First Degree Assault

Two teenage boys have been arrested in the chemical burning of a toddler last weekend at a Baltimore County playground, but the youngsters are not facing adult charges. The boys, both 16 and from the Essex area, were charged as juveniles after police consulted with the county state's attorney's office, a police spokesman said. The boys poured caustic drain cleaner on a slide, experimenting to see whether the chemical would burn the plastic, but seeing that it did not, they left with the chemical still on the slide, police said.

A Howard County grand jury indicted yesterday a 22-year-old North Laurel man accused in the death of an 8-month-old baby.William P. English of the 9100 block of Blues Alley is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, child abuse, first-degree assault and second-degree assault.The baby, Victoria Dobbin, was in English's care June 2, when she either fell "on or off a counter top," charging documents state. An autopsy ruled the death a homicide, stating "blunt force" to the victim's head caused the death.

An inmate at the county detention center awaiting trial on drug, firearm and assault counts has been charged with obstructing justice and intimidating another inmate, court records show.Bail was set at $10,000 in the latest charges against David Bowen, 37, of Westminster.Edward Dunlap Jr., a 37-year-old being held on unspecified charges at the county jail, said Bowen threatened to stab him Jan. 14, according to a complaint.Dunlap alleged that Bowen said he would "get his friends on the outside to kill his whole family," if Dunlap testified against him in a first-degree assault case.

An article in the Carroll County edition of The Sun yesterday about a 22-year-old man seeking to have bail reduced incorrectly stated the charges against Christopher Scott Frazier. The article should have said Frazier, with no fixed address, was held on charges of first-degree assault, carjacking, robbery, second-degree assault, theft over $300, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle in connection with an attack on a 17-year-old New Windsor girl in September.

A Howard County grand jury indicted two Baltimore men yesterday in the shooting and robbery of a pizza delivery woman in Harper's Choice on New Year's Day.Charles A. Mosley Jr., 19, and Naim Quinton Abdul-Muhaimin, 20, were charged with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, attempted carjacking, kidnapping and use of a handgun in a crime of violence.They are accused of luring two pizza delivery drivers to an apartment complex, stealing $81.05 from both of them and then shooting a driver, Martha Lunsford, 30.In another incident, two others were indicted yesterday in the assault and attempted kidnapping of a North Laurel man in December after a shooting that left Donald R. Mitchell, 43, dead.

A Howard County jury has acquitted a Columbia woman of attempted murder in the stabbing of an ex-boyfriend in February.The 12-member jury found Adrianne A. Abron, 32, not guilty of attempted second-degree murder and of attempted voluntary manslaughter Monday night. The jury deadlocked on a charge of first-degree assault and convicted Abron on a second-degree assault charge."It was a fair outcome," said Jonathan Portner, Abron's lawyer. "The case was absolutely flawed from the beginning" on the two most serious charges.

A Sykesville man accused of shattering the jaw of a sleeping man at a party last month was ordered yesterday to be held without bond at the Carroll County Detention Center.Court records show that George D. Henneman, 19, of the 700 block of Central Ave. was free on $5,000 bail for unrelated assault charges when the recent incident occurred Aug. 23 at a home on Fern Way in Sykesville.According to police, witnesses said a man repeatedly kicked and stomped on the face of John M. Sullivan, dragging him from a bed. Sullivan said he recognized the suspect, police said.

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."

County police said they arrested a Lanham man Wednesday on an assault charge after his former girlfriend said he pulled a gun during a custody dispute and threatened to shoot her.Tracy L. Robinson, 20, told police she was arguing about custody with Reginald L. Desaussure, 23, at her home in the 200 block of Jill Lane in Laurel shortly before 9 a.m.Police said Robinson told them that she grabbed an iron to protect herself, and the man pulled a gun from his...

A Taneytown teen-ager who is being held at the Carroll County Detention Center awaiting trial in the shooting of a Pizza Hut delivery woman in February has been accused of assaulting an inmate.According to court records, a District Court commissioner issued a summons March 30 for Leo "Joey" Brandenburg, 17, after the other inmate, Timothy A. Blakey, filed a criminal complaint alleging that Brandenburg had struck him from behind and smashed his glasses in Unit 60, where both inmates are housed.

Baltimore prosecutors said Monday that a man who opened fire in a Chinese restaurant last year has received a 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to assault and using a handgun. In an attempted robbery March 6, 2008, prosecutors said, Fernando Perez, 24, shot his own accomplice and a 15-year-old girl inside Yeung's House Chinese Food in the 4500 block of Reisterstown Road. Both suffered minor injuries. Four other people in the restaurant at the time were uninjured. Perez, of the 2400 block of Loyola Northway, pleaded guilty Sept.

Annapolis teen reports rape near vacant home A 14-year-old girl told Annapolis police that she was raped Monday evening outside a vacant home in the 200 block of Admiral Drive. The girl told police that her attacker ran away after he assaulted her about 10:30 p.m. The girl fled to her home, where police were called. The investigation is continuing. - Andrea F. Siegel Columbia woman enters Alford plea to assault A 39-year-old Columbia woman entered an Alford plea for second-degree assault Tuesday in Howard County Circuit Court.

More than four years after a fistfight in the parking lot of Randallstown High School sparked gunfire that wounded four students, the man who provided the gun to the shooters looked at the most severely injured victim in a Baltimore County courtroom yesterday and said he was sorry. "I want to apologize for your life, and how you have to live your life from now on," Antonio R. Jackson told William "Tippa" Thomas III, who was paralyzed from the waist down when bullets pierced his neck, back and lung four years ago. "I'm truly sorry.

City man gets life in killing of girlfriend A 19-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced yesterday to life in prison plus eight years for the killing of his former girlfriend, city prosecutors said. In May, a jury convicted Randy Golden of the 3600 block of Victor St. with first-degree murder and handgun violations in the fatal shooting of Melissa Stefanski, 23, who prosecutors said had begun selling drugs for her new boyfriend's gang, the Crips. Golden was a member of the Bloods, a rival gang, prosecutors said.

Two 17-year-olds admitted in Baltimore juvenile court yesterday that they were involved with an attempt to rob an off-duty police officer in Federal Hill in November. One admitted to first-degree assault and attempted armed robbery before Master Gregory Sampson. His punishment will be determined at a hearing July 8. The other admitted to second-degree assault; his punishment will be determined in December. Both had originally been charged as adults, but the cases were sent to juvenile court - a decision that has angered many city officers who believed that the boys should have stayed in the adult system, where penalties are stiffer.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes from police reports in Baltimore and Baltimore County. Baltimore Central Shooting -- A 6-year-old boy was shot in the foot while playing the street about 8:45 p.m. yesterday by one of two men shooting at each other in the 1500 block of Pennsylvania Ave. The child was treated at the pediatric intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he was listed in good condition. No arrests had been made. Western Robbery -- A 61-year-old man in a wheelchair was about to enter his home in the 800 block of N. Arlington Ave. about 1:30 p.m. Monday when he was assaulted by a man who stole $63 from his pants pockets.

An Annapolis man was killed in a single-car accident that occurred between Saturday evening and yesterday morning, according to Howard County police. Richard Michael Banks, 49, of the 1100 block of Green Holly Drive was in a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck that went off the end of a parking lot in the 7300 block of Coca-Cola Drive, police said. The truck traveled down an embankment and landed on its roof. Police said no one saw the accident, which they believe occurred between 7:20 p.m. Saturday and 8:45 a.m. yesterday.

Former Randallstown High football star Melvin Alaeze pleaded guilty to first-degree assault yesterday in Baltimore County Circuit Court in connection with a December incident in which a man was allegedly robbed and shot three times. Sentencing has not been scheduled, and neither the prosecutor nor the defense attorney would reveal the recommended terms of Alaeze's plea agreement. He still faces gun possession charges in a case that was moved from Baltimore District Court in February. But Alaeze's attorney, Kevin B. Kamenetz, said he expects those charges to be dropped as part of the agreement.

Two teenage boys have been arrested in the chemical burning of a toddler last weekend at a Baltimore County playground, but the youngsters are not facing adult charges. The boys, both 16 and from the Essex area, were charged as juveniles after police consulted with the county state's attorney's office, a police spokesman said. The boys poured caustic drain cleaner on a slide, experimenting to see whether the chemical would burn the plastic, but seeing that it did not, they left with the chemical still on the slide, police said.

A Columbia man was sentenced to 35 years in prison yesterday for firing an assault rifle at Howard County SWAT officers serving a search warrant at his brother's apartment in Columbia last year. Delcarlos Johnnie Jacobs, 22, was convicted by a jury in October of attempted second-degree murder and five counts of first-degree assault. Yesterday, Howard County Circuit Judge Dennis M. Sweeney sentenced Jacobs to 20 years in prison on the charge of attempted second-degree murder, plus 15 years to be served consecutively, for the first-degree assault counts, said a spokesman for the Howard County state's attorney's office.