Maryland

Public defender, advocates push for Maryland to end automatic charging of youths as adults – Maryland Matters

Published

1 year ago

January 16, 2025

Public defender, advocates push for Maryland to end automatic charging of youths as adults – Maryland Matters

Jabriera Handy was just 16 when she left the house one day after arguing with her grandmother about pictures hanging on the wall. When her 69-year-old grandmother suffered a fatal heart attack several hours later, Jabiera was charged with second-degree murder and first- and second-degree assault in the death.

Despite her age, the charges automatically made her an adult in the eyes of Maryland law. She was charged as an adult and said she spent 11 months in the Baltimore detention center, including at least 30 days in solitary confinement, before accepting a plea deal for involuntary manslaughter and being transferred into a juvenile system program for six to eight months.

But the stress of that time still lives with Handy, now 33, who said she still has anxiety when in large crowds because of it.

“When you are in adult prison, you are treated as an adult,” said Handy, now the mother of an 11-year-old daughter. “What we want is for every child to start in juvenile court … to give them a chance at receiving valuable services to become productive. Let’s vote to end the prosecution of youth as adults.”

Legislation to end the practice of charging youths as adults is a priority of the Office of the Public Defender, which is scheduled to outline its legislative agenda Thursday during a rally at Lawyers’ Mall in Annapolis.

It’s also among 18 recommendation scheduled to be released in a report this month by the Maryland Equitable Justice Collaborative, which Public Defender Natasha Dartigue and Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) serve as co-chairs.

According to the public defender’s office, Maryland ranked second behind Alabama in automatically sending teenagers aged 14 to 17 to adult court. The office notes that in 2022, about 12% of teenagers tried as adults were convicted.

Cheltenham Youth Detention Center in Prince George’s County. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

“All 871 teens automatically charged as adults faced lengthy and expensive processes to decide if their cases would stay in adult court, with average wait times 103 days longer than those in the juvenile system,” according to the public defender. “This is inefficient and results in backlogs and wasted resources of Maryland’s courts, Department of Juvenile Services, public defenders, and prosecutors.”

The office says that ending the practice of automatically charging children as adults could free up an estimated $20 million for juvenile services to invest in community resources.

“If we are ever going to evolve into a system that is just and fair, we have to start with the basic premise of treating children as children,” Dartigue said Monday, after the collaborative’s youth justice work group event on the campus of the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center in Prince George’s County. “The practice of charging children as adults goes contrary to science, goes contrary to the data, goes contrary to the basic premise that they are children.”

But the advocates are making their pitch less than a year after lawmakers passed a juvenile justice reform bill that tightened juvenile justice, and made children as young as 10 subject to Department of Juvenile Services jurisdiction, amid fears of youth crime. Zakiya Sankara-Jabar, director of education policy and activism with the Wayfinder Foundation, remains frustrated at the passed of House Bill 814, which was signed into law in May.

“I hope they [legislators] have more courage this year than they did last year,” said Sankara-Jabar, a Montgomery County resident whose teenage son was in DJS custody for about two months after being charged with armed robbery while with other youths for allegedly attacking a pizza delivery person.

“I think we should be focusing on prevention,” she said. “Just shouldn’t be charging kids as adults [when] they’re not.”

Other priorities

The public defender’s office has three other priorities on its legislative agenda: reforming the state’s parole system to include medical and geriatric parole, funding indigent defense and making traffic stops safer.

Sen. Charles Sydnor III and Del. N. Scott Phillips, both Baltimore County Democrats, will sponsor the traffic stops legislation, which is likely to be opposed by the Maryland Sheriffs’ Association, among others.

Sydnor’s SB 292 proposes to downgrade a number of current primary violations, which allow police to pull a person over, to secondary status, which cannot be the sole reason an officer stops a driver for a nonsafety-related traffic stop. As of Wednesday evening, a House version had not been posted online.

Companion bills have been filed on medical and geriatric parole by Sen. Shelly Hettleman (D-Baltimore County) and Del. J. Sandy Bartlett (D-Anne Arundel), a bill supporters have been trying to pass since 2022. This year, SB 181 and HB 190 would apply to an incarcerated individual who is 60 years old, has served as least 15 years and is not registered as a sex offender.

For medical parole, a medical professional would have to determine if the incarcerated individual is “chronically debilitated or incapacitated” or has “a disease or condition with an end-of-life trajectory.” Certain conditions would include dementia or a severe or permanent medical or cognitive disability that prevents the person “from completing more than one activity or daily living.”

A hearing on Hettleman’s bill is set for Jan. 28 before the Judicial Proceedings Committee. As of Wednesday, no hearing had been scheduled for Bartlett’s version of the bill before the Judiciary Committee.

During a visit last week to the General Assembly, Brown said he supports the proposal for medical and geriatric parole.

The final priority for the public defender’s office deals funding for legal defense for indigents, to make sure someone who cannot afford to hire an attorney can still get one.

“We know that if we want to build stronger families and communities, we must first dismantle the barriers that keep our people trapped in cycles of disproportionate incarceration,” Chrissy M. Thornton, president and CEO of Associated Black Charities, said in a statement Monday. “You cannot claim to care about equity and justice while underfunding the very agencies that defend the most vulnerable among us.”

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Maryland

Maryland confirms 5 new measles cases, bringing year’s total to 9 – WTOP News

Published

11 hours ago

July 16, 2026

Press Room

Maryland confirms 5 new measles cases, bringing year’s total to 9 – WTOP News

The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”

Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.

“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.

The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.

Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.

Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.

It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.

The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.

“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.

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Maryland

Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning in October

Published

24 hours ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning in October

Baltimore may be under an extreme heat alert, but residents can dream about autumn, as tickets are now on sale for the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in October.

This three-day celebration of home and garden takes place from Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Expect hundreds of exhibitors, local makers, home improvement experts, family-friendly experiences and celebrity guests. The show offers everyone the chance to explore the very latest in home improvement, landscaping, outdoor living and decor, the chance to take part in hands-on experiences, and do some holiday shopping all under one roof.

This year’s show will have more than 300 exhibitors, including more than 100 crafters from around Maryland in the Makers Market. There will be unique exhibits, stage presentations and a special appearance by Chase Morrill, Ashley Morrill-Eldridge and Ryan Eldridge from Magnolia Network’s hit series “Maine Cabin Masters.” The three will have two Main Stage appearances, one on Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and the second on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m.

“As temperatures start to drop and the holiday season comes into view, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show is a place to gather ideas, meet local experts and get inspired before the busy season begins,” said Dave Paul, show manager, in a statement. “Whether attendees are planning a home project, looking for outdoor living ideas or getting a head start on holiday shopping, the show brings together resources and experiences for every kind of homeowner, maker and DIY enthusiast.”

In addition to the Makers Market and stars of “Maine Cabin Masters”, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show will have a petting zoo, a Kids Market where attendees can shop from local children, and much more.

Tickets are available online and at the door. Prices are as follows:

Online:

Adults: $8
Senior Citizens (60+): $6
Children (ages 6-12): $4
4-Pack Online: $30 for four tickets, valid for one admission each and one day only

At the door:

Adults: $10
Senior Citizens (60+): $8
Children (ages 6-12): $4
Friday & Saturday: $4 after 4 p.m. at the door only

Special Offers:

Active and retired military personnel, veterans, firefighters and police officers receive free admission all weekend, along with one guest, with valid ID at the box office.
Attendees who show a CharmPass app, Light RailLink ticket or eligible transit pass at the box office receive free admission any day of the show. One admission is available per pass.

The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium.

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Maryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’

Published

1 day ago

July 15, 2026

Press Room

Maryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’

Law enforcement agencies are accustomed to dealing with cat burglars – but now a Maryland police department is saying it grappled with a cat-wielding bank robber.

The Prince George’s county police department said its officers arrested a man suspected of stealing a cat and then taking the animal with him to a PNC bank branch in the local community of Beltsville to rob the establishment on Monday morning.

Emily Mullen, a Pet Supplies Plus employee, holds Magnolia. Photograph: Beltsville Community Cats

“The cat was returned” after the suspect was arrested, the police department said in a statement to the Guardian on Tuesday. The agency said no injuries were reported, and it declined to name the suspect or release additional details, saying the case – bound for a spot in the annals of bizarre reported US crimes – remained under investigation.

Nonetheless, a social media post from rescue shelter Beltsville Community Cats provided more information.

A Beltsville Community Cats Facebook page post on Monday identified the cat at the center of the alleged botched caper as Magnolia, a three-and-a-half-month-old tuxedo kitten. The shelter recounted how the suspect first snatched Magnolia from her “adoption habitat” at Beltsville’s Pet Supplies Plus store, took her across the parking lot to a PNC branch, and “tried to use her as an accessory in [an] attempted robbery”.

“He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash,” the post continued. “Thankfully, the robbery was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested, and Magnolia was found safe and sound in the bank manager’s office, where the two had bonded over their shared ordeal.”

Pet Supplies Plus store employees told the NBC affiliate in nearby Washington DC that Magnolia’s cat napper had come in daily for about two weeks and focused on the kitten each time.

Finally, on Monday, he managed to use a key to open a cat adoption area and whisked Magnolia away, store employees said to the outlet, WRC.

Store manager Aaron Kurkowski told WRC that Magnolia’s thief “came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front – and he just went right to her and ran right on out”.

According to WRC, Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats then received a call from a pet store employee who alerted her to Magnolia’s plight.

Magnolia, our sweet 3.5-month-old tuxedo kitten, had quite the adventure today after being stolen from her adoption habitat at Pet Supplies Plus in Beltsville. Photograph: Beltsville Community Cats

That prompted Stullich to run over to the store, where she said to WRC that she “immediately saw all of these police cars and … thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat’.”

“But then I realized they all were going down to the bank,” Stullich recalled to WRC. “They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank.’”

Two days before her catnapping, Magnolia was the subject of a Beltsville Community Cats Facebook post inviting people to see her at Pet Supplies Plus and consider adopting her.

Magnolia as of Monday was still waiting to be adopted, Beltsville Community Cats said in its post detailing the bank robbery.

The non-profit organization offered members of the public the opportunity to apply to adopt Magnolia by emailing rescue@beltsvillecats.net.

Beltsville Community Cats’ post also joked that Magnolia’s “brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her” – except for undoubtedly “stealing” hearts, treats, toys and cuddles wherever her forever home may be.

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