Baltimore City Detention

A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder yesterday in last year's killing of a cabdriver in Northeast Baltimore. Damon Holmes of the 6600 block of Old Harford Road also pleaded guilty to use of a handgun in a crime of violence and robbery with a deadly weapon, according to the Baltimore state's attorney's office. Prosecutors said Holmes shot and killed 28-year-old Oumar Bah on May 31 last year in the 7100 block of McClean Blvd. Bah had picked up Holmes on Northern Parkway and was dropping him off when the shooting occurred.

A man awaiting trial for murder was found stabbed to death yesterday morning in his cell at Baltimore City Detention Center, said a spokesman for the state police, the agency heading the investigation.Pete Peringer, the spokesman, said the state-run center in the 400 block of E. Eager St. will remain in a lockdown while authorities seek a suspect and weapon.During a lockdown, inmates are confined to their cells, he said.Peringer said correctional officers found Scott P. Montague, 20, in his cell about 10: 20 a.m., bleeding from multiple stab wounds.

A 19-year-old Baltimore man was stabbed to death yesterday at the Baltimore City Detention Center, where he was serving time for car theft charges.John Jackson was stabbed multiple times in the torso shortly before 11 a.m. while he was being transferred from one section of the detention center to another, state police said.He was taken by ambulance to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.State police investigators conducted more than 100 interviews at the detention center and said they had identified at least one suspect, but no arrests have been made.

A 22-year-old woman being held at the Baltimore City Detention Center on assault, robbery and handgun charges was found dead about 7: 05 p.m. Saturday after apparently using a shoelace to hang herself, a detention center spokeswoman said.Wyvetra Gray of the 1400 block of Riggs Ave. in West Baltimore had been incarcerated in the women's detention center on East Eager Street since April 7, said spokeswoman Barbara Cooper. She said Gray was not under a suicide watch.Gray was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel who responded to a 911 call, Cooper said.

In response to concerns about the mistaken release of four jTC Maryland inmates, prison officials say they have established new policies for reviewing cases. They also believe expansion of a computerized tracking system will help prevent problems."We're not going to make excuses," said Leonard A. Sipes, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services."The public has a right to be upset with us."The four incidents, all since Sept. 30, resulted from correctional workers' failure to carefully review the inmates' case files -- on paper or computer screens -- before letting them go. Some of the problems occurred while inmates were being transferred from one lockup to another.

An inmate awaiting trial on murder and drug charges died late Friday at the Baltimore City Detention Center after he was found unconscious in his cell with a needle and syringe in his arm.Quentin A. Morgan, 33, was pronounced dead shortly before midnight in the center's infirmary. A correctional officer making rounds about 11: 30 p.m. noticed that Morgan's head was drooping and that he was unresponsive in his single-bunk cell, police and jail officials said.Morgan was pronounced dead minutes later after efforts to revive him failed, authorities said.

State police are investigating the death of a woman found unconscious in her cell at the Baltimore City Detention Center late last week.Police said yesterday that there was no sign of foul play in the death of Shirley James, 27, of Baltimore but that they were awaiting the results of a report from the state medical examiner's office.The cause of death had not been determined yesterday.Friends and family members have been raising concerns about the death for several days. They said it seemed peculiar that James died in her sleep for no apparent reason.

A correctional officer was charged yesterday, after a monthlong investigation of his activities, with bringing drugs and alcohol into the Baltimore City Detention Center.Officer Jimmie Thompson, 34, was stopped by a drug-sniffing golden retriever as he attempted to enter the East Baltimore jail about 3 p.m. yesterday for his regular evening shift. Jail authorities said a search of him and his satchel revealed several large gelatin capsules filled with heroin, packets containing about 2 ounces of marijuana and an iced-tea bottle filled with rum, jail authorities said.

Two inmates suspected of fatally stabbing a third inmate during a fight Saturday night have been placed in segregation pending an investigation by state police, a Baltimore City Detention Center spokeswoman said yesterday.Barbara Cooper, the spokeswoman, said Tyrone John Thomas Pinder, 22, who was being held on murder and other charges, was stabbed in the chest about 7 p.m. in a housing area of the north building. She said he received first aid from jail personnel before being taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died at 8: 30 p.m.No weapon was recovered, Ms. Cooper said.

Jacqueline L. Bouknight finally won release from jail yesterday after spending more than seven years there for civil contempt, still defying a judge's pleas to provide the whereabouts of her son, Maurice, after an emotional hearing in which attorneys alternately called her heroine and villain.Reading a 13-page opinion about the historic case, Baltimore Circuit Judge David B. Mitchell railed against the 29-year-old mother, saying that he found she had abused her child and could still be a danger to him.He barred Ms. Bouknight from having any contact, physical or otherwise, with her son unless a psychological evaluation or some other evidence comes forth to show she is a fit parent.

Downtown Baltimore's campus of ancient-looking prison buildings, several of which date to the 1800s, is slated for a major face-lift as the state moves forward with plans for two new detention centers that would cost more than $100 million each. A state architectural board is scheduled to review today the design for a five-story, 180-bed detention center for teens facing adult criminal charges. Construction of the glassy, modern building along East Monument Street could begin next summer.

The 40,000 men and women held in Baltimore jails each year could receive speedier access to medical care and see improved sanitation conditions under a settlement between state officials and prisoner rights advocates filed Tuesday in federal court. Over the years, the advocates have documented what they say are dire problems at the Baltimore City Detention Center and the Central Booking and Intake Center: A longtime diabetic died after not receiving insulin. An asthmatic died because jail employees thought he was faking his condition and didn't give him an inhaler.

A Baltimore circuit judge, who has three times been the subject of judicial disciplinary investigations, ordered a spectator to jail for 10 days for crying out "love you" to her handcuffed brother in the courtroom - and then reversed himself after a public defender spoke up on her behalf. As Tamika Clevenger left a Baltimore courtroom Friday, she shouted, "Love you, Nick," which set off Judge Alfred Nance. He ordered a sheriff to pull Clevenger from the hallway and found the 24-year-old in contempt.

Anyone looking for Marcus Antwan Pearson knew to find him on the edge of Normal Avenue, a small, hopeless stretch of one-way street pointing toward Harford Road in North Baltimore. Here, he dealt crack cocaine alongside other young men in T-shirts and baggy jeans, red bandannas hanging like flags from their back pockets. In a day, he could make $1,700, which he spent on cheap hotels and feel-good highs from Ecstasy, marijuana and women. Pearson had grown up tall - 6-foot-2 - and narrow in East Baltimore, where he was born.

Police investigate deaths of two men in city City police are investigating the killing of two men who died last week in separate incidents. Wilbert Flowers, 31, who was shot three times in the head July 28, succumbed to his injuries Aug. 25, police said. He was found lying on the ground in the 800 block of East 43rd St. off York Road and was taken to Sinai Hospital with critical injuries. He died at a local hospice, and his death was ruled a homicide Aug. 26. Floyd Jones, 56, was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital at 3 p.m. that day suffering from head injuries and was later pronounced dead.

Maryland State Police and correctional officials are investigating the fatal stabbing Thursday night of a man who was being held on gun charges in the Baltimore City Detention Center, according to a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. The victim was identified as Kenneth Robinson, 20, who lived in the 3100 block of Belle Ave. in Northwest Baltimore. Rick Binetti, the spokesman, released few details of the attack. He said it occurred about 7 p.m. inside the state-run detention center on East Eager Street.

A correctional officer at the Baltimore City Detention Center has been arrested and charged with drug offenses after another officer saw marijuana being passed to a prisoner, according to a statement yesterday by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. According to court documents, Tonyette Yeargin, 19, of Northeast Baltimore was arrested Saturday on charges that include possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and delivery of illegal contraband. The statement says a correctional officer witnessed the incident and notified authorities.

Maryland correctional authorities are investigating the death Monday night of a Baltimore City Detention Center inmate as a homicide, a prison spokesman said. Correctional officers found Xavier A. Tilghman, 21, lying in grave condition about 7:20 p.m. in his cell. Paramedics took him to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died Tuesday, according to Mark Vernarelli, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Vernarelli said that investigators in the public safety department's internal investigative unit are handling the case as an apparent homicide.

A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder yesterday in last year's killing of a cabdriver in Northeast Baltimore. Damon Holmes of the 6600 block of Old Harford Road also pleaded guilty to use of a handgun in a crime of violence and robbery with a deadly weapon, according to the Baltimore state's attorney's office. Prosecutors said Holmes shot and killed 28-year-old Oumar Bah on May 31 last year in the 7100 block of McClean Blvd. Bah had picked up Holmes on Northern Parkway and was dropping him off when the shooting occurred.

A fight that broke out among detainees on a transport van at the Baltimore City Detention Center was brought under control by a an elite response team of correctional officers who happened to be gathered across the street. The team of about a dozen officers was outside Supermax, a maximum-security prison in the 400 block of E. Madison St., when the fight began shortly before 4 p.m. yesterday. A van returning from court with five detainees entered the gate at the detention center. Once the van was inside, two detainees in the vehicle began fighting, according to Barbara Cooper, a spokeswoman for the city detention center.