Showing posts with label Brekford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brekford. Show all posts

Friday, June 13, 2014

"James"

"James"
A man was shot in the head* at Caroline and East Biddle Streets. Eight murders this past week.

Kevin Simpson, alleged killer of Oscar Torres, 15, and Shanizya Taft, 12, is now a suspect in the murder of Martel Jackson,* shot behind a Citgo.

Police have released a sketch of a Belair-Edison sex assailant who may go by "James." His victim talked to Fox, telling them "James" left his clothes outside her window, broke in and sucked on her breast. He went outside to dress and she called 911, but police didn't arrive in time. *shudder*

One Alphonso Russell Jr., 57, has been charged with 88 counts related to breaking into more than 20 cars downtown,* "just days after he received a 6-month jail sentence for breaking into cars on April 4." So.. what was he doing out and about in the first place? Some kind of Piper Kerman situation where you get sentenced but don't have to report to prison for a while?

So much for speed camera reform: Brekford, which still operates in Hagerstown, Salisbury and Laurel in spite of its Baltimore City system* issuing speeding tickets to cars that weren't moving, issued a press release crowing that their old contract still applies and that they can still operate on the bounty system for tickets.

Early voting is going on from now until June 19, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and apathy is running high. Here's your sample ballot. For what it's worth and if you care, this blog endorses Heather Mizeur for governor (or Hogan, if that's how you swing), Brian Frosh for Attorney General, Elijah Cummings, Gregg Bernstein for State's Attorney, and Page Croyder for Judge, skipping #5, Alfred Nance.

Media blabber: Sun editor Andy Rosen is leaving to work for the Boston Globe, today's his last day.

Monday, January 13, 2014

Ladies, This is Happening

Anthony Lontae Harper
and daughter, via Twitter
A triple stabbing outside of the Isis Nightclub in the 200 block of Park Avenue, a block away from where Eli Barber-El was shot in the head last month.

Three shootings last night* made for two homicides. If Twitter is reliable, the victim in the 3600 block of Reistertown Road was Anthony Lontae Harper. The weekend's deaths brought us to a total of 16 murders in the first 12 days of this year. A stabbing victim from Friday morning in the 2500 block of Fredrick Road was ID'd as Dejuan Willis, 17.


#14: Ricky Mellerson, found shot to death* in an overturned car Mt. Vernon.
Dejuan Willis, via Twitter

Police released a creepy video of  the killer of Jose Abreu pacing around the Latino American Deli on Smallwood St.

There's something new: arrests in Charles Village robberies.* ("Ladies, this is happening.")

Legalized marijuana has a new champion, senate president Mike Miller.  And a MoCo Democrat and a HoCo "civil libertarian" Republican are introducing a bill of their own.

Magical boots in Arundel Mills mall* forced a woman to pepper-spray 20 people in order to possess them. Also at the mall: two guys arrested for robbing a guy in the parking lot while he was sleeping in his car.

Why did the city discharge Brekford from its speed camera contract? A camera ticketing a parked truck* likely had something to do with it.

Whoops, in spite of the new law expanding background checks, somehow 200 people barred from owning guns got them, including a guy who used his in a carjacking.*

Police are looking for this guy who robbed the White Marsh McDonald's.

Another day, another church youth group leader charged with possession of child porn. Today's winner, Robert David Wright of Clynmalria Methodist church in Phoenix.

Monday, November 18, 2013

¿dónde está el plan?

A bloody weekend:* a murder yesterday in the 1300 block of Longwood (who Cham ID's as Kennard Buckner, a forklift operator) ; Devon Bultler, 26, was killed near Ramsay and South Calhoun Streets and an unidentified 47-year-old man was also shot in the torso during the same incident, the current toll is 210. 

The man shot in the 900 block of Watson Street (near the shot tower) was ID'd as Raymond Gordon, 31.*

With the homicide rate spiking, and seven months after the BPD paid some Massachusetts consulting firm $285k to come up with a plan in 90 days to "revamp" the department, Jack Young is all like, hey Batts, Where's the plan?* And Batts is all like, stop pressuring me! And Young is like, you'd best get in here and answer some questions, and Batts is like, look, it's Baltimore, everything moves slow, and the Sun is like, Batts has a Master's degree, can't he think up a plan on his own? And then Robert Cherry is all like, Hey! Look! The police union has a plan! It's based on our real-real Baltimore policing experience and you all can have it for free! and everyone is like, lalalalala, we can't hyearrr you!

Have you seen this guy who robbed the Subway sandwich shop* in the 4600 block of W. Northern Parkway?
http://priceisrightlosinghorn.com/
Vroom vroom, bitchez! The city's speed cameras have officially been "mothballed,"* with the city attempting to cut ties with the contractor Brekford. No comment from Brekford though their stock is like [sad tuba sound effect].

A "non-affiliate" was robbed of a messenger bag near JHU.

No way, two more Towson University students were robbed, this time on the 1300 block of Hillsway court and at gunpoint. I thought they caught those dudes, but apparently not, or there's more now.

Speaking of the county, fuck you Scott Jacobson. I'm glad the iPad you bought in a gas station parking lot was fake. Because if it was real, then it would be stolen from some poor slob. Dear reader, if some twat approaches you in a parking lot with some too-cheap something, call the fucking police! It bears repeating, if you have stuff like iPads, laptops, etc, get yourself a cheap little carbide etching pen, skritch your name or phone number or your house sigil on it. That won't keep it from getting stolen, but at least it will slow down Dicky McParkinglot and will help you identify it if it is recovered.

And a feel-good crime story: a Homeland woman's bikes getting stolen helped her find her missing African spur tortoise, Tortley. Tortley is now snuggled in warm hay, "alert and surprised."
I don't get it.

Wired: how operation "Marco Polo" took down the Silk Road (Marco Polo? Get it? Get it?)

Speaking of the Silk Road, here's a mildly interesting story that explains why opium smoking went out of style and heroin moved in.

Something I just heard about for the first time from an infographic next to New York Magazine's abortion cover story: the allegation that sometime between 2012 and now Maryland passed a law that limits insurance coverage for abortions. An August 2013 chart from the National Women's Law Center seems to show this is not the case and even the right-to-lifers, generally on top of this stuff like Chris Christie on a ham sandwich, don't seem to know anything about it. So an NYMag mistake, or is there something to this? Also in NYMag: Sheila Dixon, "Rap-Sheet Mayor."

Also in "women's law"-- the story of a PA judge who ordered a mom to stop breastfeeding so her ex-husband could have overnights with the baby leads to the tidbit that only Maine has a law that compels family court judges to take breastfeeding status into account when determining custody. 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Androids for inmates

Following CBS Evening News' story on Carol Ott and her Slumlord Watch last week, the Sun's Ian Duncan wrote about* Nether Baltimore's Wall Hunter project to paint murals on said slum properties. Today in the CP Ed Ericson Jr. stone-cold busts Ian Duncan, Justin George and Carrie Wells not doing their homework checking Rochkind's lawyer Danny Stenger's claim that Rochkind didn't control the property at 4727 Old York Road (... but if he did, added the lawyer, the Exodus-themed mural would be a "hate crime.") Looking forward to that correction. And y'know, really, the mural project is gifting these slum bums with valuable works of art. If Rochkind had any sense of money (or sweet irony) he'd remove the mural and donate it to a museum for a write-off ... or sell it to Bank of America or Wells Fargo to install in the lobby of their corporate HQ, hyuk.

Justin George tweeted that Jennifer Owens,* "corrections officer accused of smuggling drugs into Baltimore jail & having relations with BGF gang leader, pleads guilty ... To one count of racketeering conspiracy. Sentencing is in January." Notable "J.O." quote from the CP“I understand you stressed out, cuz you locked up, ok, but I am too. You locked up, and I’m fucking pregnant again. Like really, who the fuck does that? Only my dumb ass do shit like that, for real. I can accept that I fucked up. I know I did, but I did that shit cuz I wanted to. I don’t regret it.”  That makes two BGF perps who have taken pleas so far, 23 to go.

A woman was shot to death in Parkville while putting her 3-year-old in the car.
Brekford's speed cameras are up, so why hasn't the city turned them on yet?* Waiting for Harbor Point rage to dissipate first?

Doug "Androids for inmates*" Gansler gets even less appealing, now claiming Anthony Brown is running on his African-Americanness. FWIW Brown's parents are Swiss and Jamaican.

MoCo PoPo ISO victims of pervy old music teacherSilver Spring Elementary School teacher Lawrence Wesley Joynes, he's been charged with sexually abusing 14 girls so far.

Karla Porter's jury still deliberating guilty guilty guilty guilty guilty, of first-degree murder and = five other related counts.

Matthew VanDyke's Syria short copped some pixels on the Business Insider site

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Taggants

Word of the day: taggant: noun, a substance added to a product to indicate its source of manufacture, as in taggants were used to solve a car bombing in Baltimore in 1979, but due to the lobbying power of the NRA, while taggants could be added to explosives in this country, they are not.

 Anton Lesane
The BPD reported a homicide at 3800 Clifton Avenue, the city's 60th of the year. The victim was ID'd as 21-year-old Andrew Morris.

So you probably heard about Johnny Johnson, high on a speedball and going 100 mph* on 83 before he killed that poor Orioles fan.

Marcus Lesane, known as Anton, went missing on Sunday and his family presumes he's dead.* How could someone go missing under such flagrantly suspicious circumstances-- keys dangling at the damn car door-- and the police not even send out a damn Tweet about it? How hard is it to Tweet a damn Tweet? Sorry to cuss but damn.

A home invasion* a block north of Patterson Park

Way to ride some azz, Scott Calvert and Luke Broadwater. The city has suspended the use of speed and red light cameras* (for the moment) after the new vendor's cameras showed ticket errors. Oh and BTW the Brew reports that the city just forked over $2.2 million towards these cameras. Even though Brekford's set to get a hefty illegal bounty on proceeds.

So schadenfreudelicious: David Cordish was reportedly swindled by a tax-haven crook.

Stolen guns in Essex and burgled cars in Pikesville in the Patch blotter.

If you missed the Ken Burns documentary on the Central Park Five you can watch it on the PBS website.


Thursday, April 11, 2013

Trigger fingers thawed

Warm weather makes Baltimoreans go wacko! Six Seven Eight shootings between 6:30 p.m. yesterday and 2:12 a.m. today,* all are still alive, and all cases apparently lack any known suspects or motives.

Murder trial for Robert Jarrett Jr. started today,* he's accused of killing his wife and burying her in his HoCo backyard in 1991. Jarrett's defense lawyer, George Psoras, sounds insufferably sarcastic and snide-- "Good luck with that."

Brekford Corp's speed-camera contract was approved by the Board of Estimates.*

Fifteen years for nine-time convicted gun-toting felon Derrick Woodlon.

Cameron Serafin
AP- "Poverty's Grip Seen Across Baltimore."

The manager of Mo's Seafood, Dundalk branch, was shot by a robber

A five-year-old, Cameron Serafin, was kidnapped by his non-custodial mother in Fairfax county, VA-- keep an eye out, please.

Baltimore might tolerate a little Bolivian marching powder being sold here and there, but Altoona, PA, not so much. Yet another dealer, 52-year-old Kenneth Piner, was found guilty of 28 drug-related charges. Prosecutions from "Operation Last Call" (not to be confused with the JFK mini-bottle scandal) have been going on since the first bust in 2011-- next up, the Baltimorean "Rocco."