Murders this Week: 9
Murders this Year: 200

Monday, Nov. 9

3:20 p.m. Kenneth Ray Jones, a 46-year-old African-American man, died at a local hospital. The day before, at 2:47 p.m., Jones and a friend were in the 3000 block of Towanda Avenue just north of Mondawmin Mall. They were there to meet another friend. A burgundy van drove up and blew its horn. Jones got into the van and talked to the driver. Then, people outside heard a pop and Jones was pushed out of the van, which then drove away. He had been shot in the head. [MORE]

Murders this Week: 4
Murders this Year: 191

Tuesday, Nov. 3

6 p.m. Police discovered a dark-gray car that had been in an accident in the 1300 block of West Fayette Street by Franklin Square. Joseph Taylor, a 28-year-old African-American man, was inside the car, shot in the head. He died at an area hospital that night. [MORE]

Murders this Week: 3
Murders this Year: 187

Monday, Oct. 26

10:15 p.m. Joshua McKinny, a 24-year-old African-American man, was pronounced brain dead at an area hospital. McKinny was shot two days earlier. Just after 10 p.m. on Oct. 24, police got several 911 calls about a shooting in the 2000 block of North Wolfe Street near Clifton Park. When police arrived, they found McKinny lying on the sidewalk, shot numerous times. He was taken to a hospital and underwent surgery, but was eventually removed from life support.   [MORE]

Murders this Week: 3
Murders this Year: 184

The death of Constantine Frank, a 54-year-old Caucasian man, was added to the homicide rolls this week. On July 29 at 8 p.m., an employee of Frank's business, Precision Vending, found Frank in the office of the warehouse in the 1000 block of South Lakewood Avenue, near the Can Company shopping center in Canton. Frank was lying in the vestibule. His hands and feet had been bound, though he had been able to get one hand free. The business had been robbed. Frank was conscious, but couldn't speak; he had a stroke during the ordeal. He was taken to an area hospital where he died on Aug. 11. The Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide due to bleeding on the brain from the assault.

Tuesday, Oct. 20 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 5
Murders this Year: 181

Tuesday, Oct. 13

8:46 a.m. A resident of the Saint Josephs neighborhood in Southwest Baltimore called police and told them a body could be found in the 3200 block of West Lexington Street. Mark Johnson, a 31-year-old African-American man, was discovered sitting in the driver's seat of a car parked in that block. He had been shot in the head and was dead. [MORE]

In this week's Murder Ink, we reported on the sentence Melanie Blevins, a 23-year-old Caucasian woman, received after she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for the death of her infant son.

Blevins gave birth to the boy in a bathroom on Oct. 4, 2008. The baby was born alive, but Blevins put him in a plastic bag and tossed him in the garbage behind the church, causing his death. Blevins was sentenced to 10 years in prison with 9 years, 11 months, and 29 days suspended, meaning she only spent one day in jail for the crime. She also received five years probation and 900 hours of community service as part of her sentence. [MORE]

Murders this Week: 5

Murders this Year: 176

Due to the Columbus Day holiday, this week's column only covers homicides from Oct. 5 to Oct. 9. Any additional homicides will be covered online at citypaper.com/go/murderink.

Editor's Note: (The last three homicides in the online version of this column were added after the paper went to press, so it differs from what appears in the print version. The number of murders for the week and the year have been updated as well.) [MORE]

Murders this Week: 3
Murders this Year: 171

The death of Ethel Henderson, an 85-year-old African-American woman, was added to the homicide rolls this week. On March 8 at 5:20 p.m. in Rosemont, Henderson was found on fire. The flames were extinguished and Henderson was taken to an area hospital, but died on June 17. Henderson's grandson, Tyron Mason, a 30-year-old African-American man, was arrested on the day of the incident. According to police, Mason is a drug addict. He allegedly doused his grandmother with a flammable liquid and set her on fire after she refused to give him money.

The death of Jermaine Womack, a 32-year-old African-American man, has been removed from the homicide tally. Womack's girlfriend Tiesha Bennett, a 27-year-old African-American woman, was initially charged with fatally stabbing Womack, who died on June 22. However, those charges were dropped on Sept. 3 after the stabbing was ruled self-defense. [MORE]

Murders This Week: 2
Murders This Year: 169

Friday, Sept. 25

1:15 a.m. Police were called to the 2100 block of Sinclair Lane near Clifton Park Golf Course for an assault. When they arrived they found Shantel Brown, a 31-year-old African-American woman, on the ground in a pool of blood. She was yelling and rolling around. Brown was taken to an area hospital where she died at 3:22 a.m. Police spokesman Donny Moses says the murder is being investigated as a possible domestic-violence incident. [MORE]

Murders this Week: 5
Murders this Year: 167

 A man was killed while allegedly trying to burglarize a home in the 300 block of East University Parkway near Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus. University security was called to the home at 1:21 a.m. on Sept. 15 by neighbors who saw a suspicious person lurking around the house. Security, which included an off-duty Baltimore City police officer, went to the house where four Hopkins students lived but did not find an intruder. The house had been broken into earlier that evening and two laptops and an Xbox were taken. The students continued checking the property. One of them, who has been identified by The Baltimore Sun as John Pontolillo, grabbed a samurai sword. According to police, Pontolillo saw Donald Rice, a 49-year-old African-American man, crouched under a deck behind the house. Pontolillo raised the sword and told his friends to call the police. While his friends were inside getting their phones, Rice allegedly lunged at Pontolillo, pinning him against the wall of the garage. Pontolillo brought the sword down cutting Rice's torso and severing his left hand. Hopkins security and Baltimore police heard screaming and returned to the scene, where Rice died of massive blood loss. Pontolillo has not been charged with a crime, and Rice's death has not been added to the homicide rolls. The State's Attorney's Office is still reviewing the case.

There were also two police-involved shootings this week, one of them fatal. On Aug. 16 at 12:30 a.m., police were arresting two suspects in an alley off the 2800 block of Orleans Street on drug charges. One of the suspects got free and stabbed one of the officers in the back several times. The other officer shot the man repeatedly. The man died at an area hospital at 1:30 a.m. The officer who was stabbed in the back was not seriously injured-the knife did not fully penetrate his bullet-proof vest. The incident is being reviewed, but has not been added to the homicide rolls. The man, who police have not been able to identify, is the 12th person shot by police this year and the second this week-another man was shot by an off-duty cop during an alleged home invasion; he survived. [MORE]

The May 19 death of Michael Chase, a 47-year-old African-American man, was added to the homicide rolls this week. Chase was shot on Aug. 20, 1988; he was 26 at the time. Chase was walking in the 1500 block of Hopewell Court when he was shot in the neck. He collapsed and remained on the street until a jogger stumbled upon him. He became a paraplegic as a result of the shooting and stayed at several hospitals and rehabilitation facilities over the years. While staying at a nursing home, Chase met Frank Spencer. Spencer had been shot in 1990 and was also being treated for his wound. Spencer allegedly told Chase that he was the person who shot him in the neck. Spencer said he was shooting at a target but missed and hit Chase. Spencer died on Nov. 4, 2004. Chase died in May of this year and the Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death the result of the shooting that took place more than 20 years earlier. Chase had told his sister about Spencer's confession, and she informed police after her brother's death.
Monday, Sept. 7
4:55 p.m. Charles Mack, a 47-year-old African-American man, was assaulted with a pipe by two men in the 2700 block of Ashland Avenue. He was taken to an area hospital with massive internal damage. He died the next day at 10:20 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
7:20 p.m. Shelton Elliott, a 43-year-old African-American man, was in an apartment with a group of people in the 500 block of Carey Street. Someone entered the apartment through an unlocked door, pulled out a gun, and said he was robbing them. The gunman then told everyone to get on the floor. Elliott refused and he and the gunman fought. During the struggle, Elliot was shot several times. The gunman fled the scene as did the other people in the apartment except for one who stayed with Elliot until help arrived. Elliot died at an area hospital at 9:10 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 10
8:40 p.m. Police were called to a shooting in the 500 block of Radnor Avenue just off York Road. Kenneth Burley Jr., a 17-year-old African-American male, lay on one side of the street shot in the head. An 18-year-old African-American man was on the other side, shot in the leg and arm. A third victim, a 19-year-old African-American man, was shot in the leg but managed to drive himself to a fire house. The car he was in had several bullet holes in it. Burley died at a local hospital less than an hour later. The other two victims survived.
Friday, Sept. 11
1:55 a.m. A 30-year-old African-American man was shot numerous times in the 3200 block of Belair Road by Clifton Park Golf Course. He died at 2:23 a.m. at an area hospital. Police are waiting until his family has been notified of his death to release his name.
2:55 p.m. That afternoon, Trenton Marshall, a 20-year-old African-American man, was riding a bicycle by the bus stop at East Northern Parkway and McClean Boulevard near the Perring Parkway Shopping Center. Two men came up to him on foot, one of whom started shooting at him. Marshall got off his bike and tried to run but was shot several times in the head. He died less than an hour later at a local hospital.
Sunday, Sept. 13
1:40 a.m. Israeli Mason, an 18-year-old African-American man, was shot in the body in the 2000 block of McCulloh Street. He died at 3:05 a.m. at a nearby hospital.
4:15 a.m. Later that morning, Andre Williams, a 35-year-old African-American man, was shot repeatedly in the back in the 100 block of Cross Street by the market in Federal Hill. He died at 5:05 a.m.
12 p.m. That afternoon, Alvin Allston, a 45-year-old African-American man, was standing on the corner of West Coldspring Lane and Reisterstown Road when a gray or silver Jeep Cherokee drove up. An African-American man of medium build, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and between 30 and 40 years old, got out of the passenger seat and shot Allston numerous times in the head. The gunman then got back into the car and rode away. Allston died at a nearby hospital at 12:27 p.m.
Murders this Week: 9
Murders this Year: 162 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 5
Murders this Year: 153

Because of the Labor Day holiday, this week's column only covers homicides from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4. Any murders over the weekend will be addressed online at citypaper.com/news/murderink.asp. (The last two homicides in this column were added after we went to press. The numbers of murders for the week and the year have been updated as well.)

Tuesday, Sept. 1 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 4
Murders this Year: 148

Tuesday, Aug. 25

2:12 p.m. In the middle of the afternoon, Nolan Evans, a 40-year-old African-American man, was shot repeatedly in the 3400 block of Garrison Boulevard in Northwest Baltimore. He died at an area hospital at 2:36 p.m. [MORE]

Murders this Week: 4
Murders this Year: 144

The death of Gerrod Finch, a 21-year-old African-American man, has been returned to the homicide tally. According to charging documents, Finch was in a car in the 600 block of Wheeler Avenue with his girlfriend Tanaya Salter, a 21-year-old African-American woman. They were going to pick up Salter's son nearby. While in the car, Finch was stabbed in chest. He got out of the car, but collapsed on the corner and died. Salter originally told police that Finch was assaulted by a group of people while she was not in the car, but according to police her account was inconsistent with witness reports. Salter then said that Finch was assaulting her in the car and that she stabbed him in self-defense. According to charging documents, however, it was determined that Salter "had opportunity to exit the vehicle if she was in fear for her safety." On Aug. 17, she was arrested and charged with Finch's murder.

Thursday, Aug. 20 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 2
Murders this Year: 139

As of Monday, Aug. 17, the city's homicide rate was the same as it was as on this date in 2008.

Monday, Aug. 10 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 1
Murders this Year: 137

After several bloody weeks, Baltimore had a six-day respite from homicides. This is only the third time this year that six or more days have passed without a murder in Baltimore. The city's homicide tally is now three higher than it was at this time last year, but it remains substantially higher, per capita, than the murder rate in neighboring cities. For instance, if Baltimore had Washington's homicide rate, there would have been 91 homicides so far this year. If it had Philadelphia's homicide rate, 80 people would have been murdered. If Baltimore had New York's homicide rate, the city would have 21 homicide victims as of Aug. 10.

Sunday, Aug. 9 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 6
Murders this Year: 136

Friday, July 31

12:35 a.m. Police found Lamont Woodard, a 39-year-old African-American man, lying on the ground in the 500 block of East Lynn Avenue in Southwest Baltimore. A crowd had gathered around Woodard, who had been shot in the head. He died at an area hospital a half hour later. [MORE]

Murders This Week: 5
Murders This Year: 130

In all, 18 people were shot on the night of July 26 in Baltimore City; 16 of those shootings happened in East Baltimore; 12 people, including a 2-year-old, were shot at a barbecue in the 2600 block of Ashland Avenue. The barbecue was in memory of Donell Rogers, a 21-year-old African-American man. Rogers was shot to death along with Quinton Hogan, a 23-year-old African-American man, on July 25, 2008. The two men believed to have killed Hogan and Rogers were murdered that year as well. According to police, the shooting at the barbecue stemmed from a feud between drug-dealing organizations.

Thursday, July 23 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 6
Murders this Year: 125

The death of Gerrod Finch, a 21-year-old African-American man, has been removed from the Baltimore City Police homicide tally. Finch was stabbed to death by his girlfriend, who he was allegedly assaulting at the time.

Monday, July 13 [MORE]

Murders this Week: 3

Murders this Year: 120

The official homicide tally of Baltimore City Police Department is 119. This column has recorded 120 murders so far this year. As of press time, police have failed to explain the discrepancy.

Wednesday, July 8 [MORE]