Man Robbed While Unloading Groceries

Baltimore Matt November 29, 2012 at 03:31 pm

Another crime in the Greenmount corridor...WTF is going on around there and why is allowed to continue? If the BCPD can't get a handle on it, isn't time to bring in other law enforcement agencies (MD State Police, DEA, ATF, National Guard)???

Leona MacDonald November 29, 2012 at 10:11 pm

The ones you read of on here aren't the only crimes. There has been a spike recently that is disturbing.

Sean Tully November 30, 2012 at 05:26 am

I just got my mid-year tax bill and I really don't know why I stay in Baltimore other then I can't really afford to leave. In any event, I still don't know what my taxes are paying for.

Sean Tully November 30, 2012 at 05:29 am

I was watching Charlie Rose recently and the guests were talking about how messed up prison system is. You know, I get it. It really does need changing. But then I read stories like this and I say, oh hell with it, lock all the criminals up and throw away the key.

Christian November 30, 2012 at 02:17 pm

The Charles Village Community Benefits District which is supposed to provide supplemental security and sanitation services for this area recently advised the community via The Charles Villager that they had instituted additional policing by Off-duty police during this period of time. This is in addition to regular policing provided by the Northern District Police Department, but between the recent spurt of killings in this area and other crimes, it does not appear to be adequate to meet the demands of this crime wave. Rather than have another meeting with the community shouldn't something actually be done to curtail these activities? We have had meetings after meetings and nothing gets resolved except promises made and never kept of more policing. The Benefits District was created because of a killing in 1993 and yet the promised 24/7 security has never really taken place.
The CVCBD is apparently not up to the job and therefore some alternative plan should be instituted like using the entire budget for additional policing of the area.

Baltimore Matt November 30, 2012 at 02:21 pm

I think we need to be honest, we need to call what it is and it’s a war (there are more victims per capita in this small area than most counties in an active state of war). At that point we can bring in the National Guard and declare Marshal Law (aka a state of emergency) for the Greenmount corridor. If your committing a crime past curfew, you are simply shot. If you are out on the streets and you are not performing official work or have business in the area, you are arrested (so what if central booking doesn’t do anything with you, it took your time and now you have to walk back)

Jon December 1, 2012 at 04:53 am

Using this logic, the Baltimore Police force should also be disbanded since they're apparently not up to the job of stopping every crime before it happens. Why should I pay for that?

Christian December 1, 2012 at 02:19 pm

Jon, I didn't say or imply that increasing the police force would "stop every crime before it happens". No one could expect the supernatural, but in-as-much as the community was promised security 24/7 before enacting the Benefits District, then the funding that is allocated for the Benefits District should be reassigned to policing of the area as promised. If you sell peanuts and deliver onions, I think you run the possibility of having the product returned and demand what was purchased. We, in Charles Village, by a small margin of votes purchased security services 24/7 and don't receive it. So why not correct it?

Edgar December 1, 2012 at 03:05 pm

Crime is horrible, and ancient, but why would anyone venture out alone at
1 A.M. to buy and unload $500 worth of groceries in a neighborhood known not to be the safest around (or in any big city)? Shopping in daylight or evening time when neighbors may be out and about, and having a helper (or a "lookout") would be reducing the vulnerability, yes? More patrols for safety would be nice, but the city budget does not provide for that any more. Unfortunately, cops "walking the beat" are rare in the U.S. any more.

Christian December 1, 2012 at 06:47 pm

If the City's budget can afford a Grand Prix, it can afford patrols in the streets and not civilians who put their lives in danger. The issue is safety for the citizens of this city, which is rapidly becoming one of the more unsafe cities in the United States. If the Mayor desires to increase the population, it is necessary for her and the Police Department to work to end the crime now. We, in Charles Village were promised security 24/7 in order to convince the doubting neighbors that we needed a Benefits District and yet they have not listened to what the residents want and that is more security. I will admit that purchasing groceries at 1:30 am is unusual, but the person may work at this time and on his way home he picked up the groceries. We live in a time where many people have to have two jobs to make ends meet. While cops "walking the beat" are rare, let's be creative and start them up again to ensure safety in our communities or else we are going to have a mass exodus.

Baltimore Matt December 2, 2012 at 01:02 am

I wish someone would mention the war in and around Greenmount and Charles Village areas between the Black Guerillas and the Bloods...that may be the real problem.. that is what is causing all the crime in the area

Christian December 2, 2012 at 02:19 pm

Baltimore Matt: Can you substantiate that there is a "war" between the Black Guerillas and the Bloods going on in the area described. I would think that this information would be helpful to the Baltimore City Police Department in aiding them in identifying the parties involved and actually do something. Have you attempted to contact Northern District and advised them of this? I wish the Reporters would report correctly the neighborhoods where these crimes are taking place, since this is not the Barclay neighborhood, but the Charles Village neighborhood where this incident took place. My car was stolen the first year I moved here 13 years ago and I reported it to BCPD and they told me I was living in the Harwood community when I was living in Charles Village and while I realize that the borders are often fuzzy, my home is located in Charles Village since I am one block away from where the originator created Charles Village. If you feel that you can really establish that this is a war between the Black Guerillas and the Bloods, please contact the BCPD and let them know why you suspect this and how you have determined it as it should help them in dealing with the issue. Thanks!!

Joe December 2, 2012 at 04:08 pm

We see these stories daily and when you go to look at the perps records most of the time they are habitual offenders of one type to another. Many many lines of charges and many many Nolle Pros or small fines. Until the habitual offenders are kept in jails we will continue to see this in your neighborhood and mine. It is the courts not the police that are at fault.

Joe December 2, 2012 at 04:14 pm

I worked downtown for many years. In a stretch of 3 years on W Read Street just off Howard my car was broken into 4 times. Windows broken and nothing to take but sunglasses and pocket change. I kept the doors unlocked after a time and kept nothing in my car. Once I had a small cooler with my lunch in it stolen.
Not a way people should have to live in a civilized society.

Baltimore Matt December 3, 2012 at 03:43 am

Christian...I am just using information from local news sources. Also, the police chief has spoke of and has acknowledged the Greenmount corridor gang war between the Black Guerillas and Bloods over the control of local drug markets and territory. Various crimes will result from such a conflict, including property crimes and crimes with guns which will easily spill over into Charles Village and Waverly. We really need for BCPD and the mayors office to get real with this problem and bring in federal and state law enforcement agencies as backup not just to save that area but because the BCPD has been worn thin in other parts of the Northern District because of this gang war. Below are links to various news sources regarding the Greenmount gang problem
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-greenmount-shooting-20121127,0,3007749.story http://www.jhunewsletter.com/2012/11/29/shootings-on-rise-in-greenmount-80991/ http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2012/11/27/gang-warfare-blamed-for-violence-on-greenmount-avenue/