hartford county lawmaker's crack down on towing companies. the delegate actually took the sheriff to court claiming he was helping the companies extort. >> reporter: to hear him tell it tow companies hold on to the person property in the cars they tow to try to force people to pay high fees to get them back. >> more and more people are moving in to the county and preforming more and more acts against the public. this isn't about me. >> reporter: his battle is also a personal one. following a crash he went to this towing company and demanded his property including the tags his vehicle. the owners say when they told him they couldn't release them until the bill was paid he tried to pull weight saying he was a state lawmaker and he

threatened to call the sheriff and have them arrested. when the sheriff didn't bite claiming was a civil matter the delegate took him to court. >> it's not -- it's a ridiculous lawsuit. if you read it is on behalf of the hartford county delegation. it's abuse of power. he is -- filing as ayodele gate. if he filed it as a private citizen you know he has a right to do that. >> reporter: a judge dismissed the case saying it's the county, not the sheriff who who regulates the tow companies. the court can't mandate who the sheriff has to arrest. >> we are in compliance with the law, the -- there are five officials in this county -- i'm

the only one that was sued in this case. >> reporter: the delegate failed to mention in court that after his request to get his tags was denied he later returned to the lot on personal property and took them without permission. >> since the crash the delegate has twice introduced bills to force the senate to enforce the towing regulations. we want to make sure you are safe hitting the mall. charlie with your crime checker report. >> reporter: the news is working for you with our weekly crime checker. with the holiday shopping season in full swing it's important that you remain extra aware when keeping yourself, friends and family safe while out and about. a few tips you want to keep in mind. stay alert of your surroundings and the people around you. would be robbers always on the look out for expensive bags and signs you may have expensive

items. shop with a friend there. is safety in numbers. think of it like a buddy system. you watch their back, they watch yours. also avoid carrying large amounts of cash and consider paying by check, credit or by debit card. don't over burden yourself with to many packages. use the store's pick um package option and if you are out of sorts there is a chance lue be an easy target for a would be thief. if you want to see this or other crime checkers head to the website and look under the crime tab. it's just another way we are working for you. abc 2news. >> all right. 5:33, coming in the door. police from baltimore, shall shoot a robbery suspect this afternoon. it started when officers spotted a car used in a robbery

last night. they chased the car and the man rammed two police cruisers and finally stopped. he got out of the car, pointed the gun at his head. officers said to drop the gun. he then point it at them and that's what they shot him. he is expected to recover. bullying trial opened up in baltimore. it's pitting the sullivan family against the city school system. the family said their son is a special needs student and was bullied beaten at two schools. now the parents claim they went to the principal but the bullying never stopped. >> let's get a look at where the rain is. we have had showers on and off through the day. still rain out there on the radar. most of this drifting east and it's the eastern shore that finds most of the rain right now. as we zoom out just a little you can see it's in fact the

del marva area, cambridge, dorchester up through denton. finding some rain there and the rest of the precipitation is up on the state line, northern carroll, frederick, getting a little bit of precipitation. temperatures in the 50s to near 60s. it's a mild december night. through the 50s. more showers, stays mild. we will talk about how the weather changes big time temperature wise in to the weekend. >> all right. now here is the latest on that geezer bandit. police in california think a halloween costume called the elder mask could be an important clue. the idea is that this man may be a man or woman in a mask. now investigators know where he or see got the mask.

they made the mask that -- authorities served the company with search warrants to find who bought the mask, believed to be the one worn by the bandit. more than 11,000 fans facebook. a pickup truck barrels in to a convenience store. the truck hits the store owner but may not have been the target. what police think was behind it. and raise your hand if you have seen this before. a bear on top of a trash truck. how it got stuck and what happened to the little bear.

. new tonight, it's a fire ball in a california freeway. this a tanker truck. on the 60 freeway east of la.

everything is shut down. nobody -- going on this bridge. the fire was so damaged the overpass. it took 200 firefighters to get it under control. the stretch of road that carries 200,000 vehicles a day will be shut down through the weekend. not just today, through the weekend. here say pick um truck coming through a convenience store in tennessee. the store owner customers barely got out in time and the crash as you can see on camera, the driver crashed into the columbia market, hits the owner. he wasn't seriously hurt. andrea saw it happen. she was driving down the road. >> i'm right behind him and he drives all the way down and i see him take a -- across that curb and take that tree out and then i'm on the phone with the 911 and i saw him hit the white cadillac and drop through the store and i was like he just drove through the store. >> he she is a nurse and thought the driver was having a heart attack so she pulled into

help and saw the store own; then the suspect stole her car. police believe the driver was trying to run over a woman inside the store. he is facing attempted murder charges. just when you think that story is going one way it goes the other. here we are in canada and trash is gone to the bears. specifically one black bear that was able to get on top of a trash truck in downtown vancouver. i found payday. look at that. right if inside this trash truck. teams had to shoot the animal with a tranq. thehe owner of the truck think itself was searching for food and got trapped. kids, have big expectations for santa but even in the economy, impacts santa. how to prepare your children for what santa can and can't bring. and tricks to finding the very hard to find gift this is holiday. grab a pen and paper.

we will help you out and find what's on your child's most wanted list.

. your money, for such a jolly guy santa can raise tough questions. we round up expert tips on answering the tough questions about wish lists and more. >> reporter: whether they have put a letter in the mail or paid a visit at the mall, some little ones have big expectations when it comes to santa. with the sluggish economy and millions of americans out of work, not all wishes can be filled. that's when parents should talk about the tough economy and how it may impact santa. >> parents have a lot of influence on hoping children not be excessive consumers.

setting reasonable expectation social is important. >> reporter: don't treat santa just as a guy and brings presents but as a symbol of giving. >> the whole idea is about being generous and people can use that and use it to talk act just santa giving gifts and what they are verses filling every desire whether you want it or not. >> reporter: she said it's an opportunity to instill compassion in kids, to be grateful for what they do receive instead of focusing on what they don't. >> and if you are out there struggling to buy the hottest toy this season, don't worry. we have tips for shopping with in your budget from parenting and money saving blogger ashley. here is what she suggests. first, check out craigslist. you can find used toys for lower prices there. and if you are buying online

check for free shipping offers, try to keep the spending equal among kids and think about selling some older toys before you buy new ones. focus on activities rather than opening gifts, and take some time out to give back, doing community service as a family. try wrapping toys like boxes and give them to younger kids and talk to your friends, chances some of them are in the same situation and may like the idea of swapping toys instead of buying new. while you are out there remember the child in need. it's the 13th year for the toy drive honoring fallen police officers and firefighters. here is a special mess fridge the sheriff's department. >> on behalf of sheriff anderson and the members of the sheriff's office we want to wish you all a merry christmas.

. ♪ [ music ] we wish you a merry christmas. ♪ [ music ] . >> tell you what, that sounds better this year. they were great. you can just drop new, unused toys at any local wal-mart stores. you can also donate new or used instruments because we are teaming up with bso. all the details on the website. >> now, maryland's most powerful radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> all right. that's good stuff. good stuff. some rain still out there tonight on the radar. i think we will see less and less as the evening goes on.

show you where the rain is right now and most of this precipitation is actually south, southeast of us, pushing in to delaware at the moment. i will say this. there are still some showers back toward the glenn burney area. further north -- little bit of wet weather in this direction as well level watch this, still showers to be had. wet roads making traffic worse, humidity 75%. mid-december, we have just a few days left of fall. then we will be at december 21st and the first day of winter. earlyly sunset around 4:43. cloudy conditions the bottom line. chances for rain throw the ray. frederick no different. have you a couple of waves of rain and may get another in here this evening before it's

all said and done. look at the wind from the south. 12 to 15. the winds are a very warm, southerly wind so that's helping keep temperatures up despite gusts to near 30 miles an hour. temperatures right now running in the upper 50s to low 60s. washington 62 still, most of us in the mid50s. across the area, couple of lines of showers, one is pushed through the baltimore area and another line back approaching garret now and even another narrow line toward west virginia. the frontal boundary will continue to push east. it'll bring in the colder stuff. be ready for that. you can see the numbers reflecting that. chicago down to 36 right now. quite the contrast of almost 30 degrees cooler. overnight 43, showers at times. they will taper off late and then into the day tomorrow. 48 and that is about lunchtime after that fall into the

evening. falling temperatures tomorrow night as we go to 32 with a frost overnight. the seven day forecast shows basically a cooler, even colder outlook for the weekend. still not bad by mid-december standards, this is the last weekend of fall 201. how is that wrapping up fall on a quiet note. >> thank you. all right. thursday night. has to be a debate. we just found one in iowa. we have the preview and the pressure is on. >> reporter: it is. there have been 12 of these but tonight's may be the most important because they are 19 days away. >> the republican candidate for president of the united states. >> reporter: this campaign season the debates have delivered some memorable moments. >> i'm a --. >> i'm speaking. >> commerce, education, and -- the what's the third one?

>> i will tell you what. ten thousand dollars? >> i'm prepared to take the heat for saying let's be humane in enforcing the law. > to say you can't secure the border is treason. >> will you let me finish? >> reporter: the pressure is onto have a great performance because one big problem could mean a lasting moment. we could also see a familiar target. >> a -- maybe a sequel to saturday night. we saw gingrich come under attack there the other candidates. >> reporter: he is one of five who have held the top spot in the polls. now another candidate, may be in the line to make a run. ron paul trails gingrich by just 1% in a poll. that's well with in the margin of error. >> we will do very well and have a much better showing than

anybody has given us credit for. >> reporter: bottom line, there is a lot of pressure for them. they have been rotating positions in iowa. >> all right. we will talk to you tomorrow. find out how they did. coming up all new at six, a brand new dispatch system but the reviews aren't all positive. this is normally not the time of year people think about cutting back but one woman doing just that. how she feels after completing the challenge. those and more new for you at six and now a preview of world news. >> coming up on world news, four generations under one roof? great grandparents, grandparents, parents, all moving in together. why? the real modern family, tonight on world news.

. you spent more money last week after take age short break following thanksgiving weekend. that's according to the research firm shopper track. sales for the week rose more than 10% from the previous week. business was down nearly 2% compared to the same week a year ago. just in time for christmas the samsung galaxy nexus is on sale. it runs on the new operating system that google calls ice cream sandwhich. that's good. the phone retails for $300. move over surry, get ready for a new google feature -- they act like a personal assistant. they can help you locate phone

numbers and addresses. if are you a star trek fan you may realize that it's named offer majel barrett rodden berry the voice of the ship's computer and wife of gene roddenberry. some local 5th graders get a lessreds of miles away. how technology is connecting their class on the news at six which starts right now. . >> abc 2news at six. >> a simple walk home turns deadly for a teen. live with late details. >> what would you do if you called the police and the people coming to help went to the wrong place? why some say that is what happened over the weekend. and do you think you could make it a month without your favorite drink? why one local woman took the challenge and how she is feeling tonight. a 15-year-old was hit and killed late this afternoon in baltimore county. police are trying to put

everything together about what happened. we are live in the parkville area with more. >> reporter: just in the last hour since very talked to you police have cleared the scene. it's gotten dark. the lights have come on. you wouldn't know something terrible happened just a short time ago. police have said that two boys were walking east on putty hill avenue here, apparently they say one of them ran out into the lane or walked out into the way of traffic and was struck by a car heading eastbound on putty hill and then shortly after the boy was struck by a second car going the other way. you saw the video a car with front end damage. that was the second one that -- she didn't know what she hit. she had no way of avoiding the boy in the situation. police haven't said if there will be any charges in the case though it would ap