An Owings Mills woman was sentenced Wednesday to a year in prison after she pleaded guilty to stealing more than $450,000 from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, according to the Maryland attorney general's office. Cheryl Denise Green was ordered to pay back $332,115, undergo a psychiatric evaluation and not seek employment with the state after her involvement in a two-year theft scheme, authorities said. Green, 45, began working as a division manager for the school in December 2005 and had access to a UMB Visa credit card to make payments to vendors, buy office supplies and use for grant allocations. Authorities say Green used the card to make more than 200 fraudulent transactions during her 23-month tenure. In October 2007, Green was told her position would be eliminated in a department reorganization, and that her last day would be at the end of January 2008. On Jan. 27, Green deposited a check for $137,000 made payable to UMB into her personal bank account, authorities say. The bank notified the school, prompting an audit. Green pleaded guilty to felony theft Feb. 27.
Region Briefs
- Brent Jones
Middle River man arrested on marijuana, assault charges
A 54-year-old Baltimore County resident was arrested Wednesday after a road rage incident last week on Interstate 695 led state police to the man's house, where authorities say they found marijuana and a 12-gauge shotgun. Joseph M. Petajnik of the 12000 block of Cunninghill Cove Road in Middle River was charged with possession of drugs with intent to distribute, assault and reckless endangerment. Petajnik was driving a 2007 Hyundai Sante Fe on the Beltway near Route 702 on May 29 when he got into a dispute with a woman and showed a handgun, police said. The woman contacted state police and provided a description of the car. Troopers traced the vehicle to Petajnik and searched his house and vehicle for the weapon. Petajnik was to appear before a District Court commissioner along with his wife, Bonnie, who was also arrested at the home.
- Brent Jones
Jessup man to serve 5 years in teen friend's death
A 22-year-old Jessup man will serve five years in prison in the fatal shooting of a teenage friend last September. Michael Mullinax, 17, died after being shot in the chest by Kenneth Ryan Bowser in the basement of Bowser's home in the 8100 block of Sheffield Court, according to prosecutors. Bowser told police that he had been drinking before Mullinax arrived at his home, and the two were handling a 9 mm Luger when it went off. Bowser was sentenced Thursday in Howard County Circuit Court.
