Crime Spree

FUNKSTOWN - More than 40 Funkstown residents awoke Friday morning to find they were among those in town who had their tires slashed. The Washington County Sheriff's Department said calls about the tire slashings started coming in Friday at 5:48 a.m. from residents on East Poplar, West Baltimore, East and West Chestnut, and High streets. Deputy D.L. Junkins said he believed more town residents would find their tires slashed as the day went on. Damage was estimated at $100 per tire, Junkins said.

FUNKSTOWN -- More than 40 Funkstown residents awoke Friday morning to find they were among those in town who had their tires slashed. The Washington County Sheriff's Department said calls about the tire slashings started coming in Friday at 5:48 a.m. from residents on East Poplar, West Baltimore, East and West Chestnut, and High streets. Deputy D.L. Junkins said he believed more town residents would find their tires slashed as the day went on. Damage was estimated at $100 per tire, Junkins said.

FREDERICK, Md. - A Hagerstown woman was charged Sunday with committing two armed robberies and leading police on a high-speed chase, according to the Frederick Police Department. Mary Elizabeth Harrison, 31, of the 600 block of Sout Potomac Street, was charged with two counts of armed robbery and first-degree assault and one count each of reckless endangerment, theft under $300 and theft over $300, as well as several moving violations. She was being held Sunday night awaiting an appearance before a bond commissioner.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A crime spree that started with a hostage situation at Roberts Gardens Apartments Thursday afternoon ended with a shooting in Martinsburg, police said. Police said a man was going to visit friends at Roberts Gardens Apartments, along U.S. 11 north of Martinsburg, when two men approached him, said Berkeley County Sheriff's Deputy K.C. Bohrer. One of the men pulled a gun on the victim, Bohrer said. The victim was robbed, then forced to take the two men in his car to look for money, Bohrer said.

Case transferred to Carroll County By MARLO BARNHART / Staff Writer A week after a Westminster, Md., man pleaded guilty to an early 2000 crime spree burglarizing homes in the Clear Spring area, his teenage co-defendant appeared Wednesday in Washington County Juvenile Court. The teenager, now 17, admitted his involvement in six counts of third-degree burglary. Hearing that there are similar charges pending in Frederick County, Judge John H. McDowell said he would postpone sentencing.

gregs@herald-mail.com Five teenagers admitted in Washington County Juvenile Court Wednesday that they were involved in several thefts and vandalism incidents that took place over the summer in and near Williamsport. An admission in juvenile court is the equivalent of a guilty plea in adult court. The four boys and a girl, ages 15 to 17, are from Williamsport and Hagerstown. Their names are not being published because they are juveniles. Two 17-year-old boys each admitted to counts of motor vehicle theft, and several felony malicious destruction of property, felony theft, and misdemeanor theft charges.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A Fort Loudon, Pa., woman who drove the getaway car in a series of bank robberies in Franklin and surrounding counties last summer was sentenced Wednesday to serve two to seven years in prison. As part of an earlier agreement with the Franklin County District Attorney's Office, Rhonda A. Martin, of 13361 Main St., Fort Loudon, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal conspiracy to commit robbery. In exchange for her plea, three counts each of robbery and receiving stolen property, and two additional counts of criminal conspiracy to commit robbery were dropped, according to court records.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Several Berkeley County nighttime residential burglaries in the past few months appear to be related, according to three law enforcement agencies, which have launched a coordinated investigation to catch the thieves. "These people are ... obviously pretty cunning at how they're operating," Berkeley County Sheriff W. Randy Smith said. The crime spree is being investigated by his department, the West Virginia State Police and the City of Martinsburg. From Nov. 5 to Wednesday, the Sheriff's Department handled 17 "burglary in progress" reports and a number of vehicle larcenies, robberies and attempted burglaries, Smith said.

Week of Aug. 5, 1957 Mrs. W. H. Stroupe of 624 George St. has a pet baby robin which just "adopted" her a week ago. Mrs. Stroupe was walking down West Franklin Street when a young robin came hopping over to her. Mrs. Stroupe put out her hand, and the robin crawled on and hung fast. She walked to a nearby tree to put it on a limb out of reach of a nearby cat, but the robin didn't choose to let go of her hand, and refused to climb onto the limb. It was then that Mrs. Stroupe, who has a "soft heart", decided to take the young one home with her. The robin can't fly yet, but it follows Mrs. Stroupe all over the house, and has a voracious appetite.

Convicted drug addict James Michael Conely's pleas for "one more chance" fell on deaf ears before Washington County Circuit Judge Donald Beachley Tuesday. "I'm tired of the whining," Beachley said as he sentenced Conely, 24, to 13 years in prison. Conely was in court to answer charges he repeatedly broke his court-ordered probation - by selling drugs, using drugs, failing to report to his probation agent, receiving an alcohol citation in Ocean City, Md., failing to get counseling, not performing 40 hours of community service and missing alcohol meetings.