Involuntary Manslaughter

A Baltimore County police officer was indicted Wednesday in the death of a Randallstown teen, but the charges drew criticism from the boy's mother and the community, who continued calls for an outside investigation. James D. Laboard, a nine-year veteran, faces charges of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter in the asphyxiation death of 17-year-old Christopher Brown, whom police said he chased after a group of teens threw a rock at his front door on June 13. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

The commander of the Navy unit that included two sailors who drowned at Aberdeen Proving Ground in February has been relieved of his duties, the Navy said Wednesday. The Navy said Cmdr. Michael Runkle, who led the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 2, was relieved because of a "loss of confidence in his ability to command. " Diver 1st Class James Reyher, 28, of Caldwell, Ohio, and Diver 2nd Class Ryan Harris, 23, of Gladstone, Mo., died Feb. 26 during a training exercise at a testing facility at Aberdeen known as the Super Pond.

A man who was convicted of killing a Baltimore police detective by throwing a chunk of concrete has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sian James was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for hurling the concrete at Detective Brian Stevenson last year during a fight over a parking space in Canton last October. Stevenson was hit in the head.

A Cockeysville woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 91-year-old mother, who police said was left for two days inside a bathroom in the home the two shared. Police said Sharon Caslow, 65, initially called 911 Jan. 17, 2012 to their home in the 1000 block of Hidden Moss Drive, where medics found Audrey Caslow seated on a toilet. She was taken to Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where it was determined that she had injuries consistent with being neglected.

A 13-year-old girl whose body was found buried under trash bags behind a Northeast Baltimore rowhouse had been shot by her young companions while playing with a rifle, according to relatives and police who arrested two youths Monday. The boys, 12 and 13, were being held on juvenile charges of involuntary manslaughter, and police did not release their names. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi described the case as "an absolute unspeakable tragedy," while the relatives of Monae Turnage said the charges were not severe enough.

Baltimore police Sgt. Stephen R. Pagotto, whose routine traffic stop in Northeast Baltimore last February ended in the fatal shooting of a motorist, became the first city officer in memory to be convicted of a crime for shooting in the line of duty.A jury of seven women and five men pronounced the 40-year-old sergeant guilty of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless endangerment after 5 1/2 hours of deliberations and three weeks of testimony, in a trial that examined just how far an officer can deviate from his training when he believes his life is in danger.

The prosecution and the defense formed an unusual alliance yesterday, seeking to throw out a conviction for a crime they said doesn't exist -- but a Baltimore County Circuit judge disagreed."

When 16-month-old Ashton Timothy Preston toddled across the kitchen in search of a bottle in December 2004, Elaine Marie Butler shook her head at him. Butler, who had taken the boy and his recovering addict mother in after meeting at church, was trying to wean him off bottles. So she gave him a Mickey Mouse cup - filled with what was later found to be methadone. Within hours, the boy was dead. Yesterday, Butler's attorney and prosecutors agreed on the events that led to the boy ingesting the drug.

A Columbia woman whose conviction in the 2005 strangulation of a fellow Loyola College doctoral student was overturned in September agreed to a plea deal yesterday in Howard County Circuit Court that freed her from prison. The state Court of Special Appeals had ruled that Melissa Burch Harton, 27, was entitled to a new trial after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter because Howard County detectives waited until she made incriminating statements to advise her of her Miranda rights.

An Anne Arundel Circuit Court jury convicted Donna Davidson of reckless endangerment yesterday but found her not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in what the prosecutor and public defender agreed was a "compromise verdict."Ms. Davidson, 25, of the 1700 block of Richfield Drive had left her then 18-month-old son, Marcus Price, unattended when he drowned in a bathtub at their Pioneer City home on the afternoon of March 23, 1994.Circuit Court Judge Raymond G. Thieme Jr. set sentencing for 1:30 p.m. June 5.Ms.

The death of a 13-year-old Monae Turnage was heard throughout the Baltimore area earlier this year. Two underage juveniles ages 12 and 13, who were charged with involuntary manslaughter. They didn't receive any jail sentences, only psychiatric help was given at ruling. The two young boys were known to be the victim's friends; they admitted to accidentally shooting the victim and later dumping her body in an alley. The cover-up may also have involved a city police officer. During the summer, prosecutors released a document, stating that there were "insufficient basis to pursue criminal charges" against Officer John A. Ward, who was later identified as being engaged to one of the young boy's sister ("Officer faces no charges over gun," Oct. 10)

A Baltimore County police officer was indicted Wednesday in the death of a Randallstown teen, but the charges drew criticism from the boy's mother and the community, who continued calls for an outside investigation. James D. Laboard, a nine-year veteran, faces charges of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter in the asphyxiation death of 17-year-old Christopher Brown, whom police said he chased after a group of teens threw a rock at his front door on June 13. Each count carries a maximum of 10 years in prison.

A fatal shooting is rare along the tree-lined streets that lead to historic Federal Hill park, where residents and tourists take in sweeping views of the Inner Harbor. So it was especially unusual when two people were killed there on consecutive days in the summer of 2008. There hasn't been another such incident since then. Four years later, police say they've solved one of the murders, arresting 32-year-old Dundalk resident Jason Hamel for the June 20, 2008 killing of 35-year-old Keyva Bluitt.  Bluitt was sitting in a vehicle at about 9:15 p.m. when witnesses said they saw several people jump into a blue Toyota and then heard a shot fired.

The children gathered to remember 13-year-old Monae Turnage as the rest of the city wonders what exactly an off-duty Baltimore police officer did to allegedly help the girl's classmates who are charged with involuntary manslaughter in her shooting. View a photo gallery of the vigil . Read complete coverage of case . Police officials have confirmed that the officer, identified by law enforcement sources as John A. Ward, 32, a four year veteran of the force who sometimes patrolled the very Darley Park neighborhood where Monae was shot, is part of an extensive criminal investigation.

A Baltimore police officer who sources say had the gun used in the accidental fatal shooting of a 13-year-old girl has been suspended and is now part of a criminal investigation in which two children already have been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The sources have said the .22 caliber long rifle that killed Monae Turnage inside her Darley Avenue rowhouse was found in the officer's personal vehicle. That revelation adds to an already horrific police account of the children dragging her body out of a rowhouse and hiding it under trash bags in a back yard until the victim's brother found it 19 hours later.

A 13-year-old girl whose body was found buried under trash bags behind a Northeast Baltimore rowhouse had been shot by her young companions while playing with a rifle, according to relatives and police who arrested two youths Monday. The boys, 12 and 13, were being held on juvenile charges of involuntary manslaughter, and police did not release their names. Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi described the case as "an absolute unspeakable tragedy," while the relatives of Monae Turnage said the charges were not severe enough.

A teen-ager who fired a gun inside White Marsh Mall in October -- attempting to win back a girlfriend -- has been found guilty of a crime that apparently doesn't exist.The defense attorney and prosecutor say they will move to strike the verdict of attempted involuntary manslaughter issued by Baltimore County Circuit Judge Thomas J. Bollinger, who heard the nonjury trial of 19-year-old John Matthew Miller on July 10 and 11."There isn't such an animal," said defense attorney Richard M. Karceski, who filed a motion to that effect last week in anticipation of sentencing Sept.

A 41-year old Jessup man who fatally stabbed his brother during a domestic argument last July was given a three-year suspended sentence yesterday by a Howard County Circuit Court judge.Johnny Mouzon pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his brother, Joseph Louis Mouzon, as part of a plea agreement with the state. The maximum penalty for involuntary manslaughter is a 10-year jail sentence.Circuit Judge James B. Dudley gave Mouzon credit for the 134 dayshe served in the Howard County Detention Center after his arrest.

Though George Huguely V is charged with premeditated murder in the 2010 death of his University of Virginia girlfriend, Yeardley Love, attorneys following the case say it's unlikely that the jury will find he intended to kill her when members begin deliberating Wednesday in Charlottesville, Va., Circuit Court. But that doesn't mean he won't be found culpable. Even his lawyers have said that Huguely, who admits drunkenly assaulting Love, bears responsibility for her death. Just what he might be guilty of - along with the time he's assigned to serve in prison - will depend upon the jury's interpretation of key evidence, which includes an hourlong videotaped statement that Huguely gave to police.

A 21-year-old Pasadena man pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter Thursday for shoving a stranger who couldn't swim into the Inner Harbor in 2008 — an act previously characterized by one Baltimore judge as complete stupidity. Wayne Black, who was 18 when he pushed 22-year-old Ankush Gupta into the water and ran, will be sentenced to four years in prison at his sentencing, scheduled for Aug. 30, per an agreement cut with Baltimore Circuit Judge M. Brooke Murdock. His mother dabbed tears from her eyes as the deal was done, while Gupta's friends and family sat stone-faced on the other side of the courtroom.