1 Dead, 1 Arrested After Double Shooting

Baltimore County police say James Townsend, 33, died Wednesday of medical complications from the shooting Saturday. Another man has been charged.

One man is dead and another has been charged following a double shooting Saturday in Lansdowne. James Townsend, 33, died Monday from complications due to the shooting, according to a Baltimore County police news release. His death was ruled a homicide on Thursday, according to the State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Police said Brian Shepperd, 20, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder and other charges following the shooting, which happened around 10 p.m. Saturday in the 2900 block of Bero Road. "Two men were standing in front of a home when the suspects approached them and began shooting," according to the release. "The victims tried to flee, but were shot multiple times each," the release stated. Both were taken to …

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Police Charge Annapolis Man in Owings Mills Homicide

Jeffrey Michael Shiflett is charged in the death of Katie Hadel.

Baltimore County Police have charged an Annapolis man with murder in the death of Owings Mills resident Katie Hadel. Jeffrey Michael Shiflett, 33, of the 1700 block of Saint Margarets Road in Annapolis, is charged with one count of first-degree murder, according to a Baltimore County Police press release. He was arrested without incident Wednesday morning shortly after 11 a.m. when an officer spotted him walking on the street in the Reisterstown area, police said. He is currently being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center. Police found the body of Hadel, 33, in her apartment on the unit block of Wellhaven Circle Tuesday night while responding to a domestic disturbance report. Two small children were found unharmed in …

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UPDATE: Police Arrest Owings Mills Homicide Suspect

Officers found the body of a 33-year-old woman at her apartment Tuesday night.

UPDATE 1:25 p.m. Feb. 6: Baltimore County Police arrested a 33-year-old man Wednesday morning in an Owings Mills homicide. Police found the body of Katie Hadel, 33, in her apartment on Wellhaven Circle Tuesday night while responding to a domestic disturbance report. Two small children were found unharmed in the apartment, according to a police press release. Hadel was stabbed multiple times and was pronounced deceased at the scene, police said. At 10:09 p.m. Tuesday, officers from the Pikesville precinct were called to the unit block of Wellhaven Circle. The door to the apartment was locked and there was no answer, but officers could hear movement inside, according to the release. The police tactical unit entered the apartment by force and…

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'A Very Affable Couple:' Deacon's Last Visit before Tragedy

Deacon Stephen Roscher recalls fondly his visit with longtime Pikesville residents Vaughn and Marjorie Pepper, both in their 80s.

Deacon Stephen Roscher had planned on spending about 15 minutes last month at the home the home of Vaughn and Marjorie Pepper. But the visit went so well, and the conversation was so pleasant, that he ended up staying about an hour. "They were a really neat couple," he said of the octogenarians. "Just very affable. You could tell they were kind, very considerate of one another." Roscher is the permanent deacon assigned to St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Pikesville, and they had asked for him to visit their Sudbrook Park home, because they've had trouble getting to church in recent years. He visited on Aug. 12, and their grandson, Matthew Long, 31, welcomed him at the door and joined the one-hour conversation. They talked about …

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UPDATE: Police Identify Grandson of Couple Found Dead Monday

Police are looking for Matthew Long who lived in Sudbrook Park with his grandparents, and a neighbor said it's uncharacteristic of the grandson to be gone at all.

UPDATE (9:04 a.m. Sept. 12) Police have identified the 31-year-old grandson of the couple found dead Monday in their Pikesville home. Meanwhile, a neighbor says the fact that he is now missing is "so weird." Matthew Long lived with the victims, Vaughn and Marjorie Pepper, according to a news release from Baltimore County police. Police found the couple's bodies at just after 4 p.m. Monday in their home at 800 Olmstead Road in historic, wooded Sudbrook Park. They had suffered traumatic wounds and there were no signs of forced entry to the Pepper's home. Homicide detectives are investigating and want to speak with Long, police announced Tuesday. Like Pikesville Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Neighbor Wes Bickham said Long had …

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UPDATE: 2 Found Dead in Pikesville Home

Police suspect foul play after discovering the bodies of two elderly residents who had suffered traumatic injuries at their Sudbrook Park home in Pikesville.

UPDATE (10:15 p.m.) Camera flashes flickered through the windows of an Olmstead Road home Monday evening as detectives inside investigated a double homicide. Police say they found an elderly man and woman dead in the Sudbrook Park home shortly after 4 p.m. Monday. The as yet unidentified pair suffered traumatic wounds, according to Cpl. John Wachter, police spokesman. The man was found on floor of the first level. The woman was found on the basement floor, he said. Sudbrook Road resident Brian Kuebler lamented that such a crime occurred just down the street, where Sudbrook turns into Olmstead Road. "We usually tell folks who don't live in our neighborhood that it's like living in a Norman Rockwell painting," he said, noting he has resided …

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No Body? No Problem for Baltimore County Homicide Prosecutors

Technology played a critical role in the murder convictions of Jason Gross and Dennis Tetso.

Like many teenagers, Rochelle Battle was attached to her cell phone. Battle’s phone was a lifeline to her world to the point that she made 1,900 calls in December 2008. The 16-year-old also made 129 calls from her phone through the first six days of March 2009. Then, without any warning, the calls stopped on March 6, 2009. No more texts, voicemails or photos. Battle, who lived in the Pimlico community of Baltimore, just disappeared. Baltimore County prosecutors said Battle was murdered and her cell phone would go a long way toward proving who killed her. That killer turned out to be 36-year-old Jason Gross. The Middle River man was convicted in October of murdering the teen. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 6. Prosecutors obtained a …

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Crime Beat

Police Confirm Homicide Victim's Identity

A man died after being shot in Dundalk's Berkshire neighborhood early Friday morning.

UPDATE (12:00 P.M.) Baltimore County police have confirmed the identity of a man shot in the Berkshire neighborhood of Dundalk early Friday morning. Robert Charles Nelson, 24, of the 7900 block of Lansdale Road in Colgate, was rushed to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center for a gunshot wound shortly after 2 a.m. and later pronounced dead by the medical examiner, according to Baltimore County police. "Shortly after 2 a.m. on Friday officers responded to a 9-1-1 call for a shooting in the Dalton and Lange Street area," said Baltimore County police spokeswoman Susan Hunt. "The victim was found laying near the curb in the 7500 block of Lange Street. Paramedics transported him to Bayview." Police have not released any information about …

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