NEWS
By Scott Calvert, The Baltimore Sun | April 12, 2012
A District Court judge on Thursday convicted an Ellicott City man of undertaking major renovations at his mother's Canton rowhouse without permits, but spared him jail time by suspending his 90-day sentence. Martin Pozoulakis, found guilty of two misdemeanor counts, also was fined $1,000. The case was a rare example of the city seeking jail time as punishment for illegal rehab work. In imposing the sentence, Judge Ronald A. Karasic said he was disturbed that Pozoulakis chose to "snub his nose" at city officials who tried to monitor conditions at the house in the 2100 block of Cambridge St. Pozoulakis, 54, waived his right to a trial.
NEWS
By Steve Kilar, The Baltimore Sun | April 12, 2012
Unless he's wearing Batman underwear and a cape, Mark Harvey — who usually dresses for Orioles games in a team ballcap and jeans — would be difficult to pick out of a crowd. That's why he attracted little attention Thursday as he walked outside Oriole Park, less than a week after Opening Day, when he ran onto the field as the Caped Crusader and was subsequently banned from the stadium for life. Harvey, 26, of Severn, who goes to the ballpark a half-dozen times a season, was disheartened by the ban: "I've been going to O's games since I was little.
NEWS
By Steve Kilar, The Baltimore Sun | April 10, 2012
There were at least as many police officers as protesters in front of City Hall on Tuesday evening after a group of about 40 people walked there from the site of a planned youth jail in downtown Baltimore. "It's screwed up," said community activist Kim Trueheart of the police presence. "It's a function of not wanting to understand that having a conversation is an important step in healing, solving problems and communicating. " The rally was organized to call attention to the death of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old unarmed African-American who was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer named George Zimmerman in Sanford, Fla., at the end of February.
NEWS
By Scott Calvert, The Baltimore Sun | April 10, 2012
It was unusual enough when Baltimore housing officials had to get a search warrant to gain entry to a Canton rowhouse where they believed illegal renovations were occurring. But the owner's son had barred inspectors, and neighbors were complaining of work that was noisy, substantial and ongoing. Then inspectors went inside and were shocked to find that the three-story home in the 2100 block of Cambridge Street had been gutted. Not only had the owner's son failed to pull required building permits, the city alleged in a lawsuit, but the work was so shoddy that the house had to be condemned.
NEWS
By Luke Broadwater, The Baltimore Sun | April 3, 2012
A key witness in the case against Travers and Tremayne Johnson, who are accused of burning a pit bull puppy named Phoenix, abruptly refused to testify Tuesday, causing a judge to sentence her to six months in jail. Tiera Goodman, 25, of the 800 block of Braddish Ave. witnessed Phoenix as she was fatally burned in 2009 and testified during the first trial that she saw the 20-year-old Johnson twins running from the scene. The case is being retried after the previous trial ended in a hung jury.
NEWS
By Peter Hermann | April 3, 2012
From Luke Broadwater: A key witness in the case against Travers and Tremayne Johnson, who are accused of burning a pit bull puppy named Phoenix, abruptly refused to testify Tuesday, causing a judge to sentence her to six months in jail. Tiera Goodman, 25, of the 800 block of Braddish Ave., witnessed Phoenix as she was fatally burned in 2009, and testified during the first trial, which ended in a hung jury, that she saw the 20-year-old Johnson twins running from the scene. But Goodman, who is incarcerated on unrelated charges and initially identified the Johnsons to receive a $1,000 reward, charged her attitude from helpful to obstinate Tuesday.