Decosta

On November 22, 2008 JOHN RICHARD DECOSTA. Funeral Services will be held in the Howell Funeral Home Chapel, 10220 Guilford Road, Jessup, MD on Friday, November 28. Wake 10-12 noon, service will follow. Interment Epiphany Episcopal Church Cemetery, Odenton, MD. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John (Sly) Richard DeCosta payable to Nicola DeCosta to be sent to P.O. Box 14 c/o Ronika Alexander, Millersville, MD 21108. Inquiries 301-604-0101.

Months after trading veteran wide receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers following a contract dispute, the Ravens waited until the seventh round to draft a wide receiver. Ravens assistant general manager Eric DeCosta attributed that to how their draft board stacked up with only a few elite receiver prospects like former Dunbar star Tavon Austin, but didn't rule out the possibility of acquiring an established receiver prior to the regular season. "I think the hunt goes on," DeCosta said Monday night during The Baltimore Sun Sports Forum.

Moments after Benjamin Scott Garris stabbed to death a counselor at a Towson psychiatric hospital, he called his friend Jane Frances DeCosta and told her, according to another friend, who testified yesterday at DeCosta's trial on charges of involvement in the slaying.Jennifer L. Wells, 16, a student at Carver Center for Arts and Technology, testified in Baltimore County Circuit Court that when she spoke on the phone with DeCosta about 1: 30 a.m. the day of the slaying, the Timonium teen-ager "was pretty much hysterical she seemed scared."

When several teams, including the Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears, expressed interest in Baltimore director of player personnel Eric DeCosta for their general manager opening earlier this offseason, the Ravens responded by giving their long-time executive a contract extension and a title change. Today, they announced that DeCosta, who started in an entry-level position with the organization in 1996 and is now considered the heir apparent to general manager Ozzie Newsome , has been promoted to assistant general manager.

Miss USA was soooo earlier this week. Our collective attention turns to Mr. NFL, and the American work force slows considerably as we fill out our mock drafts and channel our inner Mel Kiper Jr. We toss around terms like "upside" and "potential," and we're all focused on the future. Everyone is trying to identify the one guy who can change a franchise. So it makes sense that Eric DeCosta would play such a prominent role this weekend. There aren't many with a brighter future. It's kind of funny, because if you visit most NFL cities, the guy who holds DeCosta's job for the local football team would be just a guy. A name reporters bandy about, a page to be flipped past in the media guide.

Entering its final days, the accessory-to-murder trial of Jane Frances DeCosta comes down to this: Which of her radically different statements will jurors believe?Prosecutors cite the Timonium teen's confession, in which DeCosta said she knew that her former boyfriend, Benjamin Scott Garris, intended to stab a Towson mental hospital counselor and supplied the hunting knife he used.But DeCosta, 16, has testified that she made up the confession in the hope that she would be sent to jail, rather than back to a mental institution.

The Maryland Court of Special Appeals upheld yesterday the conviction of Jane F. DeCosta, the Timonium teen-ager found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to the 1995 murder of a Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital counselor.The appellate court did not agree with any of the five arguments against DeCosta's January conviction in Baltimore County Circuit Court. She was acquitted of more serious charges in the death of Sharon Edwards, 26.Judge Barbara Kerr Howe imposed a five-year sentence, suspending all but the 15 months DeCosta spent in jail after her arrest, on the condition that DeCosta enter a locked mental health facility.

A prosecutor in the trial of a Timonium teen-ager accused of involvement in the slaying of a Towson mental hospital counselor told a jury yesterday that when Jane Frances DeCosta learned from Benjamin Scott Garris that he was going to kill someone, she replied, "OK. Cool."But DeCosta's lawyer told the Baltimore County Circuit Court jury that "what this sick and evil boy was up to" was beyond the grasp of DeCosta, a mentally ill 16-year-old -- especially because none of the experts at Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital, where he was staying, knew anything of his homicidal plots.

Prosecutors won a major victory yesterday when a judge refused to suppress a confession linking Jane Frances DeCosta to a hunting knife allegedly used in the murder of a Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital counselor.In a two-day hearing, DeCosta's lawyer argued that the statement was illegally coerced from the 15-year-old Timonium girl. But prosecutors maintained that the teen freely made the statement, which describes her connections to convicted murderer Benjamin Scott Garris -- including supplying the knife.

Jane Frances DeCosta, a Timonium teen-ager sent to a locked mental facility for her role in the 1995 killing of a Sheppard xTC and Enoch Pratt Hospital counselor, vanished yesterday from her parents' home, where she had been staying as she waited to testify in an unrelated case.The 17-year-old's lawyer, M. Cristina Gutierrez, said DeCosta -- who had a history of running away -- left the house "sometime after 4 a.m. She took nothing, no money, no backpack, no clothes."A private investigator hired by DeCosta's family, as well as Baltimore County police, were searching for the girl yesterday after her mother reported her missing about 11 a.m.Yesterday afternoon, Assistant State's Attorney John P. Cox obtained a "body attachment," similar to a warrant, to allow police to arrest her because she failed to appear as a witness in the trial.

Days after the Ravens added eight players in the NFL draft, director of player personnel Eric DeCosta said there are items left on their wish list - assuming the player and the price are right. "We're very excited about last weekend and the draft we just had," DeCosta said. "Our work is not yet done. … There are still moves left to be made. This team is not yet ready for September. " DeCosta was the featured guest Wednesday night at The Baltimore Sun Newsmaker Forum series at the Jewish Community Center in Owings Mills.

Live Ravens chat: Sun Newsmaker Forum with Eric DeCosta Ravens director of player personnel Eric DeCosta will answer questions from readers and Sun reporters at The Sun's Newsmaker Forum on Wednesday night in Owings Mills. The Ravens were in the news this past weekend with the NFL draft, and DeCosta was right in the middle of it as the team traded out of the first round and was still able to fill many of its needs. Check back for live coverage of the forum, including streaming video, from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Several of the Ravens' top decision makers predictably didn't tip their hands at their annual draft luncheon yesterday in Owings Mills. However, as General Manager Ozzie Newsome, Director of Player Personnel Eric DeCosta, Director of College Scouting Joe Hortiz and head coach John Harbaugh took turns answering questions from reporters in Owings Mills, the Ravens had a representative in Madison, Wisconsin, where former Badgers center Peter Konz was...

The Ravens announced Friday that director of player personnel Eric DeCosta, who was being pursued by at least three NFL teams that are currently searching for a new general manager, "will continue with the team and is not going to interview with other teams. " On Wednesday, a league source told The Baltimore Sun that the Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams and one other team -- The Chicago Tribune reported that it was the Chicago Bears -- had contacted the Ravens and received permission to talk to DeCosta about front office openings.

The Indianapolis Colts and St. Louis Rams and and one other team have contacted the Ravens and received permission to interview Director of Player Personnel Eric DeCosta for their general manager opening, a league source said. The Chicago Tribune reported Thursday night that the other team is the Chicago Bears. None of the interviews have taken place as of now, but that could change in the next couple of days. The Colts and Rams have already started their interview process and it is believed that DeCosta, the heir apparent to Ravens general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, is at or near the top of their respective wish lists.

Ravens director of player personnel Eric DeCosta is viewed as the heir apparent to general manager and executive vice president Ozzie Newsome, but it could be getting harder and harder for the team to retain him. According to reports, the St. Louis Rams and the Indianapolis Colts have called the Ravens to ask for permission to interview DeCosta, who is considered one of the league's top up-and-coming GM candidates. Pro Football Talk first reported the Rams' interest while NFL Network was first with the news that the Colts have inquired.

Jane Frances DeCosta was acquitted yesterday of all but one of five charges in the 1995 stabbing death of a Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital counselor and received a suspended sentence.The 16-year-old Timonium girl, accused of involvement in the slaying for which Benjamin Scott Garris has been convicted, was ordered to a locked mental health facility out of state for at least two years or until she no longer needs treatment.Baltimore circuit Judge Barbara Kerr Howe also imposed a five-year sentence in DeCosta's conviction for being an accessory after the fact in the slaying, suspending all but the 15 months DeCosta has spent in jail since her arrest.

Baltimore County Circuit Judge Barbara Kerr Howe issued a warrant yesterday for the arrest of Jane Frances DeCosta on charges of violating her probation in the 1995 killing of a Sheppard and Enoch Pratt Hospital counselor.DeCosta, 17, disappeared early Wednesday from her parents' Timonium home before she was to testify in an unrelated court case. Yesterday, county police continued to follow leads, but were unable to locate the girl.She had been brought to Maryland during the weekend from Florida, where she has been in a locked mental-health facility under court order from Howe.

Titus Young, Boise State (5-11, 174) Projection: Second round Of note: Caught 150 passes in final two seasons Skinny: Has explosive burst, but not the strength to work over middle of the field Jonathan Baldwin, Pittsburgh (6-4, 228) Projection: Second or third round Of note: Averaged 18.3 yards per catch for his career Skinny: Big-bodies playmaker who carries label of being immature Greg Little, North Carolina (6-2, 231)

Whether they look for a franchise quarterback at the top of the draft or a third-day gem in the weeds, the Ravens will start with the tape and let it direct them. Expectations are that the Ravens will take a late-round flier on a quarterback in next week's NFL draft. If they do, it'll be for a player who has passed all their reference points — just as with any other position. What does Eric DeCosta, the team's director of player personnel, want in a third-day quarterback?