Charged With First Degree

Accused in gun sales, man is ordered held A man accused of illegally selling guns from his potato chip stall at Lexington Market must remain in custody while awaiting trial, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake ruled Thursday during a detention-review hearing. Michael Papantonakis, 53, was arrested last week, accused of selling 13 firearms to undercover federal operatives he believed were gang members. He is also accused of trying to have a Lexington Market manager beaten. His attorney said the guns were from a personal collection that his client was trying to deplete and called any statements about harming the manager or dealing with gang members "venting," "silliness" and "stupid comments" that weren't meant or true.

Annapolis man killed; woman turns gun on self An Annapolis woman fatally shot a man she lived with before turning the gun on herself early Tuesday, Anne Arundel County police said yesterday. Helen E. Clapsaddle, 43, and Michael J. Missimer, 39, were found dead of gunshot wounds in the master bedroom of their apartment in the 600 block of Admiral Drive minutes after a woman called police and said, "Get us or you will find two dead bodies," police said. Clapsaddle had been having financial problems and domestic issues with Missimer, police said.

A 21-year-old Columbia man was acquitted of first-degree murder in a botched robbery last year that led to a shooting death. The jury in Howard County Circuit Court also found Ronald McConnell not guilty of first-degree robbery and first-degree assault in the May 2008 incident, in which Jason Batts was killed. McConnell was found guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and two gun possession charges. The trial lasted more than a week, and the jury deliberated over two days before returning its verdict Thursday night.

A woman charged with murder in the death of her Elkridge daughter-in-law last year told police that she hired a man to seek revenge but never intended to kill her."In fact, I thought he's not going to kill her," Emilia Raras, 63, told detectives during her interrogation in August. "Because he told me he is just going to stone the house. As a revenge. For me."Her comments are from transcripts of a tape-recording of the questioning played last week in Howard County Circuit Court during pretrial hearings.

Four men were charged in two unrelated killings this week in Baltimore County, police said yesterday.In the first homicide, two Baltimore men were charged in the fatal shooting of Vernon Cornell Ferguson, a Belair-Edison man whose body was discovered Tuesday morning in a car parked in front of a Pikesville automotive shop.Adrian Marcellus Muldrow, 28, of the 2500 block of W. Franklin St., and Antwan Maurice Travers, 29, of the 700 block of Benn- inghaus Road were arrested Thursday morning and charged with first-degree murder and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, police said.

A second man has been arrested in a killing and robbery at a North Baltimore grocery store, police said yesterday.Dayawnis E. Burley, 19, of the 300 block of E. 23rd St. was arrested Sunday night on Howard Street and charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery, police said. Burley is being held without bail at Central Booking and Intake Center.About 9 a.m. Saturday, two men robbed Kim's Grocery in the 300 block of E. 24th St., police said. En Suk Kim Oh, 39, who lived above the store, was fatally shot and store owner Young Lee, 55, was pistol-whipped, police said.

A man in custody on a rape charge has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of a Hampden woman whose body was found in Druid Hill Park last month, police said yesterday.According to police, the body of Deborah Hatfield, 42, of the 3700 block of Elm Ave. was found about 11: 30 a.m. March 7 by a man and his son as they walked in the Taylor's Grove section of the park near the conservatory. Hatfield's family reported her missing the next day, police said.Detective John Thanner said Hatfield, the mother of two and a custodial worker at Baltimore-Washington International Airport, was suffocated.

In an item in the Police Blotter in yesterday's editions, Michael Antonio Blake, 28, was mistakenly identified as a suspect in a double shooting Dec. 7 that left one man dead. In fact, he was wounded in the attack. Charged with first-degree murder in the incident was Dante Johnson, 20, of the 5800 block of Key Ave.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 1/03/98

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore and Baltimore County.Northeastern DistrictShooting: A 21-year-old man was shot in the chest about 6: 30 p.m. Tuesday when a gunman objected to the victim's shaking a pole in the 5500 block of Sinclair Lane in which the gunman had hidden narcotics. The victim was in stable condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center yesterday. A warrant was issued for the arrest of a suspect.Southern DistrictTheft: Equipment valued at more than $200 was stolen Dec. 31 from Alliance Roofing & Sheet Metal in the 4900 block of Pennington Ave. The theft was reported Monday.

Four men, two of them from Frederick, were arrested yesterday in the beating of a Canton Safeway employee that many residents believe was racially motivated.The arrests bring to five the number of suspects charged with assaulting an 18-year-old African-American youth Dec. 8. All of the men who were arrested are white."We're pleased to be able to identify all of the suspects ," said Maj. Timothy Longo, commander of the Southeastern District. "We certainly hope these arrests bring a sense of closure to the community."

Baltimore police announced Friday that detectives have arrested suspects in two killings last month, including a fatal shooting during a robbery that netted $18, according to police and court documents. In the robbery case, police said Abron Scott, 42, of the 4500 block of Manor View Road was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and gun offenses in the shooting Sept. 9 of Shelton Elliott in a house in the 500 block of N. Carey St. in West Baltimore. Police said the suspect walked into a third-story apartment through an unlocked door about 7:40 p.m. and threatened four occupants with a pistol.

Three Essex teenagers were charged Friday with first-degree murder in the strangulation last week of a 25-year-old man in a wheelchair. Baltimore County police identified the three suspects as Keon Torone Samuels, 18, of the 700 block of Walnut Grove Road; Andrew Minh Nguyen, 18, of the 1300 block of Kelly Case Lane; and Marlon Geovany Montes, 19, of the 1300 block of Elsing Road. Marin Jonathan Lendosky George, was found dead Sept. 18 in his Essex apartment by a maintenance man. Homicide detectives said he had been targeted by the three suspects and murdered in the course of a robbery, and the medical examiner determined that he had been strangled.

Accused in gun sales, man is ordered held A man accused of illegally selling guns from his potato chip stall at Lexington Market must remain in custody while awaiting trial, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine C. Blake ruled Thursday during a detention-review hearing. Michael Papantonakis, 53, was arrested last week, accused of selling 13 firearms to undercover federal operatives he believed were gang members. He is also accused of trying to have a Lexington Market manager beaten. His attorney said the guns were from a personal collection that his client was trying to deplete and called any statements about harming the manager or dealing with gang members "venting," "silliness" and "stupid comments" that weren't meant or true.

A 21-year-old Columbia man was acquitted of first-degree murder in a botched robbery last year that led to a shooting death. The jury in Howard County Circuit Court also found Ronald McConnell not guilty of first-degree robbery and first-degree assault in the May 2008 incident, in which Jason Batts was killed. McConnell was found guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and two gun possession charges. The trial lasted more than a week, and the jury deliberated over two days before returning its verdict Thursday night.

A 21-year-old man who police say is in the country illegally was arrested yesterday and charged in the stabbing death of a man last month in East Baltimore. Police also made an arrest in another fatal stabbing that occurred at a Hampden bar over the weekend. Eddy M. Castillo-Diaz, a native of Honduras who lists an address in the 100 block of N. Ellwood Ave., is charged with first-degree murder, assault and a weapons count in the death of Jose Escobar-Pena, who was stabbed in the abdomen just after 2 a.m. Feb. 22 in the 3500 block of Eastern Ave. Police arrested Lewis Brock, 27, of the 900 block of Bethune Road in an incident Sunday in which one man was killed and another injured.

Annapolis man killed; woman turns gun on self An Annapolis woman fatally shot a man she lived with before turning the gun on herself early Tuesday, Anne Arundel County police said yesterday. Helen E. Clapsaddle, 43, and Michael J. Missimer, 39, were found dead of gunshot wounds in the master bedroom of their apartment in the 600 block of Admiral Drive minutes after a woman called police and said, "Get us or you will find two dead bodies," police said. Clapsaddle had been having financial problems and domestic issues with Missimer, police said.

Man held in woman's death Baltimore County police have made an arrest in the fatal shooting of a Middle River woman who was a bystander as a drug deal turned violent, police said yesterday. Warren Jerome Yates, 26, of the 7800 block of St. Boniface Lane was arrested about 9 p.m. Monday in Baltimore and has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Shirley Worcester. Worcester, 58, was shot Jan. 7 outside her house on Whitethorn Way in Middle River. Police said a man had purchased more than $4,000 worth of marijuana with a roll of money that had a $100 bill on the outside and fake cash inside.

Man, 25, pleads guilty to 2005 murder of woman A 25-year-old Baltimore man pleaded guilty yesterday to murdering a woman with whom he had unprotected sex after someone falsely told him that she had HIV. As part of a plea agreement, Brandon Chambers of the 1300 block of W. North Ave. will be sentenced in February to 25 years in prison, plus five years of probation, in the 2005 shooting of Shanika Pretlow. If Chambers violates probation, a judge could imprison him for life. "I don't understand why this happened; I truly don't think she deserved this," the victim's mother, Justine McBeth, told Baltimore Circuit Judge John C. Themelis.

2 Westport teens charged with first-degree murder Two 18-year-old Westport men have been charged with first-degree murder in a killing that took place near their homes in July. Tyrone Fields Jr. and Jawaun Harris, who both live on Sidney Avenue, were identified by witnesses as the men who chased down and shot Bernard Solomon, 23, on July 29, according to charging documents. Solomon was standing in the 2200 block of Sidney Ave. when two men approached and began to shoot at him. He ran down Sidney Avenue to elude his attackers but was struck numerous times by gunfire.

A 25-year-old man who was charged with first-degree murder last month but released on bail by a District Court judge has been arrested again and charged in the shooting of a man during a robbery in South Baltimore. Police said witnesses identified Demetrius Smith as the man who shot Robert Long twice in the head near railroad tracks in the 400 block of S. Stricker St. on March 24, and he was charged July 8 with first-degree murder, assault and handgun violations. A bail commissioner held him without bond.