Metro Briefs

VIRGINIA

NEWPORT NEWS

Democratic primary for Senate canceled

Only one Democrat filed to seek the Democratic nomination for the 1st District state Senate seat, prompting the party to cancel tomorrow”s scheduled firehouse primary.

John Miller, a former television news anchor who works at Christopher Newport University, will oppose Republican Tricia Stall in the November general election. Miss Stall defeated state Sen. Marty E. Williams of Newport News in last month”s Republican primary.

Two Democrats who had announced plans to run for the seat withdrew, leaving Mr. Miller as the only candidate. Party officials had said the nominating contest would be called off if no other candidates had emerged by yesterday.

This will be Mr. Miller”s second state legislative race. He unsuccessfully challenged Delegate G. Glenn Oder in 2001.

All 140 seats in the General Assembly are up for election in November. This is the final Senate election before the Republican-controlled legislature redraws the state”s political boundaries in 2011.

ORANGE

Woman, 62, dies trying to stop fight

A 62-year-old woman died after apparently trying to break up a fight in her neighborhood on the Fourth of July, police said.

Police Chief Jim Fenwick said Marilyn Baker died at the Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond yesterday morning. She was flown there Wednesday night.

Preliminary police reports say two men were fighting near Miss Baker”s home. When police arrived a few minutes before 10 p.m., they found Miss Baker on the ground with a head injury. Chief Fenwick said the initial investigation indicates that she was struck while trying to break up the fight.

The two men reported to be fighting are in custody but have not been charged, Chief Fenwick said. Their names were not released.

MARYLAND

BERLIN

Two killed in crash, one ejected from car

Two men were killed in an accident Wednesday on Route 50 near the Wicomico-Worcester County line.

Police said two vehicles from Pennsylvania were heading toward Maryland”s beaches on Route 50 when one, a Honda Civic hit a tree in the median about 4 a.m. Joseph Costlow, 20, of Waynesboro, Pa., was ejected onto the highway, where he was run over by a Ford sport utility vehicle.

Mr. Costlow was killed, and police found the body of Nathaniel Kesselring, 21, of Waynesboro, in the back seat of the Civic.

State police spokesman Sgt. Russell Newell said the driver of the SUV, who survived, did not know the other men.

Police were not sure whether Mr. Costlow or Mr. Kesselring was driving the Civic.

Police had few details about the cause of the crash or whether charges would be filed. Police said alcohol is being considered as a factor in the accident.

BEL AIR

County considers school uniforms

Police in Harford County are backing a proposal to require middle- and high-school students to wear school uniforms, saying it could help curb gang violence.

Support for the idea has been gaining momentum in the county, with the school board calling for a report gauging public interest by December. Some officials say uniforms could be required by the 2008 academic year, given public support.

Advocates for school uniforms say they boost student pride and achievement and reduce social pressure to wear expensive fashions. Opponents point to the lack of hard data that those assertions are true.

A spokesman with the Harford County sheriff”s gang suppression unit told the Baltimore Examiner that the uniforms could help in the county”s growing problem with gangs.

“It”s almost like taking away their identity,” said Cpl. Thomas Gamble, noting that gang members tout their affiliation by wearing gang colors, while other students feel compelled to wear neutral colors to avoid being mistaken for a gang member.

Cpl. Gamble said schools along the Route 40 corridor and high schools such as C. Milton Wright and Harford have had gang problems recently.

The school board included researching the school uniform issue in its five-year strategic plan. Currently, individual schools can adopt uniforms on a voluntary basis.

In April, the Harford County Regional Association of Student Councils voted in favor of uniforms. The idea also has the support of some parent-teacher organizations in the county.

DENTON

Judge denies bail for rape suspect

A Caroline County judge has denied bail for the suspect in a rape at a public restroom.

Tyrik Nichols, 29, of Denton, remains held at the county detention center. He is charged with raping a 64-year-old woman who had entered the restroom June 2 at Denton”s Daniel Crouse Memorial Park.

The woman was held captive for about four hours until someone tried to open the door and the woman yelled for help.

During a hearing Tuesday, a defense attorney said Mr. Nichols is not a flight risk and should be eligible to post bail. But the judge ruled that Mr. Nichols should remain held to protect the public.

BALTIMORE

Early morning shooting leaves 3 wounded

Baltimore police are investigating a shooting at a downtown parking garage that wounded three persons.

It happened about 3:30 a.m. yesterday in the garage at Park Avenue and Mulberry Street. Police said someone drove into the garage and a gunman in the vehicle opened fire on two men and a woman.

One man was wounded in the leg, and the other was wounded in the buttocks. There are no details about the injuries to the woman. The injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

Police have no motive for the shooting and have made no arrests.

BALTIMORE

Rabid bat found on zoo path

The Maryland Zoo said tests have confirmed that a wild bat found this week at the zoo was carrying the rabies virus.

The bat was found on a walking path near the chimpanzee exhibit.

Authorities are asking anyone who visited the zoo Monday and may have come in contact with the bat to call a local public health department or a family doctor.

ANNAPOLIS

County restricts ’step out’ traffic stops

Anne Arundel County police officers will no longer step out into the path of speeding drivers to pull them over.

The county police department said officers will continue to perform traffic stops on foot but only from the side of the roadway on slower streets.

The decision comes after a review of the policy by County Executive John R. Leopold and Police Chief James E. Teare Sr. Mr. Leopold had stopped the practice last month after a Howard County officer was struck and killed during such a traffic stop.

Mr. Leopold said officers will perform the traffic stops outside their vehicle only when the speed limit is 35 mph or less.

He said they will stay on the roadside and wear safety vests. Traffic stops on higher-speed roads will be performed using sirens and lights.

From wire dispatches and staff reports