Car Parked

A Baltimore County jury convicted David L. Holland yesterday of murdering his ex-wife, after hearing evidence that Francesca Holland's car was found parked outside his house in February with his fingerprints, hat and glove, and her strangled body in the trunk.A jury deliberated for three hours before convicting Holland of first-degree murder and of robbery for stealing his ex-wife's videocassette recorder, portable stereo, vacuum cleaner and Honda Civic.Prosecutor Robin Coffin said the case involved "a tremendous amount of evidence because it was circumstantial.

Neighbors around Patterson Park are making an uproar over a plan that could add a paved road and nearly 100 parking spaces inside the park - changes city health and parks officials call "improvements" that may be needed to accommodate a new senior center and renovated recreation center. Hundreds signed a petition Tuesday and "liked" a Facebook page urging the city to reject or revise the proposal, arguing that it goes against past pledges to limit vehicle traffic in the park and promote green space.

POLICE LOG* Gravely: Someone slashed the two left tires of a car parked in the 1700 block of Swann Way sometime between 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:45 p.m. Monday.

The Democrat running to unseat Anne Arundel County Executive John R. Leopold criticized him Friday after a news report said that one of the three taxpayer-funded vehicles the executive uses was found parked at his girlfriend's home in Pasadena this week, when a spokesman for the executive had said it was in storage. "There is no excuse for Mr. Leopold to have three different vehicles and to spend more than $125,000 a year on security personnel when our Police Department is underfunded and our county is in a financial crisis," said Joanna L. Conti, who is challenging Leopold for the county's top post.

POLICE LOG* Maryland City: Someone stole a $350 car phone from a car parked in the 3400 block of Andrew Court sometime between 10:30 p.m. Sunday and 8:30 a.m. Monday.

Thieves stole tools, clothing, documents and other items Tuesday night from cars and trucks in a Brooklyn Park neighborhood between Belle Grove Road and Old Riverside Drive, county police said.They took construction tools worth at least $3,000 from a truck parked in the 300 block of Riverview Road. They took a clothing bag and an auto thermostat from one car parked in the 600 block of Old Riverside Drive and fishing rods worth $80 from a car parked in the 200 block of the same street.Thieves also removed the driver's side door of a car parked behind the M&D Auto Repair shop in the 6000 block of Belle Grove Road, and did about $1,000 damage to the ignition and stole a work bag containing personal documents from a car parked in the 300 block of W. Arundel Road.

POLICE LOG* Elvaton: Someone stole power and hand tools worth $1,500 Thursday from a car parked in the 8300 block of Brookwood Road.* Oak Grove: Someone stole two speakers and a winter coat Thursday from a car parked in the 700 block of Brackley Road. The items were valued at $200.* Old Mill: Someone stole a tool box and tools, all worth $1,500, Thursday from a truck parked in the 200 block of Nathan Way.

City police found two men shot to death in a car parked in the driveway of a Northwest Baltimore house early yesterday. Northwestern District officers were called to the 5500 block of Wesley Ave. shortly before 1 a.m. to investigate reported gunfire. They found a black Nissan sports car parked in a driveway, with bullet damage. Inside the vehicle were the two victims - one in the driver's seat, the other in the passenger seat. They were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Police said investigators were attempting to confirm the identities of the victims, believed to be in their 30s. They were tentatively identified by their girlfriends, but detectives were still seeking the men's relatives, police said.

Two men were in critical but stable condition yesterday after police found them suffering from gunshot wounds in a car parked in an Annapolis neighborhood. Police said the shootings were reported about 12:20 a.m. after residents heard gunshots, then the prolonged sound of a car horn. Officers found the two victims in a green four-door Toyota in the 1000 block of Forest Hills Ave., north of Quiet Waters Park. Two men walked up and shot the pair as they sat in the car, police said. The motive was unknown, and there was no further description of the suspects.

A 35-year-old Arnold woman was run over by her car yesterday when she tried to prevent it from rolling down her driveway after she put it in neutral and pushed it out of the garage to wash it, county police said.Leslie Allison Gluckman, 35, of the 900 block of Golden Eye Court suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where she was in stable condition yesterday evening.Lisa Ritter, a county spokeswoman, said Gluckman pushed her 1988 four-door Toyota out of the garage about 1 p.m. The car rolled backward down the driveway and over Gluckman when she ran behind the car to try to stop it.After the car struck Gluckman, Ritter said, it rolled into the street, smashed into a car parked in front of a nearby house, hit the house, then stopped in the yard.

Two men were in critical but stable condition yesterday after police found them suffering from gunshot wounds in a car parked in an Annapolis neighborhood. Police said the shootings were reported about 12:20 a.m. after residents heard gunshots, then the prolonged sound of a car horn. Officers found the two victims in a green four-door Toyota in the 1000 block of Forest Hills Ave., north of Quiet Waters Park. Two men walked up and shot the pair as they sat in the car, police said. The motive was unknown, and there was no further description of the suspects.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Northeastern Shooting -- A 36-year-old man was shot in the abdomen by an unknown assailant about 9:40 p.m. Thursday as he walked along Hillen Road near Hartsdale Road. The victim was treated at Good Samaritan Hospital and was expected to survive. Anyone with information was urged to call the district detective unit at 410-396-2444. Southeastern Arsons -- Police were seeking whoever set at least three fires between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Thursday.

City police found two men shot to death in a car parked in the driveway of a Northwest Baltimore house early yesterday. Northwestern District officers were called to the 5500 block of Wesley Ave. shortly before 1 a.m. to investigate reported gunfire. They found a black Nissan sports car parked in a driveway, with bullet damage. Inside the vehicle were the two victims - one in the driver's seat, the other in the passenger seat. They were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Police said investigators were attempting to confirm the identities of the victims, believed to be in their 30s. They were tentatively identified by their girlfriends, but detectives were still seeking the men's relatives, police said.

A double shooting Wednesday night in Westminster left a Carroll County man dead and a Baltimore man in the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he underwent surgery yesterday, Maryland State Police said. Donnie D. Bowman, 43, of the 100 block of West Main St., Westminster, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was the first homicide victim in Carroll County in more than two years, police said. Bowman was a passenger in a 1992 Honda Accord driven by Lamont Dew, 39, of Clover Road in Baltimore.

In Baltimore City 2 police cruisers collide, injuring 5 police officers Two Baltimore police cars racing to help other officers collided on a residential corner in East Baltimore yesterday. Five officers were treated, with injuries including a broken leg. Eastern District Officers Keith McNeill and Rhonda Doles were driving west on East Baltimore Street, with lights flashing and sirens blaring, in response to a request for back-up. The squad car ran a red light at East Baltimore Street and South Patterson Park Avenue and crashed into a police cruiser traveling south on South Patterson Park Avenue, police said.

An off-duty state trooper sustained minor injuries early yesterday when he was sprayed with a chemical irritant and struck by a car whose driver he had attempted to stop on the parking lot of a Bel Air shopping center, authorities said. The driver was caught and arrested moments later by another officer, state police said. The incident occurred about 3 a.m. on the lot in the 300 block of S. Main St., where Trooper Nayim Sadik, 24, who was not in uniform, was talking with friends. He heard spinning wheels and saw a 1994 Buick Park Avenue being driven recklessly on the lot, used by businesses including a 24-hour convenience store, police said.

Annapolis police arrested three city men and a juvenile on drug charges early yesterday after a patrol officer found that the license plates on the gray station wagon they were riding in were not assigned to that car.City police said the officer first spotted the car at the 7-Eleven at Spa Road and Forest Drive about 4 a.m. When he approached, the car drove off. Later, the officer spotted the same car parked at a 7-Eleven at Forest Drive and Bywater Road.By...

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Northeastern Shooting -- A 36-year-old man was shot in the abdomen by an unknown assailant about 9:40 p.m. Thursday as he walked along Hillen Road near Hartsdale Road. The victim was treated at Good Samaritan Hospital and was expected to survive. Anyone with information was urged to call the district detective unit at 410-396-2444. Southeastern Arsons -- Police were seeking whoever set at least three fires between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. Thursday.

In Baltimore City Man found bound, fatally shot in car parked at school A man was found bound and fatally shot in the chest yesterday morning inside a car parked at Lyndhurst Elementary School in West Baltimore, police said. Faculty members called police about 8:30 a.m. to report a man sleeping in the back of a beat-up, light blue Oldsmobile parked near a trash container in the school's parking lot, said Agent Donny Moses, a city police spokesman. The school, in the 600 block of Wildwood Parkway, remained open while detectives searched the car and the contents of its trunk late yesterday morning.