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Willie Billinger served time for a double murder he says he did not commit. Now he’s suing.
Billinger, 47, of Baltimore, has always maintained that he did not kill Earline “Smiley” Thomas and Howard “Mike” Martin, both 53, whose bodies were discovered in their apartment on St. Paul Street in Old Goucher on March 14, 2017.
Willie Billinger recently filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore Police Department and retired Detective Julian Min after winning his freedom.
Baltimore judge sets hearing on Adnan Syed’s request to reduce his sentence
Circuit Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer set a hearing for Feb. 26 on the motion for reduction of sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act.
Baltimore Circuit Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer has scheduled a hearing for Feb. 26 to consider Adnan Syed's motion to reduce his sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act.
Trial begins for neo-Nazi leader accused of plotting to blow up Maryland’s power grid
Brandon Russell, 29, of Orlando, Florida, who’s the founder of the Atomwaffen Division, is standing trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on a charge of conspiracy to damage an energy facility.
Brandon Russell, 29, of Orlando, Florida, is now standing trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on one count of conspiracy to damage an energy facility.
Suspect in Pikesville High AI case arrested on child porn charges
Dazhon Darien, 32, is now charged in U.S. District Court in Baltimore with sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child pornography.
Dazhon Darien arrives to Baltimore County Circuit Court on Monday, January 27, 2025. Darien was arrested on a federal warrant upon arrival.
Man accused of using AI to impersonate Pikesville High School principal to stand trial
Dazhon Darien is charged with disturbing school operations, retaliating against a witness, stalking and related offenses.
Dazhon Leslie Darien
Harford County school employees wrongfully prosecuted over rape allegation reporting
The Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office recently dropped the cases against Regina Jones, the former principal of Aberdeen Middle School, and Tanya Johnson, a paraeducator, after determining that “the facts do not support conviction.”
The Harford County State's Attorney's Office recently dropped the charges against Regina Jones, the former principal of Aberdeen Middle School, and Tanya Johnson, a paraeducator, who had been accused of failing to report a rape.
Families of 3 Baltimore firefighters killed in 2022 continue their fight for justice
EMT/firefighter John McMaster was permanently injured while batting the fire, and he’s also a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Baltimore City Fire Lt. Kelsey Sadler, Lt. Paul Butrim and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo were killed while battling a fire at a vacant rowhome on South Stricker Street near West Pratt Street in Mount Clare on Jan. 24, 2022. Meanwhile, EMT/firefighter John McMaster was seriously injured.
Ex-Gilman School teacher Chris Bendann ‘overtly unrepentant’ at sentencing in sex abuse case
Bendann, 40, of Baltimore, was found guilty in 2024 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore of sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography and cyberstalking.
Chris Bendann, a former teacher at the Gilman School, leaves the Baltimore County Courts Building in 2023. He was later indicted and found guilty in 2024 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore of sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography and cyberstalking.
Man who caused Essex home explosion that killed dog learns his fate
Michael Greensfelder, 53, of Essex, pleaded guilty on Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court to one count of first-degree arson for setting the fire on April 20, 2024, which caused the home on Crafton Road to explode.
Baltimore County fire officials said they arrived in the Essex community late Saturday night and found a home engulfed by fire.
Man confesses to decade-old killing of 2 people whose bodies were never found, police say
Scott Barnett, who is from Dundalk and told police he has been homeless, said he wasn’t sure of the victims’ names, but detectives pieced together their identities.
Ex-Harford County councilman can’t get seat back after theft plea, judge rules
Dion Guthrie, 86, of Joppa, a Democrat, claimed in a lawsuit filed in Harford County Circuit Court that he did not actually plead no contest to one count of theft between $1,500 and $25,000 because a judge needed to consent to that action.
Former Harford County Councilman Dion Guthrie, who pleaded no contest to theft arising out of allegations that he stole more than $23,000 from a union that he led for more than 50 years, can’t get his seat back, a judge ruled on Tuesday.
Adnan Syed should not do more prison time, Baltimore state’s attorney says
Syed’s attorneys, Assistant Public Defenders Erica Suter and Brian Zavin, had filed a motion for reduction of sentence under the Juvenile Restoration Act.
Adnan Syed, right, speaks to reporters while his brother, Yusuf Syed, and mother, Shamim Syed, accompany him in support on Sept. 19, 2023.
Maryland Supreme Court agrees to take up case about expungement and probation
The Appellate Court of Maryland, the state’s mid-level appeals court, ruled in 2022 that people whose probation is unsatisfactorily closed after a violation cannot receive an expungement
The exterior of the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal building, home of the Maryland Supreme Court, in Annapolis, MD on September 10, 2024.
33-year-old man dies after apparent medical episode at Baltimore jail: ‘This is not fair’
Trayvon Ocain, 33, died in a facility that is under scrutiny for its health care system. His family wants answers.
Trayvon Ocain died after suffering an apparent medical episode at the Baltimore Central Booking and Intake Center.
Ex-Pikesville High School principal sues Baltimore County schools in racist AI case
Eric Eiswert’s lawsuit also names Dazhon Darien, the man accused of using artificial intelligence to impersonate him.
Photo collage shows Pikesville High School sign with pixellated audio waves in the background.
Feds seek 35 years for ex-Gilman School teacher Chris Bendann in sex abuse case
Federal prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 35 years in prison for a former teacher at the Gilman School who was convicted of sexually abusing a student and recording videos of it.
Chris Bendann, 39, exits the Baltimore County Courthouse in Towson with his legal team after a hearing on Tuesday, July 18, 2023. The former Gilman School teacher is accused of sexually abusing a student between 2016 and 2019, and was indicted on 16 counts including sexual abuse of a minor, rape and related offenses.
After series of delays upended rape case in Baltimore, prosecutors refile charges
The Banner previously examined how a woman took the rare step of reporting that she was sexually assaulted, only to face a series of delays outside her control.
The Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office has refiled charges of second-degree rape and third- and fourth-degree sex offense against Derwin Cox, 50, of Upper Fells Point.
Praise guitarist talks EP, time at Towson University as a ‘hardcore kid’
Since 2010, Anthony Dye, 34, of Hampden, has been a guitarist in the melodic hardcore band, which on June 14 released an EP called, “Coming Up For Air.”
Praise guitarist Anthony Dye at the Magpie Cage Recording Studio in Baltimore during the recording of the melodic hardcore band's EP "Coming Up For Air."
Washington Nationals take legal action to get $320M in TV rights fees from MASN
In court documents filed Monday, Nationals attorney Patrick Curran asked New York Supreme Court Judge Andrew Borrok to certify a decision made by the Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee of Major League Baseball.
MASN exclusively broadcasts most Orioles and Nationals games.
Man accused of killing Rachel Morin wants trial moved out of Harford County
In a motion for change of venue filed on Monday, Victor Martinez-Hernandez’s attorneys wrote that the case has been the subject of “numerous inflammatory and prejudicial reports in both legacy and social media.”
In a motion for change of venue filed on Monday, Victor Martinez-Hernandez’s attorneys wrote that the case has been the subject of “numerous inflammatory and prejudicial reports in both legacy and social media.”
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