Gary Gardner

The body of 26-year-old man with a history of epilepsy was found in a Columbia pond yesterday by two young boys out for an afternoon of fishing.Howard County police said last night the body was that of Albert Chadwick Garant of the 5400 block of New Grange Garth, not far from the pond in the Phelps Luck neighborhood. He was identified by his father.Two neighborhood boys discovered the body about 4:20 p.m. as they were fishing in Jackson Pond in Long Reach village, said Sgt. Gary Gardner, a Howard County police spokesman.

A Columbia woman has filed a $2 million lawsuit against the county, saying a police officer whose car collided with hers after running a red light was improperly trained.Phyllis Mattox, of the 9600 block of Whiteacre Road, names the county and police officer Joseph R. Baran as defendants in the lawsuit, filed March 13 in Howard County Circuit Court.According to the suit, the accident occurred on Aug. 20, 1989, when Mattox was traveling east on Thunderhill Road. On a green arrow signal, she made a left turn onto Route 175 north.

Buyers of property stolen in a series of Columbia burglaries have until Aug. 1 to return it or face felony charges, county police warn."If someone has purchased electronic equipment within the past four months at an exceptionally good price, they should contact the police department," spokesman Sgt. Gary Gardner said.Police can check the item's serial number against a list of stolen property to see if it came from the recent break-ins, he said. Property without serial numbers should be turned in immediately.

Duct tape stretched across road damages vehicleA Howard County police officer driving on Route 144 early Sunday morning drove into a strip of duct tape that had been stretched across the road. The tape bent the car's antennae, which struck the windshield and cracked it.The officer was not injured, but police said the stunt could have seriously hurt someone."That's extremely dangerous," said police spokesman Sgt. Gary L. Gardner. "Even if kids think it's a childhood prank, they may not realize the implications."

The sound of "gunfire" that alarmed Columbia residents early Monday and Tuesday was nothing more than a Columbia man driving a car that backfires, police said Wednesday.Police stopped the 20-year-old man, whose named was not released, about 2 a.m. yesterday as he drove his Oldsmobile Cutlass at Old Columbia Road and Route 29. The Cutlass matched the description of a car seen earlier by a witness who thought it might be involved in the series of supposed gunshots heard in Columbia.The man told the officer that he's able to make his car backfire, which sounds like a gunshot.

The Ellicott City area has been the site of almost three dozen daytime bicycle thefts in the past month, with thieves pedaling away with bikes worth as much as $600, according to Howard County police.Since mid-August, about 30 bicycles have been stolen from open garages in communities located in north Ellicott City. Most thefts have occurred between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., police said.Police say thieves keep taking away Schwinns, Huffys, mountain bikes, dirt bikes and even toddlers' training wheels.

A Baltimore couple, were arrested Tuesday after police say they tried to trick an ice cream parlor employee into turning over $20. Police say the couple may be responsible for similar incidents in the Ellicott City area over the past two months.Raymond Michael Joachim, 27, of the 300 block of S. Mount Olivet Lane, was charged with two counts of attempted theft and two counts of theft. A District Court commissioner released Mr. Joachim on $500 bond.Sherry Denise Johnson, 30, of the same address, was charged with attempted theft and released on her own recognizance.

A gunman entered a home in rural Mount Airy yesterday morning, reportedly abducting a 22-year-old woman and then raping her, police said.The abductor apparently held the woman for about four hours before freeing her in Montgomery County, police said.The woman, whose name was not released by police, was forced into a car by a man wielding a rifle or shotgun outside her home about 11 a.m., police said. The home is near the Howard and Carroll county line."The female was blindfolded and her hands had been bound," said Howard County Sgt. Gary Gardner.

A gunman entered a home in rural Mount Airy yesterday morning, reportedly abducting a 22-year-old woman and then raping her, police said.The abductor apparently held the woman for about four hours before freeing her in Montgomery County, police said.The woman, whose name was not released by police, was forced into a car by a man wielding a rifle or shotgun outside her home in the 17000 block of Frederick Road, about 11 a.m., police said. The home is near the Howard and Carroll county line.

A Baltimore man awaiting trial on charges of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Columbia girl -- later found slain -- was charged yesterday with additional rape counts against two other children, ages 12 and 13, Howard County police said.Detectives said their investigation into the death of Tara Allison Gladden provided new information that linked the accused man to the alleged rapes of other children.Curtis Aden Jamison, 28, was charged yesterday with the statutory rape of a 13-year-old Baltimore girl at an Elkridge motel.