Park Police

Ravens linebacker Rolando McClain, who was originally scheduled to be at the City of Decatur (Ala.) Municipal Court tomorrow, has pleaded guilty to a window tint violation stemming from his arrest in January following a traffic stop. In exchange, the city has dismissed the charge of providing false information to police during the arrest. McClain, who signed an expletive on the citation rather than his real name, thus resulting in the providing false information charge, made an online payment of $186 to settle the fine and court costs and any other fees associated with this case.

Do you remember Gwynn Oak Junction? Then you may have gone to the movies at what was the Ambassador Theatre, bought your groceries at Schreiber's, purchased your very first Halloween costume at Read's, spent your allowance at Ben Franklin, and gotten your hair styled at Dorothy's Beauty Parlor. You surely then will remember Gwynn Oak Park, just short hop down Gwynn Oak Avenue, to the corner of Gwyndale, through which ran the Gwynn Falls Creek. Once you got past ticket booth with the nasty smiling-clown's face on it , you knew you were in for an afternoon of great fun - and perhaps a little adventure.

The search for the killers of Baltimore millionaire J. Schuyler "Sky" Alland was at a standstill in the summer of 1992. Whoever executed the businessman for his $80,000 black BMW apparently had gotten away with murder -- not to mention the car.U.S. Park Police Detective Timothy M. Squires was handling the first murder of his career, but he made a bold promise."He promised that he would find these guys," said Dorothy Alland Leighton, Mr. Alland's mother. "He said, 'Even when I retire, I'll continue to work on this case with no pay until I find who killed your son.' "His promise was fulfilled Wednesday when federal prosecutors wrapped up an intricate nationwide investigation into the February 1992 murder with the conviction of the killer, John Graham Bridges, 30, of Norfolk, Va. A co-defendant, Robert Patrick Gray, 25, of Cockeysville pleaded guilty Nov. 5."

Vandals detonated a powerful illegal explosive device and several firecrackers on top of an unoccupied police cruiser parked in the 3400 block of Marble Arch Drive in Pasadena late Tuesday.Officer Richard P. Lesniewski of the Eastern District station reported that an M-80 and firecrackers were detonated on top of his 1995 Chevrolet Caprice cruiser about 2: 30 a.m. The vandals also threw a bottle of wine at the car but missed, police said. The car was not damaged.Typically, an M-80 is a cylinder 1 1/2 inches long containing 12 ounces of explosives.

Joe James, a former member of the old Baltimore Park Police Department and later a city officer, died of pneumonia Saturday at the Baltimore Veterans Administration Medical Center. He was 81 and lived in West Baltimore.Mr. James joined the park police force as a motorcycle officer in 1948. The agency was an arm of the Baltimore Department of Parks and Recreation, with responsibility for the safety of parks and stadiums.When the park police merged with the city Police Department in 1961, he was assigned to the Northern District.

College Park voters narrowly decided in a nonbinding referendum yesterday that their city could explore the possibility of establishing a police force. The vote was 674-649 in favor, said city election supervisor Jack Robson. The referendum, designed to gauge voter support, will bring no immediate change. Much of the support came from District 3 - an area of the city with the highest student density - where the margin in favor was 310-161. The city is policed by the Prince George's County force.

The National Park Service has announced that it no longer needs to furlough U.S. Park Police. The announcement came after Park Police officers — who patrol the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and several sites in Maryland — had served three of 14 planned furlough days. The National Park Service said savings from those three unpaid days off, combined with other cost-cutting measures and a thorough review of the budget, have "significantly improved" the agency's financial situation and made it possible to end the furloughs for the rest of the fiscal year.

Howard County police have charged a Guilford man with attempted first-degree murder in a July shooting in which a couple sleeping in their North Laurel mobile home were injured.Police arrested the man last week after a monthlong investigation into the incident in the first block of Cross St. at the Midway Trailer Park.Darrin Bernard Ridgeway, 27, of the 9500 block of Glen Oaks Lane, is being held on a $100,000 bond at the Howard County Detention Center, officials said.According to police, about 4: 50 a.m. July 22, someone fired three shotgun blasts through the wall of a mobile home at the Midway Trailer Park, striking Richard Morgan Kinney and Beth Ann Hanning in the legs.

Annapolis and College Park would lose their Maryland State Police barracks if the General Assembly agrees with a recommendation from legislative analysts to close the two for a savings of $5.2 million as part of a state police cost-cutting plan. The Department of Legislative Services plan would preserve the 70 trooper and supervisory positions at the barracks, likely redistributing them to some of the 21 other state police locations throughout Maryland. But Lt. Bud Frank, a state police spokesman, said the department vehemently opposes closing Annapolis and College Park, calling them "major hubs for dealing with homeland security."

A Brooklyn Park man killed his wife and her twin children on Sunday before he sent a text message to his mother and turned a gun on himself, police said. Anne Arundel County Police identified the man as Kelly Brian Thompson, 33, who lived in a Wood Street rowhouse. They said he first shot and killed his wife, Nina Thompson, 34, and her 15-year-old twins, Taishawn Pugh, a girl, and Treshawn Pugh, a boy. He then texted an agitated message to his mother, who called police and went to the house around 9 a.m., police said.