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Criminal justice

    With deteriorating fences, Maryland’s aging prisons struggle to secure their perimeters
    Maintaining Maryland’s prison fences is estimated to cost the state $34 million every two years for the next 30 years.
    Barbed wire is seen outside the Maryland Correctional Institution in Hagerstown on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024.
    Record number of people with mental illness languishing in Maryland jails waiting for hospital beds
    Never before had more people accused of crimes in Maryland, but deemed too mentally ill to participate in their own cases, been left languishing in jail than in February.
    The Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, Md. is seen on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.
    New interim U.S. Attorney for Maryland selected
    Kelly O. Hayes has been the chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s southern district office in Greenbelt since 2021.
    Kelly O. Hayes has been named interim U.S. Attorney for Maryland.
    Middle River mom ruled incompetent to stand trial in killing of 11-year-old daughter
    Keyona Dillon, 34, of Middle River, is charged with first-degree murder and related offenses in the killing of her daughter, London Olsen.
    A memorial can be seen on a fence during the vigil held for 11-year-old London Olsen, in Essex, Tuesday, January 28, 2025.
    White immigrants express few worries despite Trump crackdown
    While immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Asia have expressed anxiety, fear and uncertainty — regardless of citizenship, white immigrants say their experience has been very different during the current Donald Trump administration.
    Timur Karimkulov, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Russia.
    Man sentenced to 7 years for secretly filming, stealing intimate photos and videos from 37 women
    A Howard County court sentenced Delano G. Draine, 44, to 24 years in prison with all but seven years suspended after he pleaded guilty to secretly recording and stealing intimate media from 37 women.
    The Mall in Columbia shopping mall on Thursday, February 27, 2025.
    Maryland prisons are awash in handmade weapons. Contraband recoveries more than tripled.
    The state corrections department recorded a discovery rate for weapons in its facilities at about 13 per 100 prisoners and detainees.
    Maryland’s prisons and the state-run Baltimore jail system have seen a 375% increase in recovered contraband weapons over the previous fiscal year.
    Howard County Police roll out safety plan after recent shootings in Columbia mall area
    Howard County officials have announced a number of safety measures after recent fatal shootings in and near The Mall of Columbia.
    Gregory Der, Howard County Police Chief, holds up a photo of a suspect wanted in the 2024 Columbia Mall shooting during a press conference where he discusses recent crime on February 27, 2025.
    Potential Medicaid cuts loom over partnership linking incarcerated people with health care
    People leaving Maryland prisons and state-run Baltimore jails often do so with complex medical needs, ranging from substance use disorder, to hypertension and diabetes.
    Jessica Delgado, left, and Kezia Tate of HealthCare Access Maryland's enrollment team meet with an incarcerated person about their health care coverage during a community resource fair held in December at a state-run youth detention center.
    In new statement, Justin Tucker denies allegations — and says ‘I am sorry’
    Ravens kicker Justin Tucker once again denied allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior from multiple massage therapists in the Baltimore area. For the first time, he has also issued an apology.
    Adnan Syed waits to learn his fate in his fight for freedom after high-stakes hearing
    Baltimore Circuit Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer said she will issue a written opinion on Syed’s motion for a reduction of his sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act.
    Adnan Syed, center, arrives at the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse on Wednesday for a hearing to reduce his murder sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act.
    Judge declares mistrial in Annapolis mass shooting case due to ‘several transgressions’
    A judge declared a mistrial on Wednesday in the case of an Annapolis man charged in what authorities say was a hate-driven shooting that killed three men and injured three others in 2023.
    Anne Arundel Circuit Judge J. Michael Wachs on Wednesday declared a mistrial in the case, saying he was not making the decision lightly.
    Undocumented trans woman from Maryland granted bond in Miami after ICE arrest
    The White House posted a picture of her on its X account in February as an example of alleged crimes committed by immigrants.
    April Amaya-Luis, left, and her husband Tyler Schelts.
    ‘Real Housewives of Potomac’ star Karen Huger sentenced to serve 1 year in jail
    Karen Huger, star of “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” was sentenced to two years in jail, with one year suspended, in her DUI case.
    LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 25:  Karen Huger attends the BET Awards 2023 at Microsoft Theater on June 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET)
    Baltimore state’s attorney abandons motion to throw out Adnan Syed’s conviction
    With the move, Ivan Bates breaks from the previous administration of Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, whose office asked a judge to vacate Syed’s conviction.
    Baltimore State’s Attorney Ivan Bates said on Tuesday he will not ask a judge to throw out the conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the podcast "Serial" whose case in 2014 received worldwide attention.
    Some charges dropped for Amazon driver who ran over woman in Baltimore
    Some of the charges were dropped against the driver of an Amazon van accused of running over a woman.
    The intersection of E. Pratt and S. Chester streets, where an Amazon driver ran over a woman in the Butchers Hill neighborhood and fled on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
    Man arrested after his grandparents killed in Columbia domestic shooting
    Police identified DiAngelo Smith, 33, as the suspect in the domestic killing of two people in Columbia.
    Police said the investigation is ongoing, but they believe the suspect lived in the home with the two victims, his grandparents.
    Judge denies bail for suspect in fatal shooting near Columbia mall
    According to charging documents, the arrested suspect was on court ordered GPS monitoring at the time of the shooting.
    Arrest made in fatal Columbia double shooting; teen victim identified
    Police arrested an 18-year-old in connection with Saturday’s double shooting in Columbia.
    A still from a livestream by Howard County Police as Chief Gregory Der updated the media on Saturday, Feb. 23, 2025, about a double shooting that left one teen dead and another in critical condition.
    Maryland police mourn former Ocean City officers killed in Pennsylvania, Virginia shootings
    Two officers killed in separate incidents in Virginia Beach and Pennsylvania over the weekend started their careers with the Ocean City Police Department.
    Officers Andrew Duarte, left, and Cameron Girvin started their careers with the Ocean City Police Department. Both were killed in unrelated incidents in York County, Pa., and Virginia Beach, Va., respectively.
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