Theft

Harford County sheriff's deputies and Maryland State Police report: Aberdeen Joseph E. Ensey Jr., 27, of the 200 block of Poclain Road, was charged Monday with second-degree assault. Jessica L. Cook, 19, of the 4600 block of Kimby Lane, was charged Monday with second-degree assault. Michael Lablair Harris Jr., 18, of the 4900 block of Bristle Cone Circle, was charged Sunday with drug possession with intent to distribute and possession of marijuana. Robert V. Stamper, 46, of the 1100 block of Old Philadelphia Road, was charged Saturday with second-degree assault.

Working with Anne Arundel County schools, an independent foundation helped feed needy children and their families for more than five years. But that came to an abrupt halt a year ago, after a member of the Journey Foundation reviewing the organization's bank records saw that more than $3,700 was missing. Within months, the foundation was defunct, and one of its founders, then a teacher a Corkran Middle School in Glen Burnie, was charged with stealing from it. On Tuesday, a tearful Pamela Fowler pleaded guilty to felony theft from the foundation that was the brainchild of her and her brother, jazz musician Norman Evans, whose annual spring concerts raised thousands of dollars for Journey.

A 32-year-old Germantown woman pleaded guilty Friday to using a government credit card for personal use, buying 119 iPads, a mattress set and house cleaning services, according to the Maryland U.S. attorney's office. Tamia M. McCoy, a former employee for the National Institutes of Health, faces up to 10 years in prison at her sentencing in Baltimore's U.S. district court, set for July 26. In all, she stole between $70,000 and $120,000 prosecutors said. “McCoy brazenly sought to profit at the behest of tax payer dollars.

Avon Avenue 3200 block, between 4:30 p.m. June 6 and 6:30 a.m. June 7. Registration sticker stolen from vehicle. North Calvert Street 3100 block, between 11 p.m. June 3 and 3:30 p.m. June 6. White, 2001 Hyundai with Maryland tags 7BA6560 stolen. Chestnut Avenue 3000 block, between 6:20 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. June 2. iPad stolen from vehicle. 3300 block, between 4 p.m. June 2 and 7 a.m. June 3. Safe. toolbox, cash stolen from residence. Entry gained by forcing open rear door.

A 59-year-old Pasadena woman admitted Monday to stealing more than $86,000 from the Howard County produce business where she worked as a bookkeeper, police said. Joan Elizabeth Krempa, of the 8400 block of Miramar Road, pleaded guilty to a single count of theft of more than $500 in Howard County Circuit Court. Krempa said she forged the signature of the owner of Parade Produce in Jessup between February and November of 2008; police said she wrote checks amounting to $60,501 and deposited the money in her personal account.

An Anne Arundel County firefighter admitted Wednesday to emptying the bank accounts of a regional firefighter charity when he was its treasurer, a crime that has decimated the organization. Lt. Joshua Lee Constuble, 38, of Crofton pleaded guilty to felony theft in Annapolis District Court. Judge Megan B. Johnson sentenced him to five weekends in jail and suspended the rest of a two-year sentence. During 18 months of probation, he must repay the Emerald Society about $2,100, the amount he still owes on the more than $7,400 he took.

The Carroll County Sheriff's Office said on Friday that deputies arrested four men in the theft of scrap metal in Mount Airy this week. Police said Travis Waddell, 19,  Branden Battle, 19, and Adam Nicholas Toth, 22, all from Mount Airy; and Dwayne Douglas Frazier, 32, of Boyds, were each charged with trespassing and theft. In addition, Waddell was charged with possession of marijuana. The Sheriff's Office said that on Thursday, Nov. 1, at about 1:45 p.m., deputies were called to the 5800 block of Bethel Road in Mount Airy to investigate a theft complaint.

Anne Arundel County police are investigating several armed robberies that occurred over the weekend in Brooklyn Park, Galesville, Glen Burnie and Annapolis. In several cases, they have descriptions of the suspects, but have been unable to locate them. Officers on patrol in Gambrills did arrest a 29-year-old Arnold man in connection with a series of thefts from autos. Officers stopped a vehicle, known to be involved in the thefts, at about 3 a.m. Friday on Reidel Road, near Route 3. The driver Brandon Michael Smith of the 1100 block Wright Avenue gave officers the consent to search the vehicle.

Annapolis' finance director had just finished meeting with Mayor Joshua J. Cohen on June 7, when he returned to his office as he did each day and locked the vault that protects the daily payments to the city. The next morning, director Timothy E. Elliott was the first to arrive at the office around 7:30 a.m., he said. A courier arrived soon after to pick up the city's daily bank deposit, and Elliott made a startling discovery: the bag, containing about $154,000 in checks and cash, was gone.

When residents pay water bills and civil citations at the cashier's window at Westminster City Hall, the payment stays in a drawer until the end of the day, when the contents are counted by a supervisor and placed in a vault. A city police officer comes each afternoon and transports the funds to the bank. In Howard County, two county employees must be present when putting payments for property taxes or parking tickets in a locked box that stores the cash, check and credit card payments.

Older consumers are no more vulnerable to identity theft than others, but they do tend to be victims of the types of ID theft that are on the rise - cases involving tax returns and medical care. For that reason, the Federal Trade Commission held a one-day workshop last month on senior identity theft. And Howard County on Thursday evening is holding an identity theft forum that will cover fraud directed at both seniors and children. "Seniors are targeted because they have more disposable income," said Rebecca Bowman, administrator of Howard County's Office of Consumer Affairs, which is sponsoring the forum.

You make concerted efforts to safeguard information from identity thieves — keeping bank card passwords concealed, buying online goods solely from secure websites and refusing to furnish personal information to anyone you don't know. Adults and even teens have become accustomed to these precautions. Surely toddlers and preschoolers aren't vulnerable to such criminal activity. But they are, according to Rebecca Bowman, administrator for the Howard County Office of Consumer Affairs.

Faced with a rash of reported mobile device thefts, local lawmakers want to ban the automated purchasing kiosks that have cropped up at area shopping centers and allow customers to instantly resell phones, tablets and music players. The proposals have drawn criticism from ecoATM, one of the largest players in the emerging industry, which says its devices - sometimes called "reverse vending machines" - are being unfairly blamed for a theft problem that is much larger than its business.

Someone's been making off with the big industrial batteries that provide backup power at traffic signals in Baltimore, and now the thefts are being investigated by the city inspector general's office, which looks into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse in municipal government. A representative of the battery's manufacturer said the thieves most likely would have tried to sell the 54-pound batteries as scrap for their lead content. Russell Conelley, an agent in the IG's office, confirmed in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that it is investigating battery thefts reported to have occurred along Harford Road in Northeast Baltimore and Wilkens Avenue in Southwest Baltimore.

The following is compiled from police reports. It is the Baltimore Messenger's policy to include descriptions only when there is enough information to make identification possible. If you have any information about these crimes, call the Baltimore City Police Department's Northern District at 410-396-2455. North Calvert Street 2500 block at 3:50 p.m. May 9. Pedestrian knocked down and robbed of back pack, two rings, passport, iPad, clothing, medications. Cedarcroft Road 700 block at 4 p.m. May 5. White iPod stolen from vehicle.

Aberdeen Maryland State Police and Sheriff's Office report: Djbril Ramatoulay, 21, of the 700 block of West Bel Air Avenue, was charged Tuesday with failing to appear in court for a case in which he was found guilty of failing to obey a police order and possessing marijuana. Someone was trying to open a window in the 3700 block of Aldino Road Wednesday. Aberdeen police report: Someone stole a cell phone in a cab Tuesday in the first block of North Philadelphia Boulevard.

A case in which a Parkton woman was charged with theft of a dog in 2009 was settled before the case went to trial, according to court documents. According to assistant state's attorney Jared Green, Leslie Slebzak was accused of stealing "D.O.G. ", a 1-year-old male Brittany spaniel belonging to Parkton neighbor Billie Jo Ashe. Ashe said she discoverd her dog in August 2010 tied up in Slebzak's garage and the dog had been neutered, according to Green. A criminal case was filed in Baltimore County District in July 2011.

Area police departments offer these common-sense tips to protect yourself from theft around the holidays:* Look for well-lighted parking lots.* Lock your car. Try not to leave any packages inside, even in the trunk.* If you find yourself carrying heavy packages in a shopping area, try to arrange to leave them at a store's layaway counter or with a clerk until you finish.* Have your keys ready before going to your car so you don't have to fumble for them at the car door.* Shop with a friend.

Aberdeen Sheriff's deputies and state police report: Antoine D. Rushing, 20, of the first block of New County Road, was charged Thursday with trespassing and failing to obey a lawful police order. Warren E. Smith, 54, of the 100 block of Bouzarth Lane, was charged Sunday with possessing a drug other than marijuana and another drug-related charge. Kimberly Lynn Pugh, 42, of the 3300 block of Churchville Road, was charged with failing to appear in court for a case in which she was charged with possessing marijuana.

As she struggled to unload groceries from the back of her car, Sherrie Schenning got an uncharacteristically queasy feeling. Her family's Essex neighborhood had always felt safe, but on this recent Saturday, she noticed two unfamiliar young men in a nearby schoolyard eyeing their home . "They looked like they wanted to steal something, but there was nothing valuable in the yard," she says - just her shopping bags and the family's beloved 12-year-old...