Sun Valley

County police say a man who escaped from police custody in Septembermay be responsible for as many as 10 armed robberies in the last twomonths.Detectives have stepped up their search for Anthony JamesFreeland, 20, whom they say has robbed five businesses in North County, said Sgt. George Johnson, head of the robbery squad.Johnson said witnesses identified Freeland as the man who robbed Sunset Liquors in Glen Burnie Oct. 31, a Subway restaurant in Maryland City Oct. 30, a Subway restaurant in Hanover Oct. 22, and the Subway restaurant in Sun Valley Oct. 30."

Pizza delivery man robbed at gunpointA man wearing a Halloween mask of a wrinkled face robbed a pizza delivery man at gunpoint Tuesday night near a home in Edgewater.County police said Thomas Kelly Swager, 27, of Shadyside, was delivering a pizza to the 1600 block of Millstone Road when a man armed with a handgun took his money.The suspect is described is a white male standing 6 feet tall, weighing 180 pounds with a heavy or stocky build. He walked slightly hunched over.Police said he was wearing a long-sleeve plaid flannel shirt, buttoned all the way up, dark pants, dark shoes and the mask, which had a large nose.

Teen charged with robbing 10-year-old girlCounty police have charged a 15-year-old boy with holding up a 10-year-old girl for her purse in the parking lot of a Pasadena shopping center Tuesday.Police said yesterday the youth turned himself in at the Northern District station. He was released to his parents.CThe girl was walking with her 27-year-old cousin in the parking lot of the Sun Valley Shopping Center at 7:45 p.m. when two men stopped them, police said.One of the men had a BB gun, police said.

A man wearing a bandanna over his face robbed a Pasadena gas station of an undisclosed amount of money Tuesday, county police said yesterday.According to police, a man walked into a Shell station in the 100 block of Mountain Road just before midnight. He was bent over and wearing a bandanna over his face, police said.The man demanded cash from the clerk, then fled when he received it. The man never displayed a weapon but kept his hand under his shirt to imply that he had one.A witness who was taking trash out behind the Sun Valley Shopping Center said she saw a man run from the parking lot toward Albert Drive.

POLICE LOG* Acreslee: Burglars stole an undetermined amount of money from the Wonder Bread store in the 7100 block of Furnace Branch Road sometime between Thursday night and Saturday.Glen Burnie: Thieves pried open the cigarette machine and the jukebox at J. J. Tavern in the 8000 block of First St. Friday night to remove an unknown amount of cash.* Glen Burnie: Burglars took two video cameras and a videocassette recorder, worth $3,490, from an apartment in the 7800 block of Bruton Drive Sunday.

Larry LaPrise,83, who wrote "The Hokey Pokey" for patrons of a ski resort and saw it become a classic, died April 4 in Boise, Idaho, after a long illness.A singer, he was leading the Ram Trio at Sun Valley's Ram Bar when he concocted the song-cum-dance for the apres ski crowd. It was an instant hit." 'The Hokey Pokey' is like a square dance, really," he said in 1992. "You turn around. You shake it all about. Everyone is in a circle and it gets them all involved."The Ram Trio recorded the song in 1949.

Richard W. Ganoczy, a retired draftsman and Coast Guard veteran, died Jan 21 of cancer at Homestead of Sun Valley, a Sykesville assisted-living facility. He was 73. Mr. Ganoczy was born and raised in New York City, where he graduated from public schools. After serving in the Coast Guard from 1958 to 1964, Mr. Ganoczy moved to Washington, where he worked as a graphic artist for WTOP-TV. During the 1960s, he attended District of Columbia Teachers College. He later studied at the University of Florida in Gainesville and earned a bachelor's degree from Frostburg State University.

Demrick Paul Mayes, owner of a tile installation company who enjoyed cooking, died Oct. 11 at Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly of complications from a cardiac arrest he suffered three months ago. The Arnold resident was 47. Mr. Mayes, who was known as Rick, was born in Baltimore and raised in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Anne Arundel County. After graduating from Glen Burnie High School in 1979, he went to work for several tile contractors before establishing his own company, R&M Tile Installation, in 2006.

Congratulations to Cornelius J. Behan. At a ceremony in Sun Valley, Idaho, the Baltimore County police chief recently received the first John M. Penrith Award from the FBI's international center for law enforcement executives.The award, which recognizes Mr. Behan's contributions to the police profession, came with a crystal eagle and a check for $5,000. It is made in memory of a slain burglary victim whose son now heads the FBI's Newark office."Neil has that kind of respect. He is viewed as a mentor in law enforcement," said Bobby R. Gillham, who directs the bureau's Maryland-Delaware office.

Thirty-four homes are cleaner, safer and more comfortable today because neighbor helped neighbor in Anne Arundel County.About 1,200 volunteers took part in Christmas in April, a national program that provides house repair and renovation for low-income, elderly and disabled homeowners."