Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski released the following statement in response to public conversations regarding recent public safety incidents at White Marsh Mall:
“Every person deserves to feel safe in their community. Chief Sheridan and I are actively discussing additional measures to engage residents and address concerns about crime. To that end, I will be talking with mall leadership and will ask them to develop a clear and specific policy on unsupervised youth. As we work to keep our communities safe, we will not point fingers but instead work in collaboration with our partners in the Baltimore region to address public safety concerns.”
Year: 2019
Police Officer Assaulted at The Avenue in White Marsh
Baltimore County Police responded to The Avenue at White Marsh located in the 8100-block of Honeygo Boulevard in Nottingham on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 9 p.m. for a group of disorderly juveniles coming from White Marsh Mall.
As a result, one male juvenile was charged with destruction of property and disorderly conduct in the 7900-block of Honeygo Boulevard, two juvenile females were charged with assault which involved an officer, and an additional assault continues to be investigated. The officer involved did not suffer any injuries.
Police do not have any further information at this time.
Councilman David Marks, R-5, has been critical of the management of White Marsh Mall for not adopting a youth escort policy and said he is sad to see some of thire problems spilling over to the Avenue.
“Councilwoman [Cathy] Bevins, D-6, sponsored a resolution that I supported urging the mall to adopt a youth escort policy. The mall is owned by the same company that operates Towson Town Center, where a youth escort policy has been effective. Towson Town Center actually made the policy tougher during the week between Christmas and New Years. Why White Marsh Mall is ignored is inexplicable to me,” Mark said.
“Federal Realty owns the Avenue and the Giant across the street. Federal Realty has been very proactive, but the mall’s problems are affecting other properties.”
Police Investigating Domestic-Related Homicide in Essex
Baltimore County Police were called to the 100-block of Bennett Road, Essex for a disturbance involving a gun at 8 p.m. on Dec. 30.
Homicide detectives were able to determine the following details. Joseph William Principio, 62, of the 7600-block of Holly Ridge Drive in Glen Burnie, came to his ex-girlfriend’s residence on Bennett Road, while she and her current boyfriend were inside the house. Principio forced his way inside the home when his ex-girlfriend answered the door. Principio, armed with a handgun, began to assault the current boyfriend once inside the house. During an altercation between Principio and the current boyfriend, the current boyfriend was able to hold Principio down until police arrived.
Joseph Principio was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased. Due to injuries to his upper body and arms, the current boyfriend was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He is expected to survive his injuries.
The handgun was recovered by responding officers. None of the individuals suffered any injuries from gunfire, it is believed that the weapon was not fired during the altercation. Detectives will continue their investigation and await the autopsy to be performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. No criminal charges have been filed at this time.