Thieves

Morgan County crash victims ID'd as Pa. couple, son Teen charged in slaying moved to state hospital One taken to hospital after crash Wal-Mart thieves take more than $11K in items Terri Tucker

When Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. stepped onto the stage for the sixth season of "America's Got Talent," Frank Sinatra tunes weren't exactly what people expected him to sing. After all, Murphy, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, is a black man who fashions his hair in long braids and speaks with a southern accent, thanks to his Logan, W.Va., upbringing. He might not be a stereotypical Sinatra-style performer - and that's exactly why Murphy walked away with the big prize. Murphy hopes to wow local audience members when he performs Friday, Oct. 26, at The Maryland Theatre in downtown Hagerstown.

A determined thief managed to steal money from a Hagerstown Trust bank night deposit box by yanking it open and fishing out the contents Monday night or Tuesday morning, police said. The metal deposit box was mounted on the brick outside wall of the Hagerstown Trust branch at 1551 Potomac Ave. The boxes are used primarily by commercial customers to make after-hours deposits using a key to open it. The device opens toward the depositor like a glovebox, police said. Bags containing an undisclosed amount of money were taken, said Dave Barnhart, Hagerstown Trust vice president of marketing.

Heading out his door on the morning of Sept. 16, Greg Easterday stopped short when he saw an empty driveway where his red 1996 Jeep Cherokee had been parked the night before. "It was gone. I walked out to go to work and it wasn't there," he said. Easterday, of West Oak Ridge Drive, was one of 319 victims of motor vehicle theft in Washington County last year. That was the most ever recorded in one year and more than double the number reported four years ago, according to statistics from the Maryland State Police Uniform Crime Report.

In 2005, Vanessa Carlton split with A&M Records and signed with The Inc. (formerly known as Murder Inc.), a label best known for hip hop and R&B records. Despite the switch, Carlton's new album, "Heroes & Thieves," has no urban sound. Instead the piano-pop songstress turns her experiences of life and love into a album full of sincerity, and melodies that are put together in a magical sequence. The first song, "Nolita Fairytale," tells of Carlton's life in the big city. With lyrics like, "Nolita flat on rent control, that's the life I choose," you can tell that Vanessa has grown from her first two albums' hit singles, "A Thousand Miles" (from the album "Be Not Nobody")

Hagerstown police officers Wednesday rushed to the scene of a possible breaking and entering call at a vacant building near the Virginia Avenue overpass, but they left when nothing turned up. Sgt. Eric Knode said that no one was found inside the building at 1016 Virginia Ave. following a search at about 9:30 a.m. "We received a call of two subjects possibly breaking into the old Noland Co.," Knode said. "The caller thought maybe they might be in here to steal copper .... We saw some windows broken out. We checked the building and didn't locate anybody or anything inside.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Police in Shepherdstown are investigating an overnight burglary Thursday at the Yellow Brick Bank restaurant in downtown Shepherdstown that netted thieves a supply of expensive liquor, wine, beer and meat, Sgt. Ken Mauck said Saturday. "They had a shopping list," Mauck said. No cash was taken, he said. Mauck said he had a "few possible suspects. " Mauck also said police are investigating the theft of two purses in recent days, one from a vehicle and one from a private residence.

The Washington County Sheriff's Department is looking for two people in connection with a burglary that occurred early Sunday. The thieves pried open a window at 24804 Lauran Road in Fountainhead between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m., deputies said. Once inside, the burglars stole a lock box containing approximately $300, deputies said. Two people were seen at the time getting into a vehicle in the 12800 block of Lauren Road, deputies said. Anyone with information about the incident can call the Washington County Sheriff's Department at 301-791-3020.

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating burglaries Thursday at three homes - in the 3000, 2000 and 1000 blocks of Letterkenny Road in Franklin County. The homes were burglarized between 5:20 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The thieves entered the homes through either open doors, or by breaking into side and rear doors. They rifled desks, dressers, chests and file cabinets. Either cash or jewelry was taken from all three locations. Anyone with information on the burglaries is asked to contact the state police at (717)

Police in Hagerstown are searching for two people they allege stole money from an ATM early Thursday. Hagerstown Police Department officers said witnesses saw the pair cut an ATM with a saw at Hagerstown Trust Bank, 1571 Wesel Blvd. The pair placed a chain around the ATM and pulled it away from the base, police said. The thieves removed the money trays and drove onto Wesel Boulevard, police said. The vehicle, a dark-colored Ford F-250, was found at Sherwin-Williams Paints, 104 Railway Lane, police said.