In Baltimore City
$2 million settlement OK'd by board in case against officer
The Board of Estimates approved $2 million yesterday to pay a civil judgment against a Baltimore police officer accused of beating a man who was left paralyzed, then filing false charges against him in 1997.
Officer Joseph Tracy was found liable in December 2000 in Baltimore Circuit Court for malicious prosecution and for violating the rights of Horace Muhammad. Tracy appealed the decision and the Maryland Court of Special Appeals turned down that appeal in September.
Muhammad claimed that Tracy tackled him and threw him down on a neighbor's porch when he left his fiancee's house after a domestic violence complaint. Paralyzed from the waist down because of the injuries, Muhammad sued Tracy, other police officers and two paramedics. The others were cleared of wrongdoing.
Police discover drug lab with PCP in Forest Park
City police and federal agents found a drug laboratory last night in the basement of a house in the Forest Park area, including 42 5-gallon plastic jugs filled with liquid PCP -- and estimated the street value of the hallucinogenic mix at $18 million to $25 million.
Acting on a tip, police with a search-and-seizure warrant entered the house in the 3700 block of Liberty Heights Ave. about 6 p.m. and found an elaborate chemical lab used to produce phencyclidine hydrochloride (PCP), said police Maj. Anthony Barksdale. The drug operation remained under investigation, and no arrest was reported.
Barksdale said the chemicals had the potential to produce an explosion severe enough to destroy the 2 1/2 -story frame home and the houses on neighboring lots. Workers from the state Department of the Environment worked with federal agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to remove the containers.
Second man sentenced in three Waverly killings
A 27-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced yesterday to life in prison without parole -- plus another 110 years -- for a triple homicide in Waverly last year that also left a man paralyzed, the city state's attorney office announced.
Otis Edwards III of the first block of Dowling Circle in Hillendale was convicted with a co-defendant in September in Baltimore Circuit Court in the shooting deaths of Tony Blizzard Jr., 18, Jamal Fisher, 18, and Donte Weddington, 25. Timothy James, 18, was paralyzed.
Edwards was found guilty on charges including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Co-defendant Wayne Mitchell, 24, also of Baltimore, was sentenced Tuesday to three consecutive life sentences plus 50 years.
School to go to Oriole game if 94% attendance reached
The Orioles have offered to take a Federal Hill school to a ballgame next year if pupils there maintain a 94 percent attendance rate until May.
Outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. delivered the challenge to pupils yesterday at Federal Hill Elementary School. If pupils hit the mark, the school will be treated to the May 7 game against the Detroit Tigers.
The Orioles will also provide other incentives to that school's pupils during the year, including a visit by the Orioles mascot to the class with the highest attendance each month.
In Baltimore County
Eastpoint man sentenced to 20 years for stabbing wife
TOWSON -- An Eastpoint man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder yesterday and was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing his wife in the neck with a hunting knife in May.
Oswaldo A. Vega, 42, of the 7100 block of Gough St. likely will be deported to his native Ecuador if he gets out on parole, attorneys said in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
Prosecutors said Vega and his wife, Angela Vega, 24, were arguing the morning of May 10. Oswaldo Vega told his wife to stop yelling at him, pinned her on the bed and stabbed her. He then tried to kill himself, police said. Vega called 911 and told operators about the crime.
Towson High students to perform 'Bad Seed'
TOWSON -- Students at Towson High School will present a production of The Bad Seed today through Sunday in the school auditorium, 69 Cedar Ave.
The play, by Maxwell Anderson, tells the story of an 8-year-old girl with dark secrets who lives in a small Southern town. Performances are at 7 p.m., except for Sunday's, which begins at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $6 and are available at the door. Information: 410-887-3608.