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Two men wounded in separate shootings
Two men were shot and wounded overnight Saturday in separate incidents — a 25-year-old in Poppleton of West Baltimore and 27-year-old in Howard Park of Northwest Baltimore, according to city police. The 25-year-old man was walking into his own house when he was wounded in his stomach and leg by an unknown shooter, police said. Officers were called about 11:15 p.m. to the shooting in the 800 block of W. Lexington St. The man was hospitalized in serious condition. Almost an hour later, a 27-year-old checked himself into the hospital with wounds to his back and legs in the other incident. That man was shot in the 3500 block of Gwynn Oak Ave., police said. He was hospitalized in serious but stable condition. Anyone with information on either incident may call police, 1-866-7LOCKUP.
I-95 express toll lanes to close for maintenance
The Maryland Transportation Authority says northbound Interstate 95 express toll lanes in Baltimore will be closed 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Tuesday. The closures started Sunday. Motorists will be directed to use the adjacent mainline I-95 traffic lanes. Officials said crews will be performing routine maintenance and inspections. After the northbound closures, the southbound I-95 express toll lanes will be closed Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. In the event of inclement weather or other variables, work also may performed overnight April 10 through April 13.
Prince George’s police reviewing DNA lab
Prince George’s County police are reviewing the department’s DNA lab after learning that an employee had accredited work at a Texas facility that later had to be shut down. Authorities say the review has found DNA profiles that should have been entered into a national database, lags in notifying investigators of DNA profile matches, and outdated methods used to calculate the individuality of profiles. Police Chief Hank Stawinski ordered the review in November, and the department suspended the employee, who also serves as a national accreditor in lab audits. Stawinski also has alerted six other law enforcement agencies audited by the employee to scrutinize their lab operations. An attorney for Lynnett Redhead told The Washington Post she is on paid leave but said she did nothing inappropriate.
Court rejects appeal from man convicted of killing 4
Maryland’s highest court has rejected an appeal from a man serving life without the possibility of parole for fatally shooting four people, including two toddlers. A Prince George’s County jury convicted Darrell Lynn Bellard of Dickinson, Texas, in 2014 of first-degree murder in the 2010 killings. On appeal, Bellard argued that a jury should have decided whether to sentence him to life or life without parole. The Maryland Court of Appeals rejected Bellard’s petition late last week.