Police Beat for July 28

A pizza delivery driver was passing the home in the 500 block of Duvall Lane around 2 p.m. when he saw smoke coming from the roof.

It took 28 firefighters a half-hour to get the fire under control.

Investigators determined the fire began in the front of the home, near a bedroom. They believe the blaze was accidental.

The fire caused $20,000 in damages to the home and its contents. Firefighters said the home, located just south of Annapolis, was unoccupied at the time of the blaze. No injuries were reported. 

ANNAPOLIS AREA

Man stabbed

An Edgewater man was stabbed in the back and roughed up on Forest Drive early Monday morning.

Police say the man was found walking down Forest Drive near Tyler Avenue around 12:30 a.m. with a stab wound in his lower back and large bruises on either side of his face.

The 43-year-old victim, apparently intoxicated, at first told police he was jumped at the Ebb Tide bar on Bay Ridge Avenue and robbed of $300 in cash. He then changed his story to say he was accosted by four young men at Forest Hills Apartments.

He was taken to the hospital, where he became agitated and uncooperative, police said. He had to be restrained and sedated before being treated and released, police said.

An Ebb Tide employee, who had notified police the victim was wandering down Forest Drive, told police the man had been thrown out of the bar around 11:30 p.m. for being intoxicated and bothering patrons.

Vandalism at school

A church vehicle parked at the Annapolis Area Christian School was vandalized last weekend, county police said.

David Jimenez, pastor of the Bethany Christian Center, told police his church uses Annapolis Area Christian School at 716 Bestgate Road for its services.

He called police after discovering the break-in of one of the church's trucks outside the school around 7 a.m. Sunday.

Police said someone broke all the windows of the church's white 1990 Ford box truck and removed several items. The items were strewn in the parking lot and the truck was circled with a roll of black duct tape.

The vandals also tried to start a small fire in the gravel parking lot with an unknown accelerant, but were unsuccessful, police said.

Three picnic tables, worth $200 apiece, were damaged and completely disassembled.

Police believe the vandalism happened between 9:30 p.m. Friday and 6:50 a.m. Sunday.

Saw severs fingers

A man lost two fingers in a sawing mishap in the Annapolis Roads community yesterday morning, county Fire Department officials said.

The 51-year-old man was injured while working in the 1000 block of Paca Lane just after 10 a.m., said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county Fire Department spokesman.

Crews called for a helicopter, but canceled the call and took him by ambulance to the Curtis Memorial Hand Center in Baltimore with critical injuries.

SOUTH COUNTY

Woman injured

A woman was seriously injured yesterday when she crashed her car into a parked vehicle in Edgewater, county Fire Department officials said.

The 31-year-old woman was driving on Central Avenue at Camp Letts Road at about 5:45 p.m. when she struck a parked car. She suffered serious injuries and was flown to the trauma center at Prince George's Hospital Center.

KENT ISLAND

Fugitive nabbed

The Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office arrested a Georgia man Friday who was wanted on numerous child molestation charges.

Robert Allen Miller, 45, of Warner Robins, Ga., had failed to appear in Houston County, Ga., court on charges stemming from a 2006 arrest, officials said.

The sheriff's office received a tip that Miller was working a construction job off Bayside Drive in Stevensville. They verified the warrant and took Miller into custody without incident.

A bench warrant was issued for him July 12 in Georgia.

Capt. Jerry Stewart of the Houston County Sheriff's Department said Miller had originally been arrested in April 2006. Current charges include one count of aggravated sexual battery, one count of solicitation for sodomy and four counts of child molestation, officials said.

Stewart said he believed all charges stemmed from the same related incident or circumstance.

Miller is being held without bond pending extradition to Georgia.

MILLERSVILLE

Shed burgled

Someone broke into a shed in Millersville last week and stole $16,400 worth of stored items, county police said.

A 47-year-old sales representative from Millersville discovered a break-in at his father's shed in the 400 block of Old Mill Road around 6:30 p.m. Thursday. He said he was house-sitting the home while his father was away.

Multiple items were stolen from the shed, including a Honda generator, Echo generator, a Poulin riding lawn mower, two 2003 Yamaha all-terrain vehicles, a 2003 Honda ATV and three sets of golf clubs.

He said he last saw the items July 20.

WEST COUNTY

Fire damages house

A smoldering cigarette sparked a house fire Monday night, county Fire Department officials said.

Firefighters were called to the 2200 block of Four Seasons Drive around 10:40 p.m. and found smoke inside a split-level, single-family home, said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county Fire Department spokesman.

It took 30 firefighters about 20 minutes to get the blaze under control.

A cigarette that had been flicked into a mulch bed in front of the home caused the fire, officials said. The cigarette smoldered, and then sparked a small blaze that traveled through the siding and entered a space between the garage and house, Fennell said.

Smoke and water damages are estimated at $20,000.

Two adults and two children were inside the home when the blaze ignited. They smelled smoke and found the blaze just before smoke detectors sounded. They escaped without injury.

Man, woman robbed

Two masked men robbed a man and woman while they sat on a patio in Severn early Sunday morning, county police said.

The 20-year-old man and 22-year-old woman were seated on a patio at a home in the 1700 block of Carriage Court just before 1 a.m. when two men walked out from the side of the townhouses. The robbers pointed handguns at the pair and took their property and keys.

One of the robbers then entered the home through the front door and was last seen leaving the home through the rear patio door. Both suspects then ran away.

Police searched the area, but could not find them.

Both men are black, in their late teens, and were wearing all black clothing. One of the robbers wore a red bandana around his face, and the other covered his face with a black and white bandana.

Scam foiled

A scam artist struck out last week when he or she sent a phony check to a Severn woman who works as a certified public accountant, county police said.

The 50-year-old woman had advertised a piece of furniture on Craigslist for $400. On July 19 she received an e-mail from someone claiming to want to buy it.

The person sent her a check for $2,500 through FedEx on July 21. A note was included which instructed the woman to deposit the check and send the extra money back through Western Union.

The woman told police she is familiar with this type of check and scam.

PASADENA

Tampering arrests

Three people were charged with tampering with vehicles in a Pasadena community early Saturday morning, county police said.

Police were called to Elizabeth Landing around 5:20 a.m. for reports of two men and a woman tampering with parked vehicles. Officers found the trio on Marblehead Way and a witness identified them.

Police said the suspects were in possession of stolen property, and other items snatched from cars were found nearby, including Apple iPods.

Corey Sawyer, 19, of the 200 block of Meadow Road in Pasadena, Eric Douglas Markley, 18, of the 8000 block of Rugby Road in Pasadena, and Brittany Marie Kelly, 21, of the 8000 block of Arbutus Road in Pasadena, were each charged with theft and tampering with motor vehicles, police said.

NORTH COUNTY

Pedestrian robbed

A man was robbed while walking in Glen Burnie on Friday night, county police said.

The 32-year-old man was walking on a footpath in the 6900 block of Glen Ridge Circle around 10:25 p.m. when another man walked up to him and pointed a handgun at him. The robber then removed cash from the man's pockets.

The robber then ran toward Wellham Avenue. Police searched, but could not find him.

He is black, in his 20s, about 6 feet tall with a thin build. He was wearing a black bandana, a black baseball hat, dark tank top and dark pants.

Teens rob motorist

A man was robbed at gunpoint by a group of teens in Brooklyn Park on Saturday, county police said.

The 25-year-old resident of Glen Burnie told police he was parked at the 10th Avenue Park just after 6 p.m. when a dark-colored sport utility vehicle, possibly a Honda CRV, pulled behind him.

He said two young men exited the vehicle and got into his car. One of the men displayed a handgun and both forcefully removed cash from his pockets.

A teenage girl and another teen stayed inside the SUV while the robbery took place. After taking the money, the robbers got back into the SUV and drove toward Ritchie Highway.

One suspect is black, in his late teens, with an average build, faded haircut and tattoo of a heart on the right side of his face. He was wearing a black tank top and jean shorts, and was armed with a handgun.

The second robber is black, in his late teens, with an average build and dreadlocks. He was wearing a burgundy shirt and tan shorts.

The third suspect is white and in his late teens. The female suspect is black, in her late teens, and was wearing a floral-print dress.

Uniforms snatched

Prince George's County Police Department uniforms were among $2,200 worth of items stolen from a Glen Burnie storage unit last weekend, county police said.

A 26-year-old Prince George's County police officer, who lives in Glen Burnie, discovered the break-in at his Public Storage unit, at 7130 Furnace Branch Road, around noon Sunday.

He last locked up the unit after getting out his mountain bike around 4 p.m. July 21.

When he returned Sunday, he noticed the lock was pried off and the unit was ransacked.

Several items were stolen from the unit, including $500 worth of police uniforms, a Pioneer stereo receiver, a Pioneer compact disc player, two Harman and Kardon speakers, a Viewsonic flat-screen computer monitor, two Whelen lights, a leather duty belt, a Polaroid portable DVD player and a subwoofer.

Funny money

A man tried to use faux cash at a Glen Burnie liquor store Thursday, county police said.

Four men walked into Clauss' Liquors at 604 Crain Highway around 5:20 p.m. and picked out several items. Police said one of the men went to the register and tried to pay for the items with a $100 bill.

The clerk checked the bill with a counterfeit marker and discovered it was a fake. The man picked up his phony cash and left the store

Police said a woman passed a fake $100 bill at the same liquor store the night before.

Cars vandalized

More than two dozen parked cars were vandalized with spray paint in a Glen Burnie community early Thursday morning, county police said.

At least 26 people awoke to find black and white spray paint on the windows and doors of their vehicles, which were parked along Covington Avenue and Parke West Drive in the Parke West community.

Police said officers were called to the community around 3 a.m. after a witness reported seeing a teenage boy and girl spray-painting vehicles.

The teens were gone when officers arrived.