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Police Make Arrest in September Dundalk Shooting

The Baltimore County Police Homicide Unit has made an arrest in the September shooting of a woman on Fairview Avenue in Dundalk.
Ricky Raheem Charles (29) of the 3600 block of Lyndale Avenue, 21213 is charged with the first degree murder of Melissa West on September 21 following what is believed to have been a road rage incident.
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Charles is held without bail pending a bail review hearing.

The woman shot and killed in Dundalk on Sept. 21 is identified as Melissa Lynn West (30) of the 500 block of Fairview Avenue, 21224.

Ravens Announce Parkville’s Payne as Coach of the Year

In the middle of their beat down of the New York Jets, the Baltimore Ravens announced at halftime of their game that Parkville High Football Coach Justin Payne was named as their High School Coach of the Year.

Payne coached the Parkville Knights to a 9-0 regular season after a 3-7 season in 2018. Parkville also won two playoff games before losing in the 4A state Quarterfinals last month.

According to the MPSSAA record book, Parkville had not won a playoff game in football until this year. They defeated Wheaton 49-0 and Einstein High 48-7 in the first two rounds before losing to Old Mill in the quarters 34-13.

Payne is a social studies teacher at Parkville.

Police Report a Shooting in Double Rock Park in Parkville

Baltimore County Police are investigating an overnight shooting in Double Rock Park after the victim walked into an area hospital for treatment.

Police were alerted to a victim suffering from a gunshot wound at the hospital around 3:17 a.m. on Dec. 11.

The victim advised the shooting occurred at Double Rock Park in the 8200 block of Glen Road, 21234.

Detectives from the Baltimore County Police Violent Crimes Unit are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 410-307-2020.

CCBC Essex Women’s Basketball Improve to 10-1

The No. 10 ranked Knights continued their domination this past weekend as they bested Potomac State 100-71 on Saturday and took down Community College of Beaver County yesterday 103-46, returning home for the first time in nearly one month.

CCBC Essex is now 10-1 overall and 2-0 in Region XX Division II play. Their next game is Thursday at Harford Community College (Bel Air, Md.) with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
Although the Knights downed Potomac State by 29 points, the game began slowly. Essex led by four after the first frame and had a 43-38 lead at halftime. Head coach Mike Seney’s team shot 35.7% (15-42) from the field in the first half.

Sophomore Mya Moye had 15 of her team-high 27 points in the first half on 5-of-10 shooting. The Knights outscored the Catamounts 24-12 in the third to increase their lead to 17, before slamming the door in the fourth. Moye also finished with seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Freshman Kobie Scott-Pearson had a nice day, finishing with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, four rebounds and three steals.

Freshman La’Mya Ford (Warrensville Heights) also had double-digit points with 12 (5-11), three rebounds and two steals.
While the Catamounts had a better shooting percentage over all (44.9% to 39.3%) and three-point percentage (42.1% to 25.5%), the Knights were able to turn 27 Potomac turnovers into 40 points. In addition, the Essex bench outscored Potomac’s 28-14 and the Knights dominated points in the paint 44-16.

Sunday Funday
The Knights yesterday hosted the other CCBC – Community College of Beaver County – and send the Titans back to Monaca, Pa. with a 103-46 loss. Essex again started slowly, but got things together in time to build a 49-22 halftime lead.
This game was a “live by the three, die by the three” sort of game for the Knights, as more than half of their shot attempts (51-of-92) came from behind the arc, a record for attempts by a Seney-coached team. Essex did hit 18 of those attempts (35.3%) in route to the 57-point victory.

Freshman Kendal Haggerty finished with a career-high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and went 4-for-6 on three-point attempts. She also had three steals and two boards. Sophomore Aislinn Flynn (Long Island Lutheran) led the Knights with a double-double on 15 points and 14 rebounds. The Towson University transfer also had six blocks, three steals and made 5-of-6 at the free throw line. Sophomores Kasey Gagan and Moye finished with 12 points and six assists apiece and combined to shot 8-for-23 from the field.

The Knights bench shined again, outscoring the Titans 52-0. Another huge difference maker was points of turnovers, which the Knights won 55-3.

Marks to Hold COP Town Hall Meeting on Thursday

Councilman looking to start eastern Perry Hall COP

Councilman David Marks announced that he is hosting a Citizens on Patrol (COP) Town Hall meeting to help create a eastern Perry Hall Citizens on Patrol. This meeting will take place this Thursday, Dec. 12 at 7 p.m. at Rosedale Federal Savings and Loan, 9616 Belair Road.

Many Perry Hall residents have complained about an increase in crime and Marks said it is best for the community to become proactive.

“While I don’t want to bash the City of Baltimore, I will state the obvious: the city’s failure to reduce its crime has had a profound impact on other jurisdictions. We live in a mobile society. Baltimore County must step up its support for regional crime-fighting, increase the number of active officers and support initiatives like neighborhood watch programs,” Mark said in a social media statement.

This is the third public safety Town Hall meeting in Perry Hall that Marks has hosted in the past three years. A meeting was held in November 2017 at the Perry Hall Library and another meeting was held at the St. Michael Lutheran Church in January to start the creation of the Seven Courts COP. Marks said he wants to use this meeting as a chance to start a COP in the eastern Perry Hall/Honeygo area.

“As a result of our Public Safety Town Hall in January, our office worked with local volunteers to create the Seven Courts -Citizens on Patrol in western Perry Hall,” Marks added about the meeting.

“That group is thriving, assisting the police in one of our most populated areas. Now, we would like to focus on Perry Hall east of Belair Road, including Honeygo. We will continue to support our COP units already doing great work in other parts the district.”

Man Arrested in Norwood Sexual Assault Case

Baltimore County Police have charged the suspect responsible for sexually assaulting a child on Dec. 2, 2019.

Royal Jamar Robert Quinn, 24, of the 3000-block of Wayne Avenue, 21207, has been charged with attempted kidnapping, second degree rape, third degree sex offense, robbery, false imprisonment, assault and theft.

Detectives from the Baltimore County Police Crimes Against Children Unit conducted an extensive investigation and were subsequently able to identify Quinn as the suspect.

Quinn is currently being held at the Baltimore County Department of Corrections on denied bail status.

Baltimore County Police Place Rape Charges Against Essex Officer

Officer Anthony Michael Westerman, 25, has been charged with two counts of second degree rape and three counts of second degree assault. Westerman has been employed by the Baltimore County Police Department since 2013. His most recent assignment was at the Essex Precinct.

This case was initiated when Baltimore County Police received information concerning the allegations. The Special Victims Unit conducted their investigation and ultimately pursued charges against Westerman.

According to Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt, “the allegations made in this case are reprehensible and are not representative of the values and ethics of the Baltimore County Police Department. As a result of a thorough investigation by the Baltimore County Police Department Criminal Investigations Bureau, the officer has been arrested and has been suspended without pay.”

Anthony Westerman is being held at the Baltimore County Department of Corrections on denied bail status.

Photos From the Avenue at White Marsh Holiday Parade

Oliver Beach Elementary School Drama Club

Perry Hall Grad and CCBC Essex Woman Star Dietrich Named All-American

The National Junior College Athletic Association announced it 2019 Division I Women’s Soccer All-America teams, with CCBC Essex’s and Perry Hall High graduate Kara Dietrich earning second team honors. She is the first Knights’ women’s soccer student-athlete since 2002 to earn the honor.

As a freshman, Dietrich helped lead the Knights to a 19-4 overall record and the team’s first trip to the national tournament in 24 years. She finished the season with 52 goals scored, second most in the nation.

Dietrich had 12 multi-goal games this year, including a career-high six on two occasions (September 21 vs. Hagerstown, October 1 vs. CCBC Catonsville).

She scored six goals in the Region XX Division I Tournament, helping the Knights to its first region title since 2012 and notched both goals in a 2-0 defeat of Sussex County in the NJCAA Northeast District semifinals.

The Knights also won its first conference title this season in 17 years.

Dietrich was voted NJCAA Women’s Soccer Division I Player of the Week (September 22-30) and Maryland Juco Women’s Soccer Player of the Month (September) this year.

Causey, Henn to serve as de facto chair, vice chair of BCPS school board

The BCPS Board of Education announced on Thursday night that Board Chair Kathleen Causey and Vice Chair Julie Henn will return back to their leadership positions. This was announced after there were multiple media reports that the Board was divided and could not get enough votes to elect a President and Vice President, thus Causey and Henn remain in their positions.

The Board originally met on Tuesday night and could not come to agreeable on the selection of a President and Vice President and the vote was pushed back to Thursday night with still no outcome.

No candidate for either office received the required majority of votes to be elected at the Board’s Dec. 5 meeting.
Under Maryland common law, if a chair or vice chair is not elected, the incumbent officer continues to hold the position. They are considered de facto (or hold over) office holders and remain only until such time as successors are duly elected, according to Board counsel Andrew Nussbaum.

Causey represents the 3rd District and is a Monkton resident. Henn is a member of the 5th District and a resident of Perry Hall.

The current school board was the first hybrid school board to be elected in 2018 by the seven Councilmanic districts in Baltimore County. The BCPS Board also consists of four at-large members, but is one member down with the passing of Roger Hayden in October. That vacancy will be filled next year.