The renaissance of Bolton Hill has made it one of the city's most desirable neighborhoods, with tree-lined streets, a strong community association and stately 19th-century rowhouses that sell for an average price of nearly $240,000.
Neighbors are friendly. Police consider it among the city's safest areas.
But the comfort zone that Bolton Hill residents have grown accustomed to was attenuated this year when a man committed a string of offenses that escalated from simple burglaries to rape and attempted murder.
FOR THE RECORD - An article published in yesterday's editions of The Sun gave an incorrect first name for a man Baltimore police have charged with numerous crimes in Bolton Hill. Gregory Rich, 39, of the 1200 block of Mosher St., has been charged with crimes including burglary, rape and attempted murder. The Sun regrets the error.
George Rich, who lives in nearby Upton, was arrested March 31 after investigators matched his fingerprints with some taken from the scenes of the break-ins. Rich, 39, of the 1200 block of Mosher St., was indicted yesterday on rape, attempted murder, sex offense and burglary charges.
Police said he broke into Bolton Hill homes and apartment buildings, some housing students from the Maryland Institute College of Art.
Rich was involved in nearly 20 burglaries and home invasions from Jan. 7 to March 29, investigators said. Rich is accused of raping a woman in the 1400 block of Eutaw Place on March 19 and stabbing another woman during an attempted rape in the 300 block of Dolphin St. seven days later. He is being held without bail at the Central Booking and Intake Center.
Bolton Hill resident Sarah Cross, 28, said she's thankful for Rich's arrest. News of the crimes was posted periodically on the neighborhood's Web site.
`Heightened awareness'
"I think everyone took more precaution, especially after dark," Cross said. "It heightened everyone's awareness."
While the neighborhood was mostly hit by a spate of burglaries, the break-ins occasionally turned violent. In one, a woman was stabbed in the chest during an attempted rape in late March, said Maj. John Skinner, commander of the Central District, which includes Bolton Hill.
The stabbing occurred March 26 in an apartment building largely occupied by MICA students, Skinner said.
"This suspect was ... entering houses early in the morning or late at night," Skinner said. "During certain times, the residents were waking up, and he was getting confronted by the homeowners or other people living in the houses."
In several home invasions, residents were physically assaulted, Lt. Matthew Bauler of the Baltimore Police Department's district detective section said.
Police say Bolton Hill was familiar territory for Rich.
