Robbery

A 51-year-old man with a colorful criminal past has been charged in connection with the robbery of two hospital employees at Mercy Medical Center's McAuley Tower, police said. Officers arrested William Johnson of the 500 block of Yale Avenue Friday and he has been charged with armed robbery, first degree assault and other offenses, according to online court records. He is being held without bail. Two employees were robbed of cash from their personal belongings Tuesday, police said earlier in the week.

The daunting challenge for the city's police commissioner can be seen in the seemingly contradictory dispatches that sometimes show up on the agency's very own Twitter page. On Monday at 10:15 a.m., police used the online message board to announce that an adult male had been shot in the leg on Norfolk Avenue. Forty minutes later, they tweeted a "CRIME FIGHT UPDATE" proclaiming, as if quoting from a stock ticker, that first-quarter numbers "show Baltimore homicides & shootings @ 33-year low."

The mastermind behind a series of armed robberies that killed a Greek businessman in 2009 and terrorized a half-dozen other people was sentenced to 77 years in federal prison Friday — a lengthy term that earned a round of applause from his victims at the close of the court hearing. Nikolaos Mamalis, 55, used his friendships with Maryland business owners to rob them of thousands of dollars. He had a gang of men under his control enter their homes and offices under false pretenses, leaving the business owners tied up and frightened , prosecutors said.

Peter Marvit never missed rehearsal with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, and this week he showed up wearing one of his trademark ties - short, fat, and brightly colored. After the three-hour practice concluded with "Carol of the Angels," director Tom Hall told everyone "to drive safe and be well. " But as Marvit returned to his Northeast Baltimore home, the 51-year-old scientist and father was gunned down just steps from his front door overlooking Herring Run Park - a seemingly random attack that police said Tuesday may have been a robbery.

A 26-year-old Brooklyn man has been arrested with impersonating a police officer in a robbery of a man in Fells Point earlier this month, according to police records.  Police say Joshua Brake, of the 200 block of W. Meadow Rd., was pulled over wearing a badge and carrying handcuffs and a can of mace, and had his cell phone hooked up to his car speakers with a streaming feed of the city police scanner.  Officers spotted Brake based on...

Baltimore County police are searching for a suspect wanted in connection with the armed robbery of an Arbutus grocery store in June, according to police. A warrant has been issued for John David Lamont Caldwell II, 41, of the 1900 block of Wilkins Ave. in Baltimore. Caldwell is wanted on two counts of armed robbery and felony use of a handgun in the robbery of the Mars supermarket in the 1000 block of Maiden Choice Lane at 6:52 p.m. June 21, police said. Police say Caldwell and another man entered the store, and one went behind the counter and demanded cash from an employee.

Salisbury police say they are searching for three men believed responsible for an apparent home robbery that left two men suffering from gunshot wounds. Police say one of the victims was treated and released from Peninsula Regional Medical Center and the other remained hospitalized Sunday with a gunshot wound to the chest. Lt. Scott Kolb says investigators believe robbery was the motive for the shootings Saturday night because the gunmen demanded money. Kolb says witnesses said all three appeared to be armed.

Baltimore County police have two people Thursday in custody following an armed robbery in Hunt Valley. Police were called about 1:30 p.m. to the Alpha Gold Exchange in the 10800 block of York Road in response to a robbery. The suspects were arrested shortly thereafter, police said. Investigators remained on the scene interviewing witnesses throughout the afternoon. The suspects were expected to have a bail hearing late Thursday, police said. Mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

A man and woman have been charged by Howard County police in connection with last week's robbery of a gas station employee in Woodbine. Kyle Benjamin Shields, 23, of the 15900 block of Old Frederick Road and Brandi Dawn Sexton, 22, of the 3900 block of Woodbine Road were both charged with robbery, assault, and theft. An employee of a BP gas station in the 15800 block of Frederick Road, reported that a man and woman assaulted him Oct. 13 and stole a bank bag, cash, his credit cards and the keys to his car, which they then used to flee the scene.

Towson University police have arrested a second person in the March 22 armed robbery of two students in a dorm, officials said. Jarard Larmarr Nelson,19, of Chatham Road in Gwynn Oak, was charged with two counts of armed robbery, two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of firstdegree burglary, according to a university police release. It is unclear whether Nelson is a student. He was taken to the Baltimore County Detention Center and a bond was set at $350,000. In March, police arrested university student Jerry Young Jr., 19, of the 5500 block of Peerless Ave. in connection with the robbery.