Student arrested for having starter pistol
An Annapolis High student will be charged as a juvenile after he brought a starter-style pistol to the school Thursday, according to Anne Arundel County police. No injuries were reported at the school at 2700 Riva Road. About 10:50 a.m., Annapolis High administrators received a tip that a student might have brought a gun to school, said Bob Moser, a spokesman for the public schools. A school resource officer and administrators found the student and escorted him away from other students. According to Moser and police, the pistol fell from the student after he refused to cooperate and ran away. Authorities locked down the school as a precaution while officers searched for the student, who was arrested about 11:40 a.m. off school property. Moser said a letter was being sent to parents about the incident. - From Baltimore Sun staff reports
Officer's request to move manslaughter trial denied
A Baltimore judge denied a city police officer's request to move his manslaughter trial to another part of the state. Attorneys for Officer Thomas Sanders III argued earlier this month that city residents - and thus, juries - distrust police so much that they can't render a fair verdict and that pretrial coverage has convicted their client. Sanders is accused of shooting a 27-year-old man in the back as he ran from him in a Northeast Baltimore shopping center in 2008. In an opinion signed Tuesday, Circuit Judge John P. Miller wrote that any prejudice caused by the press was irrelevant because "no evidence was presented, or arguments made as to why [jury selection] would be insufficient to provide a fair and impartial trial." Sanders' attorney, Henry Belsky, said he intends to renew the change of venue request at jury selection.
- Melissa Harris
Baltimore police arrest two in homicide cases
Baltimore homicide detectives say a 15-year-old boy was responsible for the fatal stabbing in 2007 of a man in West Baltimore, one of two recent homicide arrests. Marquel Gaffney, now 16, was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the killing of Alfred Smith, 56, who died Sept. 26, 2007. Charging documents do not spell out what revived the case 20 months after the stabbing, but Detective Kirk Hastings wrote that a witness was located and identified Gaffney, of the 1900 block of Harlem Ave. Police also made an arrest in the fatal shooting in April of 22-year-old Quinton Savage, who died after a fight in Brooklyn. Sami McCargo, 19, of the 2800 block of Winwood Court was identified by witnesses as the person they saw fire a handgun at Savage during a fight in that block, Detective Donald Diehl wrote in charging documents.
- Justin Fenton
