He had come to the door so often over the years that he was almost a friend -- the man who called himself "Coach" and solicited donations to help buy sports equipment for area kids.

He was persuasive, articulate, almost charismatic -- and it was easy to justify handing him a few bucks. "It was like, 'Hi, I'm back again -- just trying to help the kids out,' " said Mary Rose Connolly, a Woodlawn resident whose complaint led to a charge of petty theft scheme being filed against Kirk Russell Bryant three weeks ago.

Police say that Bryant, 29, of the 1300 block of Saratoga Ave. never spent the money on kids -- he kept it for himself.

So far, 21 people in Baltimore County have told police that they gave Bryant money, as have two people in Baltimore City and two others in Howard County.

Police are asking anyone else who might have contributed money to Bryant to come forward -- and they think the number of contributors might be sizable because people liked Bryant and readily trusted him.

A well-known visitor

"He's so charismatic, they've invited him in the house to have dinner with them," said Officer Morgan Hassler of the Woodlawn precinct. Hassler said that Bryant was such a well-known visitor that some families let him play ball with their children.

Bryant went door to door in Woodlawn, along the York Road corridor from the city line as far north as Regester Avenue in Towson, and in the Catonsville area along Frederick Road, Hassler said.

Bryant also solicited regularly in the city, police said.

"It's always in the evening, around 7 or 8 at night -- he's very polite, very nice. He makes you want to give him money," said Detective Kelvin Corbin of the Baltimore Police fraud unit. "He does this several times a year."

Search for donors

Hassler said the investigation shows Bryant collected several hundred dollars over the past six or seven years, and police are searching for others who gave him money.

"He'd come around regularly, a couple of times a year. He'd say he was selling candy to benefit Woodlawn Recs and Park. We'd routinely give him $10, $15," said Connolly, the Woodlawn resident. She always gave him cash, she said -- until last year.

"One time, I didn't have cash," Connolly said. "So I wrote him a check, and he said, 'Make it out to Coach Bryant, not to Parks and Rec.' "

That made her wonder if he was legitimate, she said. When her bank statement came, she looked at the canceled check -- and there was no official stamp or name on it, just a scribbled signature.

Before she called police, however, Bryant came around soliciting again -- and Connolly confronted him about the check. He said he was legitimate, Connolly said, and "that he would be back in a day or two to straighten things out." He didn't return, and she called police.

Other donors had similar stories, Hassler said.

"One woman gave us a bunch of canceled checks going back years," Hassler said. "They all tell us that their neighbors have given money to him, too."

Court records indicated Bryant has at least one prior conviction for petty theft scheme, as well as a conviction for drug possession and another for selling goods without a license.

He remains free on bail after being charged with the petty theft scheme last month by Baltimore County police.

Anyone in the county with information about Bryant is asked to call Hassler at 410-887-1340. City residents should call Corbin at 410-396-2400.

Sun staff researcher Robert Schrott contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 3/10/99