Dangerfield

George A. Dangerfield Jr., a convicted drug dealer described by city housing officials as one of Baltimore's worst scofflaw landlords, agreed yesterday to pay up to $100,000 in damages to an impoverished couple that he illegally evicted from their home.The settlement ended a lawsuit by former tenants Eric Holmes, 43, and his fiancee, Rosetta Bailey, 38, who were homeless for nearly two years after the incident.The couple charged that Dangerfield ordered a group of thugs to break down their door, drag them from their bed and cast them into the street in their underwear on a hot summer night two years ago as the landlord leaned against his Rolls-Royce, laughing.

Eric Holmes was not accustomed to living on the street. From the comfort of his parents' Park Heights rowhouse to a U.S. Army barracks in Germany to his own modest rental dwelling in East Baltimore, a roof above his head seemed a small given.Two years without one taught him a simple, but profound lesson: "You get sick, a lot, and you get mad."This is the essence of case #CC3258, Holmes vs. Dangerfield, set to begin in Baltimore Circuit Court today. Holmes and his fiancee are suing former landlord, George A. Dangerfield Jr., for allegedly hiring a group of thugs to illegally evict them from their Patterson Park rowhouse on a sweltering summer night two years ago.In a last-minute maneuver to stave off the former tenants, Dangerfield's lawyers filed bankruptcy papers late Wednesday afternoon, declaring their client all but penniless and seeking a court order protecting him from lawsuits.

BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi soldier suspected of having ties to Sunni insurgents opened fire on U.S. troops during a joint operation, killing two soldiers and wounding three others, military officials said yesterday. The incident on Dec. 26 is one of the few reported instances of an Iraqi soldier's turning on U.S. forces since the invasion in March 2003. The Iraqi soldier killed Sgt. Benjamin Portell, 27, of Bakersfield, Calif., and Capt. Rowdy Inman, 38, of Houston "for reasons that are yet unknown," the U.S. military said.

A Cockeysville real estate investor has filed a $60 million libel suit against The Sun and one of its reporters, alleging that an award-winning series that began last December ruined his reputation and crippled his business. James M. Stein, of the 12000 block of Happy Hollow Road, contends that the articles identifying him as a slumlord and a "silent real estate partner" of a convicted drug dealer were inaccurate and caused "catastrophic financial losses." The suit names Jim Haner, the reporter who wrote the articles, and The Sun as defendants.

Years from now when the City players are reminiscing about their final Thanksgiving Day victory over Poly at Memorial Stadium, chances are the number 20 will be one of the things remaining uppermost in their minds.Twenty, as in 20-0, the score of the 104th annual meeting between the schools yesterday. And 20 as in the number of City wins without a loss, as the top-ranked Knights (10-0, 9-0 league) secured their second straight -- and perhaps their last -- Maryland Scholastic Association A Conference football title.

Though Poly's 20-0 football loss to City took place nearly a year ago, Greg Kyler remembers a particular play as if it had just happened.The Engineers trailed, 8-0, in the first quarter when Kyler -- all alone 10 yards from the end zone -- let Mike Fortstner's slightly overthrown pass slip through his hands.As the game wore on, City's Ricky Dangerfield rushed for his14th touchdown of the season and 109 of his team's 319 total yards. Kyler's squad totaled just 57 offensive yards. The Knights (then 10-0)

With their investments jeopardized by the continuing spread of Baltimore's slums, two powerful groups of property owners are pledging unexpected support for a pair of proposed state laws that would make it easier for the city to seize rundown houses.Banking officials and landlords have long opposed giving the city broad confiscation powers for fear that the ax would fall on them, placing millions in mortgages and property holdings at stake.But their resistance has softened amid growing recognition that Baltimore's 40,000 abandoned properties are dragging down real estate values across wide sections of the city and acting as warrens of crime that have destabilized entire neighborhoods.

A player's speed often is affected by muddy field conditions, but don't tell that to City's Corey Simpson.While players around him struggled to gain their footing yesterday, Simpson (5 feet 9, 165 pounds) seemed to thrive despite a downpour that turned the City football field into a swamp against No. 6 Patterson.He rushed just 11 times for 236 of his team's 337 total offensive yards and scored three touchdowns and an extra-point conversion as the top-ranked Knights (8-0) turned back the Clippers, 24-8, for City's 28th straight victory.

Anyone around the City football team will tell you how surprising the quarterback has been.Anyone except Teron Matthews."Last year, Terrence Suber was in the spotlight and I just waited for my turn," said Matthews, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior. "I worked hard all summer on my passing, strengthing my legs and running. I think I've done well."That may be an understatement.Friday in a 40-0 win over Northwestern, which extended City's winning streak to 27, Matthews completed eight passes for 171 yards and four touchdowns.