City Police

A man claiming to be selling watches, coins and other items on Craigslist - the Internet version of classified ads - has lured four people to a residential street in Northwest Baltimore and robbed them at gunpoint, according to city police. Two attacks occurred last year, in August and November, but two others were reported to police this month. Police said they believe all the hold-ups are linked - they're occurring in mid-afternoon in the same block on Callaway Avenue, lined with single family homes and green lawns near Ashburton.

An Ecuadorean national living in Baltimore was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on charges that he raped a 12-year-old girl, the federal agency and city police said. Henry Estrella-Cordova, 31, who is in the country illegally, was taken into custody on Wednesday in Silver Spring at a bus terminal and charged with second-degree rape and related sex offense charges, according to an ICE spokeswoman. The rape was reported May 7 in Baltimore's Southeastern police district and involved a girl who was known to him, city police said.

A31-year-old Baltimore Police officer was charged Friday with pimping out his wife after officers from a human trafficking task force found him outside a hotel room where the woman had agreed to have sex for cash with an undercover officer. The child recovery task force was working a proactive investigation into human trafficking when they came across a "young-looking female" advertised as an escort on a website, police said. Officers arranged to meet the female at a hotel near BWI airport, court records show.

A31-year-old Baltimore Police officer was charged Friday with pimping out his wife after officers from a human trafficking task force found him outside a hotel room where the woman had agreed to have sex for cash with an undercover officer. The child recovery task force was working a proactive investigation into human trafficking when they came across a "young-looking female" advertised as an escort on a website, police said. Officers arranged to meet the female at a hotel near BWI airport, court records show.

Baltimore police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts announced Friday the creation of a new unit to oversee internal affairs, audits and the writing of police procedures, a move he hopes will strengthen public confidence in his agency. Jeronimo "Jerry" Rodriguez, a 26-year Los Angeles Police Department veteran, was named deputy commissioner in charge of the new Bureau of Professional Standards. Rodriguez will report directly to Batts and joins Deputy Commissioner John Skinner at the top level of Batts' staff.

Just three days after being touted as the commander who would oversee reforms in the wake of a training shooting, the new head of the Baltimore Police academy informed top brass Friday that he intends to leave the agency. Maj. Joseph E. Smith III, a 25-year veteran, told the police commissioner that he planned to retire from the department and take an outside job, according to a police spokesman. Smith could not be reached for comment. "He said it was too big of an opportunity to pass up," said chief spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.

Two women died in separate shootings Thursday in Baltimore. The killings pushed the total of homicides for the year to 165, 11 more than at the same point last year and making it unlikely the city can improve upon last year's 35-year low of 196. Twenty-five people have been killed this month, nearly one per day. A 19-year-old woman, identified Friday by police as Nana Mensah of Randallstown, was shot in the head while seated in a car parked in...

When a relative of accused druglord Robert G. Moore was stabbed and killed during a robbery, authorities say, Moore vowed to avenge the death. Over the next eight months, Moore and members of his East Baltimore drug syndicate picked off the man they suspected of killing the relative, former standout high school wrestler Darian Kess, and shot five more people, police and prosecutors say. On Friday, Baltimore State's Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein...

Silver Spring man arrested after chase A 21-year-old Silver Spring man was arrested after he stole a Mercedes, led police on a chase and jumped in the Chesapeake Bay in an attempt to escape, county police said. According to police, about 11 p.m. Wednesday, a Laurel man had parked his 2003 Mercedes in the lot of Crazy Otto's Sports Bar in the 1300 block of Defense Highway in Crofton. Another man walked up to the car, pointed a gun at the owner and told him to throw his keys on the ground, police said.

A man walked into Good Samaritan Hospital early Friday morning with gunshot wounds, according to Baltimore Police. The man, 24, had been shot in the right hand and the buttock, police said. He came in at 2:49 a.m., according to police, who had no further information, including where the shooting took place. Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

Homicide detectives were notified late Tuesday night about a man shot multiple times in the Barclay neighborhood of Baltimore, city police said. The man was shot in the 200 block of East 22nd Street, police said. Further information about what led to the shooting or the man's identity was not immediately available. cwells@baltsun.com twitter.com/cwellssun

Three men were shot in East Baltimore on Sunday night, and all are expected to survive their injuries, city police said. The men were shot in the 2900 block of East Monument Street after 7 p.m., police said. One man was shot in the hand, one in the abdomen and one shot in the leg, said Detective Vernon Davis, a police spokesman. Two of the victims left in a car and were stopped by police about a mile away, near the intersection of Orleans Street and North Duncan Street, and taken to a local hospital.

A Baltimore City police officer was taken to a local hospital for smoke inhalation after he attempted to alert residents about a two-alarm fire in the Bolton Hill neighborhood Saturday afternoon. Fire department spokesman Capt. Roman Clark said the officer suffered minor injuries. He was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. The blaze in the 1800 block of Eutaw Place began around 2:30 p.m. and was placed under control about two hours later, he said.

A Baltimore City police cruiser crashed into another vehicle Friday evening at 235 E. 25th St., injuring both the officer and the driver of the other vehicle, police said. The officer was responding to a call at 6:13 p.m. when the police car collided with the other vehicle. Both drivers were sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, said police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi. Police did not identify the officer or the other driver.

Baltimore's spending panel on Wednesday unanimously approved $285,000 for city police to hire a Massachusetts-based consultant — the highest of five bidders — to recommend how the department should be run. Despite the protests of competing consultants and a city councilman, the city's Board of Estimates, which is controlled by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, voted 5-0 to hire Strategic Policy Partnership LLC, based in Martha's Vineyard, to...

The Baltimore Police Department is asking the city for $285,000 to hire a Massachusetts-based consultant — the highest of five bidders — to recommend how the department should be run. But a city councilman is questioning the need for a consultant. And he says he's concerned that the department is bypassing lower bidders for a company with ties to former Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton, an ally of Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts. "In these tough economic times, we have to think about saving taxpayer dollars," said Councilman Brandon Scott, who has called for a hearing on the contract.

A well-groomed police officer commands respect for himself, his position and the city he serves ( "Baltimore police to bring back inspections unit," Feb. 16). And, how can he enforce the law when he does not obey it by neglecting to wear seat belts? Welcome back Maj. Marty Davenport. Margaret Pagan, Baltimore

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.

Baltimore Police asked for the public's help Friday in identifying victims of a Dundalk man they say collected and traded child pornography. David Ralph Fisher, 42, of the 6500 block of St. Helena Street in Dundalk, was arrested Thursday after a sting operation by officers posing as a 14-year-old girl, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. He faces charges of possession and distribution of child pornography and sexual solicitation of a minor. Detectives began investigating Fisher in November after an associate reported that she had found photographs and videos on his computer that showed adults having sex with children as young as two years old, police said.

Police in Baltimore and Baltimore County were seeking the public's help in locating two teenagers, one pregnant, who were missing on Thursday night. City police were looking for Celine Marie Foster, 14, who was last seen leaving school about 9:40 a.m. Wednesday from Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy at 100 N. Calhoun St. She may be suicidal. The girl is black, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, and weighs about 135 pounds, police said. She was last seen wearing a blue jean jacket, black skinny pants and white Jordan tennis shoes.