Thursday, May 16, 2013
Authorities are seeking to identify two masked men who held up All Saints Liquors at gunpoint May 4.
Howard County police are offering a reward for help in identifying two men who robbed a North Laurel liquor store. On May 4 just after 11 p.m., two employees were closing up shop at All Saints Liquors (9105 All Saints Rd.) when two masked men showed up with a handgun and demanded that the employees lay on the floor, according to police. One of the robbers hit an employee in the head with the gun, police said. The robbers then took all of the money from the store's registers and from a lock box. Police do not know how much money was stolen. The first suspect is described as a 6-foot-tall, skinny black man. He was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, gloves, a white ski mask, black pants, and Air Jordan sneakers. Police said he had a gun. The …
Monday, April 15, 2013
No injuries were reported in the blaze, which is under investigation.
Flames ripped through an abandoned house and surrounding brush in North Laurel Sunday evening, fire officials said. The blaze, situated in the 9000 block of Whiskey Bottom Road, was called in around 9:30 p.m. as a brush fire, according to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. Units arrived to find an abandoned house "fully engulfed" in flames plus several additional brush fires, authorities said. It took firefighters from Howard, Prince George's, and Anne Arundel counties about an hour to bring the blaze under control, according to the HCDFRS. An ATV and several 4x4 trucks were used to put out the brush fires. No injuries were reported in the incident. Howard County fire investigators are still working to determine the …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Three people were charged with driving under the influence, police said.
Authorities say five drivers were arrested late Saturday and early Sunday at a sobriety checkpoint on U.S. Route 1 in North Laurel. According to Howard County police, three people were charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, one for driving without a license, and one for driving on a suspended license. A total of 537 vehicles reportedly passed through the checkpoint, situated near Davis Avenue and staffed by members of the HCPD and Maryland State Police. Drivers were given an informational handout with DUI information, police said, and the Howard County chapter of Mothers against Drunk Driving provided assistance with the checkpoint. The operation was part of the Checkpoint Strikeforce Campaign and was funded in part by a …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Prosecutors said the victim managed to wrestle the gun away and fire a warning shot into the ground.
A North Laurel man pled guilty Tuesday to charges stemming from the carjacking of a local pastor's SUV, according to the Howard County State's Attorney's Office. James Holmead Johnson, 27, of the 9800 block of Robinson Blvd., admitted to attempted armed carjacking and use of a handgun in the commission of a violent crime, prosecutors said. According to a statement from the state's attorney's office, Johnston asked the pastor of the Action Worship Center (9805 Lyon Ave., North Laurel) for a ride on the rainy evening of Aug. 20, 2012. During the ride, prosecutors said Johnston brandished a .38 caliber revolver, demanded $300, and ordered the pastor out of his vehicle. As Johnston climbed into the driver's seat, the pastor "seized the …
Friday, February 22, 2013
The man will be able to complete his graduate MBA studies before completing his sentence.
A former Baltimore City police technician who pleaded guilty to growing over 140 marijuana plants in his North Laurel home was sentenced to 90 days in jail in Howard County Circuit Court on Thursday. Manoj P. Unni, 31, will be allowed to complete his graduate MBA studies and then begin his sentence on June 1, according to Wayne Kirwan, a spokesperson for the Howard County state's attorney's office. Unni was arrested in May 2012 after police officers found a large marijuana growing operation in his house while serving a search and seizure warrant. The prosecutor, Doug Nelsen, said Unni was not a typical first-time offender, who used calculated and sophisticated decision-making to violate Maryland's laws, according to Kirwan. Unni's defense…
The man will be able to complete his graduate MBA studies before completing his sentence.
A former Baltimore City police technician who pleaded guilty to growing over 140 marijuana plants in his North Laurel home was sentenced to 90 days in jail in Howard County Circuit Court on Thursday. Manoj P. Unni, 31, will be allowed to complete his graduate MBA studies and then begin his sentence on June 1, according to Wayne Kirwan, a spokesperson for the Howard County state's attorney's office. Unni was arrested in May 2012 after police officers found a large marijuana growing operation in his house while serving a search and seizure warrant. The prosecutor, Doug Nelsen, said Unni was not a typical first-time offender, who used calculated and sophisticated decision-making to violate Maryland's laws, according to Kirwan. Unni's defense …
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Median incomes range from $50,798 a year to $158,750.
The highest median income levels in the Laurel area are more than three times greater than the lowest, according to census tract data presented by the website Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks. Using figures from the American Community Survey, the site displays income and rent levels for the approximately 74,000 census tracts across the country. The Laurel area—the City of Laurel, South Laurel, West Laurel, North Laurel, and Maryland City—is contained by 22 such tracts. The highest median household income in the area—$158,750 a year—is that of 6068.05, one of five tracts comprising North Laurel. Roughly speaking, 6068.05 covers the area between Columbia Pike/U.S. Route 29 and I-95 north of Rocky Gorge Reservoir. At the last census, it was home to 4…
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Median rents nearby range from $857 a month to $1,620.
Curious how your rent compares to others in the Laurel area? The website Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks makes it easy to find out. Using data from the American Community Survey, the site displays median rent and income figures by census tract. The Laurel area—the City of Laurel, South Laurel, West Laurel, North Laurel, and Maryland City—is contained by 22 different tracts. The highest median monthly rent in the area—$1,620—can be found in tract 7405, which includes Russett and part of Maryland City. The lowest—$857—is in tract 8002.03, which covers West Laurel. (Note that the figures do not include owner-occupied homes.) The statewide middle range for Maryland—defined as the middle 20 percent of census tracts—runs from $877 to $1,072. Most …
Monday, September 24, 2012
Howard County Police restrain boy on school bus after alleged biting.
Howard County school officials are conducting an inquiry into the police handcuffing of a North Laurel autistic boy who reportedly bit several students on a school bus. The incident happened along a route near the intersection of Whiskey Bottom Road and All Saints Road on Wednesday, reports The Baltimore Sun. According to police, an 11-year old autistic boy, who does not speak and has limited social skills, escaped from his harness on the bus and began biting several students. The bus driver called 911 and when officers arrived they tried to restrain the boy. "An officer tried to restrain the boy and ultimately placed him in handcuffs for his own safety and the safety of the others on the bus," Sherry Llewellyn, a police spokeswoman, told …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Howard County students are learning about the poor and homeless right in their backyards, and helping the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Brian Hooks
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Howard County is ranked among the wealthiest counties in the nation, which is why it may surprise some residents to hear about homelessness and poverty in their own backyard. "Change Matters," a compaign organized by the Horizon Foundation, wants to dispel stereotypes about homeless people by educating students about poverty and how easily families can become destitute, even in the wealthiest of communities. Cathy Smith, coordinator of Change Matters, works with teachers to tailor grade-specific presentations and activities designed to show that lazy, uneducated people are not the only people who become homeless or become alcoholics and drug abusers. "As kids go through middle school and high school, they're going to be confronted with …
Colliemom
1:19 pm on Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Wish they would do more of these; great way to take impaired drivers (who are a risk to harm any/all of us) off the roads. Wish the court sentencing was a lot tougher, though; would be more of a deterrent if they did jail time/big fines/seized cars. more ›