we will send it out to sherrie johnson who has been following the story live this morning. >> reporterod morning, megan. that's right. baltimore city police need your help finding the people that are responsible for portraying themselves as cops. this latest incident happened yesterday around 5:30 in the morning when home owners were sonde asleep inside the west baltimore home on garrison avenue. three men with police badges barged in and robbed their home and when the fake officers got inside the home they tied up the people inside and ransacked the house. authorities say this same thing happened at 2 other homes. one on medford and northeast baltimore and the other in federal hill. now city police say the people in this most recent incident were not hurt. reporting live, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> a crackdown is underway on scam artist swindling a staggering 17 billion intaxpayer dollar. almost two years ago the president signed an executive order calling for a crackdown on the illegal payments. however, in some ways, it is now far easier than ever to cheat because people can ap

this morning, sherrie johnson is here with what that frustration has been for many. sherrie. >> reporter: well, that's right. coming up at about 8:30, the- tire list of payouts from the exxon case will be available at the clerk's office in the baltimore county circuit court. these residents are glad this nightmare is over and justice has prevailed. a baltimore county jury says exxon will pay a settlement well into the millionsch the trial began about 6 months ago. more than 150 homes near jarrettsville pike and paper mill took a hit after a leak contaminated the underground water. in 2006 exxon leaked 26,000 gallons of gas into the community. and they turn the lives upside down. five years later, and after a six month trial, plaintiffs say a jury of six women deliver justice and their attorneys agree. >> it was argued that exxon need to be sent a message as corporate america. [audio not understandable] that message has been sent by the jury. >> reporter: the jury awarded piewn if i have damages from -- punitive damages from 50,000 dollars to a high of more than $40 mi

sherrie johnson joins us live with the latest on the new information in the investigation. sherrie. >> reporter: well, abc2 news obtained search warrants for online accounts in phylicia barnes' murder investigation. it may provide a clue to what happened to her. in each warrant authorities are investigating sexual explore taste of children and dispri -- explore station of children anddistribution of child pornography. in one warrant, police are granted access to facebook accounts identified with numbers. the other warrants allow police to get information into several e-mail accounts, two of which contain the name phylicia. she disappeared after chris mats last year. her body -- christmas last year. her body was found npt susquehanna river. -- found in the susquehanna river. we will continue to a follow this case and bring you the latest information as we receive it. reporting live in downtown baltimore, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> thanks a lot. >>> it was supposed to be fun day for a father and son at the ball park. the situation turned tragic. a man took his son to today

sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> a fire is being investigated at a home in sparrows point.ound 4:00 yesterday morning on sparrows point road. baltimore county firefighters put it out quickly and no one was hurt. >>> police are searching for suspects in a shooting outside a club in rosedale outside club baltimore around 2:00 saturday morning. officers found a large group of rowdy people along with a man who was shot in the head as well as the neck. he was taken to bayview medical center where he was pronounced dead. five people way rested for disorderly conduct and one of the five was tased during the arrest. an officer was assaulted but only has minor injuries. >>> montgomery county police say a 28-year-old man was beaten at a family gathering in gaithers bug. police arrest-- gaith yoursburg. police arrested a man -- gaithersburg. police arrested a man. carter was taken to a hospitaler with died. the suspect has been ided as 24- year-old brandon deshell. they got into a fight and deshell hit quarter several times around the head. >>> tense moments outside camp david. a two-

sherrie johnson has more about the search warrants that were obtained access to online accounts.herrie. >> reporter: well, these search warrants could provide a clue as to what may have happened to phylicia barnes n each warrant authorities -- in each warrant, authorities are investigating distribution of child pornography. we don't know how it could be connected to the death n one warrant police are granted access to several facebook accounts which are all identified with numbers. the other warrants allows police to get information into several yahoo and aole-mail accounts two of which contain the name phylicia. the move doesn't necessarily mean that the case has a sex crime element, but that evidence of sexually explicit material discovered during the investigation could provide new insight into her death. she disappeared after christmas last year. her body was found months later near the conowingo dam. so far no arrest has been named or suspects named in the casep we will continue to follow this case and bring you the very latest information as we receive it. reporting live in

sherrie johnson joins with us more

sherrie johnson is here with more on the verdict. >> reporter: well, for folks in one part of baltimore county, it has been a long time coming. but the verdict came back in their favor. a baltimore county jury says exxon will pay a settlement well into the millions. the trial began about 6 months ago. more than 150 homes near jarrettsville pike and paper mill took a massive hit after a leak contaminated the underground water. in 2006, exxon leaked 26,000 gallons of gas into their jacksonville community and tuned their lives upside down. -- turned their lives upside down. some say they finally got justice. >> we thought you couldn't drink it. and we learned it goes through your skin and becomes. [audio not understandable] >> reporter: the jury award punitive damages from 50,000 dollars to a high of more than $40 million. this settlement could become one of the largest in the state's history. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> thank you. >>> epontes of the new law did -- opponents of the new law that would grant in-state tuition to undocumented children got twice as many signatures as need. t

sherrie johnson is live with the latest information on the ongoing investigation. sherrie. >> reporter: well, charley, abc2 news obtained search warrants for online accounts in the case of phylicia barnes. the warrants may provide a clue as to what happened to phylicia. in each warrant, authorities are investigating sexual exploitation of children and distribution and possession of child pornography. we don't know how it could be connected to her death. in one warrant, police are granted access to several facebook accounts which are all identified with numbers. the other warrants allow police to get information into several e-mail accounts two of can i containt name phylicia. she disappeared after christmas and her body was found near the conwingo dam. of course we will continue to follow the case and keep you updated with the latest information. reporting live from downtown baltimore, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> four minutes after five. the mother of a 6-year-old boy who drowned at sandy point state park wants to prevent the tragedy from happening to somebody e

that's what the the suspects are hoping you do and this morning sherrie johnson is live with more on the police impersonators and they are robbing homes throughout the city, sherie. >> reporter: we are here in front -- sherrie. >> reporter: we are here in front of baltimore headquarters where they are trying to figure out what's going on. the latest incident happened in the 2800 block of garrison avenue. it seems to follow a familiar pattern. three men force their way into the home about 5:30 in the morning. when they got inside, they tied up the people and ransacked thehousech the same thing happened at two other homes. one and june 27th in northeast baltimore on medford and the other on july 1st in federal hill. police say it's robbery and disturbing they call themselves police officers. >> they went to the home and identified they selves as baltimore police officers and bound and tied up their victims, took-disclosed amounts of cash -- took an-disclosed amount of cash and a wii game system and electronics from the house and this was at 5:30 a.m. >> reporter: the latest incident the

sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> thank you. >>> another fire in sparrows point. baltimore county police got the call just before early sunday morning. they raced out to 2603 sparrows point road and saw heavy flames. luckily, everyone inside made it out okay. at last check, no injuries and the fire remains under investigation. >>> news time is a minute after 5. they are getting ready for a spectacular show with the inner harbor. as always, the biggest show in town. and linda so is live this morning with what you can expect. linda, you have your spot picked out? >> i do. up here at federal hill, that is great place to be up so high. right by the fireworks. we know that the show will be huge. it always is. before the fireworks show lights up the sky here, there will be plenty of things to do all day long for your entire family. festivities will get underway at haror at noon with entertainment -- harbor at noon with entertainment for the the kids. thousands will come to celebrate america's 225th birthday. setup for the show has begun in curtis bay. two barges are sta

sherrie johnson joins us live from m and t bank stadium with the details. are you going to be getting behind the wheel of a car this morning? >> reporter: no. i am not going to be getting behind the wheel of a car, but we do have a nice instructor jeff over here. he is going to be starting this obstacle course. look over here if you pan over towards jeff. he is going to get started on the course. this is part of a summer of safety programs sponsored by all state. teens will participate in a safe driving challenge. teens will drive through the course trying to avoid cones and focus on the roads while learning about the dangers of driving. now let me tell you. drivers under the age of 20 are the most likely to be involved in distraction related fatalcrashes and right now i am adam a. spokesperson for all state joining me live. good morning. tell us why is this so important? >> >> it's from a public safety crisis where we have every year 5500 people are dying in crashes related to distracted driving. in maryland alone last year we had 36 teens killed. 4500 inj

sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> this morning a. family is mourning -- the this morning, a family is mourning the loss of their son that drowned at sandy point state park. the boy disappeared and despite effort to save him earning died at the hospital. there was a large effort to find him and officials tell us that this is at least the 13th drowning this year so far this season. they are urging people to keep a close eye on their children especially when they are near any water. >>> drownings are all too common and cdc says every day 10 people die from unintentional drowning. of these two are kids age 14 or younger. two of the largest factors for drownings are lack of supervision or children who were not wearing a life jacket. >>> we told you last month keep an eye out for the low flying planes in the area and nasa is testing the air quality for the baltimore/d.c. area again today. beginning at 5:30 # this morning and -- 5:30 this morning until 1:30 this afternoon between d.c. the beltway and baltimore and they will follow i-95. >>>

sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> thank you. >>> the search continues for a missing boater in pasadena.epartment of natural resources and police are calling this a deadly accident. 25-year-old james kane has been ided as the missing person. rescue boats were searching for him. investigators say a woman on the boat with him was rescued from the water by a passing boater. however, his body reportedly never resurfaced. >> units arrived on scene on the water and found a run away boat that was circling out there in the water he with no one aboard -- water with no one aboard. >> the search continues from the land until dark monday night. no word on what caused the man and woman to go overboard. >>> mexican authorities say rescue teams have been considering calling off the search for seven tourists missing in a baja california fishing boat accident that killed one american. the 27 tourists and the 19 crew members on a 7-day fishing trip were thrown into the gulf of california early sunday morning when a sudden storm capsized the boat. about -- about 60 miles south of the port of san philipe. t

sherrie johnson joins us with more on the effort to catch the fakes. sherrie. >> reporter: well, they look like police, they sound like police but they are actually crooks. and this morning, baltimore city police officers are trying to ask for the public's help in finding the people that are responsible for portraying themselves as cops. the latest incident happened at around 5:30 while the homeowners were sound asleep inside the west baltimore home on garrison avenue. suddenly three men with police badges barge in and rob the home and when the fake officers got inside, they tied up the people and ransacked the house. authorities say this same thing happened at two other homes, one on june 27th on medford avenue in northeast baltimore and the other in federal hill on july 1st. the city says they are not sure what they are dealing with here. >> it's unclear if they are copy cats or a group of individuals. they are all across the city the three incidents that we have so far. there's no correlation based on geography we can point to as of yet. >> reporter:

reporting live in downtown baltimore, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> it's 4:48. home is -- hope is running out to find a missing boat here fell into the water over the weekend in the magothy river. james kane was last seen on the boat when the vessel took a sharp turn and threw him and a friend overboard a boat picked up the friend but they couldn't find kane. >>> carroll county sheriff officers are searching for a man wanted for the assault of a girlfriend and the girlfriend's 8-year-old son. it started monday night when the a-year-old michaelter -- 8-year-oldyear -- michael terrell tried abducted her 8- year-old son and took off. he reportedly dropped the boy off at a nearby nursing home. he is at large but the boy is doing okay. >>> city officials worried violence after monday's 4th of july celebration could keep people away from inner harbor. despite the massive police deployment a. child was shot monday night at the intersection of pratt and light streets and he is expected to be okay. also, though a. man was stabbed in the neck and killed outside mccormick

sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> it may have taken 50 years, but a washington family might finally havesome answers on a very cold case. prosecutors allege a 71-year- old grandfather murdered a 7- year-old girl more than five decades ago. he's gone by the name jack mccullougha but police believe he is john and murdered a little girl in illinois after kidnapping her. an ex-girlfriend from 1957 helped police with new evidence that led to his arrest. >>> we are learning more about a deadly police shooting at san francisco train station. passengers say they heard 4 to 5 shots fired at transit officer confronted and shot a man inside san francisco's sick center station. one of the officers was armed with a taser but the police chief says it is unclear at this time why he didn't use it. the chief believes the officers acted appropriately and some passengers see it another way. >> the guy is armed with a knife. the guy used a bottle as a weapon. one of the officers is injured. our officer did what they felt was necessary in defense of their lives. >> i feel if a cop has a gun and a guy has a k

sherrie johnson joins us this morning on de-- with details on how this happened. >> reporter: i just got off the phone with the nursing supervisor and right now 84- year-old roselia nolte is in critical condition at johns hopkins bayview medical center a woman in her 60s who investigators have not identified died in that fire. the fire started around 1:30 saturday afternoon. more than 60 firefighters responded to the two alarm fire onshore drive in edgewater. it took crews about half an hour to put out the fire. once they got inside, nolte suffered life-threatening injuries and the other woman was pronounced dead. neighbors say it was all very hard to see. one man even jumped in to try to save them. >> i tried to get in the house i felt the window first and there was no way. it was super hot. and we opened the door together and both almost got knock out right then and there. >> reporter: -- knocked out right then and there. >> reporter: that neighbor was taken to the hospital for smoke inmalation he's he tried to rest cute victims. investigators are trying to figure out what caused t

sherrie johnson is here with the story about motivation and perseverance. >> reporter: well, they are known as the blackhawks. shaft hunter's son plays on the team and he often sponsored this. this team was awarded the u.s. club soccer region one championsch it was devastating to lose hunter, through determination and perseverance, they made it to a national competition and for six years the group of boys worked towards a goal of getting the opportunity to compete at the national level. now, they have it. the only issue is they must raise about 30,000 dollars to attend that competition. and they need your help to get there. >> not everybody makes it this far, and this team behind me has worked so hard, unbelievably hard, and to give them the opportunity to go against the best teams in the united states would be a milestone for the blackhawks. i am sure other teams would want this and we are asking that they get the due respect they deserve to go out and show that they can prove to be one of the best in the united states. >> we are dedicated. we work hard. we've had hopes and dreams ab

sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> it's 5:47. today funeral services will be held for a 15-year-old killed touring a slumber party. authorities -- during a slumber party. a11-year-old was playing with a gun and accidently shot michael brooks. the gun was in a locked room but the 11-year-old found the key. the services will be held at 10 this morning at christ united methodist church on florida avenue in baltimore. >>> new this morning, baltimore's summer jump-start warrant initiative will start summer -- rather is going to start in the next two weeks. mayor stephanie rawlings-breaks will -- blake will make an announcement. so far, they have made 635 arrests with this. >>> carroll county sheriff's office is taking the law enforcement lead in the county. the deputies were proafl handled by state police. under the deal the sheriff office will be responsible for licensing and maintaining the property information data base and sexual president tourings. they will monitor the incidents on state and federal highways. >>> investigators w

sherrie johnson joins us with more. >> reporter: this morning, at 8:30, the-tire list of payouts from the -- the entire list of payouts from the exxon case will be available at baltimore county circuit courthouse. folks in one part of baltimore county says it's been a long time coming. a jury says exxon will pay a settlement well into the millions. the trial began about 6 months ago more than 150 homes near jarrettsville park and paper mill took a hit after a massive leak contaminated their underground water. in 2006, exxon leaked 26,000 gallons of gas into the jacksonville community and turned their lives upside down. exxon says it came clean admitting they did wrong but they argued they didn't commit fraud. >> we were willing to pay reasonable compensatory damages to those people damaged by the spill. we were certainly not willing to own up to something we absolutely didn't do. [audio not understandable] now i don't have to drive to towson to relive it in my mind. >> reporter: the injure award -- the jury award punitive damages from 50,000 to 40 million. families were award 49 a --

sherrie johnson is here with the story. >> reporter: well, it's a case that has gained national attentioneryone wants justice for 2- year-old caylee. this case has taken a number of twists and turns. prosecutors will have the final word with jurors today before they begin deliberations on casey anthony's fate. 25-year-old casey anthony is charged with caylee's murder. prosecutors say the child was killed because she stood in the way of the fr living lifestyle casey anthony craved. the defense lawyers say little caylee drowned accidently and casey's father disposed of the body. there was a lot of tension in the courtroom yesterday when at one point the defense called out the prosecution for laughing and the judge gave the prosecution and defense a stiff warning for a violation of court policy. >> she died because her mother decided that the life she wanted was more important. >> you hate her. if you think she is a lying no good slut, then you will start to look at the evidence in a different light. you will start to wait a minute. maybe i'm seeing something that's not there. >> reporter: i

sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> thanks a lot. >>> another fire this morning. this one in sparrows point. baltimore county police got the call early sunday morning. it happened near the 2600 block of sparrows point road as fire crews pulled up and saw heavy flames. luckily, everyone inside made it out okay. at last check, no injuriesreported. that fire remains under investigation. >>> 4:33. police want your help finding a shooting suspect this morning. the shooter is on the loose after a saturday night scuffle turned tragic outside club baltimore around 2:00 on saturday morning. officers found a large group of people along with a man who had been shot in the head and neck. he was taken to bayview medical center where he was pronouned dead. five people were arrest -- pronounced dead. five people were arrested for disorderly conduct and an officer was assaulted. >>> a old idea is new again and remember in the 1960s before injury turner and they asked us in a voice it's 11, do you know where your children are. >> baltimore city police department has come back and

reporting live, sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >> thanks. >>> new this morning, an international manhunt for man in hex coacussed of killing a teacher inside her maryland home e crossed back into mexico and police are trying to get him back to maryland where he face murder charges. you see a photograph of him. he had a relationship with the professor susan markham and he made investments with her and was the sole beneficialary of her half million dollar life insurance policy. his dna matches the blood found on an old murder weapon. >> she was hit on her body with a force. and she was choked to death according to a medical examiner. >> he refused to come back but it appears he is taunting police and denies being in maryland during the time of the death. >>> cleanup is underway in tucson arizona after a storm slammed into the city. the fast moving afternoon storms caused damage to homes knocking out power yesterday. it flooded a lot of streets and uprooted trees. state officials say thankfully no one has been injured. >>> we will take you up to gettysburghburg where lightning hit five peop

of former county exec jack johnson has submitted her resignation but it is not effective until the end of the month. that is not sitting well with the rest of the council. sherry ly has the story. >> reporter: leslie johnson took her seat on the prince george's county council just long enough for roll call. the disgraced councilmember would pleaded guilty last week to obstruction charges abruptly walked out before the council met for two hours in closed session. she will remain on the job until july 31st and continue to vote. >> the prince george's county council as a body calls for the immediate resignation of leslie johnson. >> reporter: john >> reporter: johnson and her husband are awaiting sentencing. >> i think we should have the special election as quickly as possible which means the resignation should be as quickly as possible. >> as the fbi moved in on the couple's home, johnson famously stuffed nearly $80,000 in her bra and flushed a $100,000 down the toilet, bribes her husband took from developers. >> that cloud is terrible. it is horrible to be effective with that over your head. >> reporter: the council put the squeeze o. >> the council as a body h

the wife of former county exec jack johnson submitted her resignation today but it's not effective until the end of the month. fox 5's sherri ly has the story. >> reporter: leslie johnson took her seat on the prince georges county council just long enough for roll call. >> ms. johnson. >> good morning, present. >> reporter: the discrete council member who pleaded guilty last week to obstruction charges abruptly walked out before the council met for nearly two hours in closed session. johnson's seat was empty as they announced her resignation effective july 31st. unhappy that she will remain on the job until then and continued to vote. >> the prince georges county council has a body, as a body, calls for the immediate resignation of leslie johnson. >> reporter: she and her husband jack johnson are awaiting sentencing in the scandal. >> i think we should have the special election as quickly as possible. which means the resignation should be as quickly as possible. >> reporter: as the fbi moved in on the couple's home, johnson famously stuffed nearly $80,000 in her bran and flushed a $100,000 check down the toilet. bribes her

johnson, the wife of jack johnson, plans to stay on the job for three more weeks and some of her crittings are not happy about this. sherri ly is live in the newsroom with more. >> reporter: by law, the county council can't force her to resign earlier or cut off her salary but they can put the pressure on leslie johnson didn't stick around, from the couple that demanded she resign immediately instead of july 31st and cut off her perks. >> the council has agreed to restrict all funding included and not lilted to the use of a county car, county parking, cell phone uses, and discretionary funding. >> reporter: johnson pleaded guilty to obstruction charges. her husband pleaded guilty in may to bribery and extortion and in a federal corruption probe. leslie. son admitted stuffing nearly $80,000 in her bra and flushing down a $100,000 check down the toilet with the fbi at her door. >> if you're sorry, you would not have done it in the first place. i am not sure if she got caught up in the middle of it or not, but i feel sorry for her. >> reporter: county administrator baker echoed the couple's demand. her refusal to resign leav