Northeastern District

The staffing shortage that has left Baltimore police struggling to fill patrol cars has forced one commander to take the unprecedented step of closing a police station to the public in the early morning.Over the past several weeks, visitors to the Northeastern District on Argonne Drive between midnight and 7 a.m. were greeted with a sign on the public entrance advising them to call 911 in an emergency. A pay phone is next to the door.People trying to call the district's main number between those hours didn't fare much better.

Police are searching for an 8-year-old boy who failed to return home yesterday afternoon from Montebello Elementary School.Police said Antoine Scott of the 3200 block of The Alameda is 4 feet, 1 inch tall, about 75 pounds, with a mole on his left cheek, brown eyes and black hair. He was wearing a blue hooded leather jacket, a gray hooded sweater, a yellow short-sleeved shirt, blue pants and tennis shoes.Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or the Northeastern District at 410-396-2444.

In Baltimore CityNortheastern major is finalist for police chief in HagerstownA Baltimore police major who commands the Northeastern District and has worked in the city for 26 years is a finalist to become chief of the Hagerstown department in Western Maryland, he confirmed yesterday.Maj. Arthur Smith, 48, said he applied for the post a few months ago to succeed Dale Jones, who resigned in May to head the law enforcement branch of the National Marine Fisheries Service.Smith has commanded the Northeastern District and its 208 officers for nearly three years.

In Baltimore CityHighlandtown plant fined for storing hazardous wasteThe Maryland Attorney General's Office has fined a Baltimore electroplating company $50,000 for violating the state's hazardous waste and water pollution laws.A September 1997 inspection of A-1 Plating, 311 South Haven St. in Highlandtown, revealed that the company stored several forms of hazardous waste, including zinc cyanide sludge, at the plant without a permit, Attorney General J. Joseph Curran saidSome of the waste, which company officials said has been stored there since 1993, had leaked into nearby sanitary sewer lines, according to Curran.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.Baltimore CityWestern DistrictRobbery/arrest: Officer Curt Snyder saw a man robbing a pregnant woman, 30, at Pennsylvania and West North avenues about 2: 30 p.m. yesterday and chased him on foot to the 1700 block of Westwood Ave., where the man entered a vacant house. Minutes later, officers entered the house and arrested a man on the second floor. Ronald Morris, 35, of the 3800 block of Reisterstown Road was charged with robbery, theft, assault and burglary.

Police arrested 45 people on traffic and other charges during the weekend on Northeast Baltimore streets in an effort to curb drug-dealing in the Harford Road corridor.Officers from the Northeastern District, vehicular and mounted units of the traffic division and officers with police dogs closed the 2700 blocks of Fenwick and Tivoly avenues and the 1700, 1800 and 1900 blocks of E. 28th St. on Friday, Saturday and yesterday in "an effort to stabilize the neighborhood and restore order," said Lt. Laurie Zuromski of the Northeastern District.

Two Baltimore police officers were slightly injured yesterday when they struggled with the rider of an unlicensed dirt bike who stole one of the officer's guns and threatened to shoot him, a police official said.Officers Robert Rodgers and Marvin Sneft of the Northeastern District were treated at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Rodgers suffered an asthma attack and Sneft twisted his knee.Dante Curtis, 17, of the 1800 block of Winford Road was charged as an adult with armed assault and robbery, use of a handgun in commission of a felony and traffic charges.

It was not a bright idea, police said. The same robber, stealing twice from the same Northeast Baltimore convenience store, on the very same day.But police have charged David Bright, 28, of no known address with robbing the 7-Eleven at 2910 Harford Road twice Tuesday. And officers say his arrest and booking yesterday may be the least of his pains."I've seen them come back to do the same crime, but never on the same day," said Sgt. Frank Wagner of the Northeastern District. "Nobody ever said he was brilliant."

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore city and county.Southern DistrictBurglary/arrests: Two men were arrested yesterday after they allegedly broke into a house being renovated in the 1700 block of W. Pratt St. and stole tools and nails. Charged with burglary were Nelson Armstrong, 27, of the 2400 block of S. Paca St. and Rodney Burris, 38, of the 3700 block of Spaulding Ave.Stolen car: A four-door silver-colored 1987 Mazda with tags AVA 850 was stolen yesterday in the first block of S. Stricker St.Burglary/stolen car: While the occupants of a house in the 400 block of Maude Ave. were asleep yesterday morning, an intruder ate food from the refrigerator, then stole a set of keys from a back door dead bolt lock and drove off with the victim's white four-door 1989 Toyota with tags WVD 637.Robbery: A man was walking in the 1400 block of Covington St. on Tuesday when he was knocked to the pavement by another man who robbed him of $10.Northern DistrictRobbery: A resident of the 3900 block of Wilsby Ave. was walking near her home yesterday when a man robbed her of more than $100.

Police Blotter is a sampling of crimes in Baltimore and Baltimore County.Central DistrictRobbery: A 26-year-old woman was in the 1000 block of W. North Ave. yesterday when two gunmen robbed her of cash and property, all valued at $50.Northeastern DistrictBurglary: Property valued at nearly $1,200 was stolen Sunday from a house in the 3900 block of Radecke Ave. Entry may have been gained with a key.Northern DistrictBurglary/arrest: Police arrested a man...

The women sitting on the front porches of two adjoining Northeast Baltimore homes say the well-kept appearance of their community belies a stubborn crime problem. One of them recalls that her son-in-law - an off-duty security guard returning home from work - was beaten and robbed of his possessions as he waited for a bus just a few weeks ago. The other notes that drug dealers come from nearby neighborhoods to hang out on their lush corner. "A lot of people think that not a lot happens in this area, but it does," said one of the women, who was afraid to give her name.

The television commercials in the mayor's race are now coming fast and furious. City Councilman and mayoral candidate Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. has begun airing a new ad that once again deals with crime -- specifically the homicide totals. The 30-second spot is Mitchell's third and comes a day after Mayor Sheila Dixon launched her first spot. What the ad says: In a theatrical opening segment, the camera shows a young girl sitting at a kitchen table as her mother cleans a pot in the sink.

On May 8, 2007, MARION H. PELTON, of Churchville, MD; loving daughter of the late Joseph L. and Ada K. Hogan Pelton. Also survived by two nieces, Doreen Foley and Penny Lane and one nephew, Don Pelton and cared for by a loving co worker, Patricia Turner. A Graveside Service will be held at Churchville Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Churchville, MD, on Thursday, May 10, 2007, at 2 P.M. Those who desire may contribute to the American Red Cross, Central MD Chapter, Northeastern District, 4700 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215.

A stun gun ended Thursday's standoff at a Baltimore police station, but not before a suspect had tried to hang himself, hit an officer in the head with a 3-foot-long halogen light bulb, and managed to take a civilian worker hostage using a pair of scissors, according to police charging documents. Rodney Bethea, 21, who has at least two burglary convictions, had been arrested in connection with a marijuana possession case Thursday morning and was taken to the Northeastern District for processing and questioning, charging documents state.

Complaining of thin police resources in his area, a city councilman from Northeast Baltimore plans to propose a bill next month that would require police to reconfigure the boundaries of the nine patrol districts. Councilman Kenneth N. Harris Sr. said he is calling for the remapping because he believes police have focused so many resources on lowering the homicide rate in certain parts of the city that other areas are being shortchanged, including neighborhoods that he represents. "We've been fighting crime based on where the murders have been taking place," said Harris, of the 4th council district.

John Richard Wagner, a retired major with the Baltimore City Police Department, died Saturday at home, apparently from a heart attack. The Rosedale resident was 61. Born in Baltimore, Mr. Wagner graduated from Kenwood High School in 1961. He joined the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam until 1965, when he was discharged with the rank of corporal. In 1967, he began his police career in the city's Northeastern District. He worked in the criminal investigation and tactical divisions, rising through the ranks to second in command in the Northeastern District.

Baltimore City Northern District Theft: Stereo equipment, a cellular phone and 30 compact discs -- all valued at $850 -were stolen Saturday from a Jeep parked in the 5800 block of Meadowood Road. Northeastern District Robbery: A man, 38, was walking in the 3200 block of The Alameda about 10 p.m. Saturday when two men robbed him of $33. Southwestern District Robbery: A man wielding a shotgun robbed a 20-year-old man of his watch, jewelry and a cell phone in the 4300 block of Woodridge Road about 9 p.m. Saturday.

A 22-year-old homeless man was arrested Tuesday on charges he stole a gym bag from a truck parked behind the home of Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley, court records show. O'Malley administration officials and police declined to discuss the incident, saying they will not talk about the mayor's security detail. The mayor typically receives round-the-clock security at his residence. The truck -- a gold-colored Chevrolet Suburban -- is owned by O'Malley's wife, District Judge Catherine Curran O'Malley, court records show.

Baltimore City Theft from vehicle: A compact disc player and several CDs were stolen Saturday from a 2000 Nissan Altima parked in the 1100 block of S. Hanover St. Northeastern District Burglary: Liquor valued at $500 was stolen Saturday from One Stop Shop in the 4900 block of Frankford Ave. Eastern District Robbery: A 38-year-old man was arguing with a 16-year-old boy in the 1700 block of Aisquith St. about 1 p.m. Saturday when the youth stabbed him...

City officials will unveil a new program this month that will try to strengthen middle-class neighborhoods, Housing Commissioner Paul T. Graziano told a community meeting of Northeast Baltimore residents last night. Addressing a forum at Morgan State University's Schaefer Hall, Graziano said the Neighborhood Conservation Program will use such strategies as stricter code enforcement, low-interest rehabilitation loans and marketing for Baltimore's middle-class neighborhoods and their housing stock.