Howard County Police

At least three people have been killed on Maryland highways since Friday evening, including a Virginia man who was thrown from his car and struck by another driver on Interstate 95 in Prince George's County, police reported.The other fatal accidents happened in Howard and Carroll counties.About 2: 30 a.m. yesterday, two men were traveling south on I-95 near Route 5 when the driver lost control of the 1985 Nissan 300 2X, Maryland State Police said. The car flipped, tossing the driver and passenger onto the highway.

Police in Howard County are warning elderly residents to watch out for financial scams. The warning comes after an 86-year-old Elkridge man wired $151,000 to cover what he believed were taxes on a fake $1.6 million prize check, police said. Police are investigating the theft and fraud case. The victim has received letters and phone calls over the last month from people claiming to be from Publisher's Clearing House, company attorneys or IRS representatives, police said. The man was sent a fake prize check and told he would be able to cash the check once he paid the taxes and received an activation code.

In preparation for a possible increase in drunken driving on Super Bowl Sunday, Howard County police said yesterday that they will increase road patrols that day. Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn said the presence of the Baltimore Ravens in this year's Super Bowl has heightened concerns about people driving while intoxicated. "We're taking extra precautions specifically because we have a local team in the Super Bowl," Llewellyn said. "We expect there will be a lot of celebrating." The department is referring to Sunday's beefed-up force as a "saturation patrol."

As details surrounding the murder conspiracy of prominent Howard County blogger Dennis Lane came to light Friday, some members of the robust and wide-reaching local blogosphere Lane helped cultivate took to their keyboards to honor their forefather; who wrote under the ephitet "Wordbones. " Lane, 58, was found stabbed to death inside his Ellicott City home early Friday morning. Charged in connection with the crime are Lane's 14-year-old daugher Morgan Lane Arnold and her boyfriend Jason Anthony Bulmer, 19, who Howard County Police said plotted for two months to commit the gruesome murder.

As details surrounding the murder conspiracy of prominent Howard County blogger Dennis Lane came to light Friday, some members of the robust and wide-reaching local blogosphere Lane helped cultivate took to their keyboards to honor their forefather; who wrote under the ephitet "Wordbones. " Lane, 58, was found stabbed to death inside his Ellicott City home early Friday morning. Charged in connection with the crime are Lane's 14-year-old daugher Morgan Lane Arnold and her boyfriend Jason Anthony Bulmer, 19, who Howard County Police said plotted for two months to commit the gruesome murder.

Howard County Police are investigating a collision between a county police cruiser and a Toyota Camry Saturday that sent both drivers to the hospital with minor injuries. Police say the driver of the Camry failed to yield the right-of-way while making a left turn from northbound Oakland Mills Road onto Homespun Drive at about 8 a.m. Saturday. The police officer's 2008 Crown Victoria, driven by Officer Hiram Henderson, hit the passenger side of the 1999 Camry, driven by 45-year-old Asiye Gaus of the 7500 block of Harmans Road in Harmans.

With record highs on tap for the next few days , experts are reminding us to keep an eye out on our kids and vehicles. The Howard County Police are asking people to remember the kids can get overheated very quickly, and that cars parked in direct sunlight can reach temperatures of 131 degrees to 172 degrees F when outside temperatures are 80-100, and we're expecting higher than 100. "It's critical that caregivers know it is never safe...

Howard County police shot a man Monday near railroad tracks by an Elkridge industrial park after he refused to drop his handgun, police said. Police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn identified the man Monday night as Jeffrey Dustin Nichols, 19, of the 6600 block of Grouse Road in Elkridge. He was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was listed in critical condition, she said in an email. Police said they were called about a man firing shots in the Hanover area around 3 p.m. Police followed him from the area near Loudon and Melrose avenues to an industrial park in the 7400 block of Hi Tech Road.

Three more people have been arrested and charged in connection with a shooting in Clarksville on April 6, according to Howard County police. Patrick James Belt, 21, of the 16000 block of Frederick Road in Mount Airy faces attempted first-degree murder, assault, robbery and other charges. Stevie Ann Gribble, 19, of the same address, was charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. Diana Eileen Marker, 22, of the 5500 block of Hunting Horn Drive in Ellicott City was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted armed robbery and other charges.

A former Howard County police officer is scheduled to be sentenced Friday after being found guilty of assaulting a police officer from Baltimore City during an altercation outside a bar in Canton in August last year. A Baltimore Circuit Court jury on Wednesday found Casey R. Lechter, 23, guilty of assault and disorderly conduct, and not guilty of resisting arrest, according to his attorney. Lechter's brother, Kary Williams, 35, was convicted of disorderly conduct and acquitted of assault and resisting arrest.

A year has passed since a man apparently upset at the workers running the food pantry at an Ellicott City church gunned down a minister and an office worker, police say, before taking his own life. St. Peter's Episcopal Church marked the anniversary of the deaths of the Rev. Marguerite Mary Kohn and Brenda Brewington over the weekend with a gathering the Rev. Thomas Slawson described as "a celebration of life. " "Pretty good participation from representatives from the community," said Slawson, the church vicar.

Howard County police have arrested a man they say set fire to an apartment in Columbia Friday and hurled obscenities at police officers before fleeing. Alejandro Adolfo Rodriguez, 25, of the 5300 block of Harpers Farm Road in Columbia, is charged with first- and second-degree assault, first- and second-degree arson, and malicious burning. Police spotted him walking in the 5400 block of Eliots Oak Road in Columbia and arrested him without incident at about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, they said.

A line of cars snaked around the government office parking lot, down Bendix Road and for up to half a mile along Route 108 in the late morning and the afternoon, as people waited for hours to trade in guns to Howard County police for crisp $100 bills. At the end of the day police had recovered 631 guns and at 2:30 had to start turning cars away, officials said. The last time they tried a similar effort in 1995, the total number of guns collected was three. "We didn't know what to expect," said Chief William McMahon, but officials were pleased with the turnout.

Police officers in three surrounding counties and the city of Laurel Police are beefing up enforcement of drunk driving this weekend, as St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on Sunday. Laurel Police will conduct a sobriety checkpoint Saturday night, March 16 at Route 1 and Main Street, weather permitting. If it's raining Saturday night, Laurel Police will conduct roving saturation patrols in area, according to Laurel City Spokesman Pete Piringer. Free rides home are available through SoberRide by calling 1-800-200-TAXI (8294)

A Jessup family is safe Wednesday morning after hiding from an armed man who broke into their home, according to Howard County Police. Police do not believe the home invasion was random, and are searching for a suspect in the area, said Mary Phelan, a police spokeswoman. "We do believe that he was armed, but don't know the type of weapon," Phelan said. A woman in the home in the 7300 block of Montevideo Road called police about 2:19 a.m. and said she heard footsteps on the first floor, Phelan said.

An accident involving one vehicle on the northbound side of Route 29 slowed traffic early Tuesday morning, as crews worked to clear the roadway near Route 32 in Howard County, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration. At least one ramp onto Route 32 remained closed. Maryland State Police said Howard County Police were handling the accident, but a duty officer said he had no information on the accident as of 6:45 a.m. Also Tuesday morning, one of four southbound bores of the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore was closed due to a disabled vehicle, the SHA reported about 7 a.m. krector@baltsun.com twitter.com/rectorsun

Police in Howard County say they busted a marijuana growing operation at a house in Laurel, seizing 341 plants that authorities estimate could yield 170 pounds of pot worth more than a half million dollars. Police charged Manoj Unni, 30, of the 9300 block of Cross Timbers Court, with several drug counts. Police said they searched the house on Wednesday and found the alleged growing operation in the basement, with "sophisticated growing equipment. " Police said they found "high-intensity lights, a dehumidifier, air filters, water pumping systems, lighting timers, a CO2 system and a ventilation system.

Police in Howard County are warning elderly residents to watch out for financial scams. The warning comes after an 86-year-old Elkridge man wired $151,000 to cover what he believed were taxes on a fake $1.6 million prize check, police said. Police are investigating the theft and fraud case. The victim has received letters and phone calls over the last month from people claiming to be from Publisher's Clearing House, company attorneys or IRS representatives, police said. The man was sent a fake prize check and told he would be able to cash the check once he paid the taxes and received an activation code.

Howard County police are asking for the public's help in locating a elderly man who has been missing since Saturday afternoon, and have issued a Silver Alert in an attempt to find him. Huber Earl Smutz, Jr., 82, was reported missing around 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19. According to police, a family member woke up around noon and Smutz was gone from his home in the 700 block of Driver Road in Marriottsville. He left in a 2007 silver Honda Accord with MD tag HYR743, police said. Smutz is described as a white male, balding, with straight gray hair and blue eyes, no facial hair and a medium build.

An aide at the Maryland School for the Deaf was charged Thursday with molesting three girls when they were students at the school between 2008 and 2010, Howard County police said. One of the three girls – now ages 15 and 16 and no longer at the Columbia school – recently reported her allegation to a teacher, after learning that she might not have been the only student repeatedly inappropriately touched, police said. That led to the investigation, and detectives are exploring the possibility that there may be more victims, according to police.