Weathersbee

Howard County State's Attorney Timothy J. McCrone is backing 12-year office veteran Lara C. Weathersbee to serve the remaining three years of his term, according to county government sources. Deputy State's Attorney Dario Broccolino is likely to be named interim state's attorney today, after McCrone resigns and is immediately sworn in as a Circuit Court judge, the sources said. The ceremony is scheduled for 3 p.m. today. Gov. Martin O'Malley announced McCrone's appointment to the Circuit Court on Dec. 3. McCrone told a group of people in his office that he plans to back Weathersbee, a senior assistant state's attorney who heads the juvenile division, as his permanent replacement, and that he would like everyone else to support her, too, the sources said.

FRANK R. WEATHERSBEE, the state's attorney in Anne Arundel County, has the right idea about vigorously prosecuting handgun possession cases. Once people start going to jail for having handguns in cars and trucks without a permit, more people will think twice about casually "packing heat" when they drive to work or run errands.Mr. Weathersbee's new policy acknowledges a growing problem. The number of weapons violations in Anne Arundel has been climbing steadily. In the first nine months of this year, police have filed 873 charges for illegal weapons possession.

PROSECUTING criminals is one of the most important jobs in the courthouse. Citizens want a state's attorney who vigorously and effectively prosecutes people charged with committing felonies, misdemeanors and other infractions of laws and ordinances.Frank R. Weathersbee, a Democrat, has occupied the position since 1988, when, as the deputy, he was appointed to fill a vacancy. In 1990 and 1994, voters re-elected him.Richard R. Trunnell, a Republican and former Prince George's assistant state's attorney, is seeking to unseat him.Mr.

In an unusual move, Anne Arundel County Councilman Bill D. Burlison stepped from his seat to the public podium Monday night to criticize the refusal of State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee to take on new felony cases from the Maryland prison complex in Jessup. Frustrated by the lack of state dollars to pay for prosecuting inmate crimes, Weathersbee has blocked two potential cases - a homicide and a felony assault - that have been ready for presentation to a grand jury for more than a month.

Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee says experience and innovation give voters a reason to return him for a fourth term, but challenger Michael W. Burns says it's time for new leadership and fresh approaches in the prosecutor's office. "I can do a better job," said Republican Burns, 44, in an interview. "After 30-plus years in the state's attorney's office and 14 years as the state's attorney, he's given all he has got." Not so, countered the Democratic incumbent, who said he has successfully run a 96-person office while introducing new programs.

A little-known Crofton lawyer kicked off a campaign last night to unseat Anne Arundel County's longtime chief criminal prosecutor, arguing that the official runs "an old, tired office."Richard R. Trunnell, 36, who has been introducing himself to Republican clubs in recent weeks, said yesterday that he expects to file candidacy papers within days and to begin campaigning against Frank R. Weathersbee, the Democratic Anne Arundel County state's attorney."It's going to be a difficult year," Trunnell said.

The county's top prosecutor met last night with members of an African-American coalition to discuss a racially tinged case - vandalism at the statue of a prominent black Annapolis leader - that was dropped last month. The man initially charged with defacing the statue of Aris T. Allen, a physician and legislator who died in 1991, said he's sleeping with a loaded shotgun at his bedside - worried about strangers seen near his rural Crownsville cottage. "I don't feel safe here anymore," John Exner Jr. said Wednesday night in his first interview since his arrest in August.

The outcome of the most expensive county executive race in Anne Arundel County history was too close to call last night and will hinge on thousands of absentee and provisional ballots yet to be counted. Based on unofficial results with all precincts reporting, Republican Del. John R. Leopold led Democrat George F. Johnson IV, the three-term sheriff of Anne Arundel County, by fewer than 400 votes out of more than 164,000 votes counted. The outcome will be determined after the tallying of more than 15,000 absentee ballots, starting tomorrow, and the counting of potentially thousands of other provisional ballots next week.

Behind-the-scenes political maneuvering over who should be the next Howard County state's attorney is raising concerns in the legal community as three of the county's five Circuit Court judges prepare to vote on the appointment. County Executive Ken Ulman and newly appointed Circuit Judge Timothy J. McCrone, the former state's attorney, support juvenile division head Lara C. Weathersbee for the top prosecutor's job. McCrone told his staff he favors Weathersbee for his old job and urged them to back her, too. Ulman said he has spoken on Weathersbee's behalf to two of the judges who will vote on the choice.

State's Attorney Frank R. Weathersbee, who faces a re-election campaign next year, has appointed a staff assistant to be his news spokesman and has ordered his prosecutors to channel all news media inquiries through the spokesman.Alvin J. Arnett, Mr. Weathersbee's administrative assistant, will handle news media inquiries in addition to his present duties helping the office's 30 attorneys with administrative matters, Mr. Weathersbee said yesterday.A former lobbyist with the CSX Railway Co., Mr. Arnett is a lawyer and lives in Annapolis.