Violence Cases

With attention focused on the issue of domestic violence since the killing last week of Patricia A. Titus of Hampstead, Carroll County State's Attorney Jerry F. Barnes says he will propose state legislation next year to allow prosecutors to request the death penalty in murder cases that result from the violation of a protective court order.Titus, 40, the mother of two small boys, was found June 2 by police in a bedroom closet of her home. She had been strangled, according to a state medical examiner's report.

Women legislators in Annapolis yesterday pushed a domestic violence bill that they said would make it easier to arrest and prosecute offenders.But other legislators at a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee said the bill might limit police officers' discretion in the field and infringe on the privacy rights that married couples enjoy.Del. Pauline H. Menes, the bill's sponsor, introduced the measure by noting that 91 people died in domestic violence in Maryland last year. She said the bill could help keep others from the same fate.

The exodus of top Baltimore Police Department commanders continued yesterday as another colonel, the agency's highest ranking woman, told colleagues she will leave by April 1. Col. Margaret Patten, 52, a 26-year veteran known for activism on women's issues and domestic violence, confirmed yesterday that she was asked to leave by new police Commissioner Ronald L. Daniel. "I was told that I am not a part of the commissioner's plan," Patten said last night. "The commissioner has some people he wants to work with.

The morning after her estranged husband was charged with trying to break into her home, Vicki Kindervater sought a court order that would have required him to surrender his guns and stay away from her.The judge told her she would be protected by a "no-contact" order, which she later learned didn't prohibit him from keeping his weapons.A month later, Bruce W. Kindervater, 41, was arrested in a showdown with Baltimore County police while cruising through his wife's neighborhood with a loaded gun in his car.Advocates against domestic violence said the incident illustrates how a lack of awareness by the courts can endanger those threatened with domestic abuse.

Two state troopers from the Westminster barracks were awarded Governor's Citations yesterday for excellence and courage for their actions during a domestic violence call in Keymar in May.Cpl. Ronald W. Riggin and Tfc. James T. DeWees received the honors at the Superintendent's Awards Ceremony, which recognizes troopers, civilian employees and others for courageous work.The troopers spoke of trust and teamwork after about 60 recipients were honored at state police headquarters in Pikesville.

SOME 200 representatives of the courts, sheriffs' offices and local police will convene this week for training on how to enter domestic violence protective orders into the state's crime computer database. It's only two years late -- a lapse that has led to at least one tragedy in which a misunderstanding by the Howard County sheriff's office allowed a man, now accused of shooting his children to death, to purchase a handgun. Maryland State Police will conduct the meeting for District and Circuit court clerks and for 31 sheriff's and police departments responsible for logging these court-issued, domestic-violence restraining orders.

The Carroll County office of Family and Children's Services of Central Maryland has officially teamed up with all the county's law enforcement agencies - the state police, the municipal departments and the sheriff's office - to match crisis workers with police officers to respond to domestic violence incidents through the First Step program. The expanded partnership will help Family and Children's Services bring its programs to more victims and publicize the county's more than two-year-old protective shelter, said Connie Sgarlata, director of the non-profit agency's Westminster office.

Samari Rolle is expected to receive a one-game suspension from the NFL under its personal conduct policy, a league source said yesterday. The Ravens cornerback agreed to probation and anger management counseling nearly four months ago to settle charges in his domestic violence case, which makes him subject to disciplinary action by the league. Rolle, the team's top free-agent signing on defense this offseason, has been contacted by NFL officials about a possible punishment. "We will wait for the league to address it," coach Brian Billick said.

Just before 2 a.m. on Jan. 15, four men cloaked in ski masks and dark clothing kick in the front door of an apartment in Hampden. Two point revolvers at an 11-year-old boy who had been asleep on a sofa in the living room. The others burst into a bedroom and take aim at the boy's mother, who sleeps near her toddler. "Jesse better not testify in court," they say to the woman. "Or we're going to kill you and your sister." They rip one phone out of the wall, snatch up a portable phone and leave.