Annapolis Capital Punishment

People have said this blog is all negative. Well, with the situation and how it is handled, are you surprised? However, our cops--county, city, state, federal are also doing a helluva good job with non "criminal" stuff too. The ACPD asked to spread the word--and we are happy to do so!

Usually, first and foremost what people want to hear from a Police
Department is Crime Information. Well, there is good news and bad, but this being a good news venue, we’ll just talk about the good!

Seriously, we just finished compiling the statistics for the first half of 2008. We won’t bore you with all the numbers here, but you can find them at:
http://www.annapolis.gov/report.asp?   and
http://www.annapolis.gov/info.asp?page=12647
In a nutshell, yes, over all Part One Crime is UP, but VIOLENT CRIME is DOWN. Significantly down.       The increase is overwhelmingly accounted for by Larceny- Petty Theft crimes. Now, no one likes to have anything stolen from them, and we make every
reasonable effort to address those crimes too, but recently there was the perception that we were backsliding seriously on Violent Crime, and, most would agree that Personal Safety trumps Property Security. We have taken many steps to address Violent Crime and we think it shows in the numbers. We’ll of course strive to do better, as well as work on the property crimes.

It’s been another highly successful Summer with our Youth Outreach Efforts. Officers and Citizens, as well as Businesses, joined together to mentor several selected children, and letting them interact with Police Officers in a positive setting. Two Fish Camps, two Basketball Camps, and a Soccer camp were held. We’re in the process of planning
fall activities now.

Back to Crime Matters:
We cleared by arrest one of the homicides of 2008, the apprehension of persons sought on outstanding warrants is up 25% and we have seven new recruits presently in field - training, who will be on full duty very shortly. In June, the State Police assisted us with a major drug investigation and numerous street - level dealers have been arrested as
a result. Two of our officers helped a disabled woman escape from a fire; On July 1, 2008 at 1528 hrs, Radio dispatched officers to 701 Glenwood St, apt #515 for a fire in an apartment.  Radio further stated that the resident was blind and could not get out of her apartment.  Officer Floyd Carson arrived in under two minutes and immediately responded to apartment #515.  Outside the apartment door was an elderly female
coughing and had mucus coming from her nose.  Ofc Carson asked her if there was anyone else in the apartment.  The victim was coughing so much, she was unable to respond to Ofc Carson.  Ofc Carson carried the victim to the end of the hallway where there was less smoke.  Ofc Carson then returned to apartment 515 at which time Officer Ben Keck had arrived.  Ofc Carson kicked open the locked door at which time a massive
amount of smoke billowed out of the apartment.  Ofc Carson and Off Keck entered the apartment briefly but were overcome with smoke.  Ofc’s Carson and Keck then started to evacuate residents off the fifth floor. The smoke in the hallway increased and visibility was poor.  Ofc Carson went back to the victim and told her that they had to leave.  She was unable to walk due to smoke inhalation.  Ofc Carson picked her up and placed her on his back and carried her down the stairwell.  Several residents were transported to AAMC for smoke inhalation. Ofc Carson and Off Keck went above and beyond the call of duty when they entered that building without hesitation and without regard for their own personal safety to save a trapped blind woman.

During the recent months, our officers took over 150 grams of crack cocaine off the streets in Annapolis. While for sure the trade has not been eradicated, that certainly dents it. 51, 29, and 23 grams were recovered in single incidents.

Here are a couple of examples of the kinds of arrests our officers make day in and day out:

5/18 11:28 PM 1155 Madison St. - an officer on foot patrol approached a suspicious man, who discarded two baggies as he walked way from the officer. He was apprehended and the baggies were recovered. They contained approximately 23 grams of crack cocaine. 18year old Dirk Terrell of College Creek Terrace was arrested and charged with
Possession of Drugs With The Intent To Distribute. He is currently being held at the Detention Center in lieu of a $250,000.00 bond. (08-003760)


June 12th at 12:35 AM, an officer recognized a passenger in a cab, that was on Bywater Road approaching Copeland Street, as 21 year old Keith Bithol Williams, of Admiral Drive. The officer knew that Mr. Williams was wanted on a warrant for First Degree Assault and other related offenses. The charges stemmed from an incident on May 18th, in which he fired numerous shots into an occupied apartment on Newtowne Drive after
he had been in an altercation with one of the residents. The officers were in an unmarked car and had to follow the cab until officers in marked cars could arrive. The cab stopped at the Holiday Inn on Riva Road. Additional Annapolis as well as Anne Arundel County officers arrived to assist. Mr. Williams was arrested on the warrant without incident. During the arrest, approximately 29.2 grams of crack cocaine, 2.1 grams of marijuana, an electronic scale, and over $2,000.00 in cash were recovered from his person. He was also charged with Drug Possession With The Intent To Distribute. He is currently being held at the Detention Center in lieu of a $2,250,000.00 bond. He had been featured on the
Cable TV show, Anne Arundel County’s Most Wanted. (08-003566)