Assault Rifle

An Essex woman known as a "neighborhood mom" was sentenced to 16 months in prison yesterday for purchasing the assault rifle that Joseph C. Palczynski used to kill four people during a two-week rampage last March. Constance A. Waugh, 48, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis in a Baltimore courtroom packed with relatives of Palczynski's victims. Garbis said sentencing guidelines that locked him into imposing a maximum of 16 months were "very, very low." He added that by giving Waugh the maximum, he was sending a message about illegal gun purchases.

A Catonsville man accused of using an AK-47 assault rifle in the robbery of the Wilde Lake Giant Food store two years ago was indicted a second time by a Howard County grand jury yesterday, seven months after prosecutors dropped the first set of charges because of insufficient evidence. The grand jury returned a seven-count indictment yesterday on armed robbery, assault and other related charges against Duane E. Curtis, 24, of the 1200 block of St. Agnes Lane. Curtis, who was jailed not long after the robbery on an unrelated drug conviction, is also a recent prison escapee, according to a correction official.

Two brothers charged as part of a regional drug ring from which federal authorities seized $8 million worth of cocaine had a "virtual arsenal" of weapons available to them, a federal prosecutor told a U.S. District Court judge yesterday. In a detention hearing before Magistrate Judge Charles B. Day, U.S. Attorney Ranganath Manthripragada talked about the combination of drugs, weapons and cash that police said they found in the homes of James and Jamerson Tillman. The brothers and a third man, Lyle Kent Wade, 47, of the 4700 block of 67th Ave. in Landover Hills were charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Baltimore City Northern District Drug arrests: Officers posing as drug dealers arrested 20 people who were seeking to buy narcotics in the 4500 block of Pimlico Road on Monday afternoon and seized three cars, three large-caliber firearms -- including an assault rifle -- and nearly $500. Four of those arrested were from Baltimore County and one was from Annapolis, said Lt. Jack Long of the Operations Unit. Maj. Robert Biemiller, district commander, said Operation Roy Rogers was named because the area is known as "The Ranch."

A car traveling on a West Baltimore street was sprayed with gunfire yesterday morning, killing the driver and wounding two passengers. The car, which police said may have been shot with an assault weapon, then careened into a commercial building and rowhouse, showering debris on an 85-year-old woman. It was the second triple shooting this week on the west side, continuing a pattern a violence that has made the Western District the second deadliest this year. The Western District commander, Maj. Kenneth L. Blackwell, refused to comment on the violence, but area residents demanded answers yesterday.

County police arrested Wednesday a Glen Burnie man who they said drove a flatbed truck through the front of a Glen Burnie gun shop last month and stole four guns.Police, who said the truck was burned to destroy evidence, reported recovering three of the stolen guns -- including an assault rifle with a silencer -- along with drug paraphernalia when they raided the man's house.Christopher Dallas Thomas, 19, of the 7800 block of Shellye Road was charged with two counts of burglary, felony theft, vehicle theft, arson, possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia, possession of a regulated firearm, underage firearm possession and other firearms charges.

A man suspected of firing an assault rifle after he was evicted from a party in Savage late Saturday was arrested and charged with first-degree assault and weapons violations, Howard County police said.Police said the man brought the rifle to a private party in the 8200 block of Glen Court and was told to leave. After he left, gunshots were reported in the area, police said.There were no injuries.During a ground and air search, police saw the man in the 8600 block of Washington Blvd. in Jessup and arrested him. Police found a .223 caliber Ruger mini-14 assault rifle and several clips.

A former Justice Department lawyer spent two years amassing 500 fraudulent credit card accounts, federal prosecutors said yesterday.Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Eugene Martin Frese, 64, sat in federal court in Baltimore yesterday, fiddling with his gold Harvard Law School class ring and tie, loudly criticizing the government's portrayal of him as a swindler who hoarded a "treasure trove of assets."Frese was arrested Friday on charges of credit card fraud after a three-month investigation by U.S. postal inspectors.

Police raided a house in North Baltimore last night and seized $37,000, suspected narcotics and stolen property and an assault rifle, a police spokesman said.Sgt. Scott Rowe said charges were pending against a 63-year-old resident of the house in the 3500 block of Elm Ave. in Hampden.Lt. John D. Smith of the Northern District said members of the district's major-crimes unit and burglary squad detectives from headquarters entered the house about 8: 40 p.m. and seized a laundry basket containing suspected Dilaudid capsules, an AK-47 assault rifle and suspected stolen electronics and appliances.

Police arrested a man and a teen-ager last night in Southwest Baltimore and seized a quantity of illegal drugs and four firearms, including an AK-47 assault rifle.Lt. Russell Shea said he and Sgt. Tim Devine and Officer Sean Kapfhammer, all of the Southwestern District drug enforcement unit, were patrolling in an unmarked car in the 3500 block of Windsor Mill Road in Walbrook about 7 p.m. when they saw two males seated in a parked 1989 Nissan.After the officers got out of their car and approached the Nissan on foot, the teen-ager ran from the vehicle but was caught a short distance away, Shea said.