Gas Station

The other day a wellmeaning neighbor e-mailed a warning about women getting attacked at gas stations. Its headline read, "Important, please read." Just as well-meaning, I forwarded it on to a dozen other people. Then I paused. (Yes, after I had clicked the "send" button.) The e-mail warning message, which is signed by a probably fictitious "Barbara Baker, Secretary Directorate of Training, U.S. Army Military Police School" to lend it credibility, recounts a story about a woman who had stopped at a pay-at-the-pump gas station to get gas. After she paid at the pump and filled her gas tank, she started to get back into her car. The gas station attendant summoned her inside, insisting there had been a problem with the credit card transaction.

Baltimore City police say a man died from a stab wound in the early hours of Sunday. Police said at about 2:33 .a.m, officers were called to a gas station in the 3300 block of Mannasota Avenue, where they found an adult male suffering from at least one stab wound. He was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died from his injuries at 3:12 a.m., police said. Investigators believe the man was on the gas station parking lot when he encountered an unknown suspect who stabbed him. The suspect then fled from the scene.

The body found in woods behind a Dundalk gas station Saturday was that of 51-year-old Christopher Dietsch, who had no fixed address, Baltimore County Police said Monday. Dietsch was found dead behind the Exxon gas station in the 1300 block of Merritt Boulevard, near Gilman Road. His body appeared to have been in the woods for some time, police said. Dietsch's body was transported to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy. A cause of death had not been determined as of Monday afternoon, but police said they do not suspect foul play.

A Forest Hill gas station suffered extensive fire damage after a dirt bike crashed into the building, fire investigators and the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company said. The fire at Forest Hill Exxon, at 2000 Rock Spring Road, was reported at 11:19 p.m., according to a notice of investigation from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office, which said the building was closed at the time. On its Facebook page, the Bel Air VFC posted: "A dirt bike crashed into the building, catching fire and the fire then extended inside.

Maryland State Police say they have arrested and charged a 22-year-old man in connection with armed robberies last month at gas station convenience stores in Abingdon and Riverside. Lucas Larsen, whose address was not immediately available, was arrested Monday morning and charged with assault - first degree, assault - second degree, reckless endangerment, armed robbery and theft less than $1,000, State Police said in a news release. Larsen was arrested Monday morning in Sykesville, Sgt. Jeffrey Kloiber, head of the criminal investigation section at the Bel Air Barrack, said Monday evening.

A man wearing a bandana over his face robbed an Edgewater gas station at knifepoint early Sunday morning, Anne Arundel police said. The man entered Xtra Mart Fuel in the 3000 block of Solomons Island Road, pulled a knife and demanded the clerk hand over money, police said. When the clerk could not give him any money, the suspect fled in a vehicle, according to police. Several police units searched the area but were unable to find the man, whom police described as in his early 20s, with a thin build and wearing a dark-colored or maroon hooded jacket.

Anne Arundel County police have identified the man who was shot and killed early Tuesday by the owner of a Laurel business that police say he had come to rob. Josue Alberto Angel, 29, of the 12000 block of Carland Place in Laurel, was killed around 3:30 a.m. after a struggle with the 48-year-old owner of a Quest gas station in the 3400 block of Laurel Fort Meade Road. According to police, Angel came into the store, implied that he had a weapon and announced a robbery. Angel was shot in the parking lot, police said.

An unidentified man was found shot in the hand Wednesday afternoon near a gas station in North Baltimore, according to city police. The man was taken to an area hospital, where he was expected to be treated and released, police said. A police spokesman said officers were called about 4:30 p.m. to the intersection of The Alameda and Belvedere Avenue, where they found the man near an Exxon station. Police said they were investigating the possibility that the man's wounds were self-inflicted.

Two Anne Arundel County men who were found smoking marijuana at a Pasadena gas station parking lot Tuesday evening face several drug-related charges. Justin Andrew Hartman, 22, of the 300 block Alameda Parkway in Arnold, the driver, was charged with drug and paraphernalia possession and intent to distribute. Scott Matthew Stein, 27, of the 200 block Fox Tree Drive in Glen Burnie, also faces possession and intent to distribute charges as well as failure to obey a lawful order and resisting arrest.

An Exxon gas station attendant in Bel Air was shot during an armed robbery late Saturday night, according to Harford County police. At about 11 p.m., a suspect entered a gas station at 600 W. MacPhail Road with a black handgun and shot the attendant, police said. The suspect was last seen running away wearing a ski mask, long-sleeved shirt and shorts, and tennis shoes - all black, police said. The attendant was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where his condition is unknown.

Gas won't get any cheaper than this. BJ's Wholesale Club will sell regular unleaded fuel for $2.50 a gallon starting at 6:30 a.m. Thursday at its White Marsh store gas station.  The discounter is tying the promotion to Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer, at a time when gas prices have climbed 4 cents a gallon in a month, GasBuddy.com says. As of Tuesday, regular gas in Maryland averaged $3.50 a gallon, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Memorial Day weekend is typically a time to hit the road.

A Baltimore man who was found suffering from a gunshot wound in Rosedale early Sunday morning had driven to the gas station where he collapsed onto the parking lot, Baltimore County police said Monday. Robert Wynder Jr., 23, of the 1700 block of Montpelier Ave., was shot in a different location before driving to a Shell gas station on Kenwood Avenue in a gold four-door Honda Civic, police said. Officers were called to the gas station at 4:28 a.m., where Wynder was suffering from at least one gunshot wound in front of the gas station.

Baltimore County Police say a man was found dead this morning at a gas station in Rosedale after suffering at least one gunshot wound. At 4:28 a.m., police and emergency medical personnel got a call for “unknown trouble” and responded to the Shell Gas Station in the 6300 block of 6321 Kenwood Ave in Rosedale.  There, officers found an adult male suffering from at least one gunshot wound. The male had been found in front of the gas station, police said, and was declared dead at the scene.

Detectives from the Annapolis Police Department are investigating the deaths of two men who were found Sunday morning unconscious in a vehicle parked at 24/7 Fuel Mart, a gas station in the 1200 block of Forest Drive in Annapolis. "Police received the call a little past 8 a.m.," said Detective Amy Miguez. "It might be a drug overdose but we will not be sure until we receive the autopsy results. " When police officers arrived at the scene, they discovered that the two men in the vehicle were dead.

On April 2, a hearing was held at the Baltimore City Zoning Board to determine whether the zoning authority would grant conditional use for a gas station to a new, mega-Royal Farms store. This would operate 24/7 with at least 12 gas pumps at the intersection of Harford, Glenmore, Grindon and Old Harford Roads in Hamilton.  All Northeast community associations voted against this development with hundreds of outraged citizens turning out to voice their opposition at meetings over the course of many months.  This development is suitable for an interstate or busy highway, not a residential neighborhood of old homes which has been struggling, slowly but with some tenuous success, to revive itself as a viable community with small, locally owned businesses lining Harford Road, including an independent gas station and several great restaurants.  The intersection is a traffic nightmare, well-known to the city, which is now going to spend $400,000 of taxpayer money to create a new traffic pattern on behalf of the privately owned Royal Farms.

Editor: Sometimes I ask myself "Why do I care?" I know Royal Farm wants to expand a gas station on Route 152 in an area without public water and sewer. Gas stations leak dangerous chemicals and folks drink well water. The combination of chemicals in drinking water can't be good. I care if there is a gas station near my water supply. Allowing a gas station to expand in this location is a bad idea because it is "non conforming. " A few years ago, the Harford County Council passed legislation against expansion of non conforming gas stations.

The owner of a Laurel gas station struggled with, then shot and killed a man who attempted to rob his store early Tuesday, police said. About 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a report of a robbery in the 3400 block of Laurel Fort Meade Road at a Quest gas station that is also the site of a Dunkin' Donuts and a Baskin Robbins ice cream store. The station is located on a busy street lined with shops and strip malls. Based on a preliminary investigation, police said they believe a man entered the store, implied that he had a weapon and demanded money.

The following letter was sent to Maryland State Senator Barry Glassman. A copy was provided for publication. I write regarding the Second Amendment debate in Annapolis. I applaud your stand in defending the Constitution. Perhaps my experiences may help you frame some response to folks who have never carried a gun or faced one, in why merely the presence of a gun can save lives. I am 62, a small farm-owner in Forest Hill, retired from the gas station business, where carrying a revolver saved my life several times, though I never fired a shot in 20 years.