Toohey

A Baltimore priest has been permanently removed from ministry 15 years after allegations that he had committed sexual abuse and three years after he pleaded guilty in court to abusing a minor - too long a wait for some advocates for abuse victims. At the request of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Pope Benedict XVI this month defrocked Jerome F. Toohey Jr., who admitted in November 2005 that he sexually abused a high school sophomore in the late 1980s while Toohey was chaplain at Calvert Hall College High School in Towson.

After almost 14 years as the voice of the Baltimore County police, Bill Toohey will leave the department Friday, take a week off and start a new job Feb. 1. Toohey, 64, a former radio reporter and spokesman for two U.S. senators, is to be the communications director for the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, which coordinates programs, grants and research for public safety and corrections agencies. "It's a great expansion of my professional world, and I'm really looking forward to that," said Toohey, who was informed by the Police Department in November that he was being replaced by a uniformed officer.

A Roman Catholic priest who a decade ago publicly denied an allegation of sexual abuse has been accused of another series of incidents, according to the Archdiocese of Baltimore. This time, a former Calvert Hall College high school student said the priest, Jerome F. Toohey Jr., abused him over the course of several years. Toohey, known as Father Jeff, has not been practicing as a priest since 1993, when he was first accused of abusing a young man. Toohey, 58, did not respond to a message left at his home yesterday.

After almost 14 years as the voice of the Baltimore County police, Bill Toohey will leave the department on Friday, take a week off and start a new job on Feb. 1. Toohey, a former radio reporter and spokesman for two U.S. senators, is to be the communications director for the Governor's Office of Crime Control and Prevention, which coordinates programs, grants and research for public safety and corrections agencies. "It's a great expansion of my professional world and I'm really looking forward to that," said Toohey, 64, who was informed in November that he was being let go from the Police Department to make way for a uniformed officer.

Baltimore County police were in a standoff last night at a Randallstown house with a Jamaican man being sought by federal authorities for missing a deportation hearing. Tactical unit officers surrounded the house in the 800 block of Falcon Ridge Drive where Hubert Downer, 38, of no fixed address was believed to be hiding. Police said Downer has served nine years for federal drug and weapons charges in four states, including Maryland. Police were uncertain of the date of Downer's hearing.

An Owings Mills man who spent years helping his parents run a summer camp in West Virginia was found shot to death over the weekend, Baltimore County police said Monday. Scott Michael Greenberg, 51, was discovered Saturday evening by his former wife in the home of his parents, Fred and Evelyn Greenberg, in the 2300 block of Velvet Valley Way, where he had been living, according to police spokesman William Toohey. Lisa Greenberg told police she had gone to the house to drop off the couple's two children, Brady, 8, and Hannah, 10. When they arrived, the door was locked and there was no sign of Greenberg.

Two women have been charged in Monday's stabbing of a third near a shoe display in the Nordstrom Rack in Towson Town Center, police said yesterday.Sharma Justina Williams, 24, of the 2600 block of E. Oliver St. in Baltimore is charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault and weapons offenses, said Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey.Charged as an accomplice in the afternoon assault was Deunka Montrease Wade, also 24, of the 1300 block of E. Cold Spring Lane in Baltimore.Williams is accused of stabbing Lashonda Hazel Washington, 27, in an argument that began after the two women jostled while shopping in the mall.

A man was killed and another man seriously injured yesterday afternoon after leading Baltimore County police on a chase through Dundalk. The chase began when a detective saw the unidentified men, whom he suspected of drug involvement, in a Jeep Cherokee on Merritt Boulevard, Baltimore County police spokesman Bill Toohey said. The suspects fled, leading police through residential streets, ending up on Holabird Avenue. The suspects fired several shots at officers, who did not return fire, Toohey said.

During a traffic stop last night, a Baltimore County K-9 officer shot a man in a car, believing him to be armed, police said.Bill Toohey, a police spokesman, said Officer Michael Cortez stopped a Ford Tiempo with temporary Delaware tags for a traffic violation about 8: 25 p.m. at Pulaski Highway and Chesaco Avenue in Rosedale. Cortez saw what appeared to be a handgun near the front-seat passenger, Toohey said.Fearing for his safety, Toohey said, the officer drew his handgun and shot the passenger in the leg. The driver sped off, and, after a brief chase, the car was stopped on Rossville Boulevard near Pulaski Highway.

A man was being held Friday in the stabbing death of a 26-year-old acquaintance in Woodlawn. A Baltimore County police spokesman said the suspect would be charged with first-degree murder on Friday evening, and that the department would release both his name and that of the victim at that time. The spokesman, William Toohey, said the two men got into a fight shortly before 1:30 a.m. Friday outside an apartment building in the 3300 block of Aurora Lane. "We don't know what they were fighting about," Toohey said.

Lt. Robert McCullough, a 43-year-old community-outreach team commander who has been with the Baltimore County police force since he joined as a cadet at age 18, is to be the department's new chief spokesman. McCullough, currently assigned to the Randallstown substation, will move soon to the department's headquarters in Towson to replace Bill Toohey, a civilian who has held the job of spokesman since 1996. Toohey was told earlier this week that he was being dismissed to make way for a uniformed officer.

Bill Toohey, the public face of the Baltimore County Police Department since 1996, has been dismissed and will be replaced by a uniformed officer. The 64-year-old chief departmental spokesman and former radio reporter was informed of the decision Tuesday by Police Chief James W. Johnson, who expressed a preference for the department's front man to be a sworn member of the force instead of a civilian. Toohey was philosophical when reached Wednesday afternoon: "There comes a time for people to move on and new people to move in. That is what is happening here.

Bill Toohey, the public face of the Baltimore County Police Department since 1996, has been dismissed and will be replaced by a uniformed officer. Toohey, a 64-year-old civilian and former radio reporter, was informed of the decision Tuesday by Police Chief James W. Johnson, who expressed a preference for the department's front man to be a sworn member of the force. Toohey's successor will be Lt. Robert McCullough, a 43-year-old community-outreach team commander who has been with the Baltimore County police force since he joined as a cadet when he was 18. Employees of the county government who declined to be named said the decision to let Toohey go took him by surprise.

An Owings Mills man who spent years helping his parents run a summer camp in West Virginia was found shot to death over the weekend, Baltimore County police said Monday. Scott Michael Greenberg, 51, was discovered Saturday evening by his former wife in the home of his parents, Fred and Evelyn Greenberg, in the 2300 block of Velvet Valley Way, where he had been living, according to police spokesman William Toohey. Lisa Greenberg told police she had gone to the house to drop off the couple's two children, Brady, 8, and Hannah, 10. When they arrived, the door was locked and there was no sign of Greenberg.

The posting on the Baltimore Police Department's Facebook page seemed innocent enough - a link to a news article about the imperiled mounted horse unit. The chief spokesman put it online, hoping to generate interest and donations to keep the unit alive. Then the public weighed in. "Think it over Sheila!" Ian Hall wrote, referring to Mayor Sheila Dixon. Carol Taylor-Long compared Dixon to former Washington Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr., who had legal troubles of his own: "If anything gets cut, it should be her salary and replace her with a more honest person!"

A man was being held Friday in the stabbing death of a 26-year-old acquaintance in Woodlawn. A Baltimore County police spokesman said the suspect would be charged with first-degree murder on Friday evening, and that the department would release both his name and that of the victim at that time. The spokesman, William Toohey, said the two men got into a fight shortly before 1:30 a.m. Friday outside an apartment building in the 3300 block of Aurora Lane. "We don't know what they were fighting about," Toohey said.

A Baltimore County police officer shot a man suspected in a string of robberies in Dundalk after he allegedly put a knife to a convenience store clerk's head, police said. Police said a man walked into the Royal Farms Store in the 7700 block of German Hill Road about 12: 55 yesterday morning, brandished a knife and stole two cartons of cigarettes and money from a cash register. The man told the store clerk to walk toward the door, and put the knife to her back, said Bill Toohey, a county police spokesman.