Police Estimate It's At Least A $400,000-Per-Week Business Public housing communities are quiet, peaceful and even friendly by day, but change noticeably an hour after sundown. At night, late-model cars, pickup trucks and SUVs, such as a glistening black Cadillac Escalade with dark windows and lots of chrome, roll onto avenues such as Clay Street. Young men run alongside these vehicles in a ritual that makes no sense to outsiders. The runners, knowledgeable sources said, are most likely low-level drug dealers, and the drivers are their suppliers. The runner will toss a roll of money onto the car seat or in the back of the pickup, and the driver will go elsewhere to count the loot. If the roll is short, the accounting may be painful. [continues 437 words]
Deceased Suspect Had A History Of Violence The Annapolis police officer who was shot during a Friday afternoon drug raid in Eastport is out of the hospital and recovering at home, a department spokesman said yesterday. Police also say they seized about $1,000 worth of cocaine following the shootout that left the suspect dead. Lt. Brian Della said Officer 1st Class David Stokes, who was hit in the leg during the 12:22 p.m. raid and flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, was released later that night. "He is doing well," Lt. Della said at a news conference yesterday. [continues 595 words]
Still Probing How SWAT Team Hit Wrong Place Citing legal concerns, Annapolis police officials are refusing to apologize for terrorizing four immigrant tenants when they raided the wrong Spa Cove apartment earlier this week, saying it could take 10 days before they even know what went wrong. "In this day and age, people have to apologize, but as soon as you apologize, you put yourself in a defensive position legally," Officer Hal Dalton, city police spokesman, said after a media conference. [continues 950 words]
