Arundel Digest

Man shot after fight with 3 men

GLEN BURNIE - A 26-year-old man was shot early this morning after a fight with three other men, county police said.

Police were called to Willie Johnson Lane and Huff Court in the Freetown community at about 1:30 a.m. for the reported shooting outside.

The victim, from Crownsville, told police he had gotten into a fight with three men he didn't know. One pulled out a gun and shot him several times, then all three got into a car and drove off, police said.

Paramedics rushed the victim to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he was listed in serious condition.

One suspect was described as a black man, 19 to 20 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a muscular build and gold front teeth. Another was described as a black man, 19 to 20 years old, 6 feet tall with a heavy build, wearing a purple hat. The description of the third man was vague, police said.

Retrial halted in 9/11 fraud case

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal appeals court has halted the retrial of a former Navy commander from Severna Park accused of lying about injuries to defraud the Sept. 11 victims compensation fund of more than $300,000.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered a halt yesterday, reversing an earlier denial of a defense motion to stop the retrial.

In April, a jury acquitted Charles Coughlin of three mail fraud charges but hung on charges of theft of public money, filing a false claim and two additional counts of mail fraud. A retrial on the deadlocked charges began last month.

Coughlin's defense has argued that a Supreme Court ruling in June bars prosecutors from proceeding. The court held that an acquittal on some charges may protect defendants from retrial on related charges.

Road rage leads to stabbing, robbery

ODENTON - A man was stabbed and robbed after an altercation with another motorist on Route 32 earlier this week, police said.

Police were called to Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday after a patient there said he was attacked after attempting to take the Route 170 exit off Route 32 in Odenton.

As he tried to leave the highway, he was cut off by a motorist in a dark-colored car, he said. Both the victim and the driver of the other car pulled over at the exit. A man from the dark-colored car then got out, pulled out a knife, stabbed him and demanded money. The victim then gave him his wallet.

After the robber and another man in his car drove off, the victim then drove himself to the hospital.

Police said one suspect is black and about 18 years old. The other suspect is black and about 16 years old.

Bird strike forces plane back to BWI

LINTHICUM - A flight headed to Providence, R.I., returned safely to BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport earlier this week after a bird struck an engine, Southwest Airlines officials said.

The incident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday when a bird hit the engine of Flight 69, which was carrying 137 passengers, Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger said.

Eichinger said the plane landed safely back at BWI and there were no injuries.

- From staff and wire reports