Arrest

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court pulled back on the so-called "exclusionary rule" yesterday and ruled that evidence from an illegal search can be used if a police officer made an innocent mistake. The 5-4 opinion signals the court is ready to rethink this key rule in that criminal law and restrict its reach. It will also give prosecutors and judges nationwide more leeway to make use of evidence that might have been seen as questionable before. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the guilty should not "go free" just because a computer error or a misunderstanding between police officers led to a wrongful arrest or search.

Mayor Sheila Dixon apologized yesterday to the parents of the 7-year-old boy whom police arrested after seeing him ride a motorized dirt bike, saying that officers had "better options" available than handcuffing and detaining the child. "Arresting a 7-year-old is not consistent with my philosophy of community policing," Dixon said at a City Hall news conference. "I know that many people in the community are outraged at this, it was a bad choice." The arrest, first reported in The Examiner, occurred about 4 p.m. Tuesday when a city police officer reported seeing a 7-year-old riding a blue-and-white Yamaha dirt bike on the sidewalk in the 2100 block of E. Federal St., said Officer Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Northeastern Arrest -- Two men were arrested Tuesday in a house in the 3300 block of Ramona Ave. by members of the Regional Warrant Apprehension Task Force on warrants charging each man with first-degree murder and related offenses. Held without bail at Central Booking and Intake Center pending bail review hearings before a District Court commissioner were Brandon Green, 22, and Jerome Whitaker, 23, both of the 3300 block of Ramona Ave. Green and Whitaker are each charged with shooting Christopher Clarke, 19, of the 3000 block of Mayfield Ave. about 8 p.m. March 13 in the 3100 block of Cliftmont Ave. Western Robbery try/arrest -- A man suspected of an attempted armed robbery at West North Avenue and Ashburton Street about noon yesterday was captured after he fired at least one shot at pursuing police.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Southwestern Arrests -- Two men were arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder in the fatal shooting of a woman and the wounding of her boyfriend as the victims sat in a car in the 800 block of N. Hilton St. on Jan. 31. Held at Central Booking and Intake Center were Steven Blunt, 32, of Charles Town, W.Va., and Nicholas Deminds, 18, of the 700 block of Linnard St. Both are charged with killing Stephanie Stevens, 22, and attempting to kill her boyfriend, both of Martinsburg, W.Va.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Western Arrest -- Brandon Burton, 17, a student at Southwestern High School in the 200 block of Font Hill Ave., was arrested yesterday at the school on a warrant charging him as an adult with first-degree murder. Burton, of the 1800 block of W. Mulberry St,, is charged with shooting Tereem Taylor, 21, of the 500 block of Winston Ave. on Nov. 21 in the 1700 block of W. Saratoga St. Taylor died that day at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Baltimore police need to brush up on the law - or get a new lawyer. The department, in at least a handful of cases, has continued to demand that people waive their right to sue in order to expunge an arrest that occurred before October of this year and never led to a charge. They've apparently got it wrong. That proviso was rightly changed this year by Maryland lawmakers because it was an unfair demand and an obstacle to someone trying to clear his name and record. The city's Police Department, which is taking another look at the law, should admit its mistake and abide by the law. The changes in the expungement law were driven in part by the police practice of arresting people for loitering, drinking beer on the street and other minor offenses in an effort to prevent more serious crime.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Eastern Arrest -- Two officers responding to a report of a drug violation in the 1500 block of Hoffman St. about 5 p.m. Thursday saw a man acting suspiciously in an alley and gave chase. The man shot at them once, missing. The officers followed the man into a house in the 1400 block of N. Caroline St., where they arrested him. Police recovered keys to two vehicles stolen in carjackings the day before.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Southeastern Shooting -- A man, 30, was sitting at the wheel of his 2000 Dodge sedan with a male passenger, 33, in the front seat about 2:10 a.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of N. Streeper St. when a man tapped on the driver's-side window. When the driver rolled it down, the man fired into the car - the bullet grazing the driver's face and entering the passenger's right leg. Both were treated at area hospitals.

A man was treated at a hospital yesterday for head injuries after a Harford County sheriff's deputy used a Taser device to subdue him, authorities said. The man, whom authorities did not identify, was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center as a precaution, said Sgt. Christina Presberry, a sheriff's office spokeswoman. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Authorities said the man and another person were speeding on motorcycles about 4:15 p.m. on Bynum Road when deputies tried to flag them down.

Mistakenly released, suspect back in custody A murder suspect who was mistakenly released from prison Tuesday was behind bars again last night arrested and charged with escape even though prison authorities acknowledge they had set him free.The escape charge was the only way tolegally return James C. Burton to custody because paperwork ordering his detention has disappeared or was never generated, said Maj. Priscilla Doggett, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Division of Correction. "This will afford us the opportunity to go ahead and try to find out what happened here," Doggett said last night of the "retake warrant" served to Burton after he surrendered to police.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Southwestern Baltimore Victim identified: Police identified Marvin Hawkins, 38, of the 1300 block of Taylor Ave. as the man fatally shot Nov. 12 while seated in a car parked in the 3500 block of Gelston Drive. No arrest had been made. Robbery: Four men, one with a handgun and another a shotgun, robbed Irvington Cut Rate Liquors in the 4100 block of Frederick Ave. of an undisclosed sum of money, a laptop computer and cigarettes about 10 p.m. Saturday.

Two civil rights organizations are suing on behalf of a Frederick County woman who says she arrested for no reason and jailed for more than a month last year before being released. New York-based Latinojustice PRLDEF and Casa de Maryland are alleging immigration enforcement violations by the Frederick County Sheriff's Department. In the federal lawsuit, Roxana Orellano Santos said that she was eating lunch by herself on a grassy area in Frederick on Oct. 7, 2008, when two deputies asked for identification.

When you tell someone you "got arrested," it's a safe bet you mean a cop put you in handcuffs and took you to jail. Turns out in Maryland you can "get arrested" without any of those things happening. In fact, the law says you can "be arrested" by a police officer even if that very same police officer insists he didn't arrest you. And that can affect what happens later, should you be charged with a crime. It comes down to this: At what point does a confrontation between citizen and cop meet the legal definition of an arrest?

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Eastern Baltimore Homicide/arrest: Police arrested Hakeem Horton, 20, Monday on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder and other offenses in the shooting about 1:30 a.m. Oct. 10, 2007, of Montaz Askew, 20, in the 1600 block of Normal Ave. Askew died a short time later at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Details of the arrest and the killing were not available. Northwestern Baltimore Shooting: A man was shot in the ankle about noon Tuesday in the 4900 block of Edgemere Ave. by an unknown assailant and was treated at an area hospital.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Southern Baltimore Stabbing : Police were seeking three men who attacked a man, 35, in the 400 block of E. Randall St. in Riverside about 2 a.m. Saturday and stabbed him once in the upper right arm. The victim was taken by a city Fire Department ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma Center and was reported in fair condition. The victim told police he thought the attack on him was related to an incident earlier that involved his son. No arrests had been made.

BEIRUT, Lebanon - - A high-ranking conservative cleric called for the arrest of Iran's opposition leaders Friday while a counterpart demanded the release of political prisoners as the nation's political and religious establishment showed no signs of reconciliation following the disputed June 12 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In addition, many lawmakers and clergy from Ahmadinejad's own conservative political camp fumed over his proposed Cabinet, including his decision to nominate three female ministers.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Eastern Baltimore Shooting/arrest: A 64-year-old man was arrested early Wednesday at his home in the 2100 block of Homewood Ave. and was charged with attempted murder in the shooting a short time earlier of another man. Police responding to a report of a shooting shortly after 1 a.m. found the victim, 52, lying in the street and bleeding from a bullet wound to the upper body. The victim, whose name was not released, was taken by a city Fire Department ambulance to an area hospital.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Northeastern Baltimore Shooting/arrest : Two men were arguing outside a house in the 4900 block of Harford Road about 8:30 a.m. Sunday when one pulled out a handgun and shot the other man multiple times, once in the face. The victim, 39 and a resident of the house, was taken by ambulance to an area hospital and was reported in serious condition. Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman, said the victim was expected to survive. Arrested at the scene and charged with attempted murder and related charges and being held at Central Booking and Intake Center was Conti Mims, 47, of the 1600 block of Ruxton Ave. Western Baltimore Burglary : Police were seeking the person or persons who broke into a deli over the weekend.

Police reports in Baltimore city and county: Central Baltimore Assault/arrest : A man was arrested Friday and charged with aggravated assault after throwing liquid bleach into the face of his girlfriend during an argument in the 1900 block of McCulloh St. The man's name was not available. Assault : Police were seeking two men who attacked a homeless woman, 37, about 7 a.m. Saturday while she attempted to sleep on a piece of cardboard in an alley in the 300 block of S. Sharp St. The woman told police she was approached by two men, one of whom said he had just gotten out of jail.

Baltimore's expansive police surveillance network has led to a homicide arrest, after a downtown stabbing was captured in real-time by city cameras. In another case, police arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting after a home surveillance system captured a confrontation on a block where a man was gunned down. Authorities monitoring the city's blue-light CitiWatch cameras observed an altercation at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday in the 300 block of N. Paca St. and officers who responded to the scene found 18-year-old David Reese suffering from a stab wound to the chest, according to charging documents.