The Sun's Justin Fenton reports:

Three men were arrested in connection with a series of robberies and carjackings that occurred over a four-hour span Tuesday night across Baltimore County and the city, ending when the men crashed their vehicle near the Domino Sugars factory while fleeing police.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III and Baltimore County Chief James W. Johnson, who announced the arrests at a joint news conference Wednesday afternoon, called the robberies a "mini-crime spree" and said police worked together to catch the suspects, who had open warrants and criminal records.

Read full details here.

Bealefeld said there didn't appear to be any specific impetus for such a rapid series of crimes. "Just bad guys with guns," Bealefeld said. Their names were not disclosed as police continued to investigate and show photo lineups to victims.

"Last night's series of robberies punctuates that a few people are committing most of our violent crime in the Baltimore metropolitan area," Johnson said. "We've worked hard in Baltimore County and the city to build a partnership and relationships that reduce crime and make citizens in the metropolitan area safe."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Read Justin's story on Darius Ray.

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

Continue reading "Man gets life for killing Marine" »

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

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

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

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

The mother wrote me:

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

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

Here is a tribute that a friend wrote for Patrick.

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

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

Continue reading "A year after killing, parents still grieve son buried in Ravens jersey" »

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

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

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

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

Continue reading "Man shot, killed in city is latest casualty in violent weekend" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A man who was shot in the left arm by a Baltimore sheriff's deputy, and described as alert and talking as he was rushed to a hospital, is now in critical condition at Johns Hopkins. The man's mother told me he's on life support.

The mother of Jontae L. Daughtry said she was told her son became combative when corrections officers were doing what's called a "bedside commitment," essentially a hospital-room arraignment. The mother said doctors told her they gave him a sedative and that he suffered an allergic reaction. She also said he hit his head.

Daughtry has a history of psychological problems and police said that last Friday he climbed into the front seat of a marked sheriff's cruiser that was stopped at a light in Northeast Baltimore and lunged at the deputy with a knife. The deputy shot him once.

More details here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Police shootings
        

Erik Stoddard was convicted three times in the death of a 3-year-old girl he had been watching in Northeast Baltimore. An appellate court overturned one case, a judge the other. This week, the Maryland Court of Appeals said that was enough.

Judges unanimously turned down Stoddard's attempt to get a fourth trial, and upheld his conviction for involuntary manslaughter and his 40 year prison sentence. Stoddard had claimed a judge was wrong to force him to make up his mind about testifying before his lawyer had finished putting on a case.

The 2002 fatal beating of the girl shocked the city at the time. Stoddard had said he was angry that he was unable to toilet train the little girl. Read more details of the case here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The man who police say got shot after he jumped into a city sheriff deputy's cruiser this morning and attacked an officer with a knife is a convicted felon out on bail awaiting trial on drug and gun charges, according to court documents.

Police say they still don't know why the man got into the cruiser at Walther Avenue and Moravia Road. The deputy was on his way to work and stopped at a light, and does not know the suspect, according to authorities.

Here's an update to the story:

Continue reading "Man who police say shot deputy sheriff a convicted felon" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A city sheriff’s deputy on his way to work Friday morning shot and wounded a man who authorities said jumped into his marked cruiser and attacked him with a knife at a busy intersection in Northeast Baltimore.

The man was wounded in the left arm and taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was being treated. His condition was not available, but a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Sheriff’s Office said he was conscious and talking to paramedics.

The deputy was not injured. Names of the alleged attacker and the officer were not immediately released.

Sgt. Carla Lightsey, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department, described the attack, which occurred before 8 a.m. at Walther Avenue and Moravia Road, purely random. “He has no clue as to why it happened,” the sergeant said of the deputy.

The deputy, a 10-year veteran, was traveling in a marked cruiser south on Walther Avenue, about six blocks northeast of Herring Run Park, and was stopped at a red light. Lightsey said the man with the knife jumped into the front passenger seat.

“He was wielding a knife at him,” Lightsey said, and the deputy pulled his handgun and fired at least once. Baltimore police homicide detectives are investigating, as is routine for police-involved shootings.

The deputy’s car was still parked at the intersection late Friday morning, with the streets blocked off with crime-scene tape. The area consists of mostly single-family homes and is in the Beverly Hills subsection of the Moravia-Walther neighborhood.

Sheriff’s deputies provide security for the downtown Baltimore Circuit Court buildings and typically serve arrest warrants.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A 19-year-old man convicted of shooting a neighborhood acquaintance, leaving him paralyzed, was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The shooting occurred Halloween night two years ago as the two men passed each other on Ramblewood Road in Loch Raven in Northeast Baltimore.

A jury found the suspect, Antwane Brown, guilty of attempted second-degree murder and handgun violations in July. The Baltimore State's Attorney's Office said that as Brown and the victim, Craig Pearson, passed each other, Brown called out and Pearson turned and was shot in the back.

"There is no known motive for the shooting," prosecutors said in a statement. "Brown and Pearson knew each other from the neighborhood but they had no history of animosity or conflict." 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore police are investigating two killings -- one in Northeast Baltimore that occurred Friday night, and another in South Baltimore that happened this afternoon.

The latest slaying occurred just after 2 p.m. on Pennington Avenue in Curtis Bay. Few details were immediately available, but police said the victim had been stabbed.

The killing in Northeast Baltimore occurred about 8 p.m. in the 1500 block of East 29th St. An officer responding to reports of shots fired found the body of a man; he was pronounced dead at the scene. He has not yet been identified. 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore
        

One of the men charged in the fatal stabbing of an active duty Marine at a Northeast Baltimore party was convicted of first-degree murder by a city jury Wednesday, according to a relative of the victim.

Michael Wiggins, 28, had been charged along with two others with killing Pfc. Darius Ray on Jan. 23, 2010 at a house party in the 6900 block of McClean Blvd. Police at the time that Wiggins and Vernon Hadley, also known as Vernon Beverly, and Nicky Woodward were asked to leave the party and a fight broke out. They left and one of them, Wiggins, returned with a knife. 

Ray was only 20 years old, a three-sport athlete at his Montgomery County high school who enlisted in the Marines and became a member of the color guard. He was raised in a foster home, and the Sun wrote a front-page profile of him

"A bittersweet ending," said his sister, Elsie. "Nothing will bring Darius back to us but justice was done. ... Darius was an amazing young man with a beautiful spirit. Mr. Wiggins will never know what he stole from us and the world."

Wiggins' was the last of the three defendants to go to trial. Court records show Hadley pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and was sentenced to 20 years in prison with all but two years suspended, while Woodward pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and will be sentenced in November.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The suspect arrested in the killing of a 91-year-old woman during a burglary in Northeast Baltimore had been out on $25,000 bail at the time of the slaying, according to court records.

The records show that a judge upped the bail from $10,000 to $25,000, but that Anthony Robinson, 45, posted it anyway, on July 7. Irene Logan was stabbed, strangled and beaten in her home on Moravia Road less than a month later.

In the July burglary, a police report shows that officers responded to a house on Frankford Avenue for an alarm. They saw a man inside, who ran and hid in an attic. Police said the attic ceiling collapsed and the suspect fell into a bedroom, where he was Tased and arrested.

His trial on that case is scheduled for Oct. 25.  A police report says a gold bracelet, a gold pin and a gold watch were taken. Robinson now faces first-degree murder charges and is being held without bail.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

A discarded cigarette butt found outside the front door of a slaying victim’s house in Northeast Baltimore led detectives to a suspect in the stabbing of a 91-year-old woman during a burglary, according to police and court documents.

"The way we closed this case was right out of a scene from CSI,” city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said on Friday, referring to the popular television show that focuses on solving crimes through high-tech forensic techniques.

"We’re very pleased,” said Irene Ushry, the daughter of the victim, Irene Logan, who lived on Moravia Road. “It hasn’t been easy. It gives us some peace of mind now that they’ve arrested somone. God has uncovered it. That’s been my prayer ever since this happened, that God would bring this to the light.”

Police said DNA taken from the cigarette matched the DNA of Anthony Robinson, a 45-year-old who also lived in Northeast Baltimore, on East 30th Street near Clifton Park and Lake Montebello. The suspect’s genetic fingerprints were on file from a burglary arrest last month.

"That was our lucky break,” said Baltimore Police Col. Jesse Oden, who heads the Criminal Investigation Division.

Many more details coming later on-line and in Saturday's print editions.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Police say the suspect in the killing is Anthony Robinson, 45, of the 1900 block of W. 30th St., Baltimore. He is charged with first-degree murder. Investigators said the crime's motive was burglary.

Baltimore police are holding a news conference this afternoon to announce an arrest in the slaying of 91-year-old Irene Logan, who was killed in her home on Moravia Road on Aug 3.

Logan was found by her son on the floor of a small kitchen. She had been born in Virginia but moved to Baltimore as a small child, and had been married more than 50 years. Her husband died in 1999. One of the victim's son's was a close friend of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

"I have known her son since I was a child, so this is devastating, it's senseless." the mayor told The Sun's Steve Kilar in August. "My hope is that [through] the work that was done, the forensic work, we'll be able to figure out who did this very soon and bring that person to justice."

For more on the victim, read Steve's story here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A man who was shot in 2006 - and who died in 2009 - was classified as a homicide victim this week by city police, officials said.

The medical examiner determined that Gerrod Davis' death in February 2009 was caused by complications from gunshot wounds suffered Aug. 31, 2006 in Northeast Baltimore's Four-by-Four neighborhood.

Police said Davis, who was 22 when he was shot, was coming out a corner store in the 3300 block of Elmora Ave. at about 2:10 p.m. when a dark Lincoln Towncar pulled up and an unknown suspect got out and began firing at him. Davis was struck in the neck, head and hand, police said. 

Each year, there are a number of deaths added to the city total when someone wounded in a shooting from years ago later dies. Because cities can't go back and revise their homicide statistics from prior years, the death gets added for the year when the determination was made. It's not unlike how solved cases from prior years count toward the present year's clearance rate. 

I was able to find an obituary for Davis posted on the March Funeral Home website. In it, his family says Davis "leaves behind a legacy of will power, perseverance, determination, and faith in God Almighty .He made friends any and everywhere he went and with that winning smile he would light up the room as well as your heart."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore police have issued this statement on a man being sought in a connection with a sex offense from two years ago:

"Baltimore Police detectives needs your help identifying a sex offense suspect.

Detectives have released a computer generated sketch of a suspect who sexually assaulted a woman in November of 2009.
 
On November 3, 2009, a 31 year-old woman was carjacked in the 4700 block of Parkside Garden Drive. The victim was driven to several locations and forced to perform sex acts on the suspect.

The suspect then drove the victim to an ATM where he demanded she withdraw money.  The suspect ordered the victim out of her car and advised he would be burning her car. The victim went to a friend’s house where she notified police. 

We are asking that anyone with information regarding this incident, or anyone who may recognize this suspect to call the Baltimore Police Department’s Sex offense Unit at 410-396-2076."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The death of a 13-month-old boy last month is being investigated as a homicide, Baltimore police said today.

Davon Booth Jr. was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital on Aug. 8 after his father reported that he had found the boy unresponsive with vomit on his face, police said. The father said he had fed the baby and placed him in a bassinet, then walked into another room to cook dinner. When he saw the boy was not breathing, he called 911 and attempted CPR, police said. Davon was transported from the home, in the 5600 block of Woodmont Ave., to Good Samaritan and pronounced dead at 5:50 p.m. that day.

Police were told that since his birth, Davon had "bouts with vomiting after eating," and had been found unresponsive before, prompting 911 calls, said Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman. But during an autopsy, a medical examiner determined there was blood in the boy's brain, indicating that he had been shaken or suffered other head injuries. Though there were no external signs of injury, the medical examiner's office determined his death was homicide by head trauma, police said. 

Moses said the case remains open and the medical examiner's office was conducting additional tests. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Police said they have arrested and charged 33-year-old Lakeya Johnson in the death of her 4-year-old daughter, who officials said had suffered massive head trauma as a result of child abuse.

Dramiara Johnson had been taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital on Aug. 22 with significant head injuries, police said. Though family members told hospital staff that Dramiara had hit her head after falling during a "play fight" with her brother at a home in the 1700 block of Gorsuch Ave., the attending physician said that scenario did not match up with the child's injuries. She was taken off life support by the family on Aug. 27.

On Monday, police said every family member was a potential suspect and late Monday charged Johnson, of the 3000 block of Federal St., with child abuse resulting in death and related charges. She was being held on $1 million bond pending a bail review. 

Court records show Johnson has been sought since November 2009 on a warrant charging her with attempted drug distribution after she failed to show for a court hearing. That warrant has now been served and a trial on those charges is set for Sept. 29. In 2000, Johnson was charged with a handgun violation, a charge that was dropped by prosecutors.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A Baltimore police officer chased and confronted a man in Northeast Baltimore Wednesday night, and shot at him when he took out a gun, police said in a statement. Police later learned the man was wanted in a holdup at a grocery store in May.

The officer missed his target but police were able to arrest the suspect after he dropped his weapon behind a trailer in a vacant lot off Moravia Road. The full statement from city police follows:

Continue reading "City Officer shoots at armed man, misses but makes arrest" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Two Bhutanese refugees were shot, one of them fatally, in an apparent robbery in Northeast Baltimore, one of two double-shootings investigated by Baltimore police Tuesday night.

Big Bahadur Gurung, 20, had immigrated here from Nepal two months ago, after being given sanctuary following years of persecution in his home country, said Holly Leon-Lierman, the outreach manager for the International Rescue Committee, which helps refugees assimilate.

“He came here seeking freedom and safety,” Leon-Lierman said. “These are people who were persecuted for a long time, and it really makes this attack all the more tragic.”

The incident is the latest in a series of crimes that have sparked concern for members of Baltimore’s Nepalese and Bhutanese community, which officials say is centered in Northeast Baltimore’s Frankford neighborhood and has been growing in recent years.

Officers were called to the Parkside Gardens apartments in the 5200 block of Bowleys Lane at 10:12 p.m. for a report of a double shooting, and found two men suffering from gunshot injuries. A 17-year-old male, also an immigrant who arrived here last year, was shot multiple times in the torso and taken to an area hospital in critical condition. Gurung, of the 4900 block of Gunther Ave., was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead.

Bhutan is a tiny kingdom in South Asia located at the eastern end of the Himalayas. For years, thousands of Bhutanese of Nepali descent have been fleeing the country, alleging ethnic and political repression, and were stranded in Nepalese refugee camps.

In 2007, the United States announced it would offer sanctuary to up to 60,000 refugees, with Ellen Sauerbrey, then the director of the State Department’s refugee division and a former Republican state legislator from Maryland, playing a key role. More than 30,000 refugees have settled in the United States since then, one of the largest refugee groups in recent years, according to news reports. More than 700 have settled in Baltimore.

But like other immigrant populations, they have encountered challenges in their new home. The IRC has been working with police and city officials over concerns about robberies and violence, with advocates and community leaders organizing meetings.

Continue reading "Bhutanese refugee killed in apparent robbery" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A 32-year-old Baltimore man has been arrested and charged in Sunday's fatal stabbing of a Washington DC man outside a Northeast Baltimore bar.

Willie Daniels, of the 3400 block of Northway Dr., was picked up today on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder in the killing of Alfred "Freddy" Garner Jr., a 35-year-old information technology professional who was leaving the Ibis Tavern in the 6000 block of Harford Rd. when police say Daniels jumped him.

It's not clear how police identified Daniels as a suspect, though a police spokesman said it didn't take long. He's being held without bail. He was first charged with attempted first-degree murder, then new charges were filed on Monday when Garner succumbed to his injuries.

Police and relatives say Garner was walking away from a confrontation when Daniels attacked him. The two men crashed through a glass window of an adjacent business and police say Daniels fled on a motorcycle.

Court records show Daniels has a previous record that includes domestic violence charges. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Continue reading "DC man fatally stabbed outside Northeast Baltimore bar" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Back in late June and early July, men dressed as Baltimore police officers broke into three homes, tied up occupants and robbed them of money. In one case, a man was shot in the neck.

Police today said they arrested a suspect, but only in the first attack, in Northeast Baltimore.

Police are now saying that the break-ins do not appear to be related -- though close in proximity, they occurred miles apart in different parts of the city. Police were worried about armed men pretending to be cops.

Police are saying that in at least the first case, it's connected to drugs. The mugshot is of the suspect, 24-year-old Lamel Pierce of Halethorpe. Full story here:

Continue reading "Alleged police impersonator arrested" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Irene Logan’s murder leaves nearly thirty people without their matriarch. For three children, eight grandchildren and more than a dozen great-grandchildren, Logan was the family’s bedrock.

“She loved taking care of people,” Irene Ushry, Logan’s daughter, told The Sun's Steve Kilar on Thursday. Ushry found her 91-year-old mother, stabbed to death, on the floor of their small kitchen upon returning from work about 4:30 Wednesday afternoon.

Family members gathered outside the house as police investigated into the evening. Thursday afternoon, buckets of chicken and donuts waited on the table for family and friends who stopped by the home to grieve and share condolences.

Ushry said that she did not notice any signs of forced entry at the home in the 4700 block of Moravia Road. The first floor bedroom, though, had been rummaged through, she said.
The kitchen, where the woman’s body was found, is at the back of the house. An exterior door, off the driveway, opens into the white-tiled room.

A police spokesman said on Thursday that only “costume jewelry” had been taken from the home, and he confirmed there were no signs of forced entry.

Logan was born in Virginia but moved to Baltimore while she was a child, Ushry said. She was married for more than 50 years, until 1999 when her husband died.

Almost all of Logan’s family lives in Baltimore, Ushry said. Before moving to Baltimore’s eastside, Ushry said, her mother lived in West Baltimore and continued to regularly attend St. Ambrose Catholic Church Park Heights until her death.

“She was a very active, active woman,” Ushry said. “She loved to go to church, she loved dancing. She was very friendly.”

Steve's full story can be found here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had some strong words about an elderly woman who was stabbed to death in her Northeast Baltimore home on Wednesday. She talked to The Sun's Justin Fenton at an event to tout more surveillance cameras.

The mayor knows the victim's son, a community activist. Read the story on the slaying here.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: City Hall, Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

In addition to the 91-year-old woman who stabbed to death in her Northeast Baltimore house Wednesday evening, city police are investigating several shootings.

The latest shooting occurred this morning at Monastery and Frederick avenues in Southwest Baltimore. Police said an adult male was shot in the side. Shorlty after midnight, an adult male was shot multiple times in the 2300 block Allendale Road in Northwest Baltimore.

About 10 p.m., police reported a man shot in the back in the 1700 block of Presstman St., in West Baltimore. in Sandtown-Winchester.

Details were slim on these cases this morning. We'll have more as information develops.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Neighborhoods, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

National Night Out has become a big community event, getting residents and cops together to take back the streets. Below is a list of events in the city and the counties, scheduled for today, Aug. 2

National Night outs:

Baltimore City

Baltimore County

Harford County

Anne Arundel County

Howard County

I could only find one in Carroll County, in Eldersburg. Here is a link to details. If anyone knows of more here, please let me know and I'll post.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Carroll County, City Hall, Confronting crime, East Baltimore, Howard County, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

With 43 days left to the mayoral campaign, one usually hot topic appears to be strangely in the background -- crime.

Reporters Julie Scharper and Justin Fenton visited the Erdman Shopping Center, where a delivery man was killed in a robbery earlier this year, to hear people's thoughts. One man showed off his knife wound and complained that his prison record kept him from finding a job. Another woman said, "All you hear, all day is ambulances and police cars, ambulances and police cars. Somebody got hurt. Somebody got killed."

Northeast Baltimore has become one of the violent police districts, and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake visited this very shopping center just before assuming office. The area hasn't improved much.

Plans to curtail vary among the candidates -- one wants to tax bullets and reduce penalties for marijuhana; another doesn't believe the stats from the the cops and wants an audit; a third wants more drug treatment beds; a fourth wants says more jobs are the key; the mayor wants to hire another 350 officers.

Read Julie's and Justin's full story here.

Read Justin's report on crime in Northeast Baltimore

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: City Hall, Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

A man and a woman have been indicted on charges that they pistol whipped and robbed a man and his aunt, who jumped from a second story window of their Northeast Baltimore home to escape.

Donnell Mackey, 29, of the 1000 block of N. Milton St., and Antoinette Brown, 19, of the 2600 block of Garrison Blvd., face charges of armed robbery, assault and burglary, according to the indictment, which was filed on July 15.

Mackey has been indicted 12 previous times, according to court records.

According to charging documents, on June 1, Christopher Harper was in the basement of his home in the 3000 block of Iona Terrace, in the Arcadia neighborhood, when he heard his aunt, Deshawn Penn, yelling for him to come upstairs.

Continue reading "Man, aunt jumped from window to escape robbery" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Frustrated by a slow response from city cops?

One Baltimore City councilman has come up with a solution. Tell the 911 operator a gun is involved, even if it isn't. Practically guaranteed police will swarm to your call. True, you risk delaying police to a fellow citizen who might be in more danger, but was more honest when he called for help. But you'll get plenty of attention.

City Councilman Robert W. Curran advised residents to do this at a recent meeting in Hamilton Hills. A retired police major was in the audience, and he agreed with the advice. Upset residents say they either lie and get immediate, overwehelming response, or they're honest and wait too long for help.

Of course, this is troublesome for many reasons. Cops -- not just one, but many -- speed to gun calls, bursting through red lights and putting themselves and others in danger. They arrive thinking they're about to confront an armed person, and they might have their guns drawn. Their entire mentality is different, and they react accordingly.

Said police union president Robert Cherry: "What if the officers think that person is armed, come guns drawn and the person only has a cell phone? The next thing you know there is a shooting."

Curran's comments are bound to generate controversy, and debate over police resources, response times and crime. Read the full article by reporter Rebekah Brown with quotes from all sides.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The investigation into the three people who were shot and killed inside a Northeast Baltimore house that was set on fire took a new twist this afternoon:

Baltimore police officers responded early Tuesday to a citizen’s complaint of shots fired inside a house on Nicholas Avenue, but left after getting no response to their repeated knocks on the door or finding other evidence of a shooting, a department spokesman said.

Less than 90 minutes later, someone set the Northeast Baltimore house on fire, and firefighters found the bodies of two men and a woman who was critically injured. Each victim, police said, had been shot, and the woman died at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

City police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the department is examining how the patrol officers responded and whether they acted appropriately by not forcing their way inside the house in the Herring Run neighborhood.

Police acknowledge there is a possibility that the killer was still inside the house when the officer arrived, and at least one of the victims was still alive. The anonymous call for gunshots came in at 4:33 a.m., the officer arrived at 4:36 a.m. and left at 4:59 a.m., Guglielmi said.

Firefighters pulled up at 6:37 a.m., meaning there was a two hour delay between the time of the first call for help and when authorities rendered assistance. Police said they recovered physical evidence and that an accelerant was used to start the fire, but no suspects has been identified.

Continue reading "Police trying to determine if officers responded properly to shooting call; bodies found after officers left" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Police now confirm that all three victims had been shot  -- a man, 38, another man, 27, and a woman, 36. 

UPDATE: A third victim has died at the hospital.  

The two people found dead in a fire in Northeast Baltimore had been shot, at least one in the head, accoridng to a city police spokesman. A third person is in critical condition. The photo is by The Sun's Kim Hairston.

Details are still developing and police and fire investigators are at the scene, in the 4300 block of Nicholas Ave. The home is off Belair Road in the Herring Run neighborhood.

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

A Baltimore police officer was arrested over the weekend after firing a gun at a vehicle at her estranged boyfriend's home in Northeast Baltimore, officials said.

Lynette Glover, 35, a seven-year veteran assigned to the personnel section, was charged July 16 with malicious destruction of property, discharging a firearm, and other handgun-related offenses, court records show.

Detective Nicole Monroe, a city police spokeswoman, said Glover arrived at the man's house, in the 4700 block of Parkwood Ave. at 1 a.m. and shot out the window of a vehicle belonging to a visitor. Glover has been suspended and is free on $100,000 bond.  

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The Baltimore Police Department has identified the officers involved in Wednesday's shooting in Northeast Baltimore.

Detective Joseph Crystal, a two-and-a-half year veteran, and Detective James McShane, a six-year veteran, were conducting a drug investigation when they approached a vehicle in the 1400 block of Fillmore Street and the driver reached for a weapon, police say. He apparently did not fire any shots.

The officers opened fire, and the driver sped off. His bullet-riddled vehicle was later located in East Baltimore, and police were notified that the man had walked in to University of Maryland Medical Center for treatment for gunshot wounds to his arm.

Police said no weapon was recovered, and it is not clear if the man has been charged with a crime.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Police shootings
        

A 34-year-old man was shot by Baltimore police officers after officials say he pulled a gun on them during a traffic stop in Northeast Baltimore.

Police say plainclothes officers were conducting a drug investigation at about 11 a.m. in the 1400 block of Fillmore Street, in the Coldstream Homestead Montebello neighborhood, and pulled over a Jeep and approached the driver. Detective Donny Moses, a spokesman, said the driver pulled a handgun from between the seats and detectives opened fire on him.

The man was able to speed off and elude officers, and the bullet-riddled vehicle was later located in the 1000 block of Central Avenue near Johns Hopkins Hospital in East Baltimore, Moses said. There was blood on the inside, but there was no victim and no weapon.

At about 1:45 p.m., a gunshot victim walked in to University of Maryland Medical Center with a wound to his forearm, he said.

Continue reading "Police: Officers shoot man who pulled gun during traffic stop" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Police shootings
        

Baltimore police have been busy today investigating several violent incidents. Here are some details as they come in straight from a city police spokesman:

1500 Blk Lester Morton Court Homicide
 
July 10, 2011 / Baltimore, MD - The Baltimore Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred this morning, just after 2:30 am, within the 1500 Blk of Lester Morton court.  Patrol officers responded to the location for report of a shooting and discovered 22 year-old Jerel McFadden suffering from a gunshot wound to the torso.  He was transported to John Hopkins Hospital and, despite medical treatment, died shortly after 3:10 am.

AT right is a picture of McFadden from his Facebook page. 

Homicide - 1700 Blk of Gorsuch Avenue
 
July 10, 2011 / Baltimore, MD - Baltimore Police homicide detectives are investigating a death that occurred this morning within the 1700 Blk of Gorsuch Avenue at 2:30 am.  Officers responded to discover the body of 46 year-old Richard Mills seated in a pick-up truck suffering from an apparent stab wound to the torso.  Mr. Mills was transported to John Hopkins Hospital where, despite best efforts, he was pronounced dead just before 3:30 am.

In addition, police say homicide detectives are investigating a woman's body that was found this morning in the 200 block of North Belnord Ave. in Southeast and a shooting of a man in the chest on the East side in the 400 block of Pitman Place.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: East Baltimore, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

For the third time in a week, city police are investigating a home invasion in which men identifying themselves as police rushed into a home and bound and robbed its occupants.

“We are enormously concerned about this,” said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. “This is an egregious violation of the trust that individuals place in police, and we are working very hard to catch them.”

At about 6 a.m., police were called to the 2800 block of W. Garrison Ave. in North Baltimore, where the homeowners said they were sleeping when three men dressed in “police-like clothing” entered the room and placed them in plastic “flex cuff” handcuffs, officials said.

The men took an undisclosed amount of cash and electronics, including a video game system, before fleeing.

The incident comes on the heels of a similar home invasion last Monday, when a 32-year-old man was shot when three suspects pretending to be police entered his home in the 1500 block of Medford Road in Northeast Baltimore and bound him and his wife with flex cuffs.

Continue reading "Third home invasion by fake police" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore
        

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading "Delivery driver dies after shooting in Northeast" »

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

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

They arrested the assistant principal.

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

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

Here are some details from the charging document:

Continue reading "Assistant principal of city school arrested on theft charge" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This post has been updated.

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

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

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

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

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

[This post has been updated]

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

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

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

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

Continue reading "Woman fatally stabbed, man shot by police impersonators" »

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading "Police identify man, 23, killed in Hamilton Hills" »

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

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

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

Continue reading "Second Baltimore officer pleads guilty in towing scandal" »

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

From Sun reporter Julie Baughman:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Sun's Don Markus reports:

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

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

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

Continue reading "Police need help in finding killer of 12-year-old" »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It was a little before 10 Tuesday night, and Shawnta Little had just given her son his five-minute warning.

A few minutes later, she heard a beating on the door that would lead to nearly 48 hours in Johns Hopkins Children's Center, where after continuous prayer and medical tests, Little would make the final decision of her 12-year-old son's life: letting his body succumb to the gun shots that had left him brain dead.

"We just kept praying, and they did every test they could do to be absolutely sure," Little said, a day after she authorized doctor's to take her son off life support. "And the fact that they donated his organs, I still feel like I'm going to go up there and they're going to say, 'Oh, he woke up.'"

Sean Johnson was pronounced dead at 5:05 p.m. Thursday, two days after he and three of his friends were shot night while watching a basketball game on the front porch of a home in Northeast Baltimore. Police, who have made no arrests, said a man with a gun turned a corner and opened fire on people who were sitting on a porch in the 1700 block of Cliftview Ave., near Harford Road.

This account is from reporters Erica L. Green and Yeganeh June Torbati, in an exclusive interview with Sean's mother [Read full story here]. Here is a scene from the boy's school as the principal tells the boy's classmates he has died:

Continue reading "Mother grieves over slain boy" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The 12-year-old boy who was shot Tuesday night while watching a basketball game on the front porchof a home in Northeast Baltimore has died of his injuries, a city councilman announced at a rally on the corner where the shooting occurred.

Councilman Carl Stokes said Sean Johnson died at Johns Hopkins Hospial about 9:30 this morning. Sean, a student at Montebello Elementary/Middle School, was one of four people wounded in the gunfire.

Police said a man with a gun turned a corner and opened fire on people sitting on a porch in the 1700 block of Cliftview Ave., near Harford Road. The three other teens were slightly wounded; police had said Sean was not expected to survive.

Authorities and the school principal descibed the youths as model students who did not have criminal records; one was headed off to college. Police said Sean had been shot in the chest, but relatives said he also had been shot twice in the head.

Stokes organized this morning’s rally at the shooting scene and was joined by neighbors, activists and members of the clergy. “We have to geet back to basics,” Stokes said in a release annoucing the event. “Police officers that patrol our communities have to get out of their cars and engage the residents. Not just when there is an emergency, but every day.”

Erica Green spent time with with boy's principal as she told classmates the sad news:

Continue reading "Boy, 12, dies of his injuries; school principal holds sorrowful vigil with classmates" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

You can feel the pain in Camille Bell's words. She's the principal at Montebello Elementary/Middle School, and this is her sad ritual:

"Every morning, I hope and pray that I don't see their pictures, that I don't hear any homicides, that I hear nothing about [the] Northeast community, because I know it's going to affect the school community in some way. We always pray that every day will be a good day, and nobody was prepared for this."

On Wednesday, she awoke to news that one of her students, 12-year-old Sean Johnson, had been struck in the chest by a bullet. He was with three friends sitting on a porch on Cliftview Avenue in Northeast Baltimore, watching a basketball game on TV.

His three friends also were wounded, but police say Johnson is not expected to survive. Bell described him as a good student and none of the four who were injured had gotten into trouble. One had a scholarship to college. Read the compelling story of the violent night by The Sun's Erica L. Green and Justin Fenton.

More violence erupted last night:

Continue reading "Wounded boy still clings to life; more people shot" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore
        

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

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

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

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

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

Four people were shot, three in one incident, Tuesday night in Northeast Baltimore, and sources say two of the victims were juveniles. At least one was shot in the head. Another man was fatally shot early Wednesday in West Baltimore.

[Read Justin Fenton's story about crime in Northeast Baltimore]. More details of the latest shootings can be found here.

The shootings kept detectives busy from one end of the city to the other. The first shooting occurred about 9 p.m. in the 1700 block of Montpelier St., just off Harford Road, when a man was shot in the arm and leg.

About an hour later, three people were shot in the 2500 block of Cliftview Ave., just a few blocks away near Lake Clifton Park, including two apparent juveniles. There was no immediate word on their conditions this morning, but homicide detectives were investigating because police said one wa shot in the head.

The Sun's Jessica Anderson reported from the scene that neighbors heard the shots and looked around for their own children before seeing the victims taken away in ambulances. "It's all too common," said one 27-year-old resident of nearby 25th Street who declined to give his name. "We just had this police shooting on Harford Road."

A second man, 53, who also said he was a lifelong resident of the neighborhood, said he has a 17-year-old and 18-year-old at home. "First you look around for your kids" when you hear shots fired. He emphasized that not all youths in the area were troubled. "A lot of the kids are going to college around here," he said. "We need to find some jobs for them."

Hours later, The Sun's Yeganeh June Torbati reported that another man was shot shortly before 3 a.m. in the 1500 block of North Monroe St. in West Baltimore. A police officer found the victim in a vacant lot and he was pronounced dead on the scene.

Track the city's homicides with the The Sun's interactive map. And check back to learn more about these shootings.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore
        

View Larger Map

City police say a 27-year-old man stabbed in the neck during a stick-up in Northeast Baltimore last week has died from his injuries, while detectives were investigating a similar incident that occurred Tuesday night about a mile away in which two men were stabbed in the chest.

On April 27, police say Darian Kess walked out of his apartment, in the 1200 block of Linworth Ave. in the New Northwood neighborhood, to pick up a flier to order food and was followed back inside by three men carrying handguns. They ordered Kess and two others onto the floor and took money, cell phones and other property, said Detective Donny Moses, a police spokesman.

As the men were fleeing, one of them stabbed Kess in the neck. He was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on May 2 at about 3 p.m.

The killing continues an uptick in fatal stabbings. Sixteen people have been fatally stabbed so far this year in Baltimore; at the same time last year, six had been fatally stabbed and 23 were killed in such a manner in all of 2010, records show.

Before you conclude that stabbings have become the method of choice for street criminals, consider that non-fatal shootings are up 21 percent and homicides by gun are up 11percent.

In a similar incident, police said two men were stabbed in their chests during an apparent robbery Tuesday night in the 1300 block of Walters Ave., in the Woodbourne Heights community. The victims — one 23 years old, the other 25 — were being treated at an area hospital.

Police said there were three suspects, but no arrests had been made in the case. It was not clear if the cases were connected.

Police also identified the man found fatally stabbed in Upper Fells Point last week as Gilberto Gonzalez, 22. Gonzalez, who police say had no fixed address, was found April 29 in the 1700 block of E. Lombard St. The case remains open.

Related: Crime spike in Northeast Baltimore alarms residents, officials.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

For decades, veteran police officers viewed Baltimore's Northeast Police District – dominated by middle-class, low-crime neighborhoods -- as a "country club" assignment.

But a rise in crime in some neighborhoods is changing that sentiment. Shootings and violence have been on the rise in the district – the city's largest, spanning 17 square miles including Lauraville, Ednor Gardens and Belair Edison -- and it leads the city in murders this year. The Police Department recently designated two neighborhoods in the area as "violent crime enforcement zones" – putting them on par with some of the most troubled spots in the city.

Despite the spike in crime, the district largely remains a safe, middle-class enclave. And the violent crime around Clifton Park, an area long troubled by drug dealing, did not spring up overnight. Nevertheless, Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, who represents the area of the district where most of the violence has occurred, said, "We all have a lot of work to do in the Northeast District. That's for certain."

Since last month, a squad of 15 officers from the Violent Crimes Impact Section has been patrolling the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello and Belair Edison communities. That's on top of more than 20 foot patrol deployments throughout the district, which police and city officials hope will stem the 21 percent rise in total crime.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The Sun's Julie Scharper reports that Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III announced at the mayor's Northeast District town hall meeting Thursday night that he has named new commanders for the district.

The move solidifies a district that has battled new challenges in recent years, a problem I'll be writing about in a future story. As of April 16, the district had seen a 20 percent uptick in total crime and leads the city in homicides. 

Maj. Delmar "Sonny" Dickson retired in January, and Deputy Major Darryl DeSousa had been acting major since then. DeSousa was officially given the nod to become the district commander, and his Deputy Major will be Rick Rutherford, who moves from the Western District, Scharper reported.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: City Hall, Northeast Baltimore, Top brass
        

A man found shot in an alley in Northeast Baltimore today is the latest victim in a string of shootings over the past 24 hours. The shootings include one early Friday in downtown Baltimore:

Five men were reported shot, one fatally, in separate attacks over a 21-hour period Thursday night and into Friday, according to a Baltimore police spokesman. The latest shooting occurred shortly after 11 a.m. Friday in the 1700 block of Homestead St. in Northeast Baltimore.

Police said a man was found in an alley after having been shot several times. There was no update on his condition Friday night. Earlier Friday, about 2:30 a.m., a man was shot in the back while sitting on a bench at a bus stop in the 200 block of W. Fayette St. downtown, one block north of 1st Mariner Arena. Police said the unidentified victim was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m.

Police said they had a person of interest in custody, but did not offer additional details. The killing was the fourth to occur downtown this year, all in April. There were three killings downtown in 2010.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

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
        

Students at Patterson High School are remembering classmate Steven Oglesby, a 17-year-old who was fatally shot Sunday night while sitting in a vehicle in Northeast Baltimore's Four-by-Four neighborhood.

A blog post from earlier this week that featured an image from Steven's Facebook page where he was showing off his tattoos caused some frustration from his friends and family, who said that wasn't a fair representation of him.

This picture, posted to Twitter by @Ekwaun, shows a glimpse of how they're grieving. [Click to enlarge it.]

Oglesby was one of two teens shot in the 3200 block of Elmley Ave. on Sunday night.

Police haven't made any arrests in the case.

Three juveniles have been slain this year in Baltimore.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Painted along the top of a door frame of a defunct church in North Baltimore’s Remington community are the words “When I see the blood…” It’s the beginning of a Biblical quotation that ends, “The plague of death will not touch you.”

Neighbors stood in front of that building Tuesday afternoon looking upon a crime scene where police say the body of a woman who had been fatally stabbed was discovered by her relatives. The killing was one of at least two investigated by police yesterday.

“This is just terrible,” said Dianne Fisher, 46, of the people gathered near the crime scene. “That girl didn’t bother no one.”

Continue reading "Woman fatally stabbed, man dies in morning shooting" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Police have identified the 17-year-old who was fatally shot Sunday night while sitting in a car in Northeast Baltimore's Four-by-Four neighborhood as Steven Oglesby, seen here at left in a picture provided by his family and at right from his own collection on Facebook.

Oglesby and another 17-year-old were sitting in a vehicle in the 3200 block of Elmley Ave at about 8:20 p.m. when someone opened fire on the vehicle. The other victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not released a motive or announced any arrests in the case.

Anyone with information was asked to call homicide detectives at 410-396-2100, where they can remain anonymous.

Friends were leaving "R.I.P." messages on Oglesby's Facebook page, where I pulled this picture seen at right from among his "profile" pictures. He listed his school there as Patterson High School. At left is a photo that his family asked be posted.

It's the first fatal shooting this year in the notoriously violent Four-by-Four neighborhood, which is grimly surrounded by cemeteries. Last fall, the ATF led at least 150 law enforcement officers on raids in the neighborhood after a grand jury indicted 10 individuals on drug distribution charges. Here's what we wrote about that indictment at the time, based on court documents:

Continue reading "Teen killed in NE double shooting" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A 53-year-old woman will spend 30 years in prison for participating in a home invasion robbery in December 2009 that left a Northeast Baltimore homeowner dead, the city State’s Attorney’s Office announced on Friday.

Bonnie Lee Lizor had pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder charge and was sentenced this week. Her accomplice, Austin Lassiter, 28, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Police said the two suspects broke into a house in the 4700 block of Glenarm Ave., the same block on which Lizor lived at the time.

A friend of the victim’s who was walking by heard “unusual noises” from the house and went inside, prosecutors said. Police said that the friend took out a 9mm handgun he had been carrying and detained Lizor until officers arrived. The other suspect escaped but was arrested a short time later.

Authorities said they found 64-year-old David Monath tied up and unresponsive. Prosecutors said the victim had been beaten and then suffered a heart attack during the break-in. Lizor told police that she and her friend knew that Monath was “known to possess valuable items.”

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

Just hours after Baltimore's police commissioner decried the violence that consumed the city this weekend, and announced new patrols to combat it, four more people were shot Monday night. None of the wounds proved fatal, but it appeared that two days of gunfire did not end with the beginning of the work week.

The shootings were scattered around Baltimore -- Northwest, Northeast and Southeast -- and police said none appeared connected. Earlier Monday, Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III met with reporters to once again complain about the proliferation of guns and how easy it seems to be caught with one and escape serious jail time.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

The man accused of shooting police Officer Michael Rice on Friday night had increasingly dangerous interactions with police, court records show. 

In 2008, according to court records, 23-year-old Gerry Gough was stopped in North Baltimore and struggled with officers, who eventually recovered baggies of marijuana. A year later, he was at a Northwest Baltimore bus stop when detectives saw the outline of a handgun in his pants and chased him.

Gough told police in a debriefing after that arrest that he carried a weapon for protection and knew how to get more – his cell phone wallpaper even displayed an image of him clutching a weapon, court records show. But he received just six months in jail from a District Court judge.

District Court Judge Barbara Waxman sentenced Gough to six months in that case, and ordered him to pay a $300 fine. He never paid and was ordered to serve another three days in jail. We've placed a call to Waxman to find out more about the case.

Police say on Friday, Gough didn’t wait for police to approach him.

Continue reading "Man's interactions with police increasingly became dangerous" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore City Police said that a 24-year-old Baltimore man, Patric Glasco (seen at right), has been arrested and charged in connection with a Northeast Baltimore murder last month.

Police that Glasco has been charged with the murder of Martez Anthony Hall, 22, who was found shot in the torso in his home in the 1600 block of East 31 s t Street on Feb 16. He had been shot through the window, police said at the time.

Detective Jeremy Silbert said late Sunday that Glasco has also been charged with two counts of attempted murder and other charges including assault.

Continue reading "Man arrested in February murder in NE Baltimore" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

View Weekend violence in a larger map

[UPDATE: 11:05 p.m. - Police and fire officials are tweeting that there have been three shootings in Northwest Baltimore. They have been added to this map.]

City police are reporting at least two additional homicide victims from what quickly became a bloody weekend, with 18 people reported injured or killed since Friday afternoon:

-Darshewn Freeman, 44, was found bleeding in the rear of the 1200 block of W. Ostend St. in Pigtown at about 9:40 p.m., and police said he was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died the next morning around 9 a.m. A cause of death was not immediately known and pending an autopsy. 

-David McLaughlin Jr., 24, also died after being stabbed in the 4500 block of Edmondson Ave., at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center. Police said he was at a gas station when he was jumped by several individuals. He was stabbed several times and taken to St. Agnes Hospital, then Maryland Shock Trauma, where he died at about 5 a.m. Police believe McLaughlin, who according to court records has prior drug convictions, may have been targeted. 

Beginning Friday afternoon, the city saw a police-involved shooting that injured an officer and left the suspect critically injured; at least three homicides - McLaughlin, Freeman and Angelo Fitzgerald, who was shot in Bolton Hill; and a slew of non-fatal shootings. There was also the tragic death of 4-year-old Tyeshawn Townsend, who found a loaded gun in a Northwest Baltimore home and shot himself in the face. Police will be briefing the media on the incidents on Monday morning at a news conference at headquarters.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, Top brass
        

I received this e-mail this morning from a Better Waverly resident, frustrated with the recent murder of 19-year-old Tanise Ervin but perhaps more frustrated with the response of some of his neighbors who didn't seem to care. This is reprinted with his permission:

I read your coverage of the murder in Waverly and wonder what you thought about it, how the police 'handle' these things. I've lived in the neighborhood now for 6 years and about 6 murders - better than many neighborhoods but a far cry from when I lived in [edited]. Here's my question and the piece missing from the story I wonder...

Just a block away, in plain site of the gathering tonight, those who were shot sat on their porch. Their house was adorned with balloons of sympathy and "get well". Meanwhile Tanise is dead and they sit there, not talking. More to the point - there's not been one mention that they live in the neighborhood itself, that they probably know their shooters. 

I don't think it paints the neighborhood bad to say this - it acknowledges the reality of just how bad things are though some times. Sad and selfish folk who've been almost murdered themselves will keep quiet to protect.... what? themselves? the people who tried to kill them? And there they sit amid balloons and stuffed animals while we carry candles and mourn someone turning their life around. What's wrong with this picture?

Continue reading "Better Waverly resident on neighborhood apathy" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A 26-year-old convicted by a  jury on Friday of killing two 17-year-olds in a Baltimore park in 2008 is to be sentenced in May and faces two consecutive life terms in prison, according to the city State’s Attorney’s Office.

Timothy Crockett had been released from a federal penitentiary in Illinois, where he was serving time for a gun charge, two weeks before he gunned down Darrius Harrison and Djuan Anderson in Easterwood Park in June three years ago.

Witnesses told police at the time that they heard Crockett and an accomplice “plan and arrange” the shootings and then retrieve a gun. Prosecutors said that both victims had been shot in the head in the 3 a.m. attack.

More cases:

Continue reading "Man convicted in double murder" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore
        

View Larger Map

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

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

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

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

View Larger Map

City police executing a search warrant in a high-crime area of East Baltimore found five illegal handguns and arrested four people, including one who had been charged with illegal handgun possession in January.

Acting on a tip obtained by a patrol officer, police raided a home in the 1700 block of E. 25th St. at about 1 p.m. Tuesday, where they found the guns along with crack cocaine and $500 cash, a spokesman said.

The area, near the border of the Eastern and Northeast police districts, has seen nearly a dozen shootings in recent months, and police said they hope the guns will be linked to some of those cases.

Continue reading "Raid in area of violence nets 5 guns, 4 arrests for city police" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore
        

Note: this post has been updated. 

A 22-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 61-year-old grandfather, Baltimore police said.

Edgar Waylan Wilson was found Sunday afternoon by a relative inside his home in the 2800 block of Clifton Ave. in West Baltimore, according to police. A warrant was issued for his grandson, Jerrell Dixon, that day and was served on Monday, court records show.

Police say Dixon confessed to stabbing Wilson during a fight. He was ordered held without bond Monday, records show.

Relatives declined to comment when contacted by The Sun on Monday, but court records show Dixon’s relatives had sought intervention from the courts. In June, his 94-year-old grandmother wrote that Dixon “does not work, takes my credit card numbers and purchased $8,000 worth of … things” and said that he smoked drugs with his friends and “brings strange women in to spend the night without my permission.”

“He has refused to leave when I ask him, and I am afraid for my safety. I am 94 years old,” she wrote in court papers.

District Court Judge Catherine Curran O’Malley issued a temporary protective order, but his grandmother failed to show at a followup hearing.

The photo at left is a mugshot of Dixon provided by the Baltimore Police Department.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
Categories: Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

Police in Annapolis are investigating the shooting of two men that occurred Monday. A 39-year-old and a 23-year-old were injured. In Baltimore, police said a man was stabbed early today near Herring Run Park.

Baltimore police also announced an arrest in a non-fatal shooting that occurred Friday. Police said Michael Campbell, 26, has been charged in the incident, which occurred on Marble Hall Road. We're awaiting more details.

City police also announced arrests in three gun cases on Monday. Police in the 200 block of East Fayette Street downtown arrested three people and seized a 9mm handgun. An off-duty officer in the 2300 block of West Baltimore St. arrested one person and seized a stolen .45 caliber handgun. And a patrol officer arrested one person and got a revolver.

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

UPDATE: Friday's paper outlines how police commanders are shifting resources to make up for the arrests and suspensions of officers. Because many of them were assigned to the Northeast, police have pulled a "community stabilization unit" of rookie, foot patrol officers out of Southeast Baltimore and put them in squad cars. Southeast Baltimore residents say the foot patrols were effective and are worried about losing the 20 officers.

This letter went out to community leaders tonight from the acting commander of the Northeast District, where most of the Wednesday's arrested officers worked:

Dear Community Leaders,

As a result of the recent indictments of ten Northeast District Officers and the suspension of eight Northeast District Officers, I wanted to contact you to let you know that this situation does not in any way adversely impact our service and commitment to the communities of the Northeast District. We will continue to expect a high level of integrity and performance from all of our officers. As you know, most of our officers are dedicated, hardworking and committed professionals who work daily to serve and protect our citizens. 

Additionally, one Lieutenant and twenty-one officers have been detailed to the Northeast District to supplement our staffing and support our efforts. These additional officers have been placed in uniform patrol and are young and eager to work. I will be working longer hours and as usual, I will be on the streets assisting and monitoring performance. 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Thank you.   

Deputy Major De Sousa

Acting Commander, Northeast District  

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Federal authorities say that the case involves 17 city police officers. We're posting the criminal complaint below. Here are some quick highlights from a statement from the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office:

A criminal complaint was filed today charging 17 Baltimore City Police officers and two brothers who own a car repair shop with conspiring to commit extortion in connection with a scheme in which the repair shop owners paid police officers to arrange for their company, rather than a city-authorized company, to tow vehicles from accident scenes and make repairs.

According to the affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, the general pattern of the extortion scheme allegedly consisted of the following: from January 2009 to the present, the BPD Officers were either dispatched by the police department to the scene of an accident, or otherwise showed up at the scene.  Shortly after arriving at the accident scene, the BPD Officer would call Moreno, or use the vehicle owner’s cell phone to call Moreno, and provide Moreno with details about the accident and the damage to the vehicle.

Original post: A dozen or more Baltimore city police officers have been arrested this morning in connection with a federal corruption probe that involves an improper relationship with a Baltimore towing company, sources said.

Multiple sources say the officers are mostly from the Northeast District and many of them are officers who were recruited years ago in a push to bring in Latino officers from Puerto Rico. That information could not immediately be confirmed.

UPDATE at 3:25 p.m.The president of Latino officers association says only 3 of officers charged were recruited during the Puerto Rico initiative. Others were recruited from New York and Maryland, and are of varying nationalities, the association says.

Officials from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore and the FBI announced that a press conference will be held at 3 p.m. today to discuss the arrests.

-Justin Fenton and Julie Scharper

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (32)
Categories: City Hall, Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore, Top brass
        

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Latest updates on crime over the weekend in Baltimore, from city police spokesman Kevin Brown:

POLICE DISCHARGING (see story in The Sun)
500 Blk of Harwood Avenue
2/11/11 - 19:50 Hrs
 
Officers were dispatched to the 500 Blk of Harwood Avenue for an officer needs assistance call for service.  Upon arrival preliminary investigation revealed that an off-duty Baltimore police officer was sitting in a vehicle with a female companion when an individual approached and attempted entry into the vehicle. A scuffle ensued during the course of which the officer's weapon discharged at least once.  No one was struck and all parties involved are being interviewed by detectives to determine the course of events.  No charges have been filed as of yet. 
 

HOMICIDE
4000 Blk of Park Heights Avenue
2/11/11 - 10:33 Hrs
 
Officers responded to the location at the above date and time for a shooting call for service.  Upon arrival they located the victim, Mr. Jose Estrella (B/M 5/25/91) laying on the ground between two vehicle suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.  He was transported to Sinai Hospital and pronounced at 11:47 am.  No word as of yet on suspect or motive. 
 
NON-FATAL SHOOTING
1000 Blk of Ashland Court
2/11/11 - 22:49 Hrs
 
Officers responded to an east-side area hospital for a "walk-in" shooting victim.  Upon arrival they located the victim, a 25 year-old black male, suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg.  Investigation revealed that as the victim was walking within the 900 Blk of McAleer Court an unknown male began shooting at him.  The victim was stable and expected to recover at last condition check.  No word as of yet on suspect or motive. 
 
NON-FATAL SHOOTING
1800 Blk of Chester Street
2/12/11 - 00:36 Hrs
 
Officers responded to the above location for report of a shooting.  Upon arrival they discovered the victim, a 32 year-old black male, suffering from gunshot wounds to the leg.  He was transported to an area hospital and at last check was stable and expected to recover.  No word as of yet on suspect or motive.  

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Police shootings
        

The drive-by shooting of a 21-year-old man in Northeast Baltimore Tuesday evening was the area's sixth this year -- and now that once quiet part of the city accounts for one-third of all the city's homicides this year.

The Suns Justin Fenton and June Yeganeh Torbati reports that the shooting occurred about 6:30 a.m. on Alta Avenue, near Northern Parkway. Most of the slayings have occurred further south, toward East Baltimore.

Map city murders.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A man was shot and killed Tuesday evening in a drive-by shooting in Northeast Baltimore:

The 21-year-old victim was waiting at a bus stop with a woman on the 6600 block of Alta Ave. near the intersection with Northern Parkway, police said, when a four-door, light-colored vehicle approached and someone inside began firing a gun. Police were called to the scene about 6:30 p.m. and found the man lying in the street. The woman was uninjured.

Meanwhile, city police reported an arrest in another Northeast Baltimore shooting that occurred Monday afternoon. The shooting occurred about 3:15 p.m. in the 2700 block of Polk St., in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood.

Also, Baltimore police over the past two days seized several guns from city streets, part of the commissioner's bad guys with guns campaign:

* A search of a house in the 3100 block of N. Woodington Road turned up a 9mm handgun and led to four arrests by the Southwestern District's drug squad.

* A search warrant served in the 3100 block of Belmont Ave. resulted in the seizure of a 12-gauge shotgun and one arrest by the Violent Crime Impact Division in the Western District.

* Police in the 700 block of Linnard St. in Southwest Baltimore arrested two people and seized a 9mm handgun.

* Another search warrant led police with the Gun Trace Task Force to the 3400 block of Callaway ave., where they seized a 12-gauge pistol-gripped shotgun.

* Police in Northwest Baltimore found four illegal long guns in a house in the 8500 block of Main Ave.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

[This post has been updated] 

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continue reading "Police investigating Northeast Baltimore shooting" »

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

Continue reading "Men stabbed, shot in Baltimore" »

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

A city jury found a 38-year-old federal officer guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the April 2009 killing of his half-brother in a shooting the officer maintained was accidental.

Prosecutors said Curtis Anthony Warren, an Iraq war veteran who worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs, deliberately shot Curtis Anthony Pounds during an argument in the basement of Warren’s Northeast Baltimore property where Pounds rented a room.

Another tenant, Damon Dorsey, testified at trial that he and Pounds had ventured into the basement to investigate a blown fuse. Dorsey said he heard the brothers arguing, then gunshots.

Warren maintained that he was asleep when he heard a noise and saw two shadowy figures in the basement. He said he fired into the darkness with his personal weapon in self-defense, then flipped on the lights and saw Pounds in a pool of blood.

Warren was charged with first-degree murder. After deliberating for 11 hours, the jury returned a guilty verdict Monday afternoon on charges of voluntary manslaughter and use of a handgun in a crime of violence.

He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a minimum of five years without parole at sentencing March 8.

Continue reading "Federal officer convicted in brother's death" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

City police today appealed to the public for help in solving the Jan. 2 killing of Hezikah Wilson, the 38-year-old autistic man fatally shot while letting out the family dog.

Wilson lived with his mother in the 5600 block of Plymouth Rd. in Northeast Baltimore and is the brother of a city police officer, and investigators have no leads in the case, Det. Jeremy Silbert said. He was wearing slippers and had only stepped out for a moment, and nothing was taken from him:

"Hezikah Wilson III didn't have an enemy in the world.

He didn't have friends, either. Aside from running an occasional errand, the 38-year-old autistic man rarely left the house he shared with his diabetic mother in Northeast Baltimore. He made sure she took her medication, and prepared her meals.

He also let the dog out, something he was doing Sunday night when someone shot him in the shoulder and killed him."

Police say they need the public's help to spark new leads in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 410-396-2100.

It's been a rough start to the year in general, with police making arrests in just one of the 15 killings so far in 2011, though a handful of cases from last year have been closed in recent weeks.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

They met through a chance encounter as youths in Pittsburgh, brothers born to different mothers who had grown up in the same neighborhood with no knowledge of the other.

Curtis Anthony Warren would go on to become a military veteran and federal law enforcement officer, while Curtis Anthony Pounds struggled to stay out of trouble. When they crossed paths years later, Warren would encourage his brother to move into one of his rental properties in Baltimore so he could help him straighten out his life.

On April 5, 2009, Warren fatally shot Pounds. He is charged with first-degree murder.

At trial this week, Warren maintained that the shooting was a tragic mistake. Sleeping in the basement of the Northeast Baltimore home where Pounds, 31, rented a room, Warren said he was awoken by men who he believed to be burglars.

The 38-year-old Iraq war veteran and investigator for the Department of Veterans Affairs said he fired a 9 mm handgun three times into the darkness at a shadowy figure he saw coming toward him, then flipped on the light to discover his brother lying in a pool of blood.

But police and prosecutors don’t believe Warren’s story. Another tenant in the home testified that he witnessed Warren – whom he called “Big Curtis” – argue with Pounds – “Little Curtis” – before hearing gunshots. Prosecutors are seeking a first degree murder conviction.

“When the defendant first pulled the gun, what did the victim do?” asked prosecutor Tonya LaPolla.

“Little Curtis put his hands in the sky like this,” testified tenant Damon Dorsey, 21, raising both arms.

“What happened then?”

“Big Curtis shot him,” Dorsey said.

To read more about this week's proceedings, click here.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

SNOWWWWWWWWWW! !

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The high-profile killing of a city police officer and a 22-year-old clubgoer, along with the disappearance of a 16-year-old honors student and fatal shooting of an autistic man who was the brother of a city police officer, have dominated the headlines to start the year. 

Here's a recap of some of the other victims, whose identities were provided by police today:

Continue reading "Recap of recent murder victims" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

On Monday, Baltimore's police commissioner and mayor called a press conference highlighting some repeat offenders who they say continued to commit mayhem on the city streets because there's no fear of repercussions from the justice system.

After Thursday night, they may have two new examples.

Detectives on patrol in Northeast Baltimore witnessed two men shoot an 18-year-old and arrested the suspects at the scene, reported The Sun's Yeganeh June Torbati. The men taken into custody were identified as 29-year-old Marco Lomax and 28-year-old Ravanna Cornish. Police also recovered a handgun they believe was used in the shooting.

These two will have their day in court, but they are no strangers to the criminal justice system. Cornish was charged in November 2009 with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of a 40-year-old man in Southwest Baltimore, charges that were dropped a month later. He has a previous handgun conviction from a 2001 charge, receiving a three year sentence that equated to time served. A probation violation sent him to prison for four years. He was also acquitted in a 2001 attempted murder case, and has a number of drug convictions resulting in prison sentences.

Lomax, meanwhile, beat murder charges in Prince George's County after he and his brother were charged in a New Year's Day killing in 2001. Prosecutors said they lacked evidence, according to a news report.

Lomax would go on to be convicted of handgun possession in Baltimore, receiving six months in jail, then racked up separate attempted first-degree murder and robbery charges in 2003. He was acquitted on the attempted murder charge, but pleaded guilty to armed robbery charges that were folded into separate handgun and drug indictments for a total sentence of six years in 2005.

Police may have been at the right place on the right time on Thursday, but they appear to have caught two "big fish."

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Word just came from Baltimore Police that the shooting near where the autistic man had been shot on Sunday was self-inflicted

Three people were shot and wounded overnight in Baltimore, including a man wounded just one street over from where a autistic man was shot and killed in while standing on his front porch with his dog.

No word yet on whether the shootings are related, but there's now been two in what has been described as a quiet neighborhood of Hamilton Hills in Northeast Baltimore.

Continue reading "Men shot in Baltimore, police seize more guns" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Baltimore police can't seem to get a break.

Just as they bask in 25-year lows in violent crime, including homicide numbers not seen for decades, the New Year opened with three killings, including that of a youth and of an autistic man shot as he took his dog for a walk.

The victim, Hezikah Wilson III, was the 38-year-old brother of a Baltimore police officer who patrols one of the most dangerous sections of the city -- West Baltimore. The victim's brothers are at left, in a picture by The Sun's Gene Sweeney Jr. Frankie Wilson, a 15-year veteran of the city police force, is on the left and, and Archie Wilson Jr. is at right.

News of the death and the circumstances came as the mayor and police commissioner addressed the media to talk about the crime drops and their plans for the coming year, including pushing Annapolis once again for tougher laws on guns.

The Sun's Justin Fenton wrote:

Hezikah Wilson III didn't have an enemy in the world.

He didn't have friends, either. Aside from running an occasional errand, the 38-year-old autistic man rarely left the house he shared with his diabetic mother in Northeast Baltimore. He made sure she took her medication, and prepared her meals.

He also let the dog out, something he was doing Sunday night when someone shot him in the shoulder and killed him.

On Monday, as police canvassed Hamilton for tips in Wilson's murder, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake told reporters at a news conference at police headquarters that Baltimore over the past decade had the largest drop in crime of any of the nation's 20 largest cities. Shootings have been cut by 40 percent, and the homicide rate is at its lowest point since 1989.

"We say this not to diminish the tough work ahead, but to say what is true and allow the people of Baltimore to acknowledge hard-fought progress," Rawlings-Blake said.

Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III told me while riding around the city in the opening hours of 2011 that this was a "new day" and a new "sheriff is in town," referring to new State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein.

The opening hours left the city facing an old problem, and once again trying to promote the good numbers even as people like Hezikah Wilson get gunned down while taking the family dog for a walk.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore, Top brass
        

A 38-year-old autistic man was fatally shot Sunday on his front porch in Northeast Baltimore as he left to walk a dog, and police are seeking the public's help in finding his killer.

Officers found the man, identified as Hezikah Wilson, about 7:30 p.m. on the 5600 block of Plymouth Road, in the Harford-Echodale/Perring Parkway neighborhood, according to police spokesman Kevin Brown. Paramedics took Wilson, who had been shot in the shoulder, to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 8:15 p.m., police said.

Police don't have a motive, and describe Wilson as an innocent victim. He was dressed in his robe and pajamas when he was shot in a fenced-in area of his front yard. Donny Moses, a police spokesman, said neighbors described Wilson as a "good guy, who posed no threat to anyone. The highlight of his day was talking about his Ravens."

According to court records, Wilson had no criminal record and only appears in the court database as a plaintiff in an asbestos lawsuit filed in 2009.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the homicide unit at 410-396-2012.

Three people have been killed in Baltimore over the first two days of 2011.

[Picture courtesy Baltimore Police Department]

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A 13-year-old Northeast Baltimore boy, who police said was playing with a gun with a friend, was shot in the head and killed Monday, police said.

Charles Diesmesor suffered a gunshot wound to the head at about 3:10 p.m. and was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at about 3:45 p.m. Police said Charles and a 14-year-old friend were playing with a gun inside a home in the 2800 block of Westfield Ave. when it accidentally discharged.

It was not clear whether the gun was legally registered, police said.

Additional information – including whether the boy lived at the address of the shooting and whether parents were home – was not available.

Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman, said homicide detectives initially classified the death as a homicide, which he said was an attempt to "err on the side of caution" as they looked into whether there was evidence of intent or other indicators. But Guglielmi said he also didn't disseminate news of the shooting Thursday evening because investigators were working under the belief that the shooting was a suicide or accidental death.  

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

Continue reading "Councilwoman: Family of slain woman needs help covering funeral expenses" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

[Here is an updated story that appeared in the Dec. 22 newspaper, including details on where the altercation may have occurred]

Police have identified the man killed in a suspected arson in Northeast Baltimore as a 30-year-old from New Jersey, and The Sun has learned he may have been followed home from a club and beaten before being set on fire.

Firefighters were called to the home in the 1400 block of Homestead St. Saturday at about 6:15 a.m. and located a man later identified as Ellison McCall in a front room. Police did not have a date of birth for McCall, but said they believed he was 30.

Court records for a 2006 traffic ticket show a man named Ellison McCall Jr. with an Eatontown, N.J. address and 1980 birth date. On Facebook, several friends were mourning McCall and said he was from Ocean County Township, N.J. He did not have a criminal record.

One friend who did not want to be identified said McCall lived in New Jersey his entire life and did modeling. He moved to Baltimore in the past year.

Another, who also did not want to be identified, said she was told that on the night he was killed, McCall had been at a club and "put out" some people that were causing problems. She said they followed him to the Homestead St. address, kicked in the door and beat him, then set the home on fire using gasoline.

Those details could not immediately be confirmed with police, but two sources with knowledge of the investigation confirmed those details were consistent with what investigators have gathered.

Police said the incident was being investigated as an arson, making McCall the first fatal victim of an arson since 2006. Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman, said information from witnesses led police to believe the fire was intentionally set but could not elaborate.

Fire Marshal Raymond O'Brocki said investigators did not believe the cause of the fire was a firebombing but could not provide additional details. Chief Kevin Cartwright, a fire spokesman, said he had not been updated on the investigation.

“He was liked by everyone - a kind good person – and he will be very missed by all the lives he has touched,” a friend said in an e-mail. “He was very loved by his family.”

[Photo at left by me, Ellison's photo from his Facebook page]

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A woman whose body was found wrapped in plastic has been identified as a 42-year-old who had been reported missing Wednesday. She was found in her own home, police said.

Police responded to the 1800 block of 29th St. Saturday afternoon for a report of a body wrapped in a tarp. Detective Kevin Brown, a city police spokesman, said a relative found the body in the basement and called police.

Brown said the victim, Karen Ferrell, had been reported missing Dec. 15. A cause of death had not been confirmed pending an autopsy, and no suspects or motives were available.

Ferrell lived in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore. According to her Facebook page, she was a graduate of Baltimore City College and Morgan State University.

In the "about me" section, she writes simply, "Im a great person to be around."

[Picture at right from Facebook]

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

After a relatively peaceful week, three people were fatally shot in Baltimore on Saturday, while five others were injured in shootings.

One of the killings, the shooting of a woman in the 3100 block of Monument St., was believed to be part of a murder suicide also involving the death of a man in the 3700 block of Ravenwood Ave. Only one victim of the weekend violence had been identified by late Sunday, 23-year-old Brian Anthony Taylor, who was shot in the chest in the 6000 block of Majorie Lane near the county line Saturday night.

Then there was the discovery of a 42-year-old woman wrapped in plastic in the basement of her Northeast Baltimore home, which is now considered a homicide.

Anne Arundel County also saw two killings in less than an hour, in Severn and Glen Burnie. A food delivery driver was robbed and stabbed, and a 43-year-old man was also fatally stabbed during a fight at a Glen Burnie shopping center.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

The former manager of a Northeast Baltimore club that had once been padlocked by police was sentenced on Friday to four years in federal prison for conspiring with a dangerous street gang to distribute heroin and participating in a stolen credit card ring.

Tomeka V. Harris, 34, had defended the Belair Road nightspot, Club 410, in interviews and before a padlock hearing chaired by a Baltimore police commander. But federal authorities put her in the center of a criminal enterprise and she pleaded guilty along with five other defendants who are serving up to 12 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Harris conspired with the leader of the Maryland Black Guerilla Family, a national gang that operates in the Maryland prison system and which authorities say still runs crews on city streets (these are also the guys who feasted on lobster and champagne while in prison).

In a statement, prosecutors in U.S. District Court in Baltimore say secretly recorded conversations with gang members implicated Harris "in the smuggling of contraband into Maryland prisons" that turned out to be drugs.

But the prosecutors also say that she stole more than a half million dollars using stolen credit cards and credit information. Authorities estimate that she and her conspirators used more than 1,000 stolen cards from 10 different financial institutions.

For more background on Harris and Club 410: 

Continue reading "Club manager pleads guilty to gang, drug ties" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Gangs, Northeast Baltimore
        

Continue reading "Woman's death will count as homicide, but no criminal charges" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

We didn't write a lot about Patrick Dolan's death.

Sometimes, death on city streets seems overwhelming, and one slips by. I spoke to Patrick's family and friends over the past few days and found yet another sorrowful tale of a life snuffed out too soon on a Baltimore street.

Patrick lived in Pennsylvania but he grew up in Hampden and spent 17 of his 19 years in the Baltimore area. He attended Archbishop Curley High School and his grandmother lives on 34th Street. His extended family is one big Ravens booster club.

And that's how I discovered we needed to write more about Patrick. (See story in Crime Scenes) His cousin is co-founder of a Ravens booster club called West Wing, which put up a tribute page to the victim on their Purple Chaos website. A friend who knew the Ravens Lardarius Webb got him to sign a game ball and dedicate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game to Patrick.

The family buried Patrick in his No. 21 Lardarius Webb jersey and mourners attended a viewing in Hampden wearing Ravens clothes. Patrick was stabbed the morning of Nov. 30 after he got off a bus in Belair Edison and was approached by a man who asked for change. As Patrick took out his wallet, police said the man grabbed it. Patrick fought back and was stabbed.

He was the city's 200th homicide victim this year.

I spoke to Patrick's mother and cousins, who shared countless stories about a young man shouted  to anyone he saw wearing a Ravens jersey, once declined to attend a Ray Lewis autograph session because what he really wanted was for Lewis to tackle him, and how he cared for his sick little sister who still wonders why her big brother doesn't meet her at the school bus.

Webb's mother told me the football signed by Webb means everything to her family, and they have it on display in their Dover, Pa. home. I spoke with Webb on Thursday after practice and he told me he couldn't believe a fan was buried in his jersey:

“It got to me. I didn’t know whether to be scared, sad, happy, that he was being buried in my jersey. It was something new to me. … For the family, I hope this can lift them up in any way possible, to help them move on.”

Webb grew up in a small town in Alabama and he said violence there is nothing compared to what he's seen in this city since arriving two years ago. Here is some more from his interview: 

Continue reading "Buried in his Ravens jersey" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

The entrance to the Northeastern District station on Argonne Drive is now called "Det. B. Stevenson Way."

Baltimore officers who turn in and out the parking lot will forever remember the officer who lost his life in September in a parking dispute in Canton. The 18-year veteran was off-duty and out celebrating his 38th birthday when a man hit him in the head with a chunk of concrete.

This afternoon, the officer's friends, family, colleagues joined Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III to dedicate the new entrance. The officer's widow, Ksisha Stevenson, got the first ride on the newly named street -- in a police car. Kshisa simply told the crowd that gathered, "We thank you for loving Brian."

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

Just hours after this morning's running gun battle up North Calvert Street, in which a city police officer was shot and seriously wounded, Baltimore officials are reporting that a man was just stabbed in the chest at Light and Lombard streets.

More crime near the Inner Harbor.

There are no other details, other than that the victim's injuries are not considered life threatening. Baltimore police spokesman Kevin Brown provided this update to some other crimes in the area overnight:

Continue reading "Stabbing reported downtown" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore
        

A brief update before the weekend, as police have identified two additional homicide victims. Information is still sparse, and we'd like to hear from family members of the victims if they happen upon this blog post.

-Patrick Dolan, 19, was identified as the man fatally stabbed in what appeared to be a robbery at 10:30 a.m. in the Belair-Edison neighborhood earlier this week. Dolan, who does not appear to have any criminal record, was stabbed in the 3500 block of Juneway, a few blocks north of Archbishop Curley High School, on Nov. 23. According to a death notice posted on the Sun's web site, his funeral was today.

-Davon Douglas, 28, is the man who was fatally stabbed in the 1800 block of Eagle St. on Nov. 24 at about 8 a.m. Police said they did not have a last known address for Douglas, but records indicate he was from the Brooklyn area. He had a long record of drug arrests, though none since last year. In 2002, Douglas had money stolen from his pants pocket by a city paramedic responding to an accident scene.

On Twitter, a user named Cuzzo410 wrote this: "This city i love..has no heart...no soul it took my brotha away from me RIP BOWS (Davon Douglas)" 

For those interested in demographics of the city's crime, Dolan is just the 12th white homicide victim, out of 203 people slain so far this year. Meanwhile, both men were stabbed - only 23 of this year's victims have died from stab wounds, the cause of death for three of the past five people killed in the city. A fourth died from blunt force trauma. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Southwest Baltimore
        

City police have made an arrest in the killing of a 29-year-old man found dead after an assault in his Northeast Baltimore home, and investigators are asking the public's help in locating the victim's car.

Terrance Parker, 30, has been charged with first degree murder and related charges, police said, but no motive has been determined. Cross was killed by blunt force trauma to the head.

City homicide detectives are looking for Cross' black 2007 Lexus GS350 with a Maryland Registration 1GCF77 and VIN number JTHCE96S370013149.

Parker was arrested in 2003 after police raided a home in East Baltimore and found him inside, along with drugs and a .357 magnum handgun. Convicted by a city jury and sentenced to 12 years in prison, including a five-year, no parole sentence for the handgun, Parker appealed the case, and it was overturned by the Maryland Court of Appeals.

Continue reading "Arrest in Parkside murder; police searching for vehicle" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

Det. Brian Stevenson worked for years in the Northeast District, and on Dec. 1 the police department will be honoring his service by renaming the entrance to the district station in his honor. 

Stevenson was killed Oct. 16 after police say he was struck in the head with a piece of concrete during an off-duty argument over a parking spot. Sian James, a 25-year-old Canton resident, has been charged with first-degree murder.

Police said in a ceremony on Dec. 1 at 3 p.m., they will place a street sign with his name on it at the immediate entrance to the Northeast District station parking lot off Argonne Drive. 

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Sunday's Crime Scenes column featured two Baltimore police officers who were caught in last week's tornado.

Here is their account on video:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 4:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

For Baltimore police officers Cornelia Baines and Edson Musema, Wednesday's tornado was not just an event on television or even an after-the-fact rescue effort. The officers were inside their cruiser when the tornado passed over them at the Dutch Village apartment complex.

They're pictured here, along with their cruiser with its battered front end. Here is a bit of what they had to say:

Leaves, tree branches and other debris flew toward the cruiser’s windshield, plastering the front bumper. Baines watch a roof fly off a house. Parked cars spun.

“I could see this dark thing spreading,” Musema said. “It was coming toward us.”

Added his partner, Baines: “I just wanted to get out of there. I was scared. I’m not going to lie.”

I talked with both officers Friday just before their midnight shift, hearing what it's like inside a tornado and how the officers, despite being scared, rushed to help residents trapped in the rubble of collapsed houses.

I'll have more or their story in Sunday's Crime Scenes column.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore police are investigating a shooting in Northeast Baltimore. A department spokesman, Kevin Brown, issued a statement with morning, which includes some updated crime stats showing drops in homicides and non-fatal shootings this year compared to last:

NON-FATAL SHOOTING
 
11/16/10 - 01:15 Hrs
1500 Blk of E. Northern Parkway (Northeast District)
 
At approximately 01:20 Hrs, officers responded to the above location in response to a shooting call for service. Upon arrival they discovered the victim (b/m 8/18/80) suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg. Same advised that as he was approaching a doorway within the block when he was approached by two unidentified black male subjects dressed in all black clothing who displayed a handgun. The victim then began running and was shot as he fled. Same was transported to an area hospital and expected to recover. At present, no suspects or motives.  
 
VIOLENT CRIME STATISTICS
 
HOMICIDES
 
2010: 193
2009: 201
 
Thus, we are down 8 actual homicides for a 4% reduction over last year at this time.
 
NON-FATAL SHOOTINGS
 
2010: 369
2009: 399
 
Thus, we are down 30 actual non-fatal shootings for a 7.5% reduction over last year at this time.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Last week, word spread quickly through the Baltimore Police Department that an officer had been arrested in connection with a federal drug investigation. Charges haven't been filed, but police are confirming that the officer was fired and his attorney is discussing the arrest in a story in this morning's paper.

Officer Keith Nowlin, who was assigned to the Northeast District, was communicating with a suspected drug dealer who asked him to run a tag number of a vehicle being operated by an undercover law enforcement officer. Attorney Warren Brown calls the incident are "much ado about nothing," saying that interaction was the only time Nowlin is documented as helping the dealer out.

Of arguably greater interest is how Nowlin joined the force at all:

Records show Nowlin came to the department with a long legal history. In the court system's online database, Nowlin appears more times as a defendant — in numerous civil and domestic violence cases — than he does as an arresting officer.

Between 2002 and 2005, he was listed as a defendant in five domestic violence cases in Prince George's County and Baltimore involving two women. In 2002, he was acquitted of burglary and felony theft charges in Baltimore Circuit Court when the case was dropped.

Brown has represented Nowlin in some of those cases and said his client also worked as a bail bondsman.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

City police said a 44-year-old man who was beaten last month at a light rail stop has died from his injuries, while the agency released the identities of several recent homicide victims.

Police said that on Oct. 22, Winslow Thomas walked to a home in the 2200 block of Sidney Ave. and said he had been assaulted at the Westport light rail station in the 2200 block of Kloman St. He was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma center where he was treated for cuts and blunt force injuries and was pronounced dead Wednesday at 9:15 p.m.

Three recent victims of killings this week were also identified.

Police said Jerry Harden, 21, was the man found inside a burning home in the 7000 block of McClean Blvd. in Northeast Baltimore. Harden had been stabbed in the chest prior to the fire being set, an autopsy determined.

Harden is the second person killed this year at the apartment complex, which is near Parkville. Darius Ray, a 20-year-old Marine, was stabbed at a party there in January. A 30-year-old man was also fatally shot nearby in July.

Kevin Anderson, 30, was the man found dead on a sidewalk in the 200 block of S. Woodyear St. just before 3 a.m. Thursday. He was shot in the back and died at shock trauma. The incident happened in the Mt. Clare neighborhood and occurred in the department's Southern District.

Police also identified Malcolm Hill, 53, as the man found shot to death on the front porch of a home in the 2500 block of Robb St. of the Coldstream Homestead Montebello neighborhood where he lived. Police did not provide motives or descriptions of suspects for any of the killings.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 6:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Schools, South Baltimore
        

A shooting early today on Woodyear Street in Southwest Baltimore and a fire in Northeast Baltimore has claimed two lives. City police said they're investigating the fire death as a homicide.

Firefighters found the body of a man while battling the blaze about 2:25 a.m. on McClean Boulevard in a townhouse development. No further details have been released, but crews at the scene told WMAR that the man had been stabbed and then set on fire to cover up the crime.

About 2 minutes later, shortly before 3 a.m., police responded to the 200 block of South Woodyear Street and found a man who had been fatally shot in the back. No arrests have been made.

More than 186 people have been killed in Baltimore so far this year. For a detailed look at the city slayings, check out our homicide map.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Baltimore's mayor has unveiled a new plan to more quickly deal with the thousands of vacant houses that pockmark the city's landscape, such as at left in this picture by The Sun's Jed Kirschbaum shortly after a fire ravaged a string of vacants in West Baltimore. The houses not only spread blight, but attract crime, and as we recently saw in West Baltimore, can feed the flames of fire consuming entire city blocks.

The Sun's Julie Scharper wrote:

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would accelerate redevelopment of Baltimore's more than 30,000 vacant properties by cutting bureaucracy and speeding the sales of city-owned properties.

"Vacant houses are more than just an eyesore," Rawlings-Blake said at a Wednesday morning news conference. "Just ask someone who lives next door to one."

Vacant properties constitute one of the city's most pernicious problems, depressing home values and blighting the landscape. Officials have counted 16,000 unoccupied buildings, which harbor vagrants, attract vermin and pose fire hazards. The city owns 10,000 of the vacant properties, on 4,000 of which sit empty structures.

Last month, The Sun's Jessica Anderson brought us to Calhoun Street, where two simultaneous four-alarm arson fires on Sept. 8 destroyed two sides of a city block and taxed the Baltimore Fire Department to the point it needed unprecedented help from neighboring counties. Fire trucks from as far away as Washington responded.

The mayor's plan was already in the words when the fires broke out, but they served as yet another reminder of one of Baltimore's most persistent urban ills, and one that stands out to anyone who drives through these areas.

Here are the mayor's prepared remarks on her plan for vacant houses:

Continue reading "New plan to combat city vacants" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: City Hall, Confronting crime, Downtown, East Baltimore, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

UPDATE: Here's the updated story. The criminal charges and protective order involve two different boys, and police say both had mothers who were legally blind. Records also show that Citro told detectives that he was suppressing his homosexual urges and that it was the boy who visited pornographic web sites on Citro's computer.

Police have charged a 47-year-old Northeast Baltimore man with sexually abusing a 14-year-old old who he met through volunteer work mentored at a charter school, officials said.

Mark A. Citro (seen here on his profile picture on Facebook) met the boy and his mother through the Friendship Academy of Engineering and Technology, police said. (Clarification: Schools officials are saying that Citro already knew the family and worked at the school mentoring only that boy.) He told them he was a minister at a Harford Road church, as well as an investigator who worked with the city and state police as well as the FBI to "turn in child predators," said Anthony Guglielmi, the police department's chief spokesman. 

Citro is accused of befriending the boy and having him stay over at the house to assist his mother, who is legally blind. The boy told investigators that Citro made him watch pornography, and fondled him and masturbated in front of him.

Police executed a search and seizure warrant at his home in the 2800 block of Louise Avenue and found a registered .38 caliber handgun, handcuffs and mace, and several badges for security and special investigation companies.  Police also seized computers, which will be analyzed.

Continue reading "School volunteer charged with child sex abuse" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

In addition to the Baltimore police officer who was killed Saturday night in an argument over a parking space in Canton, three other people were fatally wounded in the city this weekend. More details on the violence can be found here.

The Baltimore Police Department released some information on two of those shootings. Det. Kevin Brown sent this update: 

Non-Fatal Shooting
10/17/10 - 15:08 Hrs
2300 Blk of Orem Ave
 
Officers respond to an area hospital for a walk-in shooting victim.  Victim, a male black, born in Jan, 1966, was shot multiple times and advised it occurred as he left a corner store.  At present no suspects or motives.  Victim was in serious but stable condition at last check.  
 
Non-Fatal Shooting
10/17/10 - 16:58 Hrs
5400 Blk of Nelson Ave
 
Officers responded to the an area hospital for a walk-in shooting victim.  The victim, a male black born in August, 1983, sustained a gunshot wound to the torso and advised it occurred at Nelson and Rogers Ave.  At present, no suspects or motives.  Victim was critical but stable at last condition check.

Police also sent out some update stats on shootings and homicides:

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore
        

In the 20 minutes it took Evelyn Palmer to step out to buy lunch, someone entered her Northeast Baltimore home and fatally stabbed her 78-year-old husband, Sterling. Peter Hermann writes:

"I flipped on the light and there he was at the bottom of the stairs," she recalled Tuesday. She rushed down and pressed her lips to his, trying to breathe some life into her husband of 10 years, her sweetheart for the past half-century.

"I tried," the 70-year-old said. "But I felt in my heart he was gone the moment I saw him."

Family and friends have theories about what happened during his wife's 20-minute absence — that he let in someone he knew, someone who knew he usually kept up to $300 in his pants pocket, and who knew that he freely lent money to friends and associates.

Police confirmed that they are investigating whether Palmer knew his killer and that it is somehow linked to cash that he doled out to acquaintances. But his wife didn't know how much money he had on him, and police said it appears nothing was taken. Authorities won't comment on whether they found a weapon, but a department spokesman said detectives have few leads.

Seven people over age 65 have been killed this year in Baltimore, including 84-year-old Jean Davis, who was killed by her son in a murder-suicide at Johns Hopkins Hospital; Milton Hill, the 70-year-old church caretaker who was killed for his scooter; and John Sandy, a 73-year-old cab driver who was fatally beaten in Hampden.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

For those of you trying to keep track, here's a list of violence in Baltimore that started Friday afternoon and went through Monday morning. A full account of the mayhem can be found here. There have now been 171 slayings in the city this year, compared with 176 at this time last year:

Friday, 2:30 p.m.: Sterling Palmer, 78, found fatally stabbed inside his house in the 2600 block of Edison Highway.

Saturday, 12:01 a.m.: Man, 51, found fatally shot in the stomach in the 3100 block of Grantley Ave.

Saturday, 2:19 a.m.: A 42-year-old man reported being shot in the ankle while being robbed in the 300 block of N. High St. at Old Town Mall. He walked into the Central District police station on East Baltimore Street to report his wounds.

Saturday, 8:15 p.m.: Daryll Hood, 22, fatally shot in the head one block from his home in the 4700 block of Shamrock Ave. in Belair-Edison.

Saturday, 8:53 p.m.: Travis Lane, 19, found with bullet wounds to the side and chest in an alley off the 3500 block of N. Calvert St. in Oakenshawe. Police say this shooting is related to the shooting 20 minutes earlier in Belair-Edison. Lane was pronounced dead at Union Memorial Hospital.

Sunday, 1:42 a.m.: Dennis Waddell, 33, fatally shot in the 1600 block of Warwick Ave. in Coppin Heights. A 28-year-old was shot and wounded in same incident.

Sunday, 4:47 p.m.: Police find a man in his early 50s dead inside a vacant rowhouse in the 800 block N. Fremont Ave. in Harlem Park. A cause of death has not yet been determined.

Sunday, 6 p.m.: A 35-year-old man was stabbed in the 3800 block of Rogers Ave. in Pimlico. Police said he had been mowing his lawn at his house when a man got out of a car and stabbed him in the chest, arm and back. He was being treated at an area hospital.

Sunday, 9 p.m.: A man shot in the ankle in the 3300 block of Ingleside Ave.

Monday, 9:25 a.m.: An adult male is shot in the head and killed in back of rowhouses in the 2600 block of Shirley Ave. in Park Heights.

Source: Baltimore Police Department

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, East Baltimore, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Six shooting this weekend left five people dead and three more injured.

Friday, just before midnight: 46-year-old man fatally shot inside a house in the 3000 block of Pressbury St.

Saturday, 12:01 a.m. A 51-year-old man fatally shot in the stomach in the 3100 block of Grantley Ave.

Saturday, early morning: A 33-year-old man was shot and killed on Warwick Avenue in Coppin Heights. A 28-year-old man was shot and injured in the same incident.

Saturday morning: A 42-year-old man said he had been robbed and shot at Old Town Mall. He walked into the Central District police station and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Saturday, 8:15 p.m.: 22-year-old man fatally shot in the head in the 4700 block of Shamrock Ave. in Belair-Edison.

Saturday,  8:53 p.m.: man fatally shot in an alley in the 3500 block of N. Calvert St. in Oakenshawe. Police say this shooting might be related to the one on Shamrock.

Sunday, 9:30 p.m.: man shot in the ankle in the 3300 block of Ingleside Ave. 

On Sunday evening, Baltimore police said a man was stabbed on Rogers Avenue and that he was being treated at a hospital. And Sunday morning in Anne Arundel County, a man was reported shot and wounded in Severn.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Two men were shot in Baltimore over night, one fatally.

A 55-year-old man died from wounds he received in a shooting on Bowley's Lane in the Frankford neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore. The shooting occurred about 8:40 p.m.

About 10:45 p.m., another man was shot on Boarman Avenue in Northwest Baltimore. He walked to a hospital on his own with a gunshot wound to his back.

No arrests have been made.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore, Northwest Baltimore
        

About 100 afternoon shoppers were stuck in a shopping center parking lot Wednesday as police investigated a thwarted robbery in which a security officer fired shots at two men with guns, officials said.

The incident unfolded around 3:15 p.m., police said, in the Loch Raven Shopping Center in the 1700 block of E. Northern Parkway. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said two men brandishing handgun attempted to rob the Lime Tree liquor store a pharmacy, and a special police officer working there pulled out a weapon and fired. It did not appear as though anyone was struck.

Special police are security officers commissioned by the city or state to arrest people within certain areas, and police were working to verify the officer's status.

One man was apprehended by a city police detective who was in the area, and police were searching for a second man.

The crime scene stretched from the supermarket parking lot, through a gas station, and to the busy intersection of E. Northern Parkway and Loch Raven Boulevard. Shoppers, who were potential witnesses, were blocked from leaving the shopping center as more than a dozen detectives investigated. Many grumbled that they had picked a bad time to run errands.

"How long does a chicken keep in a hot car?" one asked.

A woman, who did not want to give her name because she witnessed part of the incident, said she saw a "pudgy" white man with a heavy knit mask over his face run from the liquor store, as what looked like an undercover police officer gave chase. She said he pulled the mask off as a car squealed out of the parking lot.

Another woman who was inside the Mars supermarket said he store employees rushed to the front of the store and yelled, "Don't kill him, don't kill him."

Police said nearby Mercy High School was placed on lockdown as a precaution but has since reopened.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

Northeast Baltimore’s Four-by-Four neighborhood is tiny, named for its four north-south streets and four east-west streets. But authorities say it has long been a hub of violence and drug activity, taken over by a “clandestine operation” that moved thousands of dollars in drugs at a time.

On Thursday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms led at least 150 law enforcement officers on raids at eight locations as 10 people were federally indicted for being part of a drug organization operating out of the neighborhood from at least June 2009 through August.

Authorities allege that the leader, 22-year-old Dearius Forrester, is the primary suspect in three unsolved killings and a fourth allegedly committed while he was a juvenile, an ATF agent wrote in an affidavit supporting a “no-knock” warrant of his apartment on Leatherwood Place in Rosedale.

Forrester, who they say is known as “Little D,” “Muffler,” and “Chicken,” was captured on an intercepted telephone call talking about how he was hiding on an unlit porch and waiting to shoot someone if they walked around a corner.

“If he comes around the corner, I’m gonna take his top off,” Forrester said, according to the agent.

In state court, Forrester has received suspended sentences for drug dealing and assault. Federal prosecutors thanked city police and prosecutors, with State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy saying the case “demonstrates the strength of our local, state and federal partnership and coordination.”

Continue reading "10 indicted in "Four by Four" drug conspiracy" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The city's latest homicide came early this morning in Northeast Baltimore. Police report that the victim was approached by two people while entering an apartment building on Harris Avenue, in the Belair-Parkside community, about 12:35 a.m.

Reporter Liz Kay reports that the men got into a fight and wound up on the side of the building, where the victim was shot in the chest and the back. He was later pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Map the city's homicides here.

The victim, identified as Nathaniel Augusto Santiago, beat murder charges twice in the 1990s, according to court records, but twice was indicted and convicted on drug charges in federal court in the past decade, serving sentences of 57 months and 70 months, respectively.

In West Baltimore, police reported that an officer spotted a man with a gun on South Carey Street and arrested the suspect with a loaded .38 caliber revolver.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

Three young men accused in the fatal shooting of a former Baltimore city councilman are set to go on trial Monday.

Charles McGaney (seen at right) and Gary Collins, both 22, and 17-year-old Jerome Williams are charged in Harris' death. Williams was 15 at the time of the slaying but faces trial as an adult.

The three were linked to the crime in part through DNA  evidence. But defense attorneys accuse police of cutting corners in their investigation and obtaining DNA through false pretenses. They've filed motions seeking to have the evidence thrown out.

Arguments for that motion and others are expected to start today.  -AP

[Photo by The Sun's Jed Kirschbaum]

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Kenneth Harris trial, Northeast Baltimore
        

Another Monday, another death toll to tally on the streets of Baltimore: 13 shot, three dead.

Concerned about the violence, Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III ordered his commanders to the streets and saturated neighborhoods with cops. The shootings, including two by his officers, continued.

Here's the opening of Annie Linskey's story in this morning's paper. It reads much like the opening to the story in Sunday's paper, and in stories in papers from the past several weeks:

Baltimore endured a bloody Sunday morning with three people shot and a fourth killed within two hours, police said. Later in the day a police officer shot a man in the leg, the second police-involved shooting of the weekend.

That meant 13 people were shot over the weekend — three fatally. Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III plans to meet with commanders Monday morning to assess their violence prevention strategy.

The commissioner had pumped up police presence in the city's Eastern District and other hot spots on Saturday, after a series of shootings left two men dead and five others wounded Friday night and early Saturday morning.

The extra shifts were called amid a budget crisis that has caused deep cuts to all city departments and forced the police to vastly decrease overtime. Police commanders, who are not paid for overtime, were also put on duty throughout the weekend.

Tonight at the Southeastern District police station, worried residents of Upper Fells Point, Butcher's Hill and Patterson Park are to meet with police to discuss a series of beatings in the area. In some instances, groups of teens and young adults have robbed and assaulted people near their homes. The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, Police shootings, Southeast Baltimore, Top brass
        

Police are investigating the city's latest killing, that of a 36-year-old man who was shot to death shortly after midnight today in Northwest Baltimore.

Few details were made available, but the shooting occurred in the 5200 block of Florence Ave. Detectives are also investigating a non-fatal shooting on West Lanvale St. in West Baltimore. The victim is a 47-year-old man.

Meanwhile, police announced more gun seizures.

They said a traffic stop in the 2200 block of Kirk Ave. in Northeast Baltimore led to two arrests and the seizure of a loaded handgun. On the city's westside, police said they raided rowhouses in the 1700 block of West Warwick Ave. and in the 1500 block of Presstman St. in West Baltimmore and found three handguns and arrested seven suspects.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Two more slayings reported this morning in Baltimore -- in Southeast and Northeast.

Also, police were investigating a suspicious death in the 500 block of West Pratt St. in which an adult male was found dead inside a home.

In the slayings, a 19-year-old man was found fatally stabbed shortly after midnight in the 5100 block of Harford Road and another man was fatally shot on Random Road in Southwest.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

A 29-year-old Baltimore man received 50 years in prison today for the murder of his wife, prosecutors announced.

Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. Doory sentenced Antonio Stewart, 29, for the November 30, 2008 killing of wife Dawn Stewart-Williams, 41. Stewart was convicted by a jury in May. 

Here's the account of the killing from prosecutors:

Continue reading "Fifty years for domestic killing" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

Jeff Novack is indeed a hero, and a soft-spoken one at that. I know from history that firefighters are reluctant to talk about their deeds -- it is what they do and they hate being singled out for pulling someone out of a burning building.

"What we do happens every day."

Those were the simple words of 23-year-old Novack as he faced a bank of television cameras after getting the Medal of Valor from Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. He got in front of a convention full of fellow firefighters from around the country at Thursday's opening ceremony of the Firehouse Expo, and that made him even more nervous. He politely told the mayor he didn't want to speak at the ceremony.

In the photo by The Sun's Barbara Haddock Taylor, Novack is with Fire Chief James S. Clack and Rawlings-Blake.

You'll probably remember that Novack rushed into a burning apartment building on Liberty Heights Avenue in April and rescued an elderly woman. He then rushed back in, got trapped and clung to a third-story window pain before finally letting go and falling to the ground. He recovered and is expected back at work in a few months.

(The Sun's Julie Scharper wrote a complete story on the fire and Novack's heroics a few weeks ago.)

But for the fire union, Jeffrey Novack is more than a hero. He's a symbol of everything that is wrong with the Baltimore Fire Department and the city. Novack was on a truck company and responsible for rescues. The nearest engine that pumps the water was on another call, and the next closest engine had bed shut down for budget reasons as part of rolling closures.

So Novack went into the burning building without backup. The union has used this case as yet another example of safety being compromised to save money. And union officials found it particularly upsetting that the mayor touted her devotion to public safety and the Fire Department in front of firefighters fround around the country when they feel she has compromised the safety of the city.

The mayor's office counters that Rawlings-Blake saved firefighters' jobs during one of the city's worst budgets, started programs to curtail frequent callers to 911 and reduced the number of rotating closures from up to five or six companies a day to three.

The young Jeff Novack has become part of the debate but he hasn't added to it. He accepted his award, the applause and the attention that comes with it. To the mayor, he's a shining example of what this city is about. To the union, he's a shining exmample of a troubled city.

Jeff Novack just wants to come back to work, fight fires and save lives.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Heroes, Northeast Baltimore
        

A drug investigation that started at Lexington Market led to a raid last night in Northeast Baltimore that netted 85 pounds of suspected marijuana and the seizure of more than $2,100 in cash, police said.

The raid occurred at about 5 p.m. in the 1600 block of Waverly Way, located within the Renaissance Club apartments.  Det. Kevin Brown, a city police spokesman, said David Andrews, 48, and Dwayne Jackson, 51, are believed to have been supplying dealers at the downtown market.

Jackson was being held on $2 million bond, while Andrews was held on $500,000 bond, according to court records. Those are high bails - I couldn't find any prior arrest history for either man in the city.

Lexington Market was recently the focus of a CNN report about prescription drugs. The footage of the bust isn't great, but the DEA apparently allowed the reporter to do an on-camera interview with a man who had been taken into custody. The report concludes that prescription drug sales at the market are "booming."

And who could forget the Utz potato chip stall owner accused of selling guns to gang members? 

I've got a hankering for a Faidley's crab cake just writing about the market...

Speaking of marijuana: prosecutors filed documents in federal court seeking to seize a Woodstock, Md. home after police discovered 10 pounds of marijuana and 660 marijuana plants in a kennel on the property of Roger Alan Smith at 10820 Furman Lane, near Marriottsville Road. The Carroll County drug task force had received a tip in June that Smith was growing large amounts of marijuana, and police used a thermal scan to detect an unusually large amount of heat coming from an area of the kennel, court records show. It does not appear Smith has yet been charged in connection with the raid.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)
Categories: Downtown, Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore police were investigating at least two homicides among four total shootings reported Wednesday morning across the city, officials said.

Investigators were on the scene of a double-shooting in Brooklyn, where a man was fatally shot in the street at about 9:50 a.m.

Police spokesman Jeremy Silbert said the man was shot several times in the 4200 block of 10^th St. and died on the scene, while a woman who was struck in the leg was taken to a local hospital. The shooting was near the Brooklyn Homes project and not far from an elementary school.

"There were several people outside, but the only description we have was that two males were seen running east from the location," Silbert said.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore
        

Baltimore police officials are combing through the cell phone GPS data of an officer accused of sexually assaulting a woman while on duty, sources said, the first major test of a new technology introduced last year.

The officer, a three-year veteran of the Northeast District, was suspended with pay after a woman told police that she was picked up by the officer Friday night and was asked to perform a sex act to avoid being arrested.

A crucial piece of evidence is the officer's cell phone. Last year, the department spent $3.5 million in federal stimulus money to purchase BlackBerry smart phones equipped with a program called PocketCop. The phones allow police to access critical information while outside their squad cars, but the built-in GPS function also lets police track the officers' whereabouts.

As more officers are equipped with the phones, commanders are able to pull up maps of the city and view where the officers are. The information can include how long they have lingered and even how fast they are moving. The technology traditionally has been used by businesses to track trucks or manage a fleet.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

A woman who used heavy makeup as a disguise and is suspected of robbing seven Baltimore area banks was arrested on Saturday when a teller hit a panic button, trapping her inside a vestibule until police arrived.

Special Agent Richard J. Wolf, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore FBI office, said the 27-year-old suspect became "extremely agitated" while stuck Saturday between the entrance way doors of the Madison Bank in the 6800 block of Harford Road.

Wolf identified the suspect as Darion Randle of Lansdowne. She had been sought since early July after the FBI says six banks were robbed by a woman wearing a long black wig and used notes to threaten tellers that bank employees and customers would be injured if she didn't get money. Authorities say that female bank robbers are "rare."

Police say that they've linked four bank robberies in Baltimore County and three in the city to the woman.

The latest occurred Saturday about 11 a.m. at the Madison Bank on Harford Road. Wolf said the woman -- who sometimes wore an Arab head covering, but not this time -- handed a teller a note and got money. The teller pushed the alarm button as the suspect left, trapping her in the vestibule.

A city police officer said cops rushed to get a picture of her before her makeup came off. Wolf said her makeup was melting in the heat. "She was extremely agitated," he said. ""She tried to bang the glass off. She pulled some weather stripping. Her make-up was running because of the heat. There was a lot of make-up." 

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)
Categories: Breaking news, Downtown, Northeast Baltimore
        

After several weekends in which eight or more people were shot, this weekend proved relatively quiet for Baltimore. Just a handful of shootings were reported, one of the most serious a double shooting early Sunday in the Seton Hill neighborhood.

On Sunday, an adult male was shot in the leg in the 3500 block of East Northern Parkway. Today, police reported that an adult male walked into Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the arm and another man walked into the emergency room at Johns Hopkins Hospital also suffering a gunshot to the arm. Police the victims may have been wounded in the same incident inthe 700 block of N. Lakewood Ave.

The only fatal shooting occurred Saturday about 4 a.m. when a 35-year-old woman was found fatally shot inside a car in the 100 block of East 22nd St. in lower Charles Village.

Police also reported seizing illegal guns. Timothy Robinson, 29, was charged with gun offenses after police said they arrested him with a rifle in the 1700 block of Presbury St. And police said they arrested Shaquan Robinson, 18, with an illegal handgun in the 800 block of Bethune St.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

The Baltimore field office of the FBI is asking for help finding a female bank robber:

The attached photo is of a female subject wanted for 5 bank robberies within the past two weeks. The robberies have occurred throughout  Baltimore County, and the latest was on July 8th in the city, (M&T Bank, 5225 Belair Road, Northeast Baltimore) .
 
In each case the subject passes a demand note to the victim teller, threatens to injure bank employees (in a generic way) and customers if they do not comply.
 
The subject is described as a B/F 5'5"-5'7" 20-30 yrs., long black wig, white framed sun glasses, white jacket. In the recent county robberies the subject has worn female middle eastern style clothing.

The FBI is very determined to capture the individual due to the large amount of robberies in such a short period of time. The case is also highly unusual because it involves a female suspect.

Anyone with information should call local police or the FBI at 410-265-8080.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Baltimore County, Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

John Crowder, a sophomore basketball standout at Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School, was shot and killed early this morning in Northeast Baltimore's Coldstream Homestead Montebello neighborhood.

At 17, Crowder was drawing interest for his basketball skills as he struggled to overcome the loss of his mother and the pull of street life. As a sophomore, he averaged 18 points per game and 11 rebounds, and was preparing for a July tour with the Nike Baltimore Elite AAU team. He told The Sun's Recruiting Report blog that he had been contacted by college programs including Maryland, Clemson and St. Joseph's.

Crowder's story goes deeper. Check out this story from the Dallas Morning News, where Crowder was profiled in 2008 as one of the top eighth graders in the Dallas area. With his parents out of the picture and with trouble all around, he was sent to Dallas, where he was taken in by a coach as he struggled to perform academically. Here's an excerpt:

John was born and raised by his grandmother on Baltimore's gritty east side. His mother died of cancer when he was 2. His father was long gone by then.

It wasn't long before John was running with the wrong crowd. Street life brought only trouble. He can recite a litany of juvenile run-ins with the law. He has witnessed, he says, both older brothers writhing on the ground after being shot in drug deals. One of his best friends was murdered. He was resigned to a similar fate. Few escape Kirk Avenue.

But when you grow to be a head taller than all the other boys on the street and exhibit adult skills with a basketball, people notice.

I'm not clear on why Crowder returned to Baltimore, but he played his freshman year at Towson Catholic before that school shut down and he had to transfer to Mount Carmel.

Crowder is the seventh juvenile killed this year in the city. One of his Baltimore coaches told Sun reporter Annie Linskey that coaches were trying to get him out of Baltimore for his junior year and gave this heartbreaking quote:

"There is nothing here for a kid with talent," said Vent. "You need to get them away from here so stuff like this doesn't happen."

[Photo via Cheryl Diaz Meyer - Dallas Morning News]

Posted by Justin Fenton at 2:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The shooting at the Inner Harbor overshadowed yet another weekend filled with shootings. The Baltimore Sun's Julie Bykowicz gives readers a good summary of some of the shooting since early Saturday:

-- A 23-year-old woman who was four months pregnant and whom police described as a gang member was shot early Saturday morning on Arsan Avenue in Curtis Bay. She lost the baby but is expected to recover from her injuries, police said.

-- About 10 p.m. Saturday, in apparent retaliation for that shooting, an 18-year-old man was shot in the 300 block of nearby Annabel Avenue, police said.

-- A 23-year-old man was shot and killed at 3:30 a.m. Saturday in the 3300 block Noble Avenue in East Baltimore, police said.

-- A triple shooting at 9:40 a.m. Saturday in the 2200 block of Guilford Ave. near city school headquarters left one woman and two men injured, police said. One victim is related to a gang member who was killed earlier this year, leading police to believe the triple shooting was retaliatory.

-- Police discovered the body of a 47-year-old woman in the 5200 block of Charles St. about noon Saturday. Police said it is a possible asphyxiation and appears to be a domestic-violence homicide. Her husband was being sought by police.

-- An argument over an MP3 player, police said, led to a shooting at 10:30 p.m. Saturday in the 2100 block of Patapsco Ave. in South Baltimore. A 30-year-old man was shot twice in the stomach and is expected to survive, police said, adding that they have suspects and were preparing arrest warrants in the case.

-- About midnight Saturday, a 19-year-old was shot in the hand at the Inner Harbor.

-- Early Sunday morning, one man was shot to death in what police said appeared to be a home-invasion robbery of a drug house in the 2600 block of W. Fayette St.

-- Police also were investigating a suspicious the death of a 43-year-old man in the 2800 block of Rockrose Ave. north of Druid Hill Park. His body was found Sunday with an injury to the back of his head.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Confronting crime, Downtown, East Baltimore, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore
        

Baltimore police since Wednesday have seized even more handguns on city streets. Meanwhile, authorities announced four more shooting this morning -- a double on East Jefferson Street in which a man was shot in the leg and a woman was hit in the shoulder, and another double shooting at McMechen Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

Late word is that one of the victims from McMechen, a 34-year-old man, died at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Overnight, a man walked into Good Samaritan Hospital suffering from a gunshot wound to the lower back.

But also on Wednesday, police said they arrested Jonathan Oliver, 21, in the 4200 block of Rogers Ave. in Northwest Baltimore and charged him with illegally possessing a loaded handgun. Later, police said they raided a house int he 2500 block of Arunah Ave. and seized a handgun, a shotgun and drugs.

Wednesday night, police said they arrested David Reid, 21, and charged him with possessing a handgun at Pennsylvania and Lafayette avenues. Hours later, police arrested two suspects during a traffic stop on Harford Road and seized a loaded handgun.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

A  man was fatally shot in East Baltimore early this morning, adding to a list of gunshot victims that turned city streets into a battle ground this weekend. That and another shooting early today brings the weekend total to 12 shot, three fatally.

The Baltimore Sun's Meredith Cohn wrote:

On one of Baltimore's most violent weekends so far this year, 10 people were shot in incidents across the city, with two confirmed dead. The police have no suspects in any of the shootings, which spanned early Saturday through Sunday morning, and can't say whether any are connected. But spokesman Detective Jeremy Silbert said the department is following leads and speaking to witnesses. "In these areas where the shootings occurred, we'll be increasing patrols," Silbert said.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, East Baltimore, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Baltimore police have taken a bunch of guns off city streets this week, bringing the yearly total to 979 illegal weapons and more than 400 arrests.

Here is a look at some of the seizures made since Sunday:

A man at Water and Gay streets, near City Hall and Police Headquarters, was arrested with a loaded handgun on Sunday. That same day, police said they executed a search warrant in the 600 block of Wildwood Parkway in Southwest Baltimore and found a shotgun.

On Tuesday, police arrested a man in the 500 block of N. Ellwood Ave. and charged with illegally possessing a loaded .40 caliber handgun. On Tuesday, cops arrested another man with a loaded handgun, this time in the 3200 block of Tivoly Ave. in Northeast. (less than an hour later, a man was fataly shot several times at North Fulton Avenue and West Lanvale Street in West Baltimore.

Also on Tuesday, police arrested two more people and seized a loaded handgun and drugs at one location and then, at another in the 600 block of East 41st St., they arrested a 37-year-old man carrying a lodaded handgun.

On Wednesday, police arrested a 21-year-old man in the 200 block of N. Monroe St. on a burglary charge. Police said he also was carrying a loaded handgun.

And earlier today, a 17-year-old was reported shot during a fistfight in Northwest Baltimore.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, Top brass, West Baltimore
        

Sometimes it appears the Baltimore Police Department can't catch a break.

Here's a police twitter announcement from last night: "POLICE INVOLVED SHOOTING - Fenwick / 29th St. Prelim info, officer shoots dog, bullet passes through and strikes juvenile in leg."

Everyone turned out OK, but coming just days after the controversial shooting in Mount Vernon, this one came as a shock. Police shoot a dog attacking a teenager and a bullet hits the teen. The dog also died.

Police said the teens had been harassing the dog in a Northeast Baltimore neighborhood.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore, Police shootings
        

Around Baltimore, Don Rice was known as "da Docta," a regular around the city's music scene who was always pulling other artists aside to talk shop or play his latest tune.

"He wrote songs in all different styles, a true American folk artist," said Kelly Shepherd, 40, a professional musician now based in Massachusetts. "He was a really special musician. I think he was kind of a genius, to be honest with you."

On Monday, Rice, 59, was found inside an SUV parked in the 3900 block of Loch Raven Blvd. in Original Northwood, dead from a gunshot wound to the head. He was the seventh victim during a violent stretch in which 10 people in Baltimore were killed.

Maj. Terrence McLarney, commander of the homicide unit, said a guitar and lyric sheets were found in Rice's car. Police had few leads, but said Rice was known to operate an unlicensed taxi - or "hack" - and that could have been a motive in the crime. 

Younger artists that he influenced described him as a talented musician who just never got the right break. Instead, he bounced around different venues, supporting the burgeoning careers of others and asking for feedback on his work. He'd fiddle around on the guitar, break into song, or ask them to play back up or collaborate on something he was trying to record.

"You could not be around Don and him not play a song for you," Shepherd said.

Marc Avon Evans, who runs an open mic acoustic series every week at Peace & A Cup of Joe downtown, remembers meeting Rice at a McDonald's on North Avenue in 2008. Rice recognized Evans and struck up a conversation and then started singing a tune he had written for his mother, using the sleeve of his jacket to provide the rhythm and breaking out into song - right in the fast food line.

"It was amazingly real. Honest and heartfelt," Evans wrote in a tribute on Facebook.

[Photo courtesy Marc Avon Evans]

Continue reading "Don Rice, found fatally shot Monday, influenced Baltimore musicians" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The Sun's police reporter Justin Fenton reports today that another witness to a Baltimore killing has been killed.

Michael Pryor, 32, was a witness to a fatal stabbing last March at a bar on Clipper Mill Road near Hampden. He had chased the victim's attackers, Justin wrote, and was himself stabbed. The suspect is scheduled for trial June 22.

Prosecutors say they will still move foward with the trial and will try to present Pryor's testimony using a 2005 law that allows them to present "out of court" testimony if they can prove that the behavior of the defendant caused the witness to be absent.

"We will not be deterred," said Margaret T. Burns, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore, Witness intimidation
        

I just spent more than three hours driving to each of city's nine slayings that occurred between early Saturday morning and early Tuesday -- a spate of killings that is unusual even for a city seemingly swamped in violence.

One killing was a domestic and another involved a man fatally stabbed when he came to help another man in a dispute with a woman. Both of those occurred inside homes. But others were outside, most linked to the city's underworld of crime. Many if not most of the victims had criminal records, and judging by some of the street-corner memorials, some seemed involved in the drug trade.

The trip took 35.6 miles and more than three hours (including time spent stopping for interviews). A full story will be in Crime Scenes later today on line and in tomorrow's print edition. I started with a shooting on North Fulton Ave. (12:43 a.m. today) and ended at Pennington Ave. in Curtis Bay (1 a.m. Saturday).

In one spot, on North Rose Street, a mother put up a sign pleading for help paying for the funeral. At another, a double shooting on Pulaski Street, balloons fluttered in a warm breeze and empty bottles of vodka shared space with votive candles and teddy bears.

Baltimore police have made an arrest in at least one of the domestics -- the stabbing in which the man intervened in the dispute -- and noted the difficulties of policing a city under seige. The double slaying on Pulaski Street, for example, began at an argument during a cookout in which one person got angry over another person's hair being pulled.

At another spot on Loch Raven Boulevard, on quiet residential street of nicely mowed green lawns, just up from Good Samaritan Hospital, there was gang graffiti imbedded in sidewalk concrete. Even in spots where violence doesn't happen, the danger signs are there. Picture is at left.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Update: Police tell me that the two shooting victims from Ramsay Street died. That brings the holiday weekend total to 10 shootings with seven dead. That includes the latest fatal shooting this morning on Loch Raven Boulevard in Northeast Baltimore.

Update 2: Police are reporting that a man was stabbed to death at about 6:15 p.m. Monday in the 4800 block of Truesdale Ave, in the Northeast District's Frankford neighborhood. The three-day death toll is now at eight, the deadliest such stretch of the year. 

Baltimore police are investigating a spate of shooting over this violent holiday weekend, including three that occurred in a brieft span in East Baltimore adnd three others within a few hours and a few blocks in Carrollton Ridge.

Sunday evening, a man was shot and killed on Ramsay Street. A few hours later, two other men were shot (their conditions are not yet known, but homicide detectives were called to the scene). This is the same beleagured neighbhood in which 5-year-old Raven Wyatt was found shot and wounded last year, and the scene of a large community walk with the mayor and police to take back their streets.

The Baltimore Sun's Tricia Bishop just updated that sad tale with news that lawyers for the recently convicted shooter are appealing because they believe prosecutors and a former defense attorney overstated the number of times the suspect had violated his home detention (he was GPS monitoring).

Last year, I walked through the neighborhood twice (once when the mayor came, along with hundreds of angry and concerned residents) and a second time a few weeks later (when hardly anyone showed up).

The Southwestern District's Police Community Relations Council, led by Steve Herlth, is very active with community Citizen on Patrol Walks. And Connie Fowler, the longtime community leader there, has been vocal about violence for years.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, East Baltimore, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Police believe they were able to thwart stop more serious violence when they responded to a report of shots fired and were able to track down a man who had opened fire on his girlfriend's Northeast Baltimore home.

Officers found a vehicle matching the description of the one seen fleeing the area, in the 5800 block of Glenkirk Rd. Inside, a man was suffering from a hand injury and a black semi-automatic handgun was in plain view on the floor board, police said.

The officers determined that the suspect, Clayton Thomas, had been involved in an argument earlier in the day with his girlfriend. Police say he returned, but was unsuccessful in making contact with her. As he walked away, he turned and fired numerous shots toward the girlfriend's home, striking two cars but also himself, in the hand, police said.  Thomas was pulled over in the 4300 block of Shamrock Ave, near where court records say he resides.

The seized weapon was a .38 caliber Bersa semi-automatic, with an obliterated serial number. Thomas was charged with various handgun offenses and ordered held without bond.  He has a record of past handgun and domestic charges.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 9:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Baltimore's liquor board chairman, Stephan Fogleman, called me this morning with an update on Club 410, the bar that had been padlocked, linked by federal authorties to a drug gang and then ordered to sell its license.

A man who leased the club from the landlord threw a party Saturday night that got busted by police who said alcohol was being served. The man renting the space told me that while he charged a $5 cover, he gave away alcohol for free. He insisted the cover charge was not for the alcohol.

On Tuesday, Fogleman said authorities would have to prove that the cover charge also covered the alcohol in order for it to be a violation of the liquor laws. The owner is forbidden to sell alcohol until he resells the liquor license.

But Fogleman told me this morning that he researched the issue and it is illegal for any alcohol to be served when a cover is being charged. He told me authorities do not have to prove that the cover was for alcohol -- the mere fact there was a charge to get inside means the club owner violated the liquor board rules.

Fogleman's board must approve the sale or transfer of the liquor license, and he told me that this party could pose problems for the landlord.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 9:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Confronting crime, Gangs, Northeast Baltimore, Top brass
        

So just how difficult is it to close a bar?

Last year, after a string of shootings and other drug violence along Belair Road, the cops padlocked Club 410. The manager, a law student, fought back at an administrative hearing, but lost.

Then the feds came and indicted that very same manager as being part of a violent drug gang. She's now in federal lockup awaiting trial. Then the liquor board stripped the owners -- one them a city school employee -- of their license to sell alcohol. They handed the license to the landlord and ordered him to sell it to someone else. Meanwhile, no booze could be sold.

Then, on Saturday, the man leasing the club from the landlord throws a party that the cops bust. Inside, police say alcohol was being sold. Outside, police say, were two security guards impersonating cops and carrying loaded .40 caliber Glocks.

After a story appeared on the arrests of the guards and the police raid, the man leasing the space, Antonio Jackson, called me to complain. The party, he was, was a private affair for Morgan State University students. There weren't 350 inside, as police told me, but 176, the number of tickets he had printed.

Tickets? For a private party?

Yep, he told me he charged $5 a person for a cover charge. But he insisted the money wasn't for alcohol. He limited each patron to one drink. Had the money been for alcohol, his landlord would run afoul of state liquor laws. It's a close call, the liquor board chairman told me, and difficult to prove that the cover went for beer.

But who throws a college party and charges students $5 to get in and gives them only one beer? And what college student would come?

To prove he's on the up-and-up, Jackson stopped by the The Baltimore Sun lobby on Tuesday to show me his lease and other documents. His occupany permit lists the old Club 410 as the new Klub Kidz, listed as a dance studio for children ages 4 to 16.

And so the first event he throws is a beer party for college graduates.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Confronting crime, Gangs, Northeast Baltimore
        

The cops padlocked Club 410 last year, then the feds indicted the manager in a gang sweep, and then the liquor board ordered the owners to sell the liquor license.

But after all that, early Saturday, police said an officer drove by and heard noise. He stopped,  found 350 people inside the club on Belair Road, and then found two security officers dressed as cops and toting loaded Glock 9mms.

What gives?

The man holding the liquor license as trustee until it can be sold wouldn't comment, and the former manager is in prison awaiting trial. I couldn't reach the two men wwho were arrested, and the cops and liquor board chief are hopping mad.

All this could effect how and when the liquor license is sold. It's not easy to close a club, even one like this.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

The weekend saw at least seven shootings in Baltimore, three of them fatal, and news of an arrest in the strangling of a pregnant woman in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood.

Police said a white man was shot in the neck and died on the scene in the 500 block of N. Collington Ave. in East Baltimore at about 6 p.m. Saturday. Four hours later, two black men were found dead in a vehicle that had its engine running in the 900 block of North Hill Drive., in the Ednor-Gardens-Lakeside community of Northeast Baltimore. None of those victims had been identified as of this morning and police were not able to provide any new information about the crimes.

An insignificant but odd fact: there was not a single white homicide victim in the city until May 5, a span in which 58 people were killed. The next four city victims were all white: a homeless man found beaten to death in West Baltimore, a man beaten to death outside a Brooklyn bar, a 29-year-old pregnant woman strangled by her boyfriend, and Saturday's victim. The city's total now stands at 64 homicides for the year, compared with 80 at this time last year. That's a drop of 20 percent, but the pace is slowly evening out.

In other news, Anne Arundel County police reported this morning that a 28-year-old man was forced into the trunk of his own vehicle on Saturday in the 800 block of Nursery Road in Linthicum, and driven into Baltimore. The suspect took his wallet and cell phone and drove off in the vehicle, a 1998 gold Chevrolet Cavalier. It was not immediately clear where in the city the man was taken in Baltimore, but police believe the victim and suspect had met as part of a planned meeting and that the motive may have been drug-related.

Continue reading "Four dead in weekend violence; man carjacked in AA County and left in city" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, East Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore
        

UPDATE: The Sun's media partner, WJZ, is reporting the victim owned a salon and was opening up for the day when she was robbed. The station identifies her as Paulette Dawson and says she was only grazed by the bullet.

A woman in her early 30s was shot in the head this morning during an armed robbery at a busy shopping center on Belair Road in Northeast Baltimore, a few blocks from the county line and Overlea.

Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the woman was rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma Center but was alert. He said the attack occurred about 11:30 a.m. near a fast-food restaurant and a CVS pharmacy in the sprawling shopping plaza in the 6600 block of Belair Road. It is just south of the Overlea Diner.

Police said at least one gunman approached the woman and shot her after getting a small amount of money. Other details were not immediately available. He said detectives were scouring footage from video cameras to determine if any leads can be developed.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

Cherand Monroe raised two children and lost them both to Baltimore violence.

Sadly, that is not unusual.

Both her childrens' killers have been convicted of their crimes. And that, even sadder still, is what makes this case unusual.

I've spent too many years writing about justice undone, talking to families waiting for killers to be found, about cases unsolved, about killers roaming free and gunmen taking lives. On Friday, jurors took just three hours to convict the man of raping and brutally stabbing Jerrisha Burton as she drove to a friend's house in Northeast Baltimore 12 years ago. She was 18 years old

Burton's brother, Michael LeMaris Simms (in photo), was killed nine years later, also at the age of 18, shortly after becoming a Marine reservist. He stepped in to help his friends in a fight near Butcher's Hill and got stabbed.

His killer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and spent two years in prison. Burton's killer. Ernest Roy Rivers, is to be sentenced in May and could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Continue reading "A mother's loss" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Confronting crime, Courts and the justice system, Neighborhoods, Northeast Baltimore
        

A man who robbed a gas station in Northeast Baltimore last year and took a 93-year-old man hostage after demanding money from lottery proceeds pleaded guilty today in Maryland U.S. District Court.

Here is a statement from federal prosecutors:

Cecil Bailey, age 26, of Baltimore, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to commercial robbery.

According to Bailey’s plea agreement, on August 10, 2009, Bailey and his co-defendant, Robert Lanier, robbed Sunny’s Gas Station at 5901 Belair Road in Baltimore. Lanier pulled a black semi-automatic gun and demanded money from the owner.

Cecil Bailey then entered the station with a gun, pointed it at the cashier and demanded money from the Lotto register. While the cashier was attempting to open the register, Bailey repeatedly struck the cashier in the face with the gun and kicked him. During this assault, the owner was pushed to the rear of the store.

Lanier joined Bailey at the front of the store and both Bailey and Lanier repeatedly struck the cashier in the face while demanding money from him. The owner used his cell phone to call 911 and ran from the gas station. Bailey and Lanier stole approximately $900 from the register and escaped in a car that was parked in the parking lot.

Continue reading "Gas station robber who took 93-year-old man hostage pleads guilty" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 3:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

The Baltimore's Suns police beat reporter Justin Fenton writes today that home invasion robberies are on the rise in Baltimore. There are some great details in the story, including one robbery who wore a skull cap with "superman" written on the side and another who told his victims to "have a nice day" as he left:

Residential robberies were up 34 percent through April 3, compared with same period a year ago. It's the only category of crime on the rise. Homicides, rapes and overall robberies are down by double-digit percentages, according to police.

Police say they can't pinpoint any driving force behind the uptick, and they aren't ready to blame a still-struggling economy or drug activity. The increase is being felt across the city, but most heavily in Northwest Baltimore, which has notched 21 residential robberies compared with eight at this time last year.

Northeast Baltimore has seen the second highest-total, with 19, and the Southern District's total has doubled, to 14 from seven. Unlike a burglary, a residential robbery requires the presence of a victim in the home or business and the taking of property through force or fear. A burglary, also referred to as breaking and entering, does not involve an encounter with the owner and might not even entail theft.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Confronting crime, East Baltimore, Neighborhoods, North Baltimore, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

Baltimore police were Twittering into overtime Tuesday night and this morning with a bunch of shootings -- including a triple in which one man died -- and several gun arrests. The spate of shootings in the city came a day after police announced that murders this year are down 33 percent when compared to the first quarter of last year, a 33-year low.

The fatal shooting occurred about 11:30 p.m. in Northeast Baltimore in the 2200 block of Fleetwood Ave., near the old Northern High School. 

A 25-year-old man who had been shot in the body was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. A 24-year-old man went to Johns Hopkins Hospital with a gunshot wound to the back. And a 45-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his arm was taken to Sinai Hospital.

Continue reading "Shootings, in Baltimore, Laurel; assault rifle seized in Mount Vernon" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Breaking news, Howard County, Northeast Baltimore
        

[UPDATE, 1:45 p.m.: Charging documents show Green was stabbed in the heart and his underwear had been pulled down to his knees, though detectives do not elaborate on whether there was a sex-related motive to the crime. Detectives did say that the assault appeared to have occurred inside of a vehicle, and that they had "important physical evidence" that linked Douglas to the crime scene. They said Douglas later admitted that he got into an argument with Green that turned physical.]

Police said Tuesday night that they have made an arrest in the October 2009 stabbing death of Darren Green Jr., 25, who was wearing women's clothing when his body was found in the 1500 block of Montpelier St., near a small park. Larry Douglas, 20, has been charged with first-degree murder, and we're trying to track down charging documents to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the killing.

Green was recognized at a Nov. 20, 2009 ceremony at City Hall commemorating International Transgender Day of Remembrance, according to a post on the Baltimore Brew blog. One of the event's attendees, Cynde Kimbrough, founder and director of the Gender Learning Advocacy and Support of System, said Green was one of her clients.

Court records indicate that Green, at least for a time, was a prostitute, arrested a remarkable 11 times over a 24 day span between April and May 2004, including twice on the same day on two separate occasions, for loitering or loitering for the purpose of prostitution. More recently, three months before he was killed, Green had been given a hefty drug sentence of seven years, with all but four months suspended. Records from that case show an alias of "Kelly Bundy."

Continue reading "Arrest made in killing of man found in women's clothes" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

Continue reading "Club Uzo angry about padlock, but willing to improve security " »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

City police last night moved to padlock another city club that they say is linked to violence, this time Club Uzo on Belair Rd, the site of a triple shooting this month. Uzo is just three blocks from Club 410, one of the first clubs to be padlocked last year and whose manager was later indicted on charges that she was an associate of the Black Guerrilla Family gang. At the time, 410's management claimed much of the violence that occurred outside of its club was likely the result of the actions of Uzo's patrons. A hearing is set for mid-April in which Uzo's management can plead their case or work out an agreement with police to bolster security.  Police, meanwhile, have taken heat for their use of the padlock powers, which critics say unfairly targets black-owned businesses.  The department says clubs that remain open despite incidents of violence are working with police to improve the situation.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

City police arrested a man on a gun charge on March 16 after a car stop in Northeast Baltimore. Cops said they found a .45 caliber handgun loaded with 10 rounds of hollow-point bullets, a 10-round magazine and a brown-leather holster.

Police then searched his home on Holder Avenue in Northeast Baltimore and said they found a .38 caliber revolver, a .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun, a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun, a .22 caliber revolver, a .32 caliber Colt semi-automatic handgun, a 12-guage shotgun, a .22 caliber rifle and a grendade (the grenade is an old World War II weapon passed down through his family, police told me)

Michael Hudlicka, 59, was charged with several gun violations. Here is the police report: 

Continue reading "Gun bust leads to weapons cache" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Northeast Baltimore
        

The latest Baltimore slaying occurred Thursday night when a 25-year-old man was gunned down while walking along Belair Road near Clifton Park. Cops tell me he was with two other men when one of them took out a gun and shot him in the head and body. For a comprehensive look at city slayings, go to our homicide map.

Other than that, it's been a slow Friday, and let's hope it stays that way.

In some other crime news, we report on discipline at Cheltenham Youth Center in Prince George's County, where last month a teacher from Belair was found dead and cops are investigating a 13-year-old detainee in her murder.

State officials were quiet on details of the discipline -- refusing to say whether the two staffers fired, two other suspended and one top administrator demoted -- were directly responsible in any way for the teacher's death. I did reach the superintendent, who we learned was the "top administrator demoted -- and found her in New Orleans. She told me she was "clueless" about the investigation.

And one more bit of good news on the crime front:

Continue reading "A murder, other crime news" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Breaking news, Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore
        

Breaking news from this morning: Three men were shot early Thursday inside a bar in the Gardenville neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore, according to city police.

An officer on patrol heard the gunshots about 12:30 a.m. from Club Uzo (check out the club's Youtube video) in the 4800 block of Belair Road. He and other officers went inside and found a 20-year-old man who had been shot once in the leg. He was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in serious condition.

Continue reading "Another bar shooting" »

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Breaking news, Northeast Baltimore
        

Heavily armed tactical police in Prince George's County raid more homes than any other law enforcement agency in the state, according to newly released data from the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention.

In the last six months of 2009, police there conducted 195 tactical entries, 105 involving crime deemed nonserious felonies and misdemeanors. That's compared with 84 such raids in Baltimore (at left, a scene from a barricade in East Baltimore in 2007) over the same time period, 63 in Baltimore County, 16 in Harford, 22 in Carroll and 27 in Howard.

Lawmakers in Annapolis required police accross Maryland to submit the data after a mayor of Berwyn Heights was hancuffed by sheriffs deputies who burst into his home with automatic weapons and shot his two dogs. Drug dealers had sent packages of marijuana to unsuspecting homeowners and waited until postal carriers left them on front porches, with the hopes of intercepting them before the owners came home. Police had intercepted the package sent to Mayor Cheye Calvo's house and suspected he was the actual recipient. He was cleared of any wrongdoing.

But police agencies steadfastly stood by their tactics. Calvo has sued Prince George's County, arguing that police there routinely use SWAT team tactics on even the most routine of raids, and that the raid on his house could've been avoided with a little prior investigation. Calvo told me he believes the numbers given to the state back his claim.

Unfortunately all we have are spreadsheets. There is no narrative, so what we don't know is even on routine raids whether police believe the targets had guns. For those interested in revewing some of the raw data:

Baltimore City; Baltimore County; Anne Arundel County; Howard County; Prince George's County

A Prince George's County police spokeswoman told me that even in cases where minor crimes are alleged, most are for drugs, and police assume there are weapons. That makes a tactical entry necessary.

But the argument still is that police, since the Sept. 11 attacks, have armed themselves like never before and are increasingly using military-style tactics that amount to paramilitary like operations to arrest people wanted on crimes that involve small amounts of drugs. Calvo said police last year raided a house in his neighborhood looking for someone wanted for writing bad checks.

The statistics compiled on police raids give a broad picture of how the tactic is used in Maryland. Of the 806 raids conducted in the six-month period, more than 94 percent stemmed from search or arrest warrants. Most of the others came as the result of a barricade situation.

Police forced their way into 545 houses, seized property in 633 of the raids, made arrests 485 times and discharged their weapons five times. In the six months studied, seven civilians were hurt but none killed, and two animals were injured and two killed.

Baltimore police listed raid sites by ZIP code, with the most, 22, in Northwest Baltimore, followed by 14 in parts of East and Northeast Baltimore. There were nine in Waverly, four in Govans and five in Highlandtown.

In Baltimore County, police conducted the most raids in Halethorpe (nine), Dundalk (eight) and seven each in Essex and Middle River. Howard County police conducted the most raids in Columbia, 13. Anne Arundel County authorities performed the most raids in Glen Burnie, 20, with eight in Brooklyn Park and six in Laurel.

Posted by Peter Hermann at 7:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)
Categories: Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Confronting crime, East Baltimore, Howard County, Northeast Baltimore, South Baltimore, Southeast Baltimore, West Baltimore
        

The Sun reported this week that three military veterans have been slain in Baltimore in the past month - more than the number of combat-related deaths in Iraq during that time period - and today comes news that a man accused of killing a former Marine and two-time Purple Heart recipient last February in Northeast Baltimore has pleaded guilty.

According to a press release from prosecutors, 26-year-old homeless man Matthew Hooper will be sentenced next month, exactly a year from the day Hoeck's family members found him dead in his home. The plea agreement calls for him to receive no more than life in prison with all but 50 years suspended and no less than life in prison with all but 30 years suspended. In English, that means he should receive between 30 and 50 years in prison.

Here's the article that we wrote about Hoeck at the time of his death. Hoeck, 62, lived alone and was known as "Mr. Dan" to his neighbors in Northeast Baltimore. When police arrested Hooper, it was among six cases closed in one day last year. Hooper was accused of breaking in to Hoeck's home to steal tools and stabbing Hoeck when confronted.

Below is the press release from the State's Attorney's Office:

Continue reading "Man pleads guilty in murder of two-time Purple Heart recipient" »

Posted by Justin Fenton at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Courts and the justice system, Northeast Baltimore
        

Three Baltimore men were ordered held without bail Monday morning after being arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the Saturday morning stabbing death of 20-year-old Marine Darius Ray at a house party in Northeast Baltimore, according to police and court records.

Police also confirmed that they located additional suspects by following a blood trail from the crime scene to a nearby home. A spokeswoman for the Marines said Ray was in training to become a member of the color guard.

Posted by Justin Fenton at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
Categories: Confronting crime, Northeast Baltimore