Stalking

A North Carolina man was sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison yesterday for terrorizing four women he once dated -- relentlessly threatening to kill or maim them, stalking them at work and at home and even telling one woman's family that she was dead.Edwin R. Carter, whose threats began as long as a decade ago and ended only with his arrest in July 1997, was the first person in Maryland to be prosecuted under a new federal anti-stalking law. One of Carter's victims is from Anne Arundel County.

THOUGH Kweisi Mfume left the NAACP board meeting this past weekend bound for Africa without leaving a hint about his political plans, his supporters here are fervently working to persuade him to launch a campaign for mayor shortly after he returns.We desperately need someone of Mr. Mfume's stature and background to help reverse the city's decline. It's time for substance, not promises.Our city's problems are well-documented -- from the meltdown of our criminal justice system to the state's involvement in our troubled schools.

An Oregon man pleaded guilty yesterday to terrorizing his former girlfriend in Maryland, the first time that authorities here have prosecuted someone under a new federal anti-stalking law.Edwin R. Carter IV pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to threatening Michele A. Danoff, 35, whom he repeatedly harassed in telephone calls, prosecutors said."

A Glen Burnie man who is awaiting trial on charges of shooting at his former landlady through a closet door in her home in October was arrested again yesterday and charged with stalking the woman and assaulting her, county police said.Police took Jeffrey Lee Singleton, 27, of the 300 block of Oak Manor Drive into custody about 3 a.m. after he allegedly followed the woman from a bar, broke into a house where she had taken refuge and fought with the woman and a resident inside, police said.

CRIMES SUCH AS last week's kidnapping in Columbia of Stephanie Musick by an obsessed admirer are frustrating. John Robert Righter, a former co-worker of Ms. Musick's at a department store, had followed the college student and made unwanted advances for some time.Legally, however, there was little that could be done to keep Mr. Righter away from her. There is no legal way to lock someone up for a crime he or she hasn't yet committed.Maryland does have laws against stalking and harassment, but there were no grounds for charging Mr. Righter with either until Friday's kidnapping.

A 42-year-old Oregon man was in jail yesterday in the alleged terrorizing of an Anne Arundel County woman, making him the first person to be charged in Maryland under a new federal anti-stalking law.Edwin Royale Carter IV of Hood River, Ore., is alleged to have doused his ex-girlfriend's Harwood home with gasoline in July after following her in a rental car on Ritchie Highway.Under the federal charges, Carter could be sentenced to five years in prison and fined $250,000 if convicted. He is being held in a Raleigh, N.C., jail and is scheduled to appear in court there Tuesday for a probable cause and detention hearing, according to Larry K. Foust, spokesman for the FBI's Baltimore office.

Howard County police are investigating a 15-year-old girl's report that a man in a large, light-colored car followed her as she jogged alone in the western portion of the county.The report came while police are checking on complaints about two men in a light-colored car stalking county children."We don't think it's in any way related, but we're investigating it," said Sgt. Steve Keller, a county police spokesman.He said the girl was not injured and that the motorist never said anything to her or touched her.The girl said she noticed a car following her as she jogged in the 15600 block of Thistle Downs near Frederick Road, police said.

A judge yesterday denied bail to a Baltimore County judge's son charged with stalking a former girlfriend.Scott Edward Bollinger, 19, son of Circuit Judge Thomas J. Bollinger, was arrested last week on trespassing charges after he allegedly disregarded a court order to stay away from her home.Scott Bollinger was being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center in lieu of $75,000 bail.Pub Date: 6/12/96

The son of a Baltimore County judge was in jail yesterday, after months of run-ins with authorities for allegedly stalking a former girlfriend, carrying marijuana and showing "peculiar behavior."Scott Edward Bollinger, 19, son of Circuit Judge Thomas J. Bollinger, was arrested on a warrant for trespassing and taken to the county jail in lieu of $75,000 bail, county Assistant State's Attorney Jason G. League said.The arrest is the latest in a series of charges faced by Scott Bollinger of the 4500 block of Fullerton Ave. in Overlea.

Happy? Care to know why or why not? Check out ABC tonight."Almost Perfect" (8: 30 p.m.-9 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13) -- Bonnie Franklin returns as Mike's mom -- and Kim (Nancy Travis) is still not a happy camper, as the two women wage a silent war over Mike's affections. CBS."Deadly Web" (9 p.m.-11 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11) -- Stalking hits the Internet, as Gigi Rice and Ed Marinaro join forces to find the nasty computer-type who's stalking her. Man, if TV is to be believed, just about everybody's stalking somebody.

The sale of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park will proceed without a lead bidder, prolonging questions about the future of Maryland's two thoroughbred tracks. The announcement of a "stalking horse," or lead bid, this week was expected to provide insight into the starting price and potential new owner of the tracks and the Preakness, the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. Now, it might not be until January when the fate of the tracks is revealed. The auction is scheduled for Jan. 8. Bankrupt track operator Magna Entertainment Corp.

Former D.C. mayor Barry charged with stalking WASHINGTON - Former District of Columbia Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr. was arrested Saturday and charged with stalking a female acquaintance, the latest in a long string of legal troubles for the politician. U.S. Park Police said Barry, a current D.C. Council member, was arrested after a woman flagged down an officer and claimed that Barry was stalking her. He was charged with misdemeanor stalking and released. Police did not name Barry's accuser, but his spokeswoman, Natalie Williams, said Sunday afternoon that the 40-year-old woman is somebody that Barry had helped financially during "various stages of instability" in her life.

Politics drove hiring at Justice, report says WASHINGTON: Ideological considerations permeated the hiring process at the Justice Department's civil rights division, where a politically appointed official sought to hire "real Americans" and Republicans for career posts and prominent case assignments, according to a long-awaited report released yesterday by the department's inspector general. The extensive study of hiring practices between 2001 and 2007 concluded that a former department official improperly weeded out candidates based on their perceived ties to liberal organizations.

A year and a half ago, Conjus the cat stalked out of Jennifer Daniel's home and, it appeared, out of her life forever. For weeks, Daniel drove slowly through the streets near her home in Fort Meade, searching for the small gray-and-black tabby. Eventually, she decided the cat had met an untimely end and gave up. This week, she got a phone call: Conjus had been found and identified by a microchip implanted in the scruff of her neck. Daniel, 27, was astonished and delighted. Conjus appeared unfazed.

Critic's Pick -- Sylar (Zachary Quinto) is missing, but a new sinister force begins stalking the superpowered posse in Heroes (9 p.m., WBAL, Channel 11).

Life for scores of residents and businesses surrounding the Cross Street Market in South Baltimore was expected to return to normal early today after a fire in the basement of a tavern apparently spread to underground electrical conduit systems, forcing evacuations and cutting off power to about 300 customers, authorities said. At least two square blocks were without electrical power for several hours, authorities said. Yellow police tape surrounding the scene remained while repairs were made.

Here's the thing. I'm nosy. I admit it. So if your diary is lying on the table, it might as well be a Krispy Kreme doughnut. I will devour it. And if you're my husband and your e-mail account is open, sitting on our computer, begging to be read - well, I have my evening entertainment. This is how my new hobby - stalking my husband - began. And ended. One night, my husband went to bed early. I got into the computer to check my e-mail on Google when, BAM, his account was still up. Jackpot!

Glen Arm man charged with stalking girl, 10 A Glen Arm man has been charged with stalking a 10-year-old girl he met while volunteering at an elementary school in Timonium, court records show. Baltimore County police said they found Stephen Williams Stauffer, 54, in a parked sport utility vehicle on Dec. 8 after a caller reported seeing a man with binoculars in the car looking at houses in the 2100 block of Chapel Valley Lane in Timonium, court papers show. Inside the SUV, police said, they found a .32-caliber handgun, a gun magazine with five bullets, a 35 mm camera, a Baltimore County substitute teacher identification card, a stuffed toy animal and a pair of binoculars.

An Illinois woman accused of stalking baseball broadcaster Bob Uecker has entered a plea of not guilty. Would you admit to it? A judge declared that the woman was "juuuuust a bit insane." You had to be impressed with the athleticism of Ravens reserve linebacker Roderick Green, who was stabbed in the stomach outside a Randallstown bowling center but still outran his assailant. And to think some of his teammates were grousing about having to run gassers at the last voluntary workout. roch.

For all of you Corey Patterson fans out there, and the bandwagon only has a few seats open, he's arbitration-eligible after the season. And I'm pretty sure he's looking at a nice little raise. Hayden Penn update: He's expected to make his first rehab start at Double-A Bowie, perhaps on Sunday. First it was short-season Aberdeen, then Triple-A Ottawa. Now we're being told Bowie. Get your Delmarva Shorebirds tickets, just in case. Looking at the starting lineups for the All-Star Game, I keep having the same thought over and over: Mark Loretta?