Northeast Baltimore

The two men wore body armor with "POLICE" written across the chest and spilled out of their unmarked car, weapons drawn, ordering Christopher Dukes and his passenger out of their vehicle at a South Baltimore gas station parking lot. When Dukes pulled off, they embarked on a high-speed chase down Interstate 295 until catching up and placing the pair under arrest, charging documents show. Then it was time for the real police to take over. The men in the body armor were not Baltimore police officers or federal agents, but instead a little-known classification of security guards known as "special police," who are commissioned by the city or state to arrest and detain citizens - but only on specific properties.

A man was fatally shot in Northeast Baltimore on Monday night, the 80th homicide of 2013, police said. The man was found shot multiple times in the 3100 block of Cliftmont Avenue in the Belair-Edison neighborhood about 8:15 p.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital about 45 minutes later. It is the third homicide in that neighborhood this year. Homicide detectives are investigating the case, but a suspect and motive could not immediately be determined, police said.

Baltimore actor Charles S. Dutton said the murder of John Wood, a retired city sanitation worker who was the inspiration behind the character Dutton played on the 1990s show “Roc,” was difficult to digest. “I wasn't expecting ever in a lifetime that John would go out that way,” Dutton told the Sun on Thursday. Wood, 80, was killed Monday after police said he was in argument that resulted with him taking a punch that caused Wood to fall back and hit his head on a concrete step, which killed him. Police on Wednesday charged Lorenzo Thornton, 25, with second-degree murder.

A man was shot in the arm Saturday evening in Northeast Baltimore, police say. Officers found the victim suffering from at least one gunshot wound in the 4900 block of Belair Road about 6:50 p.m., police said. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. Police released no other information. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com/aliknez

In January 1955, Morgan State College students staged an impromptu sit-in at the lunch counter of the Read's drugstore at Howard and Lexington streets in Baltimore, demanding that African-Americans be served. Their protest, along with others at local Read's stores, worked: That month, the retail chain began serving all patrons, black and white, at all of its 37 Baltimore-area lunch counters. But the students' victory has been largely overlooked in the annals of U.S. civil rights history, in part because it was not photographed or widely reported by the mainstream news media.

A man was fatally shot in Northeast Baltimore on Monday night, the 80th homicide of 2013, police said. The man was found shot multiple times in the 3100 block of Cliftmont Avenue in the Belair-Edison neighborhood about 8:15 p.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at a hospital about 45 minutes later. It is the third homicide in that neighborhood this year. Homicide detectives are investigating the case, but a suspect and motive could not immediately be determined, police said.

The 55-year-old owner of a Northeast Baltimore restaurant was found shot to death inside his business Monday morning, and police were investigating a possible robbery motive. City police confirmed the victim as Michael J. Sullivan, who court records show was a resident of Harford County and who owned Sully's Seafood & Subs in the 5500 block ofBelair Rd., which splits the city's Waltherson and Frankford neighborhoods. Officers were called to the scene at about 10:50 a.m. for what was initially characterized as a “suspicious death.” Investigators later determined Sullivan had been shot.

City police say a 27-year-old man stabbed in the neck during a stick-up in Northeast Baltimore last week has died from his injuries, while detectives were investigating a similar incident that occurred Tuesday night about a mile away in which two men were stabbed in the chest. On April 27, police say Darian Kess walked out of his apartment, in the 1200 block of Linworth Ave. in the New Northwood neighborhood, to pick up a flier to order food and was followed back inside by three men carrying handguns.

A 52-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the robbery and assault of an 80-year-old woman in Northeast Baltimore over the weekend, police said Sunday. The victim dropped her wallet while walking in the 7600 block of Harford Road around midday Saturday, and a man tried to grab it from her as she picked it up, said Detective Jeremy Silbert, a spokesman for the Baltimore Police Department. After assaulting her during a brief struggle, the man overpowered her and ran with the wallet, Silbert said.

The life I experience as a 30-year resident and homeowner in Northeast Baltimore is quite different from the picture painted recently in The Sun. I've worked in community development for 16 years and know the Northeast Baltimore neighborhoods well. I have seen them evolve from quasi-suburban outposts to sought-after places with distinct amenities and some of Baltimore's most interesting people. Yes, the neighborhoods of Ednor Gardens, Belair-Edison, Lauraville, and Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello share the problems of most urban neighborhoods, but these communities are popular homeownership destinations for young families and fertile ground for prosperous new businesses.

City leaders assembled on a small side street near Morgan State University in Northeast Baltimore on Friday morning — steps from the sites of three recent car thefts and at least one burglary — and pledged to transform the region with cooperation from the college and community. "This is about a long-term engagement ... to bring about sustained change in the area," Morgan President David J. Wilson said in announcing the initiative, known as the "Morgan Community Mile. " It's one of a half-dozen similar efforts led by higher-education "anchor institutions" throughout the city to improve their respective environments for staff and students, but also for residents who live near the campuses.

John Wood has a room filled with junk: steel pots, a wooden foot massager, heavy safe, TV antenna, plates, silver-plated brush, rolling pin, can opener, assorted gold-colored chains, lamps without shades, a New York Yankees baseball hat adorned in glitter. Everyone else's trash became his treasure, which came easily for Mr. Wood, who worked as a city sanitation worker for more than 35 years. He became one of the nation's most celebrated trash collectors, inspiring the television sitcom "Roc," but he also developed a reputation at home as an anchor for his Northeast Baltimore community.

Baltimore-bashing is nothing new in Annapolis, whether from representatives of rural counties or the Washington suburbs who believe the city gets more than its fair share of state resources. But when it comes to the city's well-publicized speed camera problems, some of the sharpest criticism has been meted out by Baltimore's own House of Delegates contingent. “We all supported the program, and we still do,” said Del. Cheryl Glenn, whose district includes East and Northeast Baltimore.

Baltimore actor Charles S. Dutton said the murder of John Wood, a retired city sanitation worker who was the inspiration behind the character Dutton played on the 1990s show “Roc,” was difficult to digest. “I wasn't expecting ever in a lifetime that John would go out that way,” Dutton told the Sun on Thursday. Wood, 80, was killed Monday after police said he was in argument that resulted with him taking a punch that caused Wood to fall back and hit his head on a concrete step, which killed him. Police on Wednesday charged Lorenzo Thornton, 25, with second-degree murder.

The 80-year-old man killed in Northeast Baltimore on Monday - after a punch caused him to fall and hit his head, police said - was the inspiration for the 1990s TV show "Roc. " John Wood formed the basis for the lead character on the Fox show portrayed by Baltimore actor Charles S. Dutton. Dutton grew up in Wood's neighborhood, and in the show portrayed a trash worker who believed in an honest day's work and went beyond his means to help his neighbors. Wood retired as a Baltimore sanitation worker after more than 35 years, his wife said.

One man was killed and two others injured in separate shooting incidents overnight across the city, police said. The fatal shooting occurred about 6:45 a.m. Sunday in the 1600 block of E. 29th St. in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood in Northeast Baltimore. Detective Jeremy Silbert, a police spokesman, said the man was shot at least once and taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he died in the afternoon. Police identified the man Monday as Dwight Cook, 28, of the same block, but provided no additional information, including a possible motive in the shooting.