Man Fled

Maryland State Police continued searching yesterday for Gregory Augustus James Jr., a Baltimore man they believe fled the scene of a two-car accident Tuesday morning on Interstate 95 in Howard County using the Ford pickup truck of a driver who had stopped to help. Police identified James, 32, by listening to messages on a cellular telephone found in the Isuzu Trooper involved in the accident, which sent two Silver Spring residents to Maryland Shock Trauma Center and slowed the morning commute.

Alfredo Contreras made it safely to Dallas from his home on the Texas coast before the arrival of Hurricane Rita last month. He and his family found refuge with relatives in North Carolina while waiting for life to return to normal in storm-battered Beaumont. But his plans to finally return home yesterday with his wife and two young sons were dashed Sunday night when Contreras was shot and killed in what his relatives said was an attempted robbery during a family visit in the Woodlawn area.

POLICE LOG* Savage: 8500 block of Howard St.: A resident returning home found a burglar standing inside an apartment Thursday night. Police said the man fled out a rear sliding door when the victim ran to call police. A pistol, camcorder and cash were taken.* Jessup: 7800 block of U.S. Route 1: A burglar smashed the front window of Jessup Discount Liquors and took cigarettes Friday morning, police said.

POLICE LOG* Ellicott City: 9000 block of Town and Country Blvd.: An unlocked $150 18-speed mountain bike was taken from a balcony Tuesday or Wednesday.1300 block of Frederick Road: A resident returned home Wednesday night and found a man in the kitchen. The man fled out of a side door. Police used K-9 dogs to track him, but could not find him.

A man robbed the BB&T Bank branch on Baltimore Pike in Bel Air yesterday, authorities said. Bel Air police said the man entered the branch about 1:10 p.m. and presented a note to the teller, demanding cash. No weapon was displayed. Police said the man fled with an undisclosed amount of money. He was described as 5 feet, 9 inches to 6 feet tall; 25 to 30 years old, with a medium build.

Anne Arundel County Police say a call to a hotel in the Linthicum Heights area on Monday resulted in the seizure of more than 120 grams of suspected cocaine and other drugs and more than $10,000 cash. The call also resulted in one arrest on drug possession charges, and a warrant issued for a Baltimore man on similar charges. Police said on Monday just after 11:30 a.m., officers went to Sleep Inn in the 6000 block of Belle Grove Road for a report of an unauthorized use of a vehicle.

A 75-year-old woman was robbed of her purse Wednesday afternoon, allegedly by a man who used to work as a handyman for her 68-year-old cousin, county police said.Police said the man walked into the house on Sycamore Road that Janie Pollard shares with her cousin, Hazel Pumphrey, about 12:15 p.m.He pushed Ms. Pumphrey when she told him to leave and grabbed Ms. Pollard's purse, police said. When Ms. Pumphrey struggled with him, the man pushed her away and ran out the door.The man fled in a tan, four-door car, police said.

A 16-year-old Annapolis girl narrowly escaped being carjacked Saturday afternoon when another car arrived and scared off her would-be abductor, county police said.The girl had just parked her 1982 Ford van in the lot of the Discovery Zone in Forest Plaza about 5 p.m. when she was grabbed from behind by a man who demanded her keys, police said. But the man fled toward the Outback Steak House when a car pulled into the adjoining parking space, police said.The girl could not give police a good description of the man.

The Valencia Motel in the 10100 block of Washington Blvd. was robbed early Saturday by a man who kicked in the rear office door, Howard County police said.The robber demanded money from the clerk behind the counter about 1 a.m., police said, and took $180 from the drawer.A police report said the clerk activated an alarm after the man fled through the rear door.The robber was wearing a black jogging suit and a ski mask.Pub Date: 12/24/96

An Odenton bank branch was robbed Monday of an undisclosed amount of money by a man who got away on a bicycle, county police said.The man walked into Elkridge National Bank branch in the 1200 block of Annapolis Road just before 10: 30 a.m. and gave a teller a note demanding money.The teller turned over the money, and the man fled on the bicycle, police said.Police found the bicycle later on Oakton Road in Odenton but not the man.Police do not have a description of the suspect.Pub Date: 12/26/96