Maryland Public Information Act Request:
| Tracking # |
21-2670 |
| Submitted | Aug. 5, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Jennings Brown
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
Please provide any and all records and reports relating to or mentioning the Maryland State Police's investigation into Scott Caruthers, Dulsa Naedek (formerly Debra Hackerman), and Dashielle Lashra (formerly Irmina Dzambo,) which resulted in this arrest of Caruthers, Naedek, and Lashra, and the search of their home at 597 Scott Dr. Westminster, Maryland 21157, the week of October 3, 2001.
Please also provide copies of all of all audio recordings (approximately 150 hours of tape), notebooks, and other documents seized by the Maryland State Police during the search of the home of their home at 597 Scott Dr. Westminster, Maryland 21157, the week of October 3, 2001.
The officers seized audio recordings, notebooks, and other materials have been widely described in the news media, namely in reports by the Baltimore Sun:
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2003-05-12-0305120003-story.html
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2002-10-20-0210200264-story.html
I am a member of the news media and request classification as such. I have previously written for Esquire magazine, Popular Mechanics magazine, and Gizmodo. My articles have been widely read, with some reaching over 1 million readers. As such, I have a reasonable expectation of publication and my editorial and writing skills are well established.
I made a similar request for these documents in October 2020 (PIA case number is 20-3046). However in that request I included the wrong year. I apologize for the error.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Jennings Brown
From: Maryland State Police
*RE: PIA 21-2670Requesting all records and reports relating to or
mentioning the Maryland State Police's investigation into Scott Caruthers,
Dulsa Naedek (formerly Debra Hackerman), and Dashielle Lashra (formerly
Irmina Dzambo,) which resulted in the arrest of Caruthers, Naedek, and
Lashra, and the search of their home at 597 Scott Dr. Westminster, Maryland
21157, the week of October 3, 2001.*
*Requesting copies of all of all audio recordings (approximately 150 hours
of tape), notebooks, and other documents seized by the Maryland State
Police during the search at 597 Scott Dr. Westminster, Maryland 21157, the
week of October 3, 2001.*
Dear Requester:
On August 6, 2021, the Maryland State Police received your request made
under the Public Information Act (Annotated Code of Maryland, General
Provisions Article §§ 4-101 through 4-601) for the information captioned
above. As you stated, this recent request is a near duplicate to the one
submitted last year *(PIA 20-3046)*, with the notable exception of the year
of the incident 2001 vs 2002.
While the date mixup should not have been the reason why no records could
be located a year ago, a second search has been initiated, but this time
with the correct date. Certainly it will take us more than 10 working days
to perform a thorough search of our records and, if applicable, to conduct
the necessary review process, but I believe we'll be able to provide
closure to your request within 30 days of the date it was received.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
[image: Changing Maryland for the Better]
*Mark Urbanik*
Director, Management Analysis
Maryland Department of State Police
Headquarters / Planning & Research
1201 Reisterstown Rd
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 653-4253(O)
Website <https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/MarylandStatePolice>| Twitter
<https://twitter.com/MDSP>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Maryland Public Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 5, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #21-2670.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Maryland State Police
Dear Requester,
Thank you for reaching out to me. As I have yet to get a response from the
Hall of Records as to whether or not any records can be identified, I'm
redoubling my efforts on this end. I'll keep you posted but please do not
hesitate to keep in touch with me via email or by phone.
Sincerely,
[image: Changing Maryland for the Better]
*Mark Urbanik*
Director, Management Analysis
Maryland Department of State Police
Headquarters / Planning & Research
1201 Reisterstown Rd
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 653-4253(O)
Website <https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/MarylandStatePolice>| Twitter
<https://twitter.com/MDSP>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Maryland Public Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 5, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response. You had assigned it reference number #21-2670.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Maryland State Police
Dear Requester:
This letter is in response to your recent request under the Maryland Public
Information Act for records in the possession of the Maryland State
Police. A search of the Department's records has come up with 649 pages of
reports, internal notes, interview notes and the like that are related to
the incident in question. However, the records that were collected *do not*
include the requested audio recordings, notebooks or other materials
seized from the residence.
If you are interested in receiving copies of the records identified, it's
estimated it will take staff approximately four minutes to review each page
and conduct any redactions required by the Maryland Public Information Act.
The hourly pay for staff involved in this review process is $42.00 an
hour. Therefore, the estimated cost of reviewing and preparing the
documents requested is $1,722.00 (41 hours staff time x $42/hr), including
the two hours of free research time required by law. In addition, the
Department charges a fee for copies at a rate of $0.25 per page. As such, *the
total fee in this matter is $1,884.25.*
Due to the significant amount of staff time needed to complete this
request, the Maryland State Police will not waive fees. We will initiate
further processing of your request upon receipt of a check made payable to
the Maryland State Police for $1,884.25. *Please note the PIA number on
your payment.* Payment should be mailed to:
Maryland State Police
1201 Reisterstown Road
Pikesville, MD 21208
Attn: 02 P&R PIA
Pursuant to the Annotated Code of Maryland General Provisions Article §
4-362, you are entitled to seek judicial review of this decision. You may
also refer any concerns about this decision to the Public Access Ombudsman
pursuant to GP § 4-1B-01 et seq.
Sincerely,
[image: Changing Maryland for the Better]
*Mark Urbanik*
Director, Analysis & Transparency
Maryland Department of State Police
Headquarters / Planning & Research
1201 Reisterstown Rd
Pikesville, MD 21208
(410) 653-4253(O)
Website <https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx> | Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/MarylandStatePolice>| Twitter
<https://twitter.com/MDSP>
From: Jennings Brown
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $1884.25 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
From: Jennings Brown
Mr. Urbanik,
I am following up on the following Public Information Act request, copied below. It has been about 80 days since I paid the fee associated with reviewing and preparing the documents I requested. Please let me know when I can expect to receive the requested materials.
Thank you for your help.
Jennings Brown
Maryland State Police
02 P&R PIA
1201 Reisterstown Road
Pikesville, MD 21208
From: Maryland State Police
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
-
Responsive Documents
From: Maryland State Police
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
-
Responsive Documents