Maryland
Woman indicted for hit and run murder of girlfriend in Md.
Incident took place on Baltimore-Washington Parkway last November
A federal grand jury in Maryland on Feb. 3 indicted a Florida woman on a charge of second- degree murder for allegedly fatally hitting her girlfriend with her car on Nov. 24, 2021, along the side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway where U.S. Park Police later found the girlfriend’s body.
Records from the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland show that Janice Martina Mason, 28, of Melbourne, Fla., is being accused by federal prosecutors of killing Sharisse Denise Carr, 26, with her car on land “within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.”
The Baltimore Sun reports that Mason was initially charged with murder by local authorities in Anne Arundel County where the case was brought before the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court. The Sun reports that the case against Mason in county court remains open but a spokesperson for the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office said federal prosecutors would assume prosecution of the case soon.
The Sun reports that charging documents filed in the Circuit Court show that Park Police linked Mason to the case shortly after Carr’s body was found along the side of the parkway when Mason called police to report that her phone had been thrown out of the window of her car on the highway and she tracked it back to the police.
The court records show Park Police interviewed Mason and she told them she and Carr were girlfriends for about two months and the two got into a physical fight and she left Carr on the side of the parkway before driving away, the Sun reports. Park Police detectives, after determining there were inconsistencies in Mason’s story about what happened, called her back for another interview and informed her they observed damage on her car “consistent with striking a person,” according to the Sun’s story on the case.
Mason then changed her story by saying Carr began assaulting her while Mason was driving and the two continued to fight after Mason pulled the car over to the side of the highway, the Sun reported the Circuit Court documents as saying. Mason said Carr then got out of the car and picked up what “appeared to be a rock or a brick” and started back toward the vehicle while wielding the object, the charging documents obtained by the Sun state.
Mason told police investigators she thought her “life was in jeopardy,” the Sun says the charging documents say.
The federal grand jury indictment says Mason “did on lands within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, with malice of aforethought, unlawfully kill Victim 1.”
The Sun reports that Mason is being held at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center in Annapolis.
Maryland
Expanded PrEP access among FreeState Justice’s 2026 legislative priorities
Maryland General Assembly opened on Jan. 14
FreeState Justice this week spoke with the Washington Blade about their priorities during this year’s legislative session in Annapolis that began on Jan. 14.
Ronnie L. Taylor, the group’s community director, on Wednesday said the organization continues to fight against discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS. FreeState Justice is specifically championing a bill in the General Assembly that would expand access to PrEP in Maryland.
Taylor said FreeState Justice is working with state Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s County) and state Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Arundel and Howard Counties) on a bill that would expand the “scope of practice for pharmacists in Maryland to distribute PrEP.” The measure does not have a title or a number, but FreeState Justice expects it will have both in the coming weeks.
FreeState Justice has long been involved in the fight to end the criminalization of HIV in the state.
Governor Wes Moore last year signed House Bill 39, which decriminalized HIV in Maryland.
The bill — the Carlton R. Smith Jr. HIV Modernization Act — is named after Carlton Smith, a long-time LGBTQ activist known as the “mayor” of Baltimore’s Mount Vernon neighborhood who died in 2024. FreeState Justice said Marylanders prosecuted under Maryland Health-General Code § 18-601.1 have already seen their convictions expunged.
Taylor said FreeState Justice will continue to “oppose anti anti-LGBTQ legislation” in the General Assembly. Their website later this week will publish a bill tracker.
The General Assembly’s legislative session is expected to end on April 13.
Maryland
Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated
Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs
By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.
The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.
By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Maryland
Steny Hoyer, the longest-serving House Democrat, to retire from Congress
Md. congressman served for years in party leadership
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and LISA MASCARO | Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the longest-serving Democrat in Congress and once a rival to become House speaker, will announce Thursday he is set to retire at the end of his term.
Hoyer, who served for years in party leadership and helped steer Democrats through some of their most significant legislative victories, is set to deliver a House floor speech about his decision, according to a person familiar with the situation and granted anonymity to discuss it.
“Tune in,” Hoyer said on social media. He confirmed his retirement plans in an interview with the Washington Post.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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