2 Hotel Robberies

Two hotels in the Salisbury Area were robbed overnight... The Salisbury City Police Department responded to the Holiday Inn and to another hotel.

More to come...

Salisbury Crime Statistics

Here is the Crime Alert you've requested for today, December 11, 2009, which includes crime data for yesterday:

Breaking & Entering-5
Theft-11
Assault - 8

Tracy Sparpaglione - Conviction Overturned?

By WicBury Crapper Board Member "DasCrapper"...

An appellate court of Maryland recently overturned the conviction of former officer Tracy Sparpaglione, whom was arrested and prosecuted by the Wicomico County States Attorney office on several charges including sex offense charges, burglary and misconduct in office.

The balance of the charges were overturned and misconduct in office was originally upheld. This was recently overturned by the appellate court because the case had not proved or articulated in the charging documents a "malfeasance" in office.

So, Sbynews.com asked several questions of if this officer was to be reinstated or if there will be a civil case involved. Several persons commented that the States Attorney's office was responsible for the conviction being overturned and that others, such as the police department, should be held liable in his conviction.

Here's our take... Tracy was convicted on a charge which was overturned, not unlike many other persons who commit a crime for which they were arrested. There was more than enough probable cause to arrest Tracy which is all that a police officer or the state needs to charge someone with a crime, based on the witness testimony.

Further, Tracy violated departmental policy. It is clear that Tracy should have never returned to a residence that he had just arrested a suspect for and engage in a consensual sexual encounter with that person. To do so is plainly crazy and totally unethical on many different levels. The excuse that he needed to fill out an "arrest module" is absurd. A monkey could fill out the arrest module and the monkey could generalize the physical characteristics of the person, such as height and weight. So, clearly, Tracy should not be a police officer because his moral fiber, in our opinion, is totally flawed.

Someone also made the comment that many officers have had sex while on duty so why is this different. Frankly, cops shouldn't be engaging in sexual acts while on duty, even of on their break or "assignments". To do so is clearly a violation of the public trust. Having said that engaging in a sex act with your spouse or partner, although is still very unethical while working, is not engaging with a sex act on a girl that you just locked up therefore jeopardizing your job, the public trust, the criminal case in which you arrested her for, and making the entire department and all cops look stupid and silly.

Moreover, it is not the fault of the state's attorney's office in this matter. The state prosecutes cases that they feel are just and proper. It also loses cases many times but, that is not incumbent completely on the state. In this case, it is clear that the witness testimony was iffy at best and the court describes the witness are not entirely reliable (paraphrasing). Given the facts of the case the initial judge made a decision to convict on the charge of misconduct in office, even commenting on how disgusting it was.

Steven Seagal Lawman

His movies have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. He is an expert martial artist with a 7th-degree black belt in Aikido. He's considered to be in the same class of action hero as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, Steven Seagal isn't just an action hero in the movies. For almost 20 years, Seagal has been working as a fully commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana. In addition to going out on patrol, Seagal is an expert marksman who has worked with their SWAT team and has instructed Jefferson Parish officers in firearms and hand-to-hand combat.

• Check out the preview: http://www.aetv.com/steven-seagal-lawman/video?bcpid=46881070001&bclid=36527476001&bctid=39451855001
  
• Advanced screening of episode 1 on Nov 18th: http://www.aetv.com/steven-seagal-lawman/advance-screening/

Steven Seagal Lawman will allow fans to ride shotgun with Seagal as he and his hand-selected elite team of deputies respond to crimes in progress. Then, when Seagal goes off duty, the cameras will continue following him as he pursues his many ventures, including musical performances and philanthropic efforts in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans.

Series Premiere Wednesday December 2 10/9C

Police commissioner sent a letter promising to melt Snell’s badge “into a lump of metal.”

PHILADELPHIA – A former Philadelphia police officer convicted of robbing a drug dealer and participating in a home invasion was sentenced yesterday to 30 years in prison.

The rogue officer, Malik Snell, was denounced by the judge, prosecutors, and city officials. The police commissioner sent a letter promising to melt Snell’s badge “into a lump of metal.”

Snell, who spent four years in the Marines and then nearly eight as a Philadelphia officer, sobbed as he asked for a lesser sentence, but U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick said he was deliberately exceeding federal guidelines.

“It is very difficult for this court to work up any compassion for you,” Surrick said, noting that Snell had perjured himself “over and over again” and never explicitly acknowledged his crimes.

Snell was found guilty in June of conspiracy, attempted robbery, and a weapons charge, all stemming from a failed home invasion in Pottstown.

He was also convicted of stealing $40,000 in cash, hidden in a diaper bag, from Ricardo McKendrick Jr., a South Philadelphia drug kingpin. The incident occurred while Snell was in uniform. Surrick said he believed Snell had robbed other drug dealers.

Snell was discharged from the police force in 2008; the incidents occurred in 2007 while he was assigned to the 18th District in West Philadelphia. Two earlier trials had ended in hung juries.

Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey’s comment came in a written letter. He had been scheduled to appear in court to ask for “the harshest penalty possible,” but prosecutors said a flight delay and traffic jams prevented that.

“The badge he dishonored will be destroyed . . . melted into a lump of metal,” Ramsey wrote.

Ramsey noted that when an officer is killed in the line of duty, that badge number is “permanently retired . . . as a final honor to these fallen heroes.”

In Snell’s case, Ramsey said, he was “acting out of disgust.”

D.C. sniper set for execution

D.C. sniper set for execution
Execution set for D.C. sniper

The U.S. Supreme Court denied John Allen Muhammad's last-ditch effort to save his life. Now, one of the "Beltway snipers" whose sharpshooting spree killed 10 people in the Washington, D.C., area is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Tuesday.

His teenage partner in the 2002 wave of terror, Lee Boyd Malvo, laughed as he confessed gruesome details of the slayings.

Random victims were felled by single long-distance shots. A grocery store parking lot, lawns and a craft store all were targets. Four victims were shot doing this everyday task. A middle school student was shot.

False leads led to widespread fear of these vehicles.

Clues on an occult card baffled police, but more notes - along with a phone call from a priest - narrowed the search. This woman may have been a key target all along.

The two were caught, courtesy of an alert truck driver.

Muhammad had been a skilled Army sharpshooter, and victims were shot through an opening in the trunk of their Chevy Caprice.

Families received a $2.5 million settlement in a civil suit against this company. Some family members of victims plan to attend the execution.

Deleware Residents Showed Respect to All Law Enforcement...

During a memorial tribute to fallen police officer Chad Spicer, DSP reportedly did very well organizing personnel and the motorcade to the burial site.

One of our seven board members commented, "It was nice to see all law enforcement officers from the area getting together like this. It's too bad it has to be under this circumstance. If we stuck together in this type of brotherhood everyday, law enforcement would be a different animal."

Reportedly, a large funeral procession followed the service at a local church where citizens literally lined the streets with flags, signs, taking their hats off, and paying tribute to both the fallen officer and the officer's passing. Police officers saluted as Chad passed by and citizens shouted words of encouragement, holding American flags, as police officers followed the funeral procession. Citizens lined the streets for miles leading to the burial site.

There were thousands of officer's in attendance from departments as far as Los Angles and New Jersey, Washington DC, and more.

Maryland v. Kenneth Alvira - Murderer Convicted

Sentencing was held this morning in the case of State of Maryland v. Kenneth Alvira. Judge W. Newton Jackson imposed the following sentences:

1. First Degree Murder - Life Without Parole

2. Armed Carjacking - 30 Years Consecutive to Life Without Parole

3. Grand Theft - 15 Years DOC concurrent to the 30 Years consecutive to Life Without Parole.

Alvira is 16 years of age. Anitra's family was both pleased and relieved that the first case has been concluded.

Brittany Barkley's trial starts on September 28th, and sentencing for Brianna Brinkley's First Degree Murder Conviction is scheduled for October 23rd.

The WicBury Crapper would like to thank WBI and MSP Homicide for working together and who did a tremendous job in this case, as well as the Wicomico State's Attorney's Office and Davis Ruark for prosecuting this case. A special honor goes to lead investigator is TFC. Sabrina Metzger of WBI/MSP.

News Sells...

The Daily Times prostitutes itself again.

To the left you see our mascot "Hop-a-long Poopy" makes good use of the daily times at WicBury Crapper HQ.

We all know the extra ordinary loss of our fallen brother Chad Spicer and the impact it has had on the entire shore law enforcement community as well as the residents of the area. It is touching to see a community come together in order to mourn the loss of this hero with a badge.

However, lets all bear in mind that even though the story should get top and front page billing. The Daily Times is selling newspapers plain and simple. It's interesting how the Daily Slime publishes a plethora of negative articles about law enforcement officers whenever it can and "scandals" occurring with the Salisbury City Police Chief and a city council woman. But, isn't it also interesting how now they give front page billing to a fallen hero of police work.


Do you think this is because they all of a sudden care about police officers and those around them? Or how dangerous a police officer's job is? No.


It's to sell more newspapers. Again, while we of course mourn the loss of a brother in blue it's a shame that the Daily Slime uses whatever tactics it can to sell newspapers at the cost of our law enforcement officers that put their lives on the line every day.

Lets now move on to several comments posted by persons to the daily times articles to the effect that if a "regular" person was killed the police would not dedicate such an effort to finding the murder. You jackass, every person murdered deserves a proper and complete investigation to catch the murders. However, a law enforcement officer is societies outward arm of protection from itself. The badge is a symbol of society's trust and power in that individual to protect society from criminals. When the badge is assaulted or murdered, it is an assault against society itself and it's ability to provide protection from the criminal element.

So, kiss our asses you shitbirds. We poop on you.

Quit whining?

Some people think that cops are whiners that have everything but always want more. Some agencies have "more" than other agencies either due to their size, budget, or tax base.

For instance the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office earns considerably more than the Salisbury City Police Department. WCSO is on par with the state police for "pay parity" at lower ranks. However they do not currently have true pay parity are upper ranks. Both the state police and WCSO both have take home vehicles issued to them while the city police generally do not except for admin and CID. Both agencies state that the take home car are a deterrent. In actuality there is a lot of work performed off-duty by some officers.

Ocean City officers make considerably more due to their collective bargaining agreement which took about 12 years to get into place. However, it paid off by solidifying their pay and protection from administrative shenanigans.

But how much abuse from agencies and the public is worth the pay? In reality, police officers, regardless of which department they work for, do in fact risk their lives and safety daily to provide safety to the general public. They have to deal with crooked administrative tactics in order to "control" them, they have to deal with the slime of society, and they have to deal with the stress of the job daily. So, police are underpaid.

In speaking with personnel you will find that the vast majority of them gain more stress from their administrative and departments that from the public, risk to their safety, and the criminals. This was proven by our last several polls. So, do you think that cops are whiners?

Duran Moss Gets An Additional 10 Years

Duran Moss, who was recently convicted of a homicide in Salisbury, was recently sentenced to ten years exile federal court time for a handgun and drug violation when he as caught by Wicomico County Sheriff's Deputies. Excellent job to all persons involved, deputies at WCSD, the ATF, and the Wicomico County State's Attorney's Office.

Crime Statistics

Police Chief's Son Killed By Police After Murdering Ex-Girlfriend

By VINCE LATTANZIO, Philadelphia News

The son of a Chester police officer is a murderer says the Delaware County D.A. after the man used his father's duty pistol to shoot his ex-girlfriend Monday night. Investigators also believe he may be to blame for the deaths of his two children. Aaron Michael, 29, disregarded a protection of abuse order when he showed up at Andrea Arrington's Ridley Township door, Delco district attorney G. Michael Green said Tuesday. This was the second time Michael rebuked the order since it was filed against him on July 2.


As the two argued, Michael pulled the stolen 40-caliber semi-automatic pistol and shot Arrington up to 10 times in the chest, arms and legs, police said. He fled the scene to his home on the 100 block of W. 23rd Street in Chester, Pa. In the meantime, police and paramedics arrived to find Arrington lying on the sidewalk in front of her home along the 1500 block of Constitution Avenue. Though she was dying, the woman was conscious-enough to tell officers that Michael was the shooter, Green said.

Chester police responded to Michael's house, which he shares with his father -- a 15-year veteran of the Chester police force. The father was in Florida at the time of the incident. When officers announced themselves, Michael tried to flee from the back door of the home, but was met by an officer. The man raised his gun to the officer, who shot him in the chest, investigators said. He was transported to Crozer Chester Medical Center, but later died. Arrington was also taken to the same hospital and rushed into surgery, but succumbed to her injuries early Tuesday. Before police arrived at Michael's home, the man allegedly made two phone calls to friends admitting to killing his two young children years before.



Michael was the father to three children -- a 2-year old boy with Arrington and two others with different women. Alijah Townes, was four-months old, when he died two years ago Tuesday. His half brother Lamar Patrick, 4, died on September 29, 2005. In both cases, the medical examiners ruled that the cause of death was "undetermined," said Green. Their father was questioned in each case, but investigators did not find any evidence linking the man to the deaths. "[The mothers] were extremely suspicious of the circumstances that led to the death in each case," Green said. Prosecutors have reopened both cases in light of the new findings.
Arrington's mother Audra Thornton-Arrington was crushed by the murder. The 23-year old was about to earn her associates degree and was set to attend Temple University in the fall. "She was beautiful to me," said the mother. "She was a good girl…and wanted to be in television." A memorial is growing at the spot where Arrington was gunned down as family and friends grieve her loss. Autopsies will be performed on both the Michael and Arrington. Prosecutors also notified the mothers of the two deceased children about the investigation.

Hmmmm Boykin Speeding?!

Well it seems that our fav cop hating reporter Boykin Dyan Sharahn, age 37, has apparently had her own run ins with the law and breaking Maryland Traffic Laws. It seems that she was issued a citation for doing 73 in a 55 zone? Although dismissed in court, we also noticed that at the time of the stop she listed a camp springs address on her driver's license (as indicated by case search). Although she's been publishing negative stories about cops and the latest about a cop accident for several years. So, where is her change of address card? Hmmmm.

Boykin also apparently can't pay her bills as it seems that a utility company sued her and was awarded a judgement. So although this can happen to anyone, maybe if she publishes more sensational stories about cops, the Daily Slime will pay her more and she can pay off that pesky bill!

http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiryDetail.jis?caseId=000000FG53268&loc=8&detailLoc=DSTRAF

http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiryDetail.jis?caseId=050200186512003&loc=20&detailLoc=DSCIVIL

Sheriff Mike Lewis on Drug Interdiction

Delmar Police Search Warrant Arrest

Great work DelMar!

Incident: Search Warrant
Location: 12 E. Chestnut St., Delmar, MD Apt. B
July 2, 2009
Suspect/Arrested: Katelyn M. Briddell, W/F, Age 20, Delmar, MD

On July 2, 2009 at 6:15 AM officers of the Delmar Police Department executed a Search and Seizure Warrant for the premises located at 12 E. Chestnut St., Apt. B, Delmar, MD. Upon execution of warrant officer located quantities of suspected cocaine, and marijuana, along with paraphernalia and U.S. Currency. Katelyn Briddell along with a juvenile was located within the apartment at the time of service. Both individuals were arrested and charged.Charges: Katelyn BriddellPossession of Cocaine with Intent to DistributePossession of MarijuanaPossession of CocaineManufacturing a controlled Dangerous SubstanceMaintain a Common NuisanceJuvenile was charged with Possession of Marijuana

Clickit or Ticket vs. Smooth Operator?

Clickit or Ticket is a campain every year to issue seatbelt violators citations for not wearing their seatbelts. Smooth Operator is a campain targeting agressive driver violations. Do these have any effect? The Clickit or Ticket operation, in our estimation, is nothing more than an operation to earn money for the state. Moreover, the agencies participating in these programs see none of the funds collected by the state directly. Additionally, it seems that if we are in America, people who are free to make all types of poor decisions, are capible of making a decision whether to buckle up or not. Children should always be seatbelted of course. So, if a person who is riding single decides not to buckle their seatbelt and wants to play with the perverbial loaded gun, so be it.

Smooth Operator on the other hand is a good program because it targets agressive driving. Even though violations go to the state as well they carry points, unlike the clickit or ticket campaign which carries no violation points whatsoever. The Smooth Operator campaign at least provides enhanced protection to other driver's on the road by curtailing the threat posed by rouge drivers, driving like idiots. What are your thoughts?

REMEBERING ANITRA

Thursday, July 02, 2009

From Salisbury News....

REMEBERING ANITRA
I just wanted to update the readers on the trial set for one of the accused murderers of Anitra Pirkle who was carjacked, stabbed brutally multiple times and left to die on a 13 degree temperature night in a field in Delmar on 2/22/09. Kenneth Alvira is set to go to trial this coming Mon July 6th 7th and 8th in Salisbury Md at the District Court at 9 am.. The family would appreciate as many people at these trials as possible.We want justice for Anitra Pirkle.. A senseless act of violence that has shattered our lives..And for what? A car? money? What ? Why? Questions where no possible answer is acceptable .So now what? Is it business as usual? You murder someone..Turn eveyone's life upside down. You sit in jail for a few years where the hardworking taxpayers have to pay to house you and feed you... You can look at Tv and watch movies and work out in the gym and play basketball and exchange food for cigarettes and find God (right!!) and get your G.E.D and study law to learn how to trick the courts into releasing you back into the community. Its time to say enough is enough!! Who's next. This was a random act..It could have been you or me or one of your loved ones.A life taken too soon. She was a daughter, a sister, a niece, a coworker, a friend.. For those who knew Anitra loved her. She was a tiny person with big dreams,She was soft spoken and well mannered with a gentle spirit. Anitra had just graduated from college with a degree in Business. She was what the fiber of our community is made of. Hard working, generous to others, kind, thoughtful, loyal. responsible and a lover of life and all it had to offer.. We love and miss you Anitra and we seek justice for you.. Thank You

Editors Note: This crime was solved because of an almost instant tip to Crime Solvers.

Jeopardizing Judgements

Here at the Crapper we strive to write about the safety of our front line defense against crime. We can obviously see that crime is way out of hand right now and with all the armed robberies around town, the violence is just escalating. Many concerned citizens are asking themselves why? Why aren’t the police, the Sheriffs Deputy’s and State Troopers doing anything against this horrible injustice against the good, hard working people of the lower shore? Well here at the Crapper we have touched base with our network of inside people in and out of the criminal justice system in the lower three counties. Now at the Crapper, we have known for some time that the troops on the front line have been busting there ass to keep the streets free of crime. We also have had some insight on the ongoing, underlying problem that our society really faces. Well here is the cold hard truth people.

The problem isn’t at the front line; the problem lies within the court system. This system is failing horribly. The Judges in Wicomico County and Somerset County, from the research we have done, shows that a large marjority of the judges are complete morons. We now have a system in place were these judges are constantly letting repeat offenders back out into society. If these judges like, Judge Davis, Judge Whitehead, Judge Price, Judge Hayman actually get enough nerve to send someone to jail there suspending all the jail time and approving work details. A few of us at the Crapper have personally been victims of crimes and have sat through some of these proceedings while awaiting our own turns at prosecution. What a total disappointment! Here at the crapper we have heard the outrage voiced by Officers and victims alike. These “bad guys”, these criminals, have rap sheets that are as think as novels, yet these Judges give them these minuscule sentences and with good behavior are back on the streets before the ink has dried on their fingerprint cards.

What is going on with these Judges? Is this a joke to them, do they get brain washed in law school, or do they simply not care about the underprivileged and hard working people that strive to just get by. Is this because they’re too busy at their socials and luncheons. Are the Judges not worried about crime as they make their large salaries and sit back in their nice homes, in the nice part of town, with their security systems and alarms. We at the crapper think these Judges need to step up to the plate, punish people who constantly do wrong and make the point that we as a society aren’t going to tolerate this type of behavior. We need to strike fear into the criminals and have them know that if they break the law, there ARE going to be consequences.

As citizens we have to be concerned when we have judges who are letting DUI offenders go with a slap on the wrist after 3, 5, sometimes 10 and more convictions. We need to be concerned about people who are just given fines after numerous "driving while suspended" convictions. These people jeopardize our safety constantly with their poor decisions and habitual law breaking. They jeopardize our friends safety, our loved ones safety, and our families safety. Maybe the only way for one of these judges to realize the importance of punishment is for them to experience the pain of losing a loved one by a person who should have been incarcerated in the first place. Here at the Crapper we don’t wish anything bad on anyone, but simply want the community we live in to be a safer one. We just wish we could get these Judges on the same page as our front line troops who risk their lives day in and day out, for the better of all mankind; including the Judges who live in the communities they protect.

Letter From One of Joe Albero's Readers

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

What Do The Salisbury Police Do?
"Joe,I've read many of your postings regarding Chief Webster of the Salisbury Police Department and have had an unsettling experience with their detectives myself. My question today is, Why don't the police respond to a resident who is actively witnessing a drug transaction? A friend of mine is trying to rid themselves of drug activity, but when she calls the police, they do nothing. They act as if she is bothering them with the reported activity. I don't understand. Should I advise her to call Sheriff Lewis or do they only handle issues outside of city limits?Confused Citizen"

(Joe's Answer) Well Concerned Citizen, that's a good question. My only answer at this time is, Salisbury is in Wicomico County and you have every right to call the Sheriff's Department. I'd add, contact Davis Ruark as well. After all, he is in charge of all the Police Agencies in Wicomico County.

Our Response: Unfortunately, drugs and crime are obviously rampantly spinning out of control throughout our city and county. While the city police should respond to any 911 call, they must prioritize calls in order of importance. Witnessing a drug transaction, which is unfortunately an everyday occurrence, is not a priority call. Further, an anonymous call is not grounds for probable cause to search a suspect. It is RAS (Reasonable Articulable Suspicion) for stopping, identifying, and developing probable cause for a search. Further, within the city jurisdiction, they handle all city calls for service. The Sheriff's Office, although has concurrent jurisdiction with the city officers, don't routinely respond to calls for service within the city limits. In fact, the county sheriff's office stresses to it's personnel to handle enforcement actions within the county for the most part (this is no big secret as it has been the unofficial policy for years). The Salisbury Police do plenty. They respond to probably four times more calls for service than the county daily. The county has become exponentially busier however statistically, the city runs more calls for service within a months period than the county (and we mean actual calls for service). So, city cops work their butts off. Unfortunately, it's still not enough to curb the crime rate because very little is being done proactively either at the city or county levels. Davis Ruark is not in charge of any police department in actuality nor are they required to comply with his directives or requests on how to run their departments. He is the head "procurator" for the county. Therefore, if the police departments want convictions and prosecutions of their cases, it behoves them to listen to what Davis has to say.

Bear in mind, Davis Ruark is also an elected political official, just like Sheriff Mike Lewis. Ruark and Lewis bumped heads when Ruark was arrested for DUI and having a loaded firearm with him while operating a county vehicle. Lewis advised that he should step down (resign) and rightfully so. Yet he still runs an office that prosecutes DUI's on a routine basis. We do not support Davis Ruark for re-election.