Stories by Peter Hermann
November 20, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Suburban crime finds streetwise New Yorker
Frances Schoonmaker lived in New York's Upper West Side working as a professor at Columbia University's Teachers College. She took subways and buses, and knew enough to stay alert on the streets of the big city. In nearly 30 years, she never once got mugged.
November 19, 2009
Baltimore County police dismiss chief spokesman
Bill Toohey, the public face of the Baltimore County Police Department since 1996, has been dismissed and will be replaced by a uniformed officer.
November 19, 2009
Rapes in East Baltimore and now a murder
Women are being raped in East Baltimore, and now the body of a 35-year-old woman has been found, partially naked and bruised, in a vacant lot behind a corner convenience store. And now the people struggling in a community under siege are even more worried.
November 18, 2009
Many unanswered questions in killing of youth
It didn't happen often, but sometimes a student - usually a boy - would poke fun at Jason Mattison Jr.
November 15, 2009
CRIME BEAT
Sad tableaux play out in court
In two Baltimore courtrooms adjacent to the one occupied by Mayor Sheila Dixon - known here as defendant Sheila Ann Dixon - here's what happened on Thursday:
November 13, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Did Baltimore police mishandle call on truck?
Nicholas F. Walters saw a white pickup truck weaving between lanes. He tried to follow the erratic vehicle but later told a Baltimore police operator, "I couldn't keep up with it." He noticed a company decal on the back of the Ford F250 and called the number, but a representative denied it was theirs.
November 12, 2009
Man arrested in 1999 death is sought in teen's killing
A man released from prison in January after serving nearly 10 years in a 1999 killing is wanted in connection with the death of a teen who was found Tuesday gagged with a pillowcase and stabbed.
November 12, 2009
CRIME SCENES
A $52 parking ticket piles up, and up, and up ...
In February 2009, Josh Roberts of Seattle got a letter from a law firm telling him he owed $948 for a parking ticket he was issued in May of 2004 in Baltimore.
November 12, 2009
Officer shoots man carrying two knives
A city police officer responding to a domestic dispute shot a man who was carrying two knives Wednesday in East Baltimore after he ignored commands to drop the weapons and moved toward the officer, according to Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the department.
November 11, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Police dog's wounding by officer would have been hard to prevent, experts say
To understand the sometimes perilous work of being a police dog, it's helpful to remember that the animals react to danger far differently than humans do.
November 8, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Nobody admits fault and a suspect goes free
The State of Maryland v. Walter Grant commenced on time and on schedule at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 28 in Room 3 of the District Courthouse on East North Avenue. Grant faced charges of taking a blue Honda Civic with keys stolen during a burglary of a home in Carney in August.
November 7, 2009
Three others plead guilty in theft of Cal Ripken's No. 8 sculpture
Three young men pleaded guilty Friday morning in Baltimore Circuit Court to stealing Cal Ripken Jr.'s aluminum No. 8 sculpture from in front of Camden Yards in September and paid the Orioles $7,618 to cover the cost of repairs. A fourth man pleaded guilty in the case earlier this week.
November 6, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Case involving problematic gang law postponed to January
Dajuan A. Marshall does not deny being a member of the Spyder gang, a Bloods sect, according to his defense attorney.
November 5, 2009
CRIME SCENES
What information can police, schools share?
The principal of an Anne Arundel County middle school heard that members of the football team were forming a gang. He contacted the police liaison, who called the parents, and one mother discovered a questionable Web site and made her son take it down.
November 5, 2009
One of 4 accused of stealing Ripken's No. 8 pleads guilty
One of four young men charged with stealing Cal Ripken Jr.'s aluminum No. 8 sculpture from in front of Camden Yards in September pleaded guilty to theft Wednesday morning and was sentenced to a two-year suspended jail term and ordered to pay the Orioles restitution, according to Baltimore prosecutors.
November 4, 2009
The little things that add up to crime
The two dozen or so residents from South Baltimore's Riverside neighborhood turned off Light Street and onto Heath, a parade of people confronting crime and grime. It was a routine Citizens on Patrol walk, a central part of the Police Department's outreach to residents.
November 2, 2009
Police disciplinary hearings called unfair
Attorneys who represent Baltimore police officers at disciplinary hearings say their clients are being treated unfairly because the department's top lawyer is prosecuting cases while simultaneously advising the independent panel judging the accused.
November 1, 2009
Crime Beat: A detective's hunch unfolds under foot
On Jan. 22 at 10:30 p.m., her shift over, Elda Vasquez Adorno left the Red Robin restaurant in Ellicott City, hailed a taxi and, according to police, "just absolutely disappeared off the face of the earth."
October 30, 2009
CRIME SCENES
New Baltimore officers hear sobering words
The three dozen cadets who graduated Thursday from the Baltimore Police Academy heard the requisite words of caution and advice.
October 30, 2009
City attorney quits on heels of trial board
A city attorney resigned Thursday immediately after failing to persuade an internal disciplinary board to recommend firing a police officer convicted of administrative charges of assaulting a man outside a Federal Hill pizza shop in 2005.
October 29, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Legal obstacles make justice slow in Hopkins student Frankl's death
Dennis Jerry Sullivan was on his motorcycle and stopped at a light on Baltimore National Pike in Ellicott City when he was rammed from behind by a Toyota Camry driven by a woman whose blood-alcohol content registered more than three times the legal limit.
October 28, 2009
CRIME SCENES
'Comic Cop' says what he can't in uniform
On the street, he's Baltimore Police Officer Timothy Hall. On stage, he's the "Comic Cop."
October 27, 2009
'Haunted house' gets a little scarier
The haunted house in Essex is billed as "The House of Screams," but it was the man portraying the Texas Chainsaw Massacre killer who ended up frightened, authorities say, when an off-duty Baltimore police officer pulled his gun and pointed it at the actor during a performance at Eastpoint Mall.
October 25, 2009
Crime Scenes
Old-school officer leaving quietly
Roger Nolan said he would tell me about his life and that he would "start from the beginning." He began with 1968, when he was 29 years old and had just graduated from Baltimore's police academy.
October 23, 2009
Unit's focus on domestic crime gets results
It used to be that officers wrote off domestic killings as a given - unfortunate and often brutal crimes that added numbers to the city's death tally but couldn't be prevented in the traditional way, such as with more police, neighborhood sweeps and arrests.
October 22, 2009
CRIME SCENES
In Little Italy, a clash over increase in crime
In the tangled and insular world of Little Italy, where trivial spats can erupt into bitter battles that require the police and courts to resolve, it should come as no surprise that a meeting about crime can lead to fears about hidden agendas and misplaced loyalties.
October 21, 2009
Police seek padlocking of nuisance nightclub
Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III is seeking to padlock Suite Ultralounge, a troubled nightclub in the basement of the historic Belvedere Hotel, calling it a public nuisance and linking it to a spate of shootings and other crime over the past year.
October 21, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Ruling shows hazy line between detention, arrest
When you tell someone you "got arrested," it's a safe bet you mean a cop put you in handcuffs and took you to jail. Turns out in Maryland you can "get arrested" without any of those things happening. In fact, the law says you can "be arrested" by a police officer even if that very same police officer insists he didn't arrest you.
October 18, 2009
Peter Hermann: Wife's loss 9 years ago roars back
Nine years later, the pain hasn't subsided.
October 16, 2009
CRIME SCENE
Traffic officer hailed as ambassador for Baltimore
Next to the workers who write parking tickets, the traffic enforcement officers who stand at busy Baltimore intersections are perhaps some of the most hated municipal employees.
October 15, 2009
CRIME SCENES
City's speed cameras going into action
The city's first speed enforcement cameras have been snapping photos of vehicles going through a busy Northeast Baltimore intersection near City College since Oct. 1, and initial results are in: 50 warnings were mailed out in the first seven days for drivers exceeding the 30-mph limit by 12 mph or more.
October 14, 2009
CRIME SCENES
New overtime plan leaves cops visible
Police Maj. Scott L. Bloodsworth stands on Charles Street in Federal Hill as the crowd of revelers swells. It's Friday, just before midnight, and already many patrons have had too much to drink. Outside Noble's Bar, a giddy young woman screams and runs into the open arms of a friend, sending both crashing to the pavement.
October 11, 2009
Crime Beat: Hopkins tragedy a punchline
When a Johns Hopkins University undergraduate used a samurai sword to kill an intruder last month, many people supported the student, who told police he acted in self-defense and expressed sadness that a human life had been lost.
October 9, 2009
Marathon route to show city's good side and bad
On Saturday morning, thousands of people running the marathon will turn northwest onto McCulloh Street. About the time they hit the first water station, they will run right over the spot where Israeli Mason was shot and killed Sept. 13. At that point, they will be within three blocks of where three other killings occurred this year.
October 8, 2009
Bar owners working with police
It has been nearly a year since Baltimore's police commissioner prohibited bar owners from hiring off-duty officers to help keep order, and in the weeks and months that followed the ban, some proprietors in Federal Hill complained that nuisance crimes spiked.
October 7, 2009
A rude awakening ultimately leads to happy ending for boy
Ken Watts had a restless night and an eventful morning.
October 4, 2009
CRIME SCENES
The murky world of informants
In the movies, cops slip their snitches $20 or $50 in a back alley and give them a black eye so their friends don't think they're squealing.
October 3, 2009
Body found in cable vault underground
The body spotted Friday by a Verizon worker in an underground cable vault in North Baltimore's Mid- Govans neighborhood was that of a decomposed white female, and detectives are awaiting the results of an autopsy, according to police.
October 3, 2009
Man charged with murder in shooting, robbery that netted $18
Baltimore police announced Friday that detectives have arrested suspects in two killings last month, including a fatal shooting during a robbery that netted $18, according to police and court documents.
October 2, 2009
Baltimore officer dragged 5 blocks by suspect's car
A city officer was injured Thursday afternoon when he was dragged five blocks by a car whose driver was trying to escape arrest in West Baltimore. In a separate incident in Westport, an officer shot a man suspected of dealing drugs who drew a gun during an undercover drug buy, authorities said.
October 2, 2009
Hunt on for rape suspect
Baltimore police are searching for a man who they said broke into a West Baltimore home, struck a woman in the head with a baseball bat and then raped her at knifepoint.
October 2, 2009
Major's abrupt exit leaves anxiety in its wake
The abrupt and mysterious suspension of the Baltimore police commander who ran the district that includes Harbor East, Little Italy, Fells Point and Canton left community leaders scrambling to make sure the fight against crime won't get lost in yet another controversy.
October 1, 2009
With a Ph.D., victim of drug abuse didn't fit stereotype
Marianne Woessner is a North Carolina nurse and midwife who sees drug addicts with good jobs and from good families nearly every day. They occupy a hidden world that belies the stereotype of rail-thin junkies stumbling from one street corner to the next in search of a fix.
October 1, 2009
Southeast's top police officer is suspended
The commander of the Baltimore Police Department's Southeastern District was suspended Wednesday, pending a review into a personnel matter, according to chief police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
October 1, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Terp star's father leads uphill fight to revive rec center
Part II of a look at what happened to Police Athletic League Centers.
September 30, 2009
Dilapidated rec center 'better now'
Part I of two articles examining what has happened to former Police Athletic League Centers.
September 30, 2009
Man charged with murder in grandmother's death
A man who had been charged with dousing his 85-year-old grandmother with alcohol and setting her on fire in an argument over money in March is now being charged with first-degree murder, three months after the woman died at a hospital, a Baltimore police spokesman said.
September 27, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Skateboard clip's lesson blurry
It was a confrontation between a Baltimore cop and a 14-year-old boy that millions watched on YouTube.
September 26, 2009
Teens charged as adults in shooting of officer
Two 16-year-old boys have been arrested and charged as adults with attempted murder in the Thursday night shooting of an off-duty police officer in front of his Northwest Baltimore home, according to the city's police commissioner.
September 25, 2009
Baltimore officer accused of theft, embezzlement
A Baltimore police officer assigned to a federal drug task force was arrested by the FBI and charged Thursday with stealing money and jewelry from houses hit on drug raids and with embezzling from funds used to pay confidential informants, according to the Maryland U.S. attorney's office.
September 25, 2009
Samurai sword slaying highlights issue of crime near JHU
The Johns Hopkins University student who killed an apparent intruder with a samurai sword got people talking.
September 24, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Delving more deeply into shooting stats
Here are some statistics about recent killings in Baltimore:
September 23, 2009
Weekend's shootings defy recent city trend
The shooting alerts hit the city police commanders' BlackBerrys in rapid-fire succession.
September 20, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Time for open records
I had hoped that a video of a juvenile court hearing would help explain how a teenager with a long criminal record who had just been arrested in a drug bust could be sent home from a detention center only to be charged with killing a man two hours later in the front seat of a Buick Park Avenue.
September 18, 2009
Did juror in murder trial have conflict of interest?
Second of two parts on the trial of a teenager in the shooting death of Deron Hope in 2007.
September 17, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Apparent gang killing lost amid the mayhem
First of two parts on the trial of a teen in the shooting death of 16-year-old Deron Hope.
September 17, 2009
Drug suspect shot, killed after stabbing city officer, police say
A city police officer shot and killed a drug suspect after the man attempted to stab another officer in the back early Wednesday in East Baltimore, according to police.
September 12, 2009
Rosedale man fatally shot on Northern Parkway
A 20-year-old Rosedale man was shot in the head while sitting on a bicycle near a bus stop on Northern Parkway in Northeast Baltimore, one of two fatal shootings Friday, a city police spokesman said.
September 11, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Chief vetoes bar-surveillance idea
The police won't get to watch patrons down beers at Shirley's Honey Hole after all.
September 9, 2009
A local bar agrees to sprout eyes, and that raises some eyebrows
Soon, when you belly up to the bar at Shirley's Honey Hole on East Oliver Street, police will know when you've had your first, second and even third beer. From three miles away at the Citiwatch command center on Howard Street, they will be able to watch you buy a drink for the woman on the corner stool, stumble to the bathroom and challenge someone to a brawl.
September 6, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Rogues' gallery of bank robbers
These are some of the faces of people robbing banks in and around Baltimore and Washington:
September 5, 2009
Police shoo war protesters from McKeldin Park
Baltimore police officers who ordered several peace protesters to disperse Friday from a city park across from the Inner Harbor "were clearly wrong" and "uneducated on public demonstration laws," according to the Police Department's chief spokesman.
September 4, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Smart phones a hit with cops who've tried them
The Western District officer said he was responding to a drug complaint, but the man being stopped insisted he was being harassed.
September 4, 2009
CRIME BEAT
Another tragedy for family
The shooting deaths of two sisters in the southern Anne Arundel community of Lothian on Wednesday are just the latest tragedy for a grieving family.
September 3, 2009
Crime Scenes
School police chief's job: stopping student violence before it occurs
Second of two parts
September 2, 2009
CRIME SCENES
One solution to school violence: Move 'em out
This is the first of two parts.
August 30, 2009
CRIME SCENES
A fish tale too good to be true?
Charles B. Bailey of Hagerstown has a tale to tell, and I agree it's a tale worth telling.
August 28, 2009
Suspect in robbery spree served less than 4 years
On Sept. 6, 2006, Mark Lomax, 37, jobless and destitute, a ninth-grade dropout, a string of robbery and drug convictions behind him, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for holding up the same Subway sandwich shop on North Charles Street three times in eight days.
August 27, 2009
Who knocked down the sign over I-70?
Maryland State Police say a dump truck hit an overhead sign on Interstate 70, and the driver kept going. The most serious of three traffic infractions handed to Alvin J. Hall 3rd charges him with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage.
August 26, 2009
An eye on potholes and crime
There are a lot of obstacles that Nate Evans considers when he designates a bicycle route.
August 23, 2009
CRIME SCENES
Tales of life, death and the city
John R. "Jack" Yates of Charles Village was killed Aug. 4, when his bicycle hit a truck near downtown.
August 15, 2009
Woman to be cited in Phelps accident
A 28-year-old woman who was slightly injured when her Honda Accord hit a Cadillac Escalade driven by Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps in Baltimore's Mid-Town Belvedere neighborhood is to be charged with running a red light, a city police spokesman said Friday.
August 2, 2009
Professionalism and calm at the eye of the storm
After she'd helped a man who had been shot three times into a wheelchair, after an SUV had delivered another shooting victim and two more men had walked past with bloodied T-shirts covering their wounds, nurse Cindy Barber began to wonder just what was unfolding in the Johns Hopkins emergency room.
July 28, 2009
CRIME BEAT
Bullets fly in Baltimore, and no one's surprised
No one was shot on Fairmount Avenue.
Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun
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