Hampstead Man

CHARLES CASSETTA of Hampstead has been recognized as a world leader among professionals who assess personal potential and direct it toward corporate success.Two weeks ago, Cassetta was chosen from 2,500 candidates for the International Trainer of the Year Award.This is the top achievement granted by Target Training International, a company based in Scottsdale, Ariz., that oversees professional distributors of training materials in 40 countries.Cassetta's award was based on frequent letters of appreciation the home office has received from people affected by the book and videotapes he has written.

A Hampstead mother who believes that her son died of a heroin overdose lamented yesterday that a high-profile crusade against the drug in Carroll County wasn't enough to save her son."I don't want any other parent to have to go through this," said Debi Curran, 44, alternately clenching a fist for emphasis or wiping away a tear.Her son, Justin Lee Dalcin, 20, was found dead in Wyman Park in Baltimore on Sept. 9. Baltimore police believe he died of a heroin overdose, but the autopsy report has not been completed.

A Carroll County grand jury has indicted a Hampstead man on eight drug charges, including possession of heroin and marijuana.The charges against Sergio Balsamo include two counts of keeping a common nuisance in the 4200 block of Huntsman Trail, in reference to the alleged dispensing of heroin. The crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.Two other common-nuisance counts involve marijuana and have maximum sentences of five years and a $15,000 fine.The final two counts of the indictment, returned Thursday evening, accuse Balsamo of possessing paraphernalia such as plastic bags, a metal screen, smoking devices, a scale, a portion of a straw, a mirror and a razor blade allegedly used "to process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, re-pack, store, contain, conceal ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body" marijuana and heroin.

The double-murder trial of Smith Harper Dean III, postponed by his attempted suicide June 10 in an isolation cell at the Carroll County jail, was rescheduled yesterday for Sept. 21 in Howard County.Jail officials said Dean, 39, a Hampstead pit-beef entrepreneur, apparently hoarded an unknown number of antidepressant pills and swallowed them shortly before he was found unconscious on the floor of his cell.Dean was treated for about a week at Carroll County General Hospital before being transferred to Clifton T. Perkins Hospital DTC Center in Jessup for evaluation.

The double-murder trial of Smith Harper Dean III, a Hampstead pit-beef entrepreneur who attempted suicide last week, was postponed again yesterday, and officials will decide in two weeks when, or if, the trial can be rescheduled.Dean, 39, remained under guard at Carroll County General Hospital yesterday with heart-related problems attributed to an overdose of anti-depressant medication he apparently hoarded, authorities said.Dean was found semiconscious in an isolation cell at the county detention center at 11: 20 p.m. Wednesday, jail officials said, and was taken to the Westminster hospital, where he was in critical condition for about two days.

The double-murder trial of Smith Harper Dean III, a Hampstead pit-beef entrepreneur who attempted suicide last week, was postponed again yesterday, and officials will decide in two weeks when, or if, the trial can be rescheduled.Dean, 39, remained under guard at Carroll County General Hospital yesterday with heart-related problems attributed to an overdose of anti-depressant medication he apparently hoarded, authorities said.Dean was found semiconscious in an isolation cell at the county Detention Center at 11: 20 p.m. Wednesday, jail officials said, and was taken to the Westminster hospital, where he was in critical condition for about two days.

A Hampstead man was found guilty yesterday of punching his former girlfriend's brother in October during an altercation at her family's home.William W. Swartz, 27, could receive up to 18 months on the conviction for second-degree assault, under an agreement in which he pleaded not guilty to an agreed-upon statement of facts by Assistant State's Attorney Laura Kozlowski.Officers from Hampstead and the Westminster state police barracks responded to the incident at the home in the 4300 block of White Oak Court.

A Hampstead man was being held yesterday at the Carroll County Detention Center in lieu of $75,000 bail after he was arrested Wednesday and charged with committing two burglaries last month.Richard S. Shipp, 19, of the 4200 block of Maple Grove Road, faces 19 charges, including allegations of conspiring with another person to break into a neighbor's home on Jan. 16., where an exterior door was destroyed and an antique mantel clock was stolen.Shipp is also accused of plotting with four others to break into a Manchester home Jan. 19, when a large jug of coins, a gold-plated pocket watch and a gold pendant were stolen.

A Hampstead man was convicted of drunken driving and two counts of assault after pleading not guilty in Carroll County Circuit Court Tuesday.Michael O. Mehaffie, 26, agreed not to challenge the prosecutor's statement of facts. Circuit Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. set sentencing for March 25.According to court records, Mehaffie became angry when a woman he met in a bar late on Aug. 17 refused to ride home with him after he drove her to the home of a friend, Sean E. Seets, in a Hampstead mobile home park about 2 a.m. on Aug. 18.Seets and his roommate, Robert M. Vicera, tried to calm Mehaffie, but he drove his car at Seets, striking him and flipping him into the air. Seets was not seriously injured.

A Hampstead man was placed on five years' supervised probation after his four-year prison sentence was suspended yesterday for time he has served since his arrest in April on charges of assaulting his former girlfriend and her pet parrot, court records show.Christopher E. McDermott, 23, was incarcerated April 28, the day after he struck the woman in her face with a telephone, kicked her, threatened to kill her and killed her pet with a penknife.He also caused about $1,000 in damage to her Hampstead home, police said.