Witness

Cows, rather than chickens, caused the pollution for which an Eastern Shore farm couple and Perdue are being sued, contends a witness for the Salisbury-based poultry company. Charles Hagedorn, a microbiology professor from Virginia Tech , told a federal judge Monday that a small herd of cattle grazing on Alan and Kristin Hudson's farm near Berlin were the sole source of high levels of bacteria and nutrients found in drainage ditches there. "These counts - and they are high - came from the cattle," Hagedorn testified.  But a lawyer for the Waterkeeper Alliance pressed Hagedorn to acknowledge that manure blown by large ventilation fans out of the Hudsons' two poultry houses could also have reached the ditches, contributing to the pollution.

The fraud scheme — hiring homeless people to steal rent checks and deposit them in fake bank accounts — made a million dollars for Tavon Davis before one of his associates was caught on the job. Panicked at the notion that his man might flip, he ordered Isiah Callaway killed. Davis thought he might go to jail for decades for fraud, according to court records, and Callaway, 19, was dead before Davis realized the penalty for operating the scheme would have been much less. Davis, who now faces a likely 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder-conspiracy charges, told a friend that his decision to order the killing made him the "schmuck of the year," according to court filings.

In today's story about the police custody death of Anthony Anderson , there's a reference to some police and prosecutors being irked about the release of Anderson's autopsy report to his family. At least one reader on Twitter wanted to know more about this. Detailed information about Anderson's injuries is key to building the investigation. For detectives working a controversial case and trying to piece together witness accounts  - some that may be wildly inaccurate or fabricated - holding back key information is a crucial tactic.

A 36-year-old man died Sunday at the scene of a shooting in the Berea neighborhood in East Baltimore. Officers responded at 8:55 p.m. to reports of shots fired and found the man in the basement of a home in the 2700 block of Mura St., near North Lakewood Avenue. The victim, who had been shot multiple times, was pronounced dead at 9 p.m. Witnesses told investigators that two armed suspects confronted the victim and shot him during an argument. Mary.gail.hare@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Federal prosecutors indicted drug dealer Jose Joaquin Morales for ordering the 2008 killing of Robert Long, a witness against him in a theft case, just weeks after a man originally convicted of the murder had his conviction vacated. Morales is serving a 20-year prison term after pleading guilty to federal drug charges. Another man, Demetrius Smith of Baltimore, was convicted in state court of Long's murder in 2010. Smith maintained that he was innocent, and the City Paper reported in August that a new trial was ordered and his case quietly dropped when new information emerged in a federal investigation.

In anticipation of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, the Laurel Museum is opening a mini-exhibit Sunday, Sept. 9 that includes former Laurel Mill superintendent George Nye's handwritten account of the battle. The exhibit includes a letter Nye wrote to his wife, Charlotte (Charlie), on Oct. 1 shortly after the battle; Nye's war belt and buckle; and his 1879 diary, which references the Battle of Antietam. Antietam was the bloodiest single day in American military history, with more than 20,000 soldiers killed or wounded.

A 55-year-old man operating an unauthorized cab in Baltimore witnessed a passenger's arrest, according to prosecutors, then turned down a bribe to give false testimony in the case. Months later, he was shot to death in front of the suburban home he shared with his elderly mother. City and Baltimore County prosecutors revealed the details of the 2011 killing of Ronald Givens on Thursday as they announced the murder indictments of four men, three of whom were also charged with conspiracy, witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.

A witness told 911 operators the boat piloted by an admittedly drunk Del. Donald H. Dwyer was "flying [at] what seemed like full throttle" before colliding with another vessel, seriously injuring seven people, including four children. On 911 recordings released Tuesday and in interviews, neighbors who helped with the subsequent rescue described a bloody scene, screaming children, people tossed into the air and a boat ripped by the impact with Dwyer's motorboat, The Legislator. No one has been faulted in the Wednesday evening accident on the Magothy River that sent Dwyer, the pilot of the other boat and the children to the hospital.

When Mike Kempa woke up Thursday morning, he was just excited about getting a free T-shirt and seeing his favorite big league team. But it would be no ordinary Orioles outing. Before the 20-year-old Kempa made the nearly three-hour trek with his parents from Ocean City to Camden Yards, he learned the news of the day: The Orioles had called up Manny Machado, Baseball America's 9 th -ranked prospect, from Double-A Bowie. The Kempas were among the announced 21,226 who showed up for the rare opportunity to watch the major league debut of a potential franchise cornerstone.

A 26-year-old Baltimore man has been charged with first-degree murder and 13 other crimes in a triple shooting inside a Mid-Govans home last month that left one man dead, police said Thursday. Police say they have identified Maurice Jerome Lonon as one of two men who on July 16 entered the home in the 5500 block of Lothian Road, pulled out a handgun and began shooting. Quinton Winder, 35, was shot in the head and later found sitting on a couch in a front room. Alfreda Ellis, 50, who was also shot in the head, was sitting on the floor, while Darnell Middleton, 28, who was shot in the face, was found in a rear alley.