Kills

Montgomery County police say an officer was killed when his police cruiser struck a tree while he responded to an officer who needed backup. Police have yet to release the officer's name. He was a seven-year veteran of the department and worked the midnight shift. Police say the officer was en route to the scene of a fight early Sunday when his car ran off the road and hit a tree. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Detectives are investigating the crash. - Associated Press

The property manager of a Reisterstown housing development was killed in the rental office Friday morning, breaking the early morning peace at the tidy suburban complex. Police identified the woman Saturday as 29-year-old Melinda Schaefer. An autopsy was still being completed Saturday afternoon, but she appeared to have suffered multiple stab wounds, according to officer Shawn Vinson, a spokesman for Baltimore County Police. No arrests have been made. Police cordoned off several houses in the Townes at Harvest View community Friday Morning, and officers moved in and out of the rental office while two men sat and watched from a balcony on the next home.

A Baltimore senator scuttled a contentious bill yesterday that would have limited police powers to enforce laws in the city's taverns, claiming to have successfully made her point. Sen. Joan Carter Conway, a Democrat, said she was taking the action in response to concerns expressed by community groups that the bill would make it harder for police to control public nuisances. Conway contended the bill would not have had that effect, but said it had been undermined by "all the mistruths that have been told."

A toddler was hit and killed by a taxi on Liberty Parkway Friday and died in the hospital, according to Baltimore County police. Anthony Calius Sering, 4, entered the road around 6 p.m. between two parked cars and was hit by the Silver Cab of Baltimore taxi, which was traveling south near Dunmanway, according to police. The boy, who lived near the site of the incident, was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he was pronunced dead at 9:43 p.m. Police identified the driver as Jesse James Guy, 43, of the 3400 block of Parklawn Avenue.

The life of convicted killer and drug lord Anthony Ayeni Jones was put into the hands of a federal jury yesterday after prosecutors described him in closing arguments as "a killing machine" who deserves to be put to death.Jones, 25, who ran a $30,000-a-day East Baltimore drug ring linked to the deaths of more than a dozen people, could be the first person executed for a federal crime in Maryland."There is no one in the same category as Anthony Jones," Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert R. Harding told the jury in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Before every volleyball game, the Glen Burnie Gophers get into a circle on the court with their hands clasped above their heads and yell "Crush!"It's an appropriate ritual, because that's what usually happens in the Gophers' games, especially when Glen Burnie's Stacy Gilligan steps up to the net.Among the area's best players, the 5-foot-9 Gilligan is "killing" the Gophers' rivals at an alarming rate (10.3 kills per game)."When she goes to hit, it's almost certainly going to be a kill. I practiced with her last Monday and I'd have to admit I didn't like being on the other side of the net when she was hitting," said Glen Burnie coach Juanita Milani, who has an overall 124-58 record since she began coaching in 1978, including a 62-11 record over the last five years.

An apparent lovers quarrel ended violently and publicly yesterday when a Charles Village woman was chased from her home and fatally shot by her boyfriend in front of a neighbor's house up the street. The man then shot and killed himself. Police did not release the names of the victims, saying that neither was originally from the Baltimore area and next of kin had not been notified. The incident occurred about 1 p.m. in the 100 block of E. 32nd St., around the corner from a busy strip of restaurants and stores, on a day when many in the area were out enjoying the bright, summerlike afternoon.

The Glenelg volleyball team can always rely on senior outside hitter Rebecca Tursell to serve, dig and block. More importantly, however, the No. 5 Gladiators needed Tursell's array of power and accurate kills. Tursell, who recorded a season-high 18 kills against No. 9 Mount Hebron on Thursday, outdid herself last night as she posted 19 kills to lift host Glenelg to a 27-25, 25-18, 25-16 victory over No. 14 Atholton. Tursell, who also had an ace and an assist, was as comfortable blasting away at the net as she was using a deft touch.

One look at the Institute of Notre Dame's Brooks Webster slamming a volleyball can intimidate a lot of opponents. That happened to Chapelgate yesterday as the 6-foot middle hitter pounded out 20 kills and had 10 blocks to lead the No. 11 Indians to a 25-21, 25-19, 25-11 victory in an Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference match. "Starting out, we just got a little scared of her from all the rumors," said Chapelgate setter Valerie Pusateri. "We dug her up some, but they use her a lot. She's tall.

Down a game and three points away from trailing two games to none, top-ranked Centennial limited fourth-ranked Francis Scott Key to 11 points the rest of the match for an 8-15, 15-12, 15-5, 15-6 victory in yesterday's Class 2A state volleyball championship at Community College of Baltimore County-Catonsville. Centennial (19-1), which beat Francis Scott Key in three games in last year's final, earned its fifth straight state title, ninth in 10 years and 10th overall. Centennial, which lost its season-opener to Class 3A state champion Northern-Calvert, made the tactical adjustments it needed to against Francis Scott Key and got significant contributions from a number of players.

Trials for the 14-year-old girl and her boyfriend charged with murdering her father were scheduled for the fall in Howard County Circuit Court, a spokesman for prosecutors said Friday. An Oct. 29 trial date was set for Jason Anthony Bulmer, 19. Judges chose Nov. 19 to begin a trial for Morgan Lane Arnold. The Ellicott City pair face first-degree and related charges in the stabbing death last month of Morgan's father, Dennis Lane, a well-known businessman and blogger in the county.

Lawyers for a veteran Baltimore police officer charged with killing his fiancee and then engaging in an hours-long standoff with fellow officers said Thursday that they want to explore whether he suffered from combat-related stress. The comments came after a brief hearing in which Officer James W. Smith, 49, pleaded not guilty, surrounded by a larger-than-normal complement of security staff in the courtroom of Judge Steven Sfekas. Smith was visibly upset, with defense attorney Linda Ramirez comforting him as the charges of first-degree murder and a handgun violation were read aloud.

A highway worker was struck and killed Tuesday night in Howard County, police said. According to Howard police, Erick Meekins, 40, of Baltimore, a contracted State Highway Administration worker was placing cones in a lane of westbound Route 216 at Route 29, attempting to close it, when he was hit by a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu about 9:22 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Meekins, an employee of Road Safety Traffic Control Co. LLC, was wearing his reflective shirt at the time of the collision, police said.

The location was changed for a Wednesday evening candlelight vigil for Joseph Dale Harvey Jr., who police say was fatally shot in a road-rage dispute. The 8 p.m. vigil site has been moved to an area off I-97 and Veterans Highway, on the loop to Morris Tongue Road. Harvey's friends agreed to relocate it at the suggestion of Maryland State Police. The original site was where Harvey was found shot Saturday, where Route 3 merges with Interstate 97. Police charged Joseph Lamont Walker, a New Jersey law enforcement officer, with second-degree murder in Harvey's death.

Baltimore police said Wednesday that detectives believe a suspect in the fatal shooting of 1-year-old Carter Scott last month has fled to New York City. Police have identified Rashid Mayo, 22, as a suspect in the May 24 shooting that left Carter dead and his father, Rashaw Scott, 22, seriously wounded. Two other alleged gunmen have also been charged - Eddie Tarver, 20, whom they said they caught in a pursuit after the shooting, and Cornell Harvey, 26, whom Rashaw Scott allegedly identified as one of the gunmen.

The New Jersey police officer accused of killing a man during an alleged weekend road rage incident was defending his family, his lawyer said Monday. Patrick McAndrew, attorney for Joseph Lamont Walker, 40, said his client had faced an "attack" on the on-ramp to Interstate 97 in Anne Arundel County. Maryland State Police say Walker shot and killed Joseph Harvey Jr., 36, after an altercation on the road. "The second version, the true version, will come out," McAndrew told Annapolis District Court Judge Thomas Pryal at a bail review hearing.

If anyone doubted that Brenna Dailey had fully recovered from an early-season bout with pneumonia, the Notre Dame Prep senior sure convinced them last night.Dailey, a 6-foot outside hitter, pounded down the last two points to lead the Pirates to a 15-7, 7-15, 8-15, 15-13, 15-9 upset of top-seeded Friends in the Association of Independent Schools A Division Volleyball Tournament at McDonogh.Although she admitted to being a little tired at the end of the two-hour match, Dailey never showed it. She finished with a match-high 13 kills -- none bigger than the two that closed out a final six-point run and gave NDP its first AIS volleyball title.

1975: FBI catches Patty Hearst 1976: U.S. bicentennial 1976: Zedong, Zhou Enlai die 1976: Legionnaire's disease kills 29 Pub Date: 12/08/99

A man was fatally shot by Baltimore County police after he attempted to take the gun of an officer placing him under arrest in White Marsh on Wednesday evening, police said. Cpl. Cathy Batton, a county police spokeswoman, said the incident began with a 5:15 p.m. call to police from a woman who said a man was disturbing people on a motor scooter at the Colony Motel in the 11100 block of Pulaski Highway. "When she asked him to leave, he drove the scooter in circles around her and then attempted to strike her with the scooter," Batton wrote in an email.

When Carter Scott was born, his family was embroiled in allegations of violence: His father was sitting in a jail cell, accused by two relatives of killing a cousin. Just over a year later, Carter's mother, Christina White, filed for a protective order alleging that his father, Rashaw Scott, beat her and slammed her head into a door. And in May, the 1-year-old boy became the victim of deadly violence when he and his father were shot in what police said was a targeted attack. The father survived; the son died.