In The News

Heading in the wrong direction': US records highest increase in nation's homicide rate in modern history

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WBAL- The new data shows the U.S. homicide rate increased from about six homicides per 100,000 people in 2019 to 7.8 per 100,000 in 2020, according to NCHS. Researchers at the center noted that the 2020 homicide rate of 7.8 is the highest recorded in the United States since 1995 but is still significantly lower than the rates in the early 1980s, which topped 10 homicides per 100,000 people. Read More

Man in Baltimore sentenced to 80 years for attempted murder

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WMAR- On August 30, 2019, at approximately 4:47 p.m., on the 600 block of S. Fremont Street, a Baltimore Police Officer responded to a report of a shooting and found a female victim at the scene suffering from a gunshot wound. Read More

One killed, five injured in East Baltimore shooting Wednesday

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WMAR- Just before 7 p.m., officers were dispatched to the 1200 Patterson Park Avenue and found two women, ages 38 and 34, along with two men, ages 29 and 23 suffering from gunshot wounds. Read More

Judge declares mistrial in case of Baltimore mother, man charged with shooting 13-year-old girl in the back

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Baltimore Sun- “Sgt. Valentine Nagovich did not turn over to the State’s Attorney’s Office discovery that he should have turned over, and he admitted that,” Bledsoe said. “We are taking corrective measures with BPD to make sure that doesn’t happen again, and BPD has been supportive.” Read More

Seattle city attorney’s race: A stark choice marks the 2021 ballot

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Crosscut- Thomas-Kennedy questions the utility of charging many misdemeanor cases, instead pledging financial programs to make victims whole while offering more alternatives to jail. “I think part of it is really explaining who we're prosecuting and for what,” she said. “Ninety percent of the people prosecuted for misdemeanors are poor enough to qualify for a public defender. We’re really only prosecuting poor people and disproportionately Black and brown people.” Read More

Baltimore mother, man on trial for allegedly shooting, paralyzing girl over schoolyard beef

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Baltimore Sun- “She went over to confront her friend; she was shot in her back and paralyzed,” Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Crowley told a Baltimore jury Wednesday. Read More

Baltimore, Md. (October 8, 2021) - Yesterday, a Baltimore City Jury convicted Donte Patterson of Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Use of a Firearm in a Crime of Violence, and Conspiracy to Commit Murder. Patterson is fac

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DOJ- The indictment was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Jonathan F. Lenzner; Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Chief Amal E. Awad of the Anne Arundel County Police Department; Chief Edward Jackson of the Annapolis Police Department; Commissioner Michael Harrison of the Baltimore Police Department; and State’s Attorney for Baltimore City Marilyn Mosby. Read More

Baltimore City is always being reimagined

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AFRO- Mayor Scott also transformed the way that city officials and residents view crime in Baltimore. His new crime plan looks at violence as a public health issue, which is why he said he rebranded the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice to the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. Police must focus on the most violent groups, like gun traffickers, according to Mayor Scott. Calls that regard substance abuse and mental and behavioral problems must be diverted to health experts. Read More

Sonya Harrison helps get Maryland residents back to work after incarceration. Here’s how she does it.

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Baltimore Sun- As the lead job coach for Maryland New Directions, Sonya Harrison enjoys mentoring clients and hearing about their successes. New Directions is a Baltimore-based workforce development nonprofit whose participants are predominantly low income and Black, serving about 350 people a year. The organization offers free certifications in areas including commercial transportation; career focus, which allows graduates to work in hospitality; and maritime, transportation, distribution and logistics, which allows graduates to work in warehouses. Other topics covered include mock interviews and how to have a professional social media presence. Read More

Man charged with murder of woman found dead after Latrobe Homes fire, Baltimore police say

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Baltimore Sun - Baltimore Police have charged a man with killing 55-year-old Pamela Pitts, the woman found dead after a house fire in Baltimore’s Latrobe Homes last month. Read More