that he'd been driving around his district in the early morning hours recently and was surprised at the number of women walking around by themselves.

"We need you to stay off the streets from midnight until the sun comes up," Russell told a crowd assembled at the Knox Presbyterian Church in East Baltimore's Oliver community. "Let us catch these people and get them off the streets."

As Russell spoke, a stack of fliers circulated the room showing drawings of two suspects in recent rapes. A string of at least seven sexual assaults - occurring at bus stops and in homes - have been reported in recent weeks, and a woman with a record of prostitution was found dead in the area this week.

The meeting was called by police to inform the public about what police were doing. An extra 30 officers have been poured into the area to patrol between 3 p.m. and 7 a.m., and police have established a task force made up of homicide and sex offense detectives, as well as a tip line that has attracted more than 100 calls.

Police originally believed that one suspect could be responsible for the attacks, but DNA evidence showed that at least two of them were the work of two separate suspects, which Russell said "may or may not be better."

Russell talked about two of the incidents, including giving new details on an attack on a 55-year-old woman who was leaving church. A spokesman for the department initially said that she had been attacked in a grassy field, but Russell said CCTV footage showed that the man tried the doors on several parked cars until finding one that was unlocked, and assaulted her inside of it.

But police made no mention of the attacks that took place inside homes, one of which, police told The Baltimore Sun, involved a woman being raped in front of her boyfriend, who had been tied up. Posters circulating the area also do not address the burglary/sex assaults or descriptions of possible suspects.

The first few residents complained about lighting and vacant homes in their neighborhood. The last several were sharply critical of the way police alerted the neighborhood about the incidents, with one chastising the media for not promoting the story more heavily.

the Police Department publicized the string of incidents Nov. 2 after receiving inquiries from The Baltimore Sun, and has since swarmed the community with thousands of fliers and traffic stops along Harford Avenue.

"He's scaring people, even people he's not touching," one woman said. "You're killing me mentally and spiritually; people shouldn't have to worry about stepping outside or their children going to school."

A number of politicians attended the meeting, including State Sen. Nathaniel McFadden, who was wearing a tuxedo so he could leave straight for an event at Coppin State University. Mayor Sheila Dixon, who is awaiting a verdict from a jury deliberating theft charges against her, also arrived at the end of the event.

"As a woman, I can understand the fear," Dixon said. "Police are on top of this, its a priority. Hopefully, sooner than later, we won't have another."

Dixon next stopped at the Oliver neighborhood's community meeting just a few blocks down, where she assured residents that police were working hard to solve the rapes. But the residents gathered there didn't want to talk about sexual assaults or the mayor's criminal trial - the mayor instead heard a steady stream of complaints about trash pickup.

"Things is happening in the neighborhood that shouldn't be happening!" one resident shouted at her.

With Bill, they got a person who spoke and sounded like them, who could translate the most arane police verse into English. As former city police spokesman Robert W. Weinhold Jr. told me: "The most important message is the message received."

I'll let Nick Madigan's story on line and in today's print edition speak more about Bill (he also has a Facebook page). I don't know whether it matters that a police agency has a civilian or a sworn cop as it's mouthpiece; there are various schools of thought.

In one corner: police officers know the ins and outs of the department, are trusted by cops who don't trust outsiders, and can explain to the public how cops work and think. Even departments with civilian spokespeople like to have uniformed cops addressing the public at crime scenes. They say it adds credibility to the reports.

In the other corner: citizen spokespeople can challenge the police command in ways sworn rank and file cannot, can find ways around the bureaucracy, bring a fresh, outside perspective to a problem and add credibility when something controversial is going down. As Weinhold said, people may trust the spokesman in a suit to defend the department and see a uniformed cop as part of a coverup.

The Baltimore Police Department has had a civilian PIO for as long as anyone can remember, but they've hired people from diverse backgrounds. Two in recent years were cops in the spokesperson's office who had to resign to take the chief spokesperson job. Two others had been reporters for local television stations who had to quit to take the job.

As Prince George's County spokesman Maj. Andy Ellis told me: "I like the civilians because many times they bring experience in the media that our sworn officers just done't have. I think they can give the chief a fresh look on things. But the sworn commanders have an intimate knowledge of the police department. Much of what our PIOs do is educate the public through reporters as to what our police officers so. It's invaluable to have a police PIO who can explain police procedures. Getting information inside a police organization to give to a reporter is many times challenging. ... Cops are a funny bunch. Many times they will not trust a civilian to give them information." And, he added, "The uniformed officer in front of the camera is able to explain police procedures better than a civilian."

At the same time, Ellis said one of his biggest challenges is to get his police spokespeople to talk like a civilian. "We have to get them out of policespeak. That's where a civilian PIO excels. They talk in a language people can understand."

And that's why this is important to people. Police agencies are communicating not to other cops but to the public. A terse 'no comment' or "we can't tell you because it's part of the investigation' leaves too many people wondering why they're not being told something. A civilian might be able to explain it better. Cops are paramilitary and are used to short answers and unused to giving explanations. Follow oders. But the public demands more.

Cops might want to keep news of a serial rapist from the public to avoid raising alarm or thinking that their investigation will be ruined if details get out. A sworn cop may feel compelled to agree, or may in fact agree. But a civilian spokesperson might argue that the community needs to know that a rapist is out there and if the public learns they weren't warned of the danger they'll be upset.

Bill was good about things like that. When a county police sergeant e-mailed crime summaries to a community group but got upset when that same information wound up in the paper (he threatned to cut off residents who sent the info to the media) Bill stepped in to remind him and others that if he sent the info to the community, then he made it public and he can't control it after that.

In 2006, my colleague Nick Madigan wrote this about the way Bill handled a big story:

Police have been hunting for at least one rapist in connection with a string of attacks since Oct. 20. Some or all may be related. In this latest case, police are trying to match evidence from the body to determine if there is a link.

The body was found Tuesday about 4:30 p.m. in a grassy area. A cause of death has not been determined but police said the woman had been injured. Anyone with information about the body should call Baltimore police homicide unit at 410-396-2100. Anyone with information about the rapes should call 410-396-2076.

A big unanswered question, even after two days of reporting, remains: where did Jason actually live and how did he come to be with his aunt and the suspect, Dante Parrish? His paternal grandmother suggests he somehow left his mother's (we can only speculate it had something to do with Jason being gay, which his family was struggling to accept).

The family in the Llewellyn Avenue house insisted Jason was just visiting when he was killed; police will only say he was "staying" there. But the cops also say that he had "forced sexual relationship" with the suspect; both statements suggest Jason was in the Llewellyn Avenue house as more than a part-time visitor. It was in that house he met up with Dante, and his grandmother questions how they could have allowed a man with a violent criminal past be so cose to a young boy (pics of police taking Dante Parrish to Central Booking).

Police declined to be more specific about Jason's living situation; too bad, because that could clear up a lot and answer some questions, not just for us but for the family, which seems at odds about how Jason was treated.

Everyone at his school told me Jason talked nonstop, but not about how he lived. Was he in that Llewellyn Avenue house for months (Parrish was released in January) and in constant fear all this time? And if so, with so many friends at school, why didn't he say anything. His grandmother told Brent that Jason "didn't keep any secrets from me."

It appears he kept his biggest secret until his death.

His funeral is today at Unity United Methodist Church on Edmondson Avenue.

In today's paper, Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld addresses the numbers, saying he less worried about the monthly totals and more concered with patterns in the statistics. Several of the killings in November, he said, were premeditated. He's right, in that we've gone through several periods this year with a week or more without a killing, only to see a spike.

In other news, the opponents of Suite Ultralounge, the troublesome club at the Belvedere Hotel, could finally see a padlock. A hearing administrator agreed with police on Monday that the club is a public nuisance and the commissioner can now shut it down if he wants. Let's see if the owners come up with another last-minute plan to try and save the place, though they're facing a liquor board hearing (examiners have already shut the place once).

And not to be missed: feds charge three in a string of brazen robberies that netted them more than $300,000 and in which one business owner was left duct-taped to a chair. Here are the details of those crimes from the U.S. Attorney's Office:

The boy was found in his aunt's upstairs closet, gagged with a pillowcase and stabbed in the head and throat. A suspect, Donte Parrish, was arrested a few days later at a convenience store in Northeast Baltimore.

A spate of other killings this week has brought Baltimore's homicide total to more than 200 for the year, a grim statistic as we end the year. A map of city murder is here.

Here is the note from Jason's teacher, Ryan C. Jones (note, he uses a different spelling for the victim's last name):

The folks from Shomrim won 24-21 and then donated $15,000 to the horse unit; another $7 came from Boost Mobile. The horse unit needs $150,000; Sunday's donation gives it about $96,000 in donated proceeds.

Here is a statement from Mayor Sheila Dixon and a link to donate money to the horse unit: 

Recently released from prison on a murder conviction, Parrish is charged with gagging the youth in his East Baltimore rowhouse (owned by the victim's aunt), raping him and then stabbing him in the head and throat before stuffing him in a closet.

See complete coverage here.

Now, the Baltimore Sun has obtained, through a Public Information Act request, a tape of his 911 call (listen here). Police tell me they're reviewing the procedures to determine whether the appropriate steps were followed.

The caller, Nicholas F. Walters, was particularly angry (he first spoke to WJZ-TV, and then to me this week after we listened to the full recording) that the operator appeared to immediately dismiss his complaint:

"I'd like to report something," Walters said.

The dispatcher answered: "We don't make reports over the phone."

That appears now to be a slight miscommunication (Walters wanted to report a crime; the operator assumed he wanted a report filled out), but it set the tone for the rest of the conversation. Part of it is a communication gap -- Walters wanted to get the cops to put out an alert for a white pickup truck he saw speeding erratically and blowing red lights on Broadway. The operator needed to get very specific questions answered to decide whether to sent a police car.

At one point, Walters had to ask the operator whether she wanted the license plate of the vehicle he saw. At the end, he refused to leave his name.

In listening to the tapes, there appears another problem. A police dispatcher does indeed inform an officer -- a supervisor in the Southeast District -- about a car possibly driven by a drunken driver speeding north on Broadway. He does not give the officer the license plate number.

The officer asks: "How old is the call?"

Dispatcher: "Um, three minutes, maybe four minutes.

Officer: "Edward no."

That's the code for coding out the call, a determination of unfounded. It's impossible the officer could've responded to the location, 200 N. Broadway, and come to that conclusion in an instant unless his patrol car was at the intersection.

But the dispatcher had also told the officer he was informing the Eastern District, and the officer could've concluded that by the time he got to the location, the pickup would already be in the Eastern. A police spokesman told me the department is reviewing the case to determine what happened to the call and whether it was handled appropriately.

We know the suspect in the case, Thomas Meighan Jr., has been convicted of drunken driving nine times in the past and that he's been charged with numerous traffic offenses, though not at this time with manslaughter or driving under the influence of alcohol. Another looming question is how a car allegedly driving so erratically managed to elude authorities for so long.

Here is a transcript of Walters 911 call and the initial police response:

This latest picture is of an attack that occurred about 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 31 in the 400 block of N. Colvin St., near Hillen Street. Police said a 55-year-old woman was leaving a late-night church event and was making her way to a bus stop when she was approached by a man who grabbed her by the throat. He brandished a shard of glass and dragged her to an abandoned parking lot, where she was raped.

Police said this sketch is based on information from a new witness. Police had released another sketch earlier this month of a suspect in connection with the attack on Covin Street and another one that occurred at a bus stop in the 1300 block of Harford Ave. A 19-year-old woman was dragged to North Central Avenue, where a man punched her in the face repeatedly, stripped her naked and sexually assaulted her. The woman, suffering from a head injury, flagged down patrol officers.

That sketch is here:

City officials had refused to give me their response, even after I posted the letter the McCanns sent to them (see earlier posts here). The McCanns are still fighting to get answers to how and why their daughter apparently ran away from home and was found dead near a trash bin in the Perkins Homes public housing complex in Southeast Baltimore.

Police have concluded that Annie killed herself by drinking a 5-ounce bottle of Bactine, which contains Lidocaine, though the McCanns dispute this and have a letter from the manufacturer and an outside forensics expert saying there is no way Annie could've died only from drinking Bactine. Police never took Annie's fingerprints but did take her DNA, which they say they found on the bottle. The Medical Examiner has ruled her death undetermined.

Annie's parents are convinced their daughter was lured to Baltimore and was either killed or helped in taking her life. They've put up billboards, held news conferences, hired private investigators, hunted down people who may have seen Annie in Baltimore and pressed to file charges against youths who admitted to finding Annie's body in her car, and moving the body to the parking lot.

Police have now charged two youths as juveniles in connection with stealing Annie's car and leaving it several blocks away. Police say they've invested more than enough time in the case and point to a note Annie left behind on her bed. They say it's a clear suicide note. The family notes that Annie wrote she wanted to take her own life but changed her mind and decided to run away instead.

It's a difficult case. The Baltimore Sun published a two-part series (Part I and Part II) on the case last year. And here's the letter the city's deputy mayor sent to the McCanns:

Alert Message has been issued by the Baltimore Police Department:

Wednesday November 11, 2009 17:27 PM EST

BPD needs help in locating 35 yr old Dante Parrish for brutal sex assault & murder of 15 y/o boy. 410-396-2100

Dante Parrish is wanted in connection with the Nov 10 slaying of a 15 year old Baltimore boy. Parrish sexually assaulted and brutally murdered the victim before leaving him for dead in a bedroom closet. Please help BPD homicide. Contact us at 410-396-2100

This case is particularly gruesome. Police say the victim, Jason Madison Jr., was allegedly killed by a person he knows who had sexually assaulted him. Police said a pillow case had been stuffed in the victim's mouth, and that he had been repeatedly stabbed in the head and throat. 

The public will get a chance to interact with the Middle East visitors at two events -- a community forum (the details are being worked out) and a community walk in Southwest Baltimore. Should be an interesting visit.

Here are some more details put out by the Southwestern District Police Community Relations Council: 

While was in the room, the dog got up and turned around. He had a bandage on his left leg; Officer Steven W. Sturm told reporters outside the Falls Road Animal Hospital -- doggie Shock Trauma to some -- that the dog suffered a gunshot in the left shoulder from a .40 caliber handgun.

He said it appears that the dog might be able to go back to work. "He's a tough dog," Sturm said, explaining he went for a walk on Monday and put pressure on his wounded shoulder. He said the bullet appears to have hit soft-tissue and missed bones.

Blade was shot while pursing several people who bailed from a car whose drive evaded a traffic checkpoint. The dog's handler released Blade from his leash and commanded him to track down the running suspects. A police officers who responded to help approached from the opposite direction and the dog attacked him, prompting him to fire. Police said the officer had no idea he was being attacked by a police dog.

Sturm said being a police dog is dangerous (I'll have more on this part in tomorrow's Baltimore Sun). "They were just both in the same spot at the same time, and Blade was doing what he was taught to do," Sturm said. He added, "It's dangerous because unlike us ... we see somebody with a gun or a weapon, or whatever, we will get out of the way. Dogs react totally the opposite. They go. No matter what they see, they're going to be going unelss we call them off."

To watch video of Blade: