Perjury

Not long after his son was stabbed to death outside his apartment in Hampstead, Richard DeMario heard that police had arrested a suspect, and soon enough it seemed to him they had a strong case. The man had confessed in a video recording and left behind a trail of physical evidence, including a knife said to have been used in the killing and a shirt that prosecutors said was stained with the son's blood. No jury will see the evidence against Russell S. Laderer Jr., who was charged with first- and second-degree murder, and Cassandra L. Glover, charged as an accessory after the fact.

A Baltimore City police sergeant faces up to 10 years in prison after he was convicted Friday of perjury and malfeasance for using false information to obtain a search and seizure warrant. Sgt. Dennis W. Workley, who joined the force in 1996, was charged with the misdemeanors last May after a complaint to the department spurred a months-long, joint investigation by the city police's internal affairs unit and state's attorney's office. In a statement Friday, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said the department, which initiated the investigation, "has an obligation to preserve the public trust.

A Baltimore City police sergeant faces up to 10 years in prison after he was convicted Friday of perjury and malfeasance for using false information to obtain a search and seizure warrant. Sgt. Dennis W. Workley, who joined the force in 1996, was charged with the misdemeanors last May after a complaint to the department spurred a months-long, joint investigation by the city police's internal affairs unit and state's attorney's office. In a statement Friday, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said the department, which initiated the investigation, "has an obligation to preserve the public trust.

A lawmaker who alleged possible "institutional dishonesty" at the Anne Arundel County Police Department said Monday that the police chief's response does not resolve whether officers caught up in a civil case against County Executive John R. Leopold may have lied. Councilman Jamie Benoit said he may subpoena Chief Larry W. Tolliver and police officers to testify before the County Council. He said he also may demand documents from a recently concluded internal affairs investigation into the affidavit one of the officers gave in the federal civil case.

Sheila Dixon sat silently in court during her final hours as mayor of Baltimore on Thursday, receiving a scolding from a judge who said she was leaving office "in total disgrace" after stealing gift cards intended for needy families and would carry a "badge of dishonor" for the rest of her life. Circuit Court Judge Dennis M. Sweeney delivered the rebuke during a sentencing hearing at which he accepted a plea agreement calling for Dixon to step down as mayor and pay $45,000 to charity while keeping her pension.

WASHINGTON - The top-ranking Democrat on the House committee examining Rafael Palmeiro's steroids case said the Oriole has "very shaky" credibility and has done a "disservice to baseball." But Rep. Henry Waxman of California also said it's too early to suggest that Palmeiro is being investigated for perjury for testifying on March 17 that he never used steroids. Palmeiro is now serving a 10-day suspension for failing a steroid test. "I think it's very premature to talk about perjury," Waxman said in an interview yesterday.

A Laurel woman pleaded guilty Monday to giving false testimony to help the father of her child escape a conviction in a handgun case. Lakishian Witherspoon, 33, of the 9200 block of Bridal Path Lane in Laurel pleaded guilty to perjury Wednesday over her July 2009 testimony, according to the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore. Witherspoon had testified that she did not know Michael Jones, also known as Philip Jones, during his trial or how he was in possession of her vehicle, where the handgun had been found, a release from the state's attorney's office said.

A Baltimore city homicide detective has been accused by prosecutors shooting himself in a downtown parking garage last year and then lying about it, according to court records unsealed this week - a charge that conflicts with the police investigation. Anthony N. Fata, a 14-year veteran, has been charged with perjury, misconduct in office, and making false claims, records show [ Click here to view the document ]. He was shot Jan. 18, 2011 in a city-owned parking garage near police headquarters.

A Baltimore County man who was accused of acting as a home-improvement contractor without a license and of not delivering and installing a wheelchair lift in a Clarksville home has been indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges, accused of lying under oath and presenting false documents at his trial. During the Howard County Circuit Court trial of Paris George, 51, in May, he testified that an invoice and bank document proved that he purchased a wheelchair lift for Ronald and Francine Diggs, according to the Howard County state's attorneys office.

An Anne Arundel County prosecutor dropped perjury charges yesterday against a 33-year-old man who was convicted of murder and spent five years in prison before a second jury cleared him.Bernard L. Ward, of Dundalk, had been charged with perjury for what prosecutors said were lies he told under oath in a post-conviction hearing he requested to appeal his murder conviction.Assistant state's attorney William Mulford II said yesterday that several witnesses initially told police that Mr. Ward knew the victim, Edward Brewer, and that they were together on Nov. 15, 1988, the night of the murder.

An Anne Arundel County councilman has asked prosecutors to investigate perjury allegations involving five police officers caught up in a lawsuit against County Executive John R. Leopold. In a letter sent this week, Councilman Jamie Benoit also demanded an investigation from newly appointed Police Chief Larry W. Tolliver into whether the department properly vetted a complaint about an officer accused of lying. "Our department is about to break under the weight of repeated scandals," Benoit wrote.

A Baltimore city homicide detective has been accused by prosecutors shooting himself in a downtown parking garage last year and then lying about it, according to court records unsealed this week - a charge that conflicts with the police investigation. Anthony N. Fata, a 14-year veteran, has been charged with perjury, misconduct in office, and making false claims, records show [ Click here to view the document ]. He was shot Jan. 18, 2011 in a city-owned parking garage near police headquarters.

A Baltimore police sergeant was suspended and criminally charged with perjury and misconduct after a months-long investigation into allegations he used false information to obtain a search and seizure warrant. Sgt. Dennis W. Workley, who's been on the force since 1996 assigned to the Eastern District, was charged Wednesday by the Baltimore state's attorney's office via criminal information. No details were immediately available. Police union lawyer Michael Davey, who expects to represent Workley, said Wednesday afternoon that he  hadn't yet seen the charging documents and couldn't comment.

Why did a detective continue to interrogate a woman after she invoked her right to have a lawyer present? It's a question that Carroll County law enforcement has been grappling with since last fall -- and one that last week sank a prosecution in the case of a Baltimore City teenager who died at Bowling Brook Academy in 2007. In internal memos circulated last fall, officials in the state's attorney's and sheriff's offices discussed detective Douglas Epperson's descriptions of the questioning in the murder case of Jeremiah P. DeMario, who was killed in 2010.

Not long after his son was stabbed to death outside his apartment in Hampstead, Richard DeMario heard that police had arrested a suspect, and soon enough it seemed to him they had a strong case. The man had confessed in a video recording and left behind a trail of physical evidence, including a knife said to have been used in the killing and a shirt that prosecutors said was stained with the son's blood. No jury will see the evidence against Russell S. Laderer Jr., who was charged with first- and second-degree murder, and Cassandra L. Glover, charged as an accessory after the fact.

Carroll County prosecutors have dropped reckless-endangerment charges against five former juvenile facility staff members in the death of a Baltimore teenager because the main detective on the case is being investigated for perjury. "It's devastating right now," said Felicia Wilson, the mother of Isaiah Simmons III. The 17-year-old died in 2007 at Bowling Brook Preparatory School, a facility for juvenile offenders in Keymar. The five defendants, whose trial was scheduled for May, were accused of pinning Simmons to the floor and delaying calls for help.

A Glen Burnie man was ordered yesterday to spend five years on probation and perform 96 hours of community service for telling a county hearing officer he owned property he had sold two months earlier.Robin Mueller, 33, testified during a county zoning hearing in April that he owned a waterfront tract at 406 Greenland Beach Road near Nabbs and Stony creeks where he applied to build a pier, said Assistant State's Attorney Robert Bittman.But records showed that he had sold the property for $117,500 to Charles B. Wynn on Feb. 21, after he had applied for the pier permit and two months before the hearing.

A former public defender has been indicted by a Baltimore grand jury on charges of theft and perjury. David R. Eaton, who worked in the city public defender's office for more than 20 years, is accused of stealing $114,412 during a four-year period from the elderly, mentally disabled man for whom he was financial guardian. The misappropriation led to Eaton's disbarment in July, less than a week after his retirement. Claiming "a continuing scheme" of theft, a grand jury also indicted Eaton, 63, of Roland Park on two counts of perjury, saying he signed fiduciary reports that he knew were "willfully and corruptly false."

Prosecutors argued Wednesday before Maryland's second-highest court that bribery charges against Baltimore Councilwoman Helen L. Holton should be reinstated, contending that a lower court judge erred in barring the introduction of her votes on tax breaks for developers. The arguments in front of the Court of Special Appeals were the most recent chapter in Holton's lengthy legal battle on charges of bribery and a campaign finance violation. Holton, chairwoman of the council's powerful Taxation and Finance Committee, was accused of receiving donations for a political poll from two Baltimore business leaders whose project received a tax break from her committee.

A Laurel woman pleaded guilty Monday to giving false testimony to help the father of her child escape a conviction in a handgun case. Lakishian Witherspoon, 33, of the 9200 block of Bridal Path Lane in Laurel pleaded guilty to perjury Wednesday over her July 2009 testimony, according to the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore. Witherspoon had testified that she did not know Michael Jones, also known as Philip Jones, during his trial or how he was in possession of her vehicle, where the handgun had been found, a release from the state's attorney's office said.