Assault

Advertisements praising Maryland's new gun control law will appear on Baltimore-area televisions soon after the measure is signed Thursday - the first volley in a two-pronged effort to defend the legislation and the politicians who voted for it. The gun control advocates behind the ads want to bolster support among Maryland voters in case there's a referendum next year. But they also want to counter a campaign to oust lawmakers who backed the bill in the General Assembly. "We know that the other side will be attacking the legislators who voted for it, and we want people to know those legislators were doing the right thing to save lives in Maryland," said Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence.

Baltimore police officer Robert W. Mitchell faces a second-degree assault charge after police and prosecutors accused him of overstepping his powers and beating a young man more than a year ago. The Baltimore state's attorney's office also charged Mitchell on Friday with two counts of misconduct in office. Prosecutors allege that Mitchell beat Baltimore resident Tiyon Williams in the 1000 block of N. Mount St. on May 19, 2012. "The allegations against Mr. Mitchell are reprehensible," Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts said in a statement, "and I promise we will continue to aggressively target those who sacrilege the good men and women of this department and the sacred privilege of serving our community.

National Rifle Association President David Keene said Tuesday that the organization intends to challenge the constitutionality of Maryland's newly passed gun law, as a conservative group readied plans to try to overturn the law through voter referendum. Keene said during a radio interview the group will “absolutely” go to the courts. “We are already in court in New York and we will be in court and aiding those in Maryland - and I am myself a Maryland resident - who want to challenge the constitutionality of this and other provisions here in Maryland,” Keene said to the Washington, D.C., station WTOP.

A school police officer at Pikesville High School was assaulted after responding to a fight in the gym this morning, Baltimore County police said. The fight broke out between two students shortly before 9:40 a.m., said Cpl. Cathy Batton, a police spokeswoman. No injuries were reported. Charges are pending against both students, Batton said. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez

A 7-year-old girl who told police that she was sexually assaulted while walking home from a playground in Columbia has recanted her story. Howard County police said the girl told child-abuse investigators on Thursday that there had been no assault. The girl first told police that she was approached by four young men as she walked home from a playground Oct. 12 at about 7 p.m. She said the attack occurred in a large grassy area in the 9600 block of Basket Ring Road. She had described her attackers as four men with dreadlock hairstyles Three had motor scooters, she said, and the fourth rode a bicycle.

Anne Arundel County Police have made an arrest in an April 15 rape case Friday afternoon. Police arrested and charged Stephen Phillip Utendahl, 29, of 3500 block of Sharonwood Road in connection with first-degree rape and assault that occurred April 14 on Sharonwood Road in Laurel, according to a news release. Officers spoke with the female victim, who identified Utendahl on April 15, police said. Utendahl knew and targeted the victim, police said. Utendahl was arrested Friday at an apartment complex in the 2400 block of Corning Avenue in Fort Washington in Prince George's County, police said.

Baltimore County police are investigating an assault outside of Woodlawn High School Friday after a video was posted on YouTube. The incident took place sometime after school but does not appear to have been reported to police, according to a statement from the department. The victim and a 17-year old suspect have been identified, police said, but it is unclear if the teen will be charged as an adult or a juvenile. Police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathy Batton said investigators are still trying to determine if Woodlawn students were involved in the incident.

Anne Arundel police are investigating the death of an 50-year-old man who died Friday night after an apparent assault in Brooklyn Park. At 9:02 p.m. officers responded to the 6000-block of Richie Highway in Brooklyn Park in response to a reported assault. There, officers found the body of Nick Gilbert Gartelman Sr. CPR and medical aid was performed by officers and by Fire Department personnel. Gartelman Jr. was transported to Harbor Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

The following is compiled from police reports from the Cockeysville Precinct. Our policy is to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. White Hall Ensor Road , 19600 block, at 8:42 a.m. Jan. 29. Woman accepted ride from man inWashington, D.C. He drove to Ensor Road, pulled a knife and attempted to sexually assault the woman but she fled, ran to a nearby house and called 911. Phoenix Sweet Air Road , 4400 block, between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Feb. 2. Riding mower removed from garage but not taken.

Baltimore Police released video footage of a man they say sexually assaulted a transgendered teenager in the Barclay neighborhood. The attack occurred in mid-November. Police said the 16-year-old victim was walking in the 2300 block of Hunter St. just before 3:30 a.m. and was forced aginst a fence and assaulted. Police say they recently obtained video footage of the suspect and released it in hopes it might generate tips. Anyone with information was urged to call the Baltimore Police Special Investigations Section at 410-396-2076.

In Washington, as in any seat of power, most acts of folly begin with hubris. Government leaders, elected or appointed, usually don't intend to do the wrong thing, to overstep or cause harm, but they become so convinced, so certain of their purpose, that they are blinded by their pride. Perhaps that's the root of the problem infecting the Justice Department, where officials secretly obtained months of telephone records of journalists working for the Associated Press. That Attorney General Eric Holder or anyone else there could find that action acceptable is frightening, to say the least.

The recent study estimating that there may have been 26,000 cases of sexual assault in the military last year stirred a lot of tough talk from the Pentagon and the White House over the past 24 hours. But the question is whether that outrage will translate into much-needed reforms within the armed forces. On that front, we have our doubts. The U.S. military's failure to adequately address sex crimes within its ranks is hardly a new problem, but the rise of such incidents - up from 19,000 in 2010 - is shocking.

Baltimore County police are investigating an assault outside of Woodlawn High School Friday after a video was posted on YouTube. The incident took place sometime after school but does not appear to have been reported to police, according to a statement from the department. The victim and a 17-year old suspect have been identified, police said, but it is unclear if the teen will be charged as an adult or a juvenile. Police spokeswoman Cpl. Cathy Batton said investigators are still trying to determine if Woodlawn students were involved in the incident.

The Pentagon estimated Tuesday that 26,000 members of the military were sexually assaulted last year, 36 percent more than a year earlier, in a trend so severe that senior officials warned it could threaten recruiting and retention of military personnel. President Barack Obama, reacting to the startling figures, said he has "no tolerance" for sexual assaults in the ranks and pledged to crack down on commanders who ignore the problem. Obama said he had spoken to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and ordered that officers "up and down the food chain" get the message.

City police say homicide detectives are investigating the death of a man found inside a home in Northwest Baltimore, and an assault in Curtis Bay that left a 19-year-old critically injured.  There were few details about the homicide case. Police said they were called to a home in the 4100 block of Groveland Ave. at about 8:10 p.m. for a report of a person not breathing, and found a man with "trauma to the body. " He was pronounced dead at the scene, and his identity and cause of death were pending, police said.  At 1:45 a.m. Tuesday, police said a 19-year-old man was sitting in front of a home in the 1600 block of Cypress St. with two other people when a man exchanged words with the group.

The following is compiled from Howard police reports. East Columbia Broken Land Parkway and Stevens Forest Road, 1:30 a.m. March 29. While stopped at a traffic light, the victim heard an unknown man knocking on the window of his vehicle. When the victim unlocked the vehicle door and opened it, the man produced a handgun and ordered the driver to the passenger seat. The victim attempted to exit via the passenger side door but was stopped by a second man and was then struck with the handgun by the first man, resulting in an injury to his face.

An assault on two males shut down The Block to traffic late Tuesday as police detectives sought information on the apparent altercation, according to Baltimore police. Police responded to the scene in the 400 block of East Baltimore Street about 8:45 p.m. and found two males of unknown ages who appeared to have been assaulted outside "with an edged weapon," said Detective Jeremy Silbert, a police spokesman. Silbert said he did not know whether the victims were stabbed, cut or injured in some other way. The victims were transported to an area hospital, Silbert said.

A Springfield man, 28, reported that he was hit in the head with a skateboard and robbed July 10 as he was getting out of his car in the 9100 block of Elaine Court. According to Laurel Police, the man said four males and a female approached him as he exited his car. One person struck the man on the head with a skateboard and took his wallet and flowers. According to police, the person smashed windows on four vehicles before leaving in the direction of Bowie Road and Lafayette Avenue.

The House of Delegates voted Wednesday to give Maryland one of the toughest gun laws in the nation, passing a bill that would ban the sale of assault-type weapons, set a 10-bullet limit on magazines and require fingerprints and a license to buy a handgun. Delegates altered the Senate's bill during more than 10 hours of emotional floor debate that lasted over two days. Key lawmakers said they expect the differences to be resolved quickly and the legislation sent to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his promised signature.

A Laurel teenager is being charged as an adult with first-degree assault in the shooting of a police vehicle with a BB gun while it was being driven by an officer, Prince George's County Police said Saturday. Andre Christopher Rivers, 16, of the 13500 block of Attleboro Court, was arrested Friday evening after an officer driving along Contee Road "heard a projectile strike his driver's side door" about 6 p.m. and immediately called for backup, police said in a statement. "The patrol officer believed he was being fired on and immediately requested a search of the area," the statement said.