A Baltimore City Public Schools teacher was arrested and charged on Monday with second-degree rape.
Detectives said they received information that 24-year-old Lewis Laury, who is a teacher with Baltimore City Public Schools, was having an inappropriate relationship with a minor.
In addition to being charged with second-degree rape, Laury has also been charged with sexual offense in the third degree.
Laury is currently being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and other officials on Monday cut the ribbon on two newly acquired hotels to aid the city’s efforts in combatting homelessness.
The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services said funds from the American Rescue Plan Act were used to purchase the Sleep Inn & Suites on North Front Street and the Holiday Inn Express on North Gay Street in downtown Baltimore. The purchase is part of the city’s response to the nationwide housing crisis and the rise in homelessness.
“Tackling the issue of homelessness and housing insecurity in Baltimore is going to require approaches that reflect the needs and experiences of our most vulnerable residents,” Scott said in a news release. “This purchase is a major step forward in increasing our ability to address homelessness, expand our efforts to provide a pathway to housing security, and utilize ARPA funding to make a major impact on our most complex challenges. I cannot thank everyone who has been part of this process enough for their hard work, dedication, and deep love for all Baltimoreans. Together, from the Biden-Harris Administration and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to our state partners and down to our local leaders and advocates, we will continue fighting to make a difference in the lives of residents who need it most.”
The Sleep Inn & Suites most recently was utilized to house families, couples, former encampment residents and individuals and families who have become displaced due to housefires. The Holiday Inn Express has been primarily utilized to house and provide male clients with individualized case management, mental health services, housing navigation, vital records resources, employment assistance and additional on-site services through TIME Organization.
The total cost was reported to be $15.2 million for the acquisition and $3.2 million for the management agreement for both hotels.
Gov. Wes Moore said in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” over the weekend that rebuilding the Key Bridge will likely cost close to $2 billion. Moore said the state needs federal money to get the project completed in a timely manner.
He is pushing for a 100% federal cost share, meaning the federal government would cover the entire cost.
“I need to get this done on time and on budget,” Moore said. “We know that in order to move fast, we’ve got to get that 100% cost share. So we are spending time working with- with members of both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans.”
The governor also spoke out on the Rachel Morin case, the 37-year-old mother found murdered last August in Harford County.
The Harford County sheriff called out the president and Congress for “failed immigration policies” when announcing that an immigrant living in the country illegally had been arrested for Morin’s death.
Moore said he agreed with the sheriff and said the nation has an immigration policy that needs to be dealt with.
“We have an immigration policy that needed to have been dealt with and was not,” Moore said. “And the consequences then fall on us as the chief executives of our state, the consequences fall on us as the leaders of our individualized jurisdictions. And– and we know that we have got to fix a broken immigration policy. And we know that we need Congress to act on this.”
He referenced President Biden’s executive order on immigration, saying he agrees with the action, but it is not going to be enough. Moore says Congress needs to be on the same page when it comes to stricter border policies.
Source: WBAL
Hunter Biden patted defense attorney Abbe Lowell on the left shoulder after the judge’s courtroom deputy read aloud the guilty verdict in his federal gun case. Hunter Biden hugged both of his attorneys and said thank you after the jurors left the courtroom. He smiled wanly at his relatives in the gallery and then hugged and kissed his wife before leaving the courtroom.
First lady Jill Biden arrived to the courthouse minutes after the jury delivered its verdict and wasn’t in the courtroom when it was read.
Hunter Biden left the courthouse holding hands with the first lady and his wife, Melissa. They did not speak to reporters, got into waiting SUVs and drove off.
Two speed cameras were activated on Monday in two Baltimore City school zones as part of the city’s Automated Traffic Violation Enforcement System.
The speed camera monitoring system consists of portable and fixed cameras that detect vehicles that exceed the posted speed limit by at least 12 miles per hour. Drivers exceeding the speed limit by 12 mph or more will be fined $40.
New speed camera locations include:
– 2200 block of Mount Royal Terrace – Dorothy I. Height Elementary School, The Mount Royal School
– 2100 block of W. Franklin Street – Mary Ann Winterling Elementary School, Franklin Square Elementary School
The cameras operate weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the year and when school is not in session. All speed camera zones are marked with signage.
Baltimore’s automated speed enforcement program is designed to promote safe driving by reducing driver speeds in school zones throughout the city.
The new camera installations come just 10 days after the state of Maryland issued an increased fine for speeding in work zones. Those fines doubled from $40 to $80.
A full list of speed cameras in Baltimore City can be found here.
Baltimore police arrested a 34-year-old man in April for the murder of his younger brother.
Officers said that Michael Conley fatally shot 27-year-old Devon Thomas in Cherry Hill, following a dispute on the morning of April 11 in the 3400 block of Spelman Road.
Conley was found and arrested the following day in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was taken into custody without incident.
Conley was extradited to Baltimore on Thursday where he was charged with first-degree murder. He is being held at the Central Booking Intake Facility with a no-bail status.
A jury on Thursday convicted a man with second-degree assault for hitting and dragging a Baltimore police officer with his car in 2022.
Joseph Black was charged with hitting Baltimore police Sgt. Kenneth Ramberg with his car in Rosedale during a traffic stop on June 29, 2022. Ramberg suffered broken bones and a traumatic brain injury as a result of the incident.
The jury found Black not guilty on both counts of attempted murder in December and a mistrial was declared for the four other counts, including assault and weapons charges.
Black will face up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced in August.
Former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby on Thursday filed an appeal of her federal convictions on both mortgage fraud and perjury. Mosby, 44, was convicted in May of lying about her finances to make early withdrawals from retirement funds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jurors in Mosby’s federal mortgage fraud trial returned a split verdict in February. Last month, Mosby was sentenced to 12 months of home confinement, 100 hours of community service and three years of supervised release.
Mosby has maintained her innocence.
A shooting at a bar in suburban Pittsburgh has left two people dead and seven others injured, police said Sunday.
Allegheny County Police Department’s homicide unit said it has responded to a request for help by Penn Hills Police Department after the early morning shooting at the Ballers Hookah Lounge and Cigar Bar in Penn Hills. First responders discovered the bodies of an adult male and adult female inside the bar around 3 a.m. Sunday. Seven additional victims were found. Some were transported from the scene and additional victims walked in to area hospitals, Allegheny County police said in a statement on social media.
One of the victims is in critical condition. The remaining victims all had injuries that were not life-threatening, the statement said.
Preliminary information shows “an altercation took place inside the bar and multiple individuals opened fire,” county police said.
The statement did not say whether any suspects were in custody.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the County Police Tip Line 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates made a bold prediction, suggesting the city’s homicide rate could drop below 200 this year.
Bates spoke at a budget hearing Thursday morning before the Baltimore City Council Ways and Means Committee, citing some encouraging numbers showing declines in violent crime and increases in prosecutions. Bates said the current pacing for homicide in 2024 is 181.
“One is too many, but to see now that the hard work is starting to pay off,” Bates said.
The last time Baltimore City recorded less than 200 homicides was in 2011. Bates credited partnerships, innovative violence reduction strategies and his office’s “get tough” approach to crime.
“We are the enforcers. We are the accountability. We are saying clearly, ‘If you are going to be a felon and you are carrying an illegal handgun,’ I said, ‘bring a toothbrush.’ That is not something I just said. It is something that we meant,” Bates said.
Bates supported his bold prediction with stats, saying from 2022 to 2023, his office took 390 violent offenders off the street, there were fewer repeat offenders because first-time offenders were sentenced to jail time, homicide convictions increased by 38%, and the transfer of firearm cases to federal officials increased by 26%.
