Man convicted in beating of girlfriend ordered to jail
by Caitlin Francke SUN STAFF The Baltimore Sun
October 16, 1996 Page(s): 4B
Edition: HOWARD SUN
Section: METRO
Length: 559 words
Index Terms:
EAST COLUMBIA
Record Number: BSUN476680
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A man convicted in May of beating his girlfriend behind a church in Columbia's Owen Brown village will be sent to jail until he is sentenced in January, a Howard Circuit judge ruled yesterday.
Alvin E. Crook of Bowie had been free on bond since he was convicted
of battery and sex offense charges.
The jury deadlocked on a rape charge after Crook's girlfriend recanted her testimony and testified that she fabricated the story about a rape in August 1995 because she was angry at him for beating her.
In making her ruling, Judge Diane O. Leasure said Crook violated the conditions of his release, which restricted the consumption of alcohol. In court yesterday, Crook testified that he had drunk alcohol and acknowledged that he had been arrested for driving while intoxicated in July.
He testified that he had been spending most nights in his girlfriend's home. He said he had not had a drink in three months, but she had been continuing to drink.
"She wants me {at her house}," Crook testified. "We love each other."
Leasure, referring to the six weeks Crook recently spent in mental institutions, said, "I'm glad there's been an effort to get treatment, but I'm concerned there is still contact with the victim and there is alcohol around."
Fred Silverstein, attorney for Crook, asked Leasure to focus on Crook's condition after the treatment and not before.
"You have to look at who's before you now," Silverstein said.
A counselor from the Prince George's County Health Department Division of Mental Health testified that Crook has a personality disorder and gets violent when he drinks.
But Assistant State's Attorney Mary Murphy said Crook was a walking time bomb.
"These are the types of cases where you go home at night and pray nothing else is going to happen," Murphy told Leasure.
Police charge teen-ager in robbery of four boys
Howard County police have charged a 15-year-old Columbia youth with robbing four Clarksville boys Friday in a field on Carved Stone off Snowden River Parkway.
The boys were walking from Supreme Sports Club on Deepage Drive to the Subway shop on Minstrel Way about 9: 15 p.m. when a teen-ager approached them, police documents show.
Two boys received head injuries after they were punched several times in the head and face, police said. Money was stolen from two of the boys.
Police log
Oakland Mills: 9600 block of Basket Ring Road: Someone entered the Talbot Springs pool on Sunday night and sprayed a fire extinguisher after pulling down the fence surrounding the building.
Oakland Mills: 9600 block of Basket Ring Road: Someone threw sand on the floor of the Oakland Mills Village Center after prying open a side window about 3: 30 p.m. Monday.
Owen Brown: 6800 block of Cradlerock Way: Someone smashed the glass entrance door to a High's store early Sunday. Nothing was taken.
Long Reach: 6000 block of Major's Lane: Someone stole a tan 1995 Jeep Cherokee between 10 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday. The vehicle has Maryland license number 740581M.
Pub Date: 10/16/96
Copyright 1996 The Baltimore Sun Company