Cocaine

A 31-year-old Curtis Bay man was sentenced to more than 21 years in federal prison Friday for dealing crack cocaine, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Lonnie Bivins' sentence was enhanced after the judge found him to be a "career offender" with two prior drug convictions. Bivins and his conspirators sold $500 to $4,000 worth of crack and powder cocaine per day in the Curtis Bay area of Baltimore from 2005 through 2008, according to court records. Law enforcement authorities witnessed Bivins making drug transactions for a year before arresting him in February 2008.

Vaccines to help people recover from such addictions as nicotine, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines appear scientifically and medically achievable after doctors reported Monday that a vaccine to treat cocaine dependence had produced a large enough antibody response to reduce cocaine use in 38 percent of addicted individuals. Those results come on the heels of last week's announcement that the federal government will fund a large clinical trial of a nicotine vaccine based on earlier promising studies.

After a two-year federal investigation involving wiretaps, confidential informants and undercover drug buys, a grand jury has indicted at least a half-dozen people, mostly Anne Arundel County residents in their 20s and 30s, on charges that they conspired to import cocaine from Panama for distribution. Six defendants were arrested this week and appeared in U.S. District Court on Friday to determine whether they would be jailed pending trial. Among those ordered detained were Melinda Lewis, who has a prior federal drug conviction; Howard Fannin Jr., who is alleged to have threatened violence against co-conspirators and a potential informant; and Randy Lee Davis, who along with defendant Mark Milligan Jr. was earlier convicted of reckless endangerment for shooting at undercover police officers in 2006.

Schools OK contract for reading material 2 The Baltimore County school board unanimously approved Tuesday night a $3.44 million contract to the Pennsylvania-based American Reading Co. for supplemental reading materials, as well as professional development for teachers in Title I schools. The program, which is to be funded using Title I federal stimulus money, is an extension of a pilot reading initiative, which school officials say has shown success in "substantially" raising students' reading levels.

Everybody knows that once a bank note has passed through a few hands, it's not the cleanest thing in the world. What you might not know is that, in addition to germs, grime and other visitors, the bills in your wallet probably contain cocaine. Although such traces have been reported in the past, a scientists' group said Monday that cocaine is present in up to 90 percent of the paper money in the United States, particularly in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston and Detroit. The 90 percent figure represents a significant jump from a similar study conducted two years ago. In the earlier survey, 67 percent of U.S. paper money was found to contain traces of cocaine.

After failing to persuade a federal judge to suppress 90 pounds of drug evidence - the Baltimore Police Department's biggest cocaine bust - defendant Trenell D. Murphy has abandoned plans for a jury trial, his attorney confirmed Monday. He is expected to plead guilty to a drug-dealing charge during a rearraignment this afternoon. The shift comes in part because Murphy, 34, could get a lighter sentence for "acceptance of responsibility," said attorney M. Gordon Tayback. But as part of the plea agreement, they retained the right to appeal the court's recent decision to keep the cocaine in evidence.

Here's some new news about drugs in Baltimore: * A kilo of cocaine now costs $32,000, up a full $10,000 from 2006. Bulk quantities of the drug are more expensive here than in Washington, where a kilo costs $30,000, and in Richmond, Va., where it goes for $26,000. * Local drug dealers outsource even the final stages of turning powder cocaine into crack. * Dealers are increasingly steering away from highways to smuggle drugs, preferring package delivery services so they can track their shipments on the Internet.

Men's college basketball Alleged violations could cost Memphis its 2007-08 wins Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson defended the men's basketball program Thursday, saying the school checks out all potential players. He would not confirm that Derrick Rose, who led Memphis to the 2008 national title game, is at the center of an NCAA investigation of major violations during that season. In a letter to the school the NCAA says an unknown person took the SAT for a player, with his knowledge, and then the player used that test to get into Memphis.

Arbutus woman found guilty in fatal stabbing in November A Baltimore County jury has found a 25-year-old Arbutus woman guilty of first-degree murder. Sharon Elizabeth Grimes was taken into custody after the verdict was announced late Tuesday. Circuit Judge Robert E. Cahill Jr. ordered a pre-sentence investigation, which will take about 45 days. Grimes was charged along with Robert J. Matthews, 23, in the fatal stabbing in November of Robert A. Silver, 48. - Mary Gail Hare Hit-and-run driver sought in death of pedestrian Police continue to seek the driver of a vehicle that struck a Morrell Park woman early Monday as she walked across a bridge near the Carroll Camden Industrial Area.