Crime Solvers, a volunteer group that assists area police, is askingresidents to help solve the Crime of the Week.
This week, the group is targeting a breaking, entering and theft at a home on NicodemusRoad Jan. 14.
Police said the home was entered sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 6:50 p.m. Entry was gained by breaking the glass of a back door.
Several computer items were stolen, including a DTK Keen 2000 computer,a Magnavox 9CM082 monitor, a Suntouch keyboard, and RCI power driver, Kraft 3 button mouse, a Cardinal Interna modem and an Epson 9 pin printer, police said.
Also taken were several compact discs and computer software.
Police said the home recently has been the target of multiple crimes.
A neighbor may be involved, police said.
Ifyou have any information about this crime or believe you may know who is involved, please call Crime Solvers at (800)562-TIPS.
You do not need to give your name, and if your information leads to an arrest, you could earn up to a $1,000 reward.
MAN DIES AFTER CRASH
HAMPSTEAD -- A 69-year-old Albert Rill Road man died last week from injuries he received in a Feb. 5 car accident in Westminster.
State police in Westminster reported that the man, Robert Eugene Reed Sr., waspronounced dead at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center at University Hospital in Baltimore by a medical examiner Feb. 28. He died of abdominal injuries.
Police reports show that Reed was traveling northbound on Sullivan Road south of Sunshine Way when he apparently suffered a heart attack and crossed over the center line.
Reed's 1970 Ford crashed head-on with a 1988 GMC Sierra driven by Donald Michael Brathuhn of Millers Station Road in Millers.
Police said Reed apparently recovered from the heart attack but died from the injuries he suffered in the crash.
CHILD ABUSE CHARGED
WESTMINSTER -- A 30-year-oldcity man was arrested and charged Monday by state police with beating his 10-year-old son.
The man, whose name is being withheld to protect the identity of his son, shoved and kicked the boy after a baby-sitter said he misbehaved, court records show.
Tfc. Robert Heuisler was called to Westminster Elementary School to talk to the boy Feb. 12, a day after the beating reportedly occurred, documents said.
Heuisler reported that the boy told him his father chased him into abathroom and banged the boy's head against a bathroom door.
The boy then tried to hide under the sink to avoid the beating but was kicked several times, court records show.
According to Heuisler's statement of charges, the man admitted to slapping his son because he was "being a pest."
The trooper took the boy to Carroll County General Hospital where he was examined for signs of abuse. Doctors found evidence of previous physical abuse, court records show.
The man also was charged with two misdemeanor counts of battery.
COMPANY GETS NEW TRUCK
HAMPSTEAD -- The Hampstead Volunteer Fire Co. has purchased a new ladder truck that is expected to arrive in the next two months.
The 1978 ladder truck will carry a 100-foot mechanical ladder that will allow firefighters to reach farther than do ground ladders, officials said.
The $200,000 truck is expected to go into service in the summer after the firefighters have been trained to use it properly.
It was purchased through state grants and the company's fund-raising activities, officials said.
MAN FACES DRUG CHARGE
WESTMINSTER -- A 30-year-old Owings Mills man was arrested Saturday night and charged with misdemeanor drug possession after city police responded to a report that two men were snorting cocaine in the bathroom ofa Cranberry Mall restaurant.
James Edward Kutlik was charged by Westminster City police after being escorted out of Tully's bar, courtrecords show.
Two small paper packets containing a white substance were found during a search of Kutlik, police said.
Kutlik also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.
MAN CHARGED IN STING
SYKESVILLE -- A 28-year-old Gaithers Manor Drive man was arrested in Frederick Friday night and charged with possession of drugs and solicitation to possess drugs, Frederick City police reported.
Ronald W. Billing was one of 21 people arrested Friday night in a sting operation conducted along Klinehart's Alley near the John Hanson Apartments in the northern section of Frederick City.
City police said officers from the Frederick County Sheriff's Department, the Frederick County Narcotics Task Force and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration worked together for the operation.
Officerswere instructed to go into the housing projects and arrest people who tried to buy drugs from the undercover police.
City police said they conduct these types of operations a few times a year.
Friday night's operation was the sixth this year, officials said.
NEW TRIAL GRANTED
ANNAPOLIS -- An 18-year-old who was convicted of murderinga former Sykesville minister in 1987 will get another chance to plead his case to a jury.
The Court of Special Appeals has ruled that Kevin L. Jones, who was 15 years old at the time of the murder, was improperly required to take the witness stand for his co-defendant.
Jones and his co-defendant, Timothy Rogers, 25, were tried for the robbery and murder of the Rev. Lewis F. Ransom, former pastor of the United Methodist Church in Sykesville.
The Court of Special Appealshas sent the case back for a new trial in Baltimore because it foundJones' right to a fair trial was prejudiced when he was forced to plead the Fifth Amendment in front of the jurors.
The Rev. Ransom, 76 at the time of his death, served as pastor of the Sykesville Churchfrom 1943 to 1947 and returned over the years to fill in when needed.
He was fatally shot March 22, 1987, near University Hospital in Baltimore, where he was visiting patients.
Rogers, whose conviction was upheld two years ago, is serving a life sentence plus 20 years.
*
Here is a compilation of the fire and rescue calls to the Emergency Operations Center:
March 4
8:12 a.m.: Taneytown, Harney, Kingsdale, Emmitsburg and Westminster responded to an electrical fire in a town house on Grand Drive.
*
Please report crime tips to these hot lines: 857-TIPS (drugs) and (800) 562-TIPS (Crime Solvers). All calls are confidential and you do not have to give your name.
Here is a compilation of some of the crime reported to local and state police:
Finksburg
3000 block of Gamber Road: Breaking, entering and theft at fast-food restaurant March 3. Television and videocassette recorder stolen. Estimated loss: $1,400.
Sykesville
First block of Old Liberty Road: Restaurant windows smashed between March 2 and 3. Estimated loss: $250.
300 block of Hampton Circle: Theft of Honda motorcycle parked at residence March 3. Estimated loss: $650.
300 block of Ronsdale Road: Damage to windows of parked car March 2. Estimated loss: $750.
First block of Liberty Road: Breaking, entering and theft at restaurant March 2. Estimated loss: $500.
Raincliff Road: Concrete air meter stolen from construction site March 2. Estimated loss: $600.