The Baltimore County Police Department is now accepting applications for its Community Crime Prevention and Youth Activity Grants Program for fiscal year 2019 (July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019).

• Community Crime Prevention grants are available for county Citizens On Patrol groups and other programs aimed at reducing crime.
• Youth Activity grants are available for programs that provide ongoing, sustained efforts that focus on early intervention and long-term behavior modification of at-risk youth.

Only non-profit groups, community organizations and individuals that operate or reside in Baltimore County are eligible to receive funding. An application packet that outlines program rules and requirements may be obtained by calling Sebastian Zito of the Police Department's Grants Management Team at 410-887-5637.

Completed applications must be received no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, December 8, 2017.

The Baltimore County Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the suspect responsible for a September 28 burglary in the Lutherville area.

Around 7:30 p.m. on September 28, an unknown suspect entered the Maryland Martial Arts studio in the 1800 block of York Road 21093 through an adjacent suite that was under construction. The suspect stole cash, blank checks and video cameras.

Pictures of the suspect were captured on video surveillance and are posted below. The suspect is described as a black male, 20 to 30 years old, with a full beard. He was wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt and dark pants.

Surveillance Photos of Burglary Suspect

This incident is under investigation by the Baltimore County Police Burglary Unit.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police at 410-307-2020 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

Callers to Metro Crime Stoppers

If your tip to the Metro Crime Stoppers hotline leads to the arrest and/or indictment of a suspect, for a felony crime, you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000 from Metro Crime Stoppers.

If you have information on the above crime/suspect please call, text, or e-mail: Metro Crime Stoppers hotline available 24-hours a day toll free.

Phone: 1-866-7LOCKUP

Text message: Text "MCS" plus your message to "CRIMES" (274637)

Web tip: http://www.metrocrimestoppers.org/

October is School Bus Safety Week. From October 16 to 20, public safety officials focus on the importance of laws and regulations designed to keep kids who ride buses safe.

The theme of this year’s campaign, #STOP ON RED! doesn’t suggest that drivers not only stop at stop signs, and red lights but also the red flashing lights on school buses. The law demands it.

Children getting on and off the bus depend on you to do the right thing. You must STOP at the flashing red lights and the extended stop arm. It is the law! Do not pull in front of the bus or pass the bus before the bus gives the go-ahead by turning off the lights and pulling back the arm.

Although motorists may be on the other side of the street from the bus, they must stop unless there is a physical barrier between the two lanes. Children will cross the street after getting off the bus. The same holds true when children are boarding buses. Children are not paying attention to motorists. They are worried about getting to and on the bus in time. It is the motorist’s responsibility to stop and yield to bus riders.

There are penalties for the drivers who disregard the law and put children at risk. Drivers who pass a school bus while the lights are flashing and the stop arm extended could receive a $570 fine and 3 points. For motorists who stop and proceed before the bus lights have stopped, the fine is $570 and 3 points. Drivers who fail to stop and cause an accident may face additional charges.

Observe School Bus Safety Week by stopping when bus lights are flashing and the stop arm is extended. Our children depend on us for their safety.

Baltimore County Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding a shooting in Windsor Mill early this morning.

Witnesses described an unknown hooded subject who approached a crowd of people on the parking lot in front of The Greek Village sub shop in the Milford Mill Shopping Center, 8059 Liberty Road, 21244 around 2 a.m. and began firing shots at the crowd. No one in the crowd was struck, but another adult male patron was unintentionally struck in the lower portion of his body. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment and is expected to survive his injuries. Detectives are still investigating to determine the circumstances and motive leading up to this shooting.

Anyone with information on this shooting or suspect is asked to contact police at 410-307-2020. The Baltimore County Police Violent Crimes Unit is investigating this incident. 

Anyone with information on this case can also submit a tip to Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP. For more information on other ways to contact Metro Crime Stoppers, as well as information on rewards offered by or through them, check their website at www.metrocrimestoppers.org. Metro Crime Stoppers, an organization that is separate from the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Government, offers rewards for information in connection with felony offenses. Anonymous tips can be sent to Metro Crime Stoppers by phone, text message, or online.

UPDATE (October 15, 2017 4:45 p.m.):

Timothy Maxwell has just been located safe and in good condition in the Towson area. Thank you to everyone who shared his information and called in tips in the effort to help us locate him quickly.

Original Release (October 14, 2017 8 p.m.):

Police continue to search the area around the Shoppers Food & Pharmacy in Pikesville for a missing autistic child.

Timothy Maxwell was last seen standing outside of the Shoppers at 2801 Smith Avenue around 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, waiting for a family member to check out. When they walked outside he was nowhere to be found.

Timothy Maxwell is 15-years-old but suffers from a cognitive disorder that may make him seem younger. He is approximately 5'2", 110 pounds, with short brown hair and brown eyes and braces on his teeth. He was last seen wearing a white shirt with an unidentified logo on it, blue jeans and blue shoes.

Timothy may be making his way back to his home in the 700 block of East Cold Spring Lane, 21212. Anyone who thinks they may have seen Timothy or has any information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020. 

A vehicle crashed into a house in Rosedale late last night, killing the driver.

Police were called to the scene in the 8500 block of Philadelphia Road around 11:35 p.m. The preliminary investigation into the crash indicates that the driver was traveling westbound on Philadelphia Road, passing other vehicles, when the driver lost control of his Hyundai Genesis 2H, leaving the roadway and striking a mailbox and fence post before colliding with the concrete foundation of a house. Baltimore County EMS responded to the scene and pronounced the driver dead at the scene.

The driver is identified as Gary Wayne Auberg, 3rd (28) of the 200 block of Middleway Road in Middle River, 21220.

Police believe speed may have been a factor in this fatal crash.

A 73-year-old man has died of injuries sustained in a Monday afternoon apartment fire in Cockeysville.

Theodis Pinchback lived at the apartment in the unit block of Athenry Court, 21093, where the two-alarm fire occurred just after 2 p.m. He was in critical condition when Baltimore County Fire Department EMS crews transported him to Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where he died a few hours later.

First-arriving fire crews from the Texas Fire Station were dispatched at 2:12 p.m. and found smoke showing and fire in the victim's second-floor apartment.

Firefighters forced entry into the apartment and found the victim in a bedroom.  They evacuated him from the building immediately, and EMS crews provided cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other treatment before transporting him to the hospital.

The victim's wife, 77, returned home shortly after the fire and was transported to a local hospital with non life-threatening medical issues.

Baltimore County Police fire investigators believe the fire was accidental and began in the kitchen.

Some 17 fire units responded to this fire.

Baltimore County Police are asking the public for assistance in identifying a burglar who attempted to enter an occupied home in the 1100 block of Arran Road in Towson just after midnight on Friday, October 6. 

The burglar was caught on the homeowner’s surveillance camera entering an exterior sunroom at 12:04 a.m., peeking through the sliding glass door into the kitchen where the resident was walking around.  At 12:06 a.m., the burglar can been seen in the video walking around the sunroom carrying what appears to be a handgun in his right hand, attempting to open the sliding glass door. He quickly leaves when he is spooked by the homeowner’s dog. The burglar left the yard for about 6 minutes before returning through a rear gate at 12:12 a.m., again attempting to open the sliding glass door. This time the dog can be heard frantically barking, and the burglar flees the location through the rear gate. The homeowner then exited the house and followed the dog to the rear gate, where he saw the suspect fleeing through a back alley.

Anyone with information on the identity of this suspect is asked to contact police at 410-307-2020. The Baltimore County Police Burglary Unit is continuing to investigate this incident.

Reward Offered

Metro Crime Stoppers, an organization that is separate from the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Government, offers rewards for information in connection with felony offenses.

Anonymous tips can be sent to Metro Crime Stoppers by phone, text message or online.

Phone: 1-866-7LOCKUP

Text message: Text "MCS" plus your message to "CRIMES" (274637)

Baltimore County Police have charged a man in connection with a shooting in Essex Saturday evening.

Alexander Morgan Francis (29) of the 1000 block of Foxridge Lane in Essex, 21221, is charged with 1st Degree Assault and weapons violations and is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center pending trial.

Francis was identified by the victims, a 24-year-old woman and a 30-year-old woman, as the shooter, with whom both are acquainted. One of the women had argued with Francis when they crossed paths at a convenience store earlier in the evening.

The women flagged down an officer on Foxchase Lane after fleeing Sandalwood Road where they heard gunshots and saw Francis run out from Punjab Drive, shooting at their car. Neither of the women suffered any physical injuries and no damage was found on the vehicle.

Officer Bostedo and her K9 partner, Yukon, responded to the scene and located Francis in a nearby alley, where he was placed under arrest without incident. A search of the area resulted in the discovery of bullet holes in the siding of a building in the 900 block of Punjab Drive.

Update (10/18/17 8:40 p.m.)

Giselle Melgar has been located and returned home. 

Original Release (10/17/17 8:15 p.m.)

Baltimore County Police are seeking to locate a missing girl. Giselle Melgar, 13, from the 1600-block of Poles Road, 21221, was last seen just before 4:30 p.m. today. Melgar is described as a Hispanic female, 5’5”, 105 pounds, black hair, and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a long sleeve gray sweatshirt, distressed jeans, fury slip-on sandals, with her hair in a bun held by a rainbow hair clip.

If anyone has information concerning Giselle Melgar, please call Baltimore County Police at (410) 307-2020. 

Baltimore County Police Officers are wearing mourning bands on their badges today in memory of a fallen hero.

Officer John Stem died on October 19, 2000 of complications of paraplegia caused by a line-of-duty gunshot wound he suffered in July 1977. Officer Charles Huckeba was fatally wounded during the same incident in Precinct 1 Wilkens. Officers Stem and Huckeba and other officers were trying to subdue an agitated, armed, 19-year-old man who barricaded himself in his family’s home.

Baltimore County Police are asking for the public's help in locating a man wanted for murder. Tyson Lemond Moore is wanted for first-degree murder and the use of a firearm to commit a crime of violence.

On October 9, 2017, County police responded to the unit-block of Silerton Road, 21227 for a shooting. Officers arrived and located the victim, Mark Gibbs, 32 of the 2400-block of Hollins Ferry Road, 21227, suffering from at least one gunshot wound to the upper body. Homicide detectives were able to identify the person responsible for the shooting as Moore. Tyson Lemond Moore is described as a black male, 26, 5’9”, 165 pounds, with black hair, and brown eyes. His last known address is in the 2400-block of Tionesta Road, 21227.

If anyone has information about Tyson Lemond Moore, please call the Baltimore County Police at (410) 307-2020. 

 Reward Offered

Metro Crime Stoppers, an organization that is separate from the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Government, offers rewards for information in connection with felony offenses.

Anonymous tips can be sent to Metro Crime Stoppers by phone, text message or online.

Phone: 1-866-7LOCKUP

Text message: Text "MCS" plus your message to "CRIMES" (274637)

Web tip: www.metrocrimestoppers.org

Original Release (10/10/17 10:30 a.m.)

https://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/News/PoliceNews/iWatch/landsdowneshootingleavesmandead

Fire Chief Kyrle W. Preis III has announced the promotion of three members to the rank of EMS Lieutenant. They are:

• PM Craig L. Hutton
• PM/FF Glen Harris
• PM Melissa G. Schuler

The promotions are effective Saturday, October 28.

Baltimore County Police are seeking the public's assistance locating a 13-year-old girl, Ashley Obando, last seen yesterday leaving her friend's house in Wilkens Precinct.

Ashley left her friend's house in the area of Wilkens Avenue and I-695 around 6:30 p.m. She was wearing blue jeans, a black "Nike" shirt with white stripes on the sleeves, and black "Nike Air Jordan" shoes. She is approximately 5'5", 100 pounds, with long straight black hair and brown eyes. She may be headed to the area of Rambo Court and Hollins Ferry Road in Halethorpe.

Anyone who may have seen Ashley Obando or have information on her whereabouts is asked to contact police at 410-307-2020. The Baltimore County Crimes Against Children Unit continues to investigate her disappearance.

Baltimore County and Baltimore City Police Officers worked together to apprehend two bank robbers following a brief pursuit yesterday afternoon.

County officers saturated Belair Road in the Perry Hall and Overlea areas after receiving a call for a bank robbery that just occurred at SunTrust Bank, 8704 Belair Road, 21236, around 11:50 a.m.

The first arriving officer broadcast a description of a male suspect who had entered the bank and displayed a note to the teller along with the suspect vehicle, both caught on bank surveillance video, leaving the scene on Belair Road toward Baltimore City.

Officers from the White Marsh Precinct, positioned around Belair Road near Baltimore City, observed a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle traveling southbound on Belair Road near Baltimore City. The officers initiated an investigative traffic stop on the vehicle, which immediately began to flee into Baltimore City. City Police were notified and quickly came to the assistance as the pursuit ended when the suspect crashed into a civilian's vehicle, who suffered minor injuries, in the intersection of Federal Street and North Broadway.

Two suspects fled from the crash on foot. A female passenger was apprehended near the crash scene by Baltimore County and Baltimore City officers. She is identified as Crystal Lynn French (33) of the 100 block of Rebel Road in Grasonville, 21638.

The driver of the vehicle fled on foot into an alley and a resident's yard, failing to comply with all of the officers' verbal commands and resisting arrest once he was apprehended. He is identified as Matthew Dale Bush (38) of the 2600 block of Porter Road in Bear, Delaware.

Both suspects were briefly hospitalized with minor injures. Both are charged with robbery and theft. Bush is additionally charged with resisting arrest. Both are held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Baltimore County Police are searching for Helen Maxine Augustus (86) of the 900 block of Ashbridge Drive.

Helen Augustus is an African American female, 5’2”, and 136 lbs. She has brown eyes, gray hair, and no teeth. Helen Augustus has been missing since October 22, 2017. She was last seen on that date at around 6 p.m., in the area of Ashbridge Drive in Essex, MD.

Helen Augustus may be suffering from a cognitive disorder, making it imperative that she is located.

If you have seen Helen Augustus or have any information on her whereabouts, please contact police immediately at 410-307-2020.​

Baltimore County Police are seeking the public's assistance in locating a woman missing from the Perry Hall area since Monday.

Shikah Mubarak Aldossary (19) was last seen on October 23 around 3:30 p.m. in the 9700 block of Harvester Circle in Perry Hall. She is of Egyptian descent, approximately 5 feet tall, 110 pounds, and was last seen wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt. She also attends the Essex campus of Baltimore County Community College.

Anyone who may have information on her whereabouts is asked to contact police at 410-307-2020. The Baltimore County Police Homicide/Missing Persons Unit continues to investigate her disappearance.

Baltimore County Police will be keeping an eye on sex offenders that are not allowed to have contact with children this Halloween.

Out of the hundreds of registered sex offenders in Baltimore County, only about 10 percent have what is called a “no contact order” as part of their probation. This, in effect, prohibits them from handing out candy to children on Halloween. Registered sex offenders that are not under such an order are not prohibited from giving candy out to children.

Officers will be watching the residences of persons with a “no contact order” and officers in marked police cars will saturate neighborhoods with known sex offenders.  Officers will be coordinating their efforts with Parole and Probation agents.

Anyone who suspects that someone who has a no contact order is giving candy to children is asked to call detectives at 410-853-3660. Any other suspicious activity can be reported to 911 or Baltimore County's non-emergency line at 410-887-2222.

Baltimore County Police are seeking the identities of five suspects responsible for a burglary at Tyler Firearms, 4367 Hollins Ferry Road in Halethorpe, on Saturday, October 14.

The suspects were caught on exterior surveillance video approaching the front of the business around 4:30 a.m. Two of the suspects gained entry into the business by throwing a rock through a window and climbing into a classroom of the building. They are then caught on an interior surveillance camera accessing the showroom where they find no weapons on display, and trigger an audible alarm. The two then fled the location through the broken window and all five suspects ran toward Ryerson Circle.

All but one of the suspects attempted to hide their identities with hooded sweatshirts and gloves.

Anyone who recognizes any of these suspects, or has any information on this crime, is asked to contact Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020.

Reward Offered

Metro Crime Stoppers, an organization that is separate from the Baltimore County Police Department and Baltimore County Government, offers rewards for information in connection with felony offenses.

Anonymous tips can be sent to Metro Crime Stoppers by phone, text message or online.

Phone: 1-866-7LOCKUP

Text message: Text "MCS" plus your message to "CRIMES" (274637)

Web tip:www.metrocrimestoppers.org

Halloween is almost here and some of the things that go bump in the night will be out and about trying to scare up some treats. No need to be afraid, just please be careful.

When you are driving, be aware of children and adults wearing costumes that could be dark and hard to see in the early evening. Not only that, the trick-or-treaters may not be able to see all that well if they are wearing masks.

Take your time when driving through neighborhoods where parking is tight. Children aren’t always aware of their surroundings and may dart into the street from between parked cars.

If you are driving children to houses outside the neighborhood, be extra vigilant. When you stop, be sure to leave your lights on so the children can see you. This also signals other drivers that you are not parked. Remember to tell your little trick-or-treater that they must look both ways when crossing the street. Impress upon them that they must be extra careful on Halloween.

Some parents take their children to parties at local shopping areas. If you do, be extra vigilant in the parking lots. Some drivers will not be looking for children darting out. Everyone hold hands and walk in single file. It is simple and the children are used to this from school.

Some towns have set times for the goblins to be out. Check your neighborhood. Some begin as early as 4 p.m. and end at 7 p.m., while others extend the night to 8 p.m.

However you celebrate Halloween, be safe and watch out for trick-or-treaters!

Happy Halloween!!!