Police Say Homicides Up 16% Over 2018
Police officials in Baltimore released statistics earlier this month, comparing the number of homicides in the city over the first half of the year with each of the prior two years. According to the data, 171 murders had been reported in 2019, compared with 147 a year ago. The report also indicated a significant increase in the number of non-fatal shootings and attempted murders, up 28 percent over the last 12 months. As further evidence of the serious problem the city faces, Fraternal Order of Police representatives say the bloodshed has only intensified in the last two weeks, with 11 homicides in just 14 days.
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Attorney Smith has been listed among the top 100 lawyers in Maryland by Super Lawyers, and was honored as a Top Rated Lawyer by The American Lawyer Magazine in 2012. He has maintained an AV rating (the highest rating possible) under Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Rating System every year since 1988 and has also been the recipient of Martindale-Hubbell’s Client Distinction Award, an honor bestowed upon less than 4% of all attorneys listed there. The American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys has identified him as one of the “10 Best Attorneys in the State of Maryland in Client Satisfaction.” He’s a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, awarded to less than 1% of all American lawyers who have obtained million dollar judgments, awards or settlements. The National Trial Lawyers Association, a “by invitation only” professional organization, counts him among the top 100 attorneys in Maryland. Attorney Smith also has a 10.0 (Superb rating) as a litigation attorney from AVVO and has received the Client’s Choice Award from AVVO, with an average client review of 5 stars.
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After an 8 day trial, a Baltimore jury has convicted a 17-year-old in the death of police officer Amy Caprio. Caprio, 29, was killed a year ago after she stopped a suspicious looking Jeep in Perry Hall. According to testimony, she blocked the path of the Jeep with her squad car and got out of the vehicle. The defendant then accelerated the Jeep and ran her over. The entire incident was captured by Caprio’s body camera, which showed the defendant ducking down and hitting the gas. Caprio fired once at the windshield before the vehicle hit her.
Police in Jefferson County, West Virginia have arrested and charged a man from Frederick, Maryland with the slaying of a 24-year-old Virginia resident. The 43-year-suspect was formally charged on Monday, May 13, in the death of Devon Wallace, of Alexandria. According to reports, the homicide occurred in Frederick, but the body was taken to West Virginia, where it was found in a field on Thursday, May 2. Police have yet to establish a motive, but say the victim died of blunt-force trauma to the head. The 
Law enforcement officers in Anne Arundel County apprehended a 32-year-old Middle River man on New Year’s Day after he unsuccessfully tried to car-jack a vehicle in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Glen Burnie. An employee of the convenience store told officers that the man had just robbed the store at gunpoint. Witnesses say the man left the 7-Eleven and stopped a motorist in the parking lot, threatening to shoot him if he didn’t give him a ride. The motorist refused and the suspect fled. Officers caught him nearby.
A 17-year-old male was slain shortly after 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve near the 4500 block of Green Rose Lane, bringing Baltimore’s homicide total for 2018 to 309. Though that’s a drop from 2017, when 343 were killed, it’s the fourth year in a row that the number of violent deaths has exceeded 300. Police say they were called to investigate a reported shooting and found the teen, who died on the scene.
