Police search for Linthicum bank robber Glen Burnie Riviera Beach Brooklyn Park Hanover Laurel Annapolis Three hurt in Friday crash Five displaced in house fire Armed pair rob liquor store Prince George’s man charged in bank robbery Skateboarder struck by car Man pleads guilty in murder-for-hire scheme targeting wife Frosh launches Maryland hate crime hotline

Anne Arundel police believe a bank robbery Saturday afternoon in Linthicum may be related to others in neighboring Baltimore City and County.

Police responded to the Wells Fargo, at 721 Hammonds Ferry Road, around 12:19 p.m. Upon arrival, the bank's manager told police that a man approached one of the tellers with a knife and demanded money.

The bank complied and the man then fled. Several officers canvassed the area, but were unable to locate the man.

He is described as black, around 5 feet 10 inches tall with a slim-to-medium build and was last seen wearing a Dallas Cowboys hat. Police released an image of the man captured by the bank's surveillance video Monday morning.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Metro Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

Glen Burnie

Three hurt in Friday crash

Three people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash Friday afternoon in Glen Burnie, an Anne Arundel fire department spokesman said.

Firefighters responded to northbound Route 10 at eastbound Furnace Branch Road around 12:55 p.m. There, they discovered a crash possibly involving as many as four vehicles, Capt. Russ Davies, a fire department spokesman, said.

One of the vehicles had gone off the roadway. A man and a woman, both in their early-to-mid 80s were taken from that vehicle to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with serious but not believed to be life-threatening injuries, Davies said.

One person from one of the other vehicles involved was taken to nearby Baltimore Washington Medical Center with minor injuries, Davies said.

Riviera Beach

Five displaced in house fire

A house fire Tuesday afternoon in Pasadena's Riviera Beach community displaced five people and caused an estimated $35,000 in damage, county fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to the 200 block of Cloverhill Road around 4:20 p.m. where they discovered heavy fire coming from two-story home. Everyone inside the home had escaped prior to their arrival, fire officials said.

It took some 35 firefighters around 15 minutes to bring the blaze under control.

As of Wednesday morning, the cause of the fire remained under investigation.

No one was injured.

The Red Cross is assisting five adults that were displaced, fire officials said.

Brooklyn Park

Armed pair rob liquor store

Anne Arundel police are searching for two men armed with guns that robbed a liquor store Tuesday night in Brooklyn Park.

Officers responded to Murph's Discount Liquors, at 6023 Ritchie Highway, around 9:47 p.m. A clerk told police that two masked men entered the store with handguns and demanded money.

The clerk complied handing over an undisclosed amount of cash. The men then fled the store on foot, police said.

Officers searched the area but were unable to locate the men.

Additional information was not immediately available Wednesday morning.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Metro Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-866-7LOCKUP.

Hanover

Prince George's man charged in bank robbery

A Prince George's County man has been charged in an armed bank robbery Saturday morning in Hanover.

John Edward Bush, Jr., 54, of Bradmoor Lane in Upper Marlboro, has been charged armed robbery, robbery and theft of over $1,000 according to online court records.

Anne Arundel police responded to the Wells Fargo, at 7568 Ridge Road, around 9:36 a.m. Police said that a man, later identified as Bush, approached a teller and implied he had a weapon and then handed them a note announcing a robbery.

Bush was allegedly given an undisclosed amount of cash and then fled. Bush was last seen allegedly fleeing the area in black Chevrolet with Virginia tags, police said.

Several officers canvassed the area and located a vehicle matching the description in the parking garage for the Maryland Live casino. Bush was subsequently located and positively identified as the robber, police said.

He was taken into custody without incident, police said.

Skateboarder struck by car

A skateboarder was taken to a hospital after being struck by a car Saturday near Arundel Mills in Hanover, county fire officials said.

Firefighters responded to the 7600 block of Arundel Mills Circle around 6 p.m. where they found the man, believed to be around 18-years-old, suffering from possibly serious injuries.

He was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, fire officials said.

Laurel

Man pleads guilty in murder-for-hire scheme targeting wife

A Laurel man pleaded guilty Monday in a murder-for-hire scheme after offering an undercover police officer $15,000 to murder his wife.

Aafaq Manejwala, 37, pleaded guilty to charges of solicitation to commit murder in Howard County Circuit Court, said Wayne Kirwan, spokesman for Howard County State's Attorney's Office.

During the Nov. 21 plea hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Susan Weinstein said police learned about Manejwala's plans from a woman he had contacted through a Craigslist ad for sexual services. When Manejwala asked the woman to kill his wife, Weinstein said the woman reported him to the Laurel Police Department, who contact Howard County police.

In March, a police detective posed as the woman's cousin from North Carolina, offering to kill Manejwala's wife in her sleep and make it look like a home robbery or burglary. Manejwala and the undercover officer had several planning meetings in High Ridge Park in Laurel.

At their final meeting in the early morning on March 29, Manejwala handed the detective $100 as a deposit and scheduled the murder for May 5, Kirwan said. Weinstein told the court that Manejwala was arrested at his home shortly after the meeting, where police found his financial records showing "tremendous debts" and a $1 million life insurance policy on his wife.

Kirwan said Manejwala's family, including his wife and parents, were in the courtroom during Monday's hearing, where prosecutors asked for a 20-year prison sentence.

Manejwala's sentencing is currently scheduled for late January 2017.

Annapolis

Frosh launches Maryland hate crime hotline

After increased reports of hate speech in the state, Maryland's Attorney General Brian Frosh on Thursday launched a hotline for victims to report the crimes.

Frosh said in a statement that "Maryland is not immune" to a national "outbreak" of hate incidents targeting racial minorities, Muslims, Jews, immigrants and LGBT people.

The state's top law enforcement officer encouraged victims to report it to local law enforcement, and said calls made to his office on the hotline (1-866-481-8361) would be referred to local officials.

Frosh on Monday said there was an "upwelling" in reports of intolerant conduct and he wanted to reiterate such incidents can be criminal.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has counted 435 incidents of "hateful harassment and intimidation" across the country since Election Day. Eleven of those incidents were in Maryland, and they include harassment and bullying at schools as well as a Silver Spring church that was vandalized to say "white power" and "Trump nation."

President-elect Donald J. Trump said in an interview last week that was surprised to hear of the uptick and urged anyone who may be involved to "stop it."

Credit: By Ben Weathers - [email protected]