Northwest Baltimore

A man claiming to be selling watches, coins and other items on Craigslist - the Internet version of classified ads - has lured four people to a residential street in Northwest Baltimore and robbed them at gunpoint, according to city police. Two attacks occurred last year, in August and November, but two others were reported to police this month. Police said they believe all the hold-ups are linked - they're occurring in mid-afternoon in the same block on Callaway Avenue, lined with single family homes and green lawns near Ashburton.

A man suspected in a rash of recent Craigslist robberies was taken into custody at a downtown library, where police say he was using a computer - possibly to set up more attacks. David E. Brown, 26, is accused of orchestrating at least four robberies that took place in the 3500 block of Callaway Avenue, a residential street in Northwest Baltimore. Two attacks occurred last year, in August and November, but two others were reported to police this month. Detectives were interviewing Brown to determine if he was involved in any other incidents, and charges were pending.

The mother of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin will speak Sunday at a Baltimore mega-church about how she's coping with her son's death, according to the church's pastor. Sybrina Fulton's appearance at Empowerment Temple Church in Northwest Baltimore will be her first in the city, and an opportunity for local parishioners to hear from "a mother who has grieved but still has strength," according to the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, who founded the 8,000-member church in 2000. Martin, an African American 17-year-old, was shot in February in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., by Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

A man claiming to be selling watches, coins and other items on Craigslist - the Internet version of classified ads - has lured four people to a residential street in Northwest Baltimore and robbed them at gunpoint, according to city police. Two attacks occurred last year, in August and November, but two others were reported to police this month. Police said they believe all the hold-ups are linked - they're occurring in mid-afternoon in the same block on Callaway Avenue, lined with single family homes and green lawns near Ashburton.

A 34-year-old man died Sunday afternoon after he was stabbed in Northwest Baltimore, police said. The victim, whose identity was not released, was stabbed once in the torso at about 12:11 p.m. Sunday in the 2600 block of Park Heights Terrace, Baltimore Police Sgt. Anthony Smith said. The victim was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said Smith said police were interviewing a possible suspect, who was in custody. No additional information was available, Smith said.

City police were investigating two shootings Monday afternoon in Northeast and Northwest Baltimore. Details were not immediately available, but the first shooting was reported about 4:10 p.m. in the 1600 block of E. 29 t h St., in the Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello neighborhood in Northeast Baltimore Police said a man was shot in the head and was taken to an area hospital. His condition could not be learned. Shortly after 5 p.m., police said a man was shot in the head in the 4000 block of W. Belvedere Ave. in the Woodmere neighborhood.

Baltimore city police said they were investigating an overnight shooting in Northwest Baltimore that injured a 25-year-old man. The man was found near Park Heights and Belvedere avenues shortly after an officer on patrol heard gunshots at around 1:43 a.m., according to a release from the police department. The victim, who was not identified, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, police said, adding that he was taken to a local hospital, where he was in serious but stable condition. Police said anyone with information should call Northwest District detectives at 410-396-2466.

A man was killed Tuesday after he was hit by a vehicle in Northwest Baltimore, police said. The 62-year-old man was standing in the median strip of the 3500 block of Park Heights Ave. just before 3:30 p.m. when he was struck by a passing vehicle, according to Detective Nicole Monroe, a Baltimore Police Department spokeswoman. The man leaned forward as the vehicle passed and was struck in the head by a side mirror, she said. He was pronounced dead at Sinai Hospital. His name will be released after his family is notified of his death.

WEATHER Today's forecast calls for sunny skies, with a high temperature near 76 degrees. Tonight is expected to be clear, with a low temperature around 55 degrees. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM LAST NIGHT... Trayvon Martin's mother to speak at Baltimore mega-church Sunday : Sybrina Fulton's appearance at Empowerment Temple Church in Northwest Baltimore will be her first in the city, and an opportunity for local parishioners to hear from "a mother who has grieved but still has strength," according to the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, who founded the 8,000-member church in 2000.

The mother of slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin will speak Sunday at a Baltimore mega-church about how she's coping with her son's death, according to the church's pastor. Sybrina Fulton's appearance at Empowerment Temple Church in Northwest Baltimore will be her first in the city, and an opportunity for local parishioners to hear from "a mother who has grieved but still has strength," according to the Rev. Jamal-Harrison Bryant, who founded the 8,000-member church in 2000. Martin, an African American 17-year-old, was shot in February in a gated community in Sanford, Fla., by Hispanic neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

Roy W. Spence, a businessman who founded a Baltimore bus company and was an active churchman, died Saturday of complications from internal bleeding at Northwest Hospital. The Pikesville resident was 84. Born and raised in Camden, N.C., Mr. Spence attended public schools until he was forced to drop out to help support his family as a farm and mill worker after his father became ill. His family moved in 1948 to Delaware and two years later to Baltimore. Mr. Spence worked as a truck driver for Yale Transport and later the old Silber's Bakery.

A 34-year-old man died Sunday afternoon after he was stabbed in Northwest Baltimore, police said. The victim, whose identity was not released, was stabbed once in the torso at about 12:11 p.m. Sunday in the 2600 block of Park Heights Terrace, Baltimore Police Sgt. Anthony Smith said. The victim was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said Smith said police were interviewing a possible suspect, who was in custody. No additional information was available, Smith said.

Elizabeth K. "Bitze" Glaser, an ordained Presbyterian deacon who was active in the affairs of Govans Presbyterian Church, died Wednesday at Roland Park Place from complications of dementia. She was 95. The daughter of a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. worker and a homemaker, Elizabeth Lyle Kane was born and raised in Northwest Baltimore. She was a 1934 graduate of Forest Park High School and Baltimore Business College. She was married in 1940 to H. Donald Glaser Sr., a consulting engineer, who had been president and chairman of the board of Henry Adams Inc. He died in 1985.

City police say they have made an arrest in the killing of a 44-year-old woman found handcuffed and bound by the feet in her bedroom at the McCulloh Homes housing project.  Cheryl Thomas was found May 3 in the 400 block of Cummings Court at about 5 p.m. after police received a call for an assault, according to police spokesman Sgt. Anthony Smith. Officers found Thomas dead in her bed, the victim of an apparent asphyxiation. She was partially clothed, and was handcuffed with her feet bound, police said.

The guilty verdict against one of two brothers accused of beating a Northwest Baltimore teen cuts through the conflicting accounts of what happened on Fallstaff Road nearly 18 months ago and arrives at an essential truth: When Eliyahu Werdesheim stepped out of his car and confronted Corey Ausby, he stopped being a volunteer on neighborhood patrol and became a vigilante. No matter whose account of the incident you believe, it is clear that he overstepped his bounds. Neighborhood patrols serve a valuable purpose, and Shomrim, the organization to which Eliyahu Werdesheim belonged at the time, has long been lauded for its efforts in Northwest Baltimore.

The judge presiding over the trial of two brothers accused of assaulting a teen in Northwest Baltimore plans to give her ruling in the case Thursday afternoon. Baltimore Circuit Judge Pamela J. White has heard a week of arguments in the bench trial of Eliyahu Werdesheim, 24, and his brother, Avi Werdesheim, 22. After the prosecutor and defense attorneys completed their closing statements Wednesday afternoon, White told them that she expects to issue her verdict at 3 p.m. Thursday.