Guilty Plea

A 45-year-old Atlanta woman admitted Wednesday that she used a downtown Baltimore hotel room to inject exotic dancers with commercial-grade silicone, commonly used in furniture polish, to enlarge their buttocks, according to federal prosecutors. As part of her guilty plea in Baltimore's U.S. District Court, Kimberly D. Smedley conceded that she earned more than $200,000 giving silicone shots to women for eight years in cities around the country, using glue and cotton balls to prevent leakage.

With a full math and science scholarship to the Johns Hopkins University and accolades for his writing, Howard County's Mohammad Hassan Khalid seemed ready to continue the American dream his father embarked on years ago when he brought the family from Pakistan. But instead, on Friday the 18-year-old Khalid became one of the youngest people ever convicted in federal court of conspiracy to aid terrorists. He could receive up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

Jason Savedoff's bail was reduced and his travel restrictions were eased after he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court this week to conspiracy and theft of major art, according to a court order made public Friday. Savedoff, 24, was indicted in July along with Barry Landau, 63, on charges that they stole dozens of historic documents worth more than $1 million from museums along the East Coast, including the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Landau is still awaiting trial, but Savedoff pleaded guilty Thursday . He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for Feb. 10. According to a court order signed after his plea, but filed Friday, Savedoff's bond has been reduced from $250,000 to $150,000, with the difference to be paid to his mother, Antonia Schang, who has acted as her son's custodian during the court proceedings.

A 45-year-old Atlanta woman admitted Wednesday that she used a downtown Baltimore hotel room to inject exotic dancers with commercial-grade silicone, commonly used in furniture polish, to enlarge their buttocks, according to federal prosecutors. As part of her guilty plea in Baltimore's U.S. District Court, Kimberly D. Smedley conceded that she earned more than $200,000 giving silicone shots to women for eight years in cities around the country, using glue and cotton balls to prevent leakage.

A 21-year-old Parkville man received a 25-year sentence for the July 18, 2010 shooting death of Derrick Maxey Jr. in the parking lot of the American Legion Post on Bond Street in Bel Air. Rakim Raid Muhammad pleaded guilty to second degree murder and use of a handgun in a violent crime in the death of Maxey who was shot in the back of the head. The guilty plea and sentencing were the result of a plea bargain, as Circuit Court Judge Emory Plitt commented Muhammed was "looking to do a life sentence on the installment plan.

Leslie Johnson walked into the Prince George's County Council chambers Tuesday morning, and began her usual routine — joining her colleagues in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Although most of the council didn't know it, she had just handed in a resignation letter. Minutes later, she left through a back door. It was Johnson's first appearance in public since she pleaded guilty last week to destroying evidence in a federal investigation of county government corruption. At the time, Johnson said she would stay on the council until her sentencing in October, prompting vociferous objections from fellow politicians and the public.

A 17-year-old pleaded guilty yesterday to being an accessory after the fact in the stabbing death of a 15-year-old girl whose body was found by her mother last summer in her Southwest Baltimore home. Lloyd Chase of the 2100 block of McHenry St. faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, prosecutors said. The victim, Christine Richardson, was killed July 10 in her home in the 300 block of S. Fulton Ave. She suffered multiple stab wounds and her throat was slashed after an argument, according to the city state's attorney's office.

A Jessup man pleaded guilty yesterday to second-degree sex offense of a mentally disabled woman. Gary Ray Blush, 49, opted out of trial in Howard County Circuit Court by reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors for engaging in sexual activity in January with a woman who prosecutors said has the mental level of a young child. Second-degree sexual offense carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, but as part of the plea deal, Blush will serve no more than 10 years in prison. Sentencing is Nov. 22.

WESTMINSTER -- A 20-year-old Baltimore man who has made at least six cocaine-selling trips to Carroll County pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of drug distribution in exchange for a the chance of a lighter sentence and the dropping of three other charges.Christopher Grant Braxton, of the 5300 block of Denmore Avenue, made the guilty plea before Circuit Judge Luke K. Burns Jr. after his public defender and an assistant state's attorney agreed to recommend a suspended seven-year prison sentence and five years of probation.

MINEOLA, N.Y. -- Joey Buttafuoco's lawyer and prosecutors are discussing the possibility of Mr. Buttafuoco's pleading guilty to a charge that he had sex with Amy Fisher when she was 16 years old, according to sources close to the case.Sources said prosecutors and Mr. Buttafuoco's lawyer, Marvyn Kornberg, met yesterday and informally discussed a plea but were unable to reach agreement. Prosecutors are insisting that Mr. Buttafuoco plead guilty to a top count in the 19-count indictment and admit wrongdoing, the sources said.

An Edgewater man was sentenced to six years in prison and a Crofton man pleaded guilty Friday for their involvement in a Gambrills-based mortgage fraud scheme in which they stole nearly $5 million for their personal use, prosecutors said. Gary Pierce, 44, was sentenced Friday to six years in prison for his part in a wire fraud conspiracy to divert funds that were supposed to be used to pay off mortgages during home transfers on 17 Maryland properties, according to a statement from Maryland's U.S. Attorney's Office.

Barry H. Landau, the once-esteemed collector of presidential memorabilia, admitted in federal court Tuesday that he stole thousands of documents regarded as cultural treasures from historical societies and libraries in Baltimore and up the East Coast. The 63-year-old's guilty plea, to two criminal counts involving theft of artwork, revealed a scheme in which prosecutors said he compiled lists of items to steal by matching names of historical figures, from poets to president, to their "potential monetary value.

The recent guilty plea of a man accused of being part of the far-reaching South Side Brims Bloods gang reveals an Eastern Shore meeting between members of at least three gangs - a reminder that while gangs and drug organizations make news for warring over turf and debts, they also sometimes work together.  The meeting, according to the plea agreement, took place inQueen Anne's Countyin 2008 and included members of the Latin Kings, the Thunderguards (characterzied...

A 58-year-old Baltimore woman has been convicted of one count of abuse of a vulnerable adult in the second degree, stemming from a 2010 incident at a Timonium nursing center. According to a press release from the Maryland Attorney General's Office, Circuit Court Judge Robert Cahill Jr. this week accepted the guilty plea of Shirleen Diane Sheppard, 58, and issued a three-year suspended prison sentence. Sheppard was placed on three years' probation and was ordered to perform 150 hours of community service within 12 months, and is prohibited from being employed as a geriatric nursing assistant during the full term of probation, according to the release.

Back in May, we reported on a 47-year-old attorney and magician who ran an entertainment company in Baltimore County, was charged with flying to Florida to have sex with a 14-year-old boy. The Essex man, Howard Scott Kalin, ran Funhouse Entertainment on York Road in Lutherville, and was known for making balloon animals for children. Police said that he met the boy over the Internet. The only problem was that the "boy" was an undercover police detective with theLake County Sheriff's Office cybercrime division.

A 21-year-old Parkville man received a 25-year sentence for the July 18, 2010 shooting death of Derrick Maxey Jr. in the parking lot of the American Legion Post on Bond Street in Bel Air. Rakim Raid Muhammad pleaded guilty to second degree murder and use of a handgun in a violent crime in the death of Maxey who was shot in the back of the head. The guilty plea and sentencing were the result of a plea bargain, as Circuit Court Judge Emory Plitt commented Muhammed was "looking to do a life sentence on the installment plan.

WASHINGTON -- Lawyers for Monica Lewinsky have been told that she must agree to plead guilty to some offense to reach an agreement with Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel who is investigating her relationship with President Clinton, said a person with knowledge of the investigation.Lewinsky's new legal team is pressing Starr to grant her full immunity from prosecution in exchange for her testimony, in which the former White House intern would acknowledge a sexual relationship with the president, said the person, who insisted on anonymity.

A man with no country has a chance to stay in the United States a bit longer. Maryland's highest court has ruled that 36-year-old Mark Denisyuk, who has been in the United States illegally for more than two decades, deserves another trial on five-year-old assault charges because no one told him his guilty plea could lead to his deportation. The ruling means Denisyuk can stay in the country — his lawyer says he's been released from the custody of federal immigration officials — at least until his case is resolved in Harford County.

Jason Savedoff's bail was reduced and his travel restrictions were eased after he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court this week to conspiracy and theft of major art, according to a court order made public Friday. Savedoff, 24, was indicted in July along with Barry Landau, 63, on charges that they stole dozens of historic documents worth more than $1 million from museums along the East Coast, including the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore. Landau is still awaiting trial, but Savedoff pleaded guilty Thursday . He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for Feb. 10. According to a court order signed after his plea, but filed Friday, Savedoff's bond has been reduced from $250,000 to $150,000, with the difference to be paid to his mother, Antonia Schang, who has acted as her son's custodian during the court proceedings.