Md. motel standoff suspects ask for jury trial

A couple charged in a standoff with police at a Hancock motel will be tried by a jury. More  Read More →

Strategy credited with Baltimore homicide drop

Baltimore is on pace for its largest single-year decrease in both the percentage and actual number of homicides since at least 1970. The homicide total for the year is 172, compared to 238 at this time last year. That’s a 28 percent decrease. More  Read More →

Roughed-up driver sues Baltimore County police

A Baltimore man mistaken by Baltimore County police for a car thief has sued the police for $850,000.    Aaron Clark paid about $2,000 in medical bills after suffering injuries, according to his lawsuit filed in Baltimore County Circuit Court. “He was pretty much waiting for an apology, and he never got it,” said Clark’s attorney, C. Stephen Basinger.   According to the lawsuit, three police cars surrounded Clark’s and forced it into a curb on Old Court Road. An officer pulled Clark from... More

Condo group objects to soldier’s flagpole

Sgt. James Ringgold is serving in Iraq with the Army Reserve. His wife continues to fly the American flag they put up on the patio of their Elkridge home when they moved in two years ago.   “It makes me think of him,” Lindsay Major Ringgold says.   The Rockburn Commons III Condominium Association sees the flag as dangerous, though, because its bracket is attached to a commonly owned post in their building. The pole could weaken the post, said property manager Cambria Hall. “She’s jeopardizing... More

Police trying to catch thieves wreck 5 cars

Body shops might be the only winner after a purse-snatching in Prince George’s County left five cars wrecked and three people in the hospital.   According to police, a man snatched a purse from a woman’s car while she pumped gas. The man jumped back into a car with two other men and fled. The woman called police, who spotted and chased the car into the District of Columbia and back into P.G. County.    A county police cruiser “T-boned” a vehicle carrying two people in Capitol Heights,... More

Spice-maker owes $319K after kosher-symbol ruling

Not everyone knows what the symbol on food labels means, but a Reisterstown-based spice company must pay a kosher certification agency $300,000 for using it without permission. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake dealt harshly with The Wilder Spice Co., which also forged a “letter of certification” from the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. Blake also awarded the Orthodox Union $19,000 in attorneys’ fees. Kosher agencies charge a fee to supervise or inspect a food company’s... More

Falconer learns lesson: Hawks matter, too

A falconer from Thurmont learned not to play favorites with his birds of prey: He’s been ordered to pay restitution of more than $1,400 for neglecting an injured hawk.   Christopher Swann, 28, also had his state falconry permit revoked for 18 months as part of his sentence.    Maryland Natural Resources Police officers charged Swann during an annual permit inspection of his Frederick County home. They seized an injured American kestrel hawk they said wasn’t getting proper medical care.   The... More

Inmates carve ‘RAT’ into jail informant’s back

Guards have found a Baltimore County Detention Center inmate beaten and with the word “rat” cut into his back again. The inmate had worn a wire for prosecutors.   According to internal reports, last month Timothy Bryce was found face down, his head bruised and his hands tied. “RAT” had been scraped into his back. A spoon with an attached note had been shoved into his rectum.   On July 18, a guard found Bryce on the ground with wounds to his head and back, including “RAT” cut into his... More

Report suggests mixing city and county jurors

A study that found major differences in the verdicts of juries in Baltimore and those in Baltimore, Anne Arundel and Howard counties has officially been released. Officials in the city didn’t like the draft they saw last spring, but the draft and report were similar in conclusions and recommendations.    The Abell Foundation report by Shawn M. Flower of Choice Research Associates said county juries were 30 times more likely than city juries to convict defendants on their most serious charge.... More

Beauty queen shows why she’s no Miss Congeniality

When Christie Ganoe won the title of Miss Washington County in February, her platform was to educate people about the evils of bullying. She’ll have a chance to discuss this in court Oct. 20, where she’ll face a charge of second-degree assault. Ganoe, 22, was arrested at her ex-boyfriend’s house after she punched a woman there, Frostburg Police Cpl. Irvin Buskirk said. The other woman didn’t require medical attention, but she was holding a package of frozen peas against her head, Buskirk... More

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