A district court judge has declined a Baltimore woman’s peace order attempt against former City Council President Lawrence Bell III for lack of evidence.
Shan Mabry, 49, claims she dated the ex-politician for 20 years, but requested peace orders against him last September and late last month because he harassed her and destroyed her property.
In her petition for the second peace order, she said she willingly dismissed the first order against Bell, 49, because he was running for elected office, but asserted he continued to cyber-stalk her and tap into her phone conversations.
Mabry was granted a temporary peace order against Bell March 1 and March 8, but at a final hearing March 15, District Court Judge Halee Weinstein chose not to grant an extended peace order that would have lasted six months because “the petitioner could not meet required burden of proof,” according to court records.
Bell still faces third-degree criminal charges of burglary, theft of less than $1,000, excessive telephone calls and stalking related to the case. That trial is set for April 7.
The former public figure and his attorney could not be reached by AFRO deadline, but in a recent interview, Bell questioned how, “any court commissioner could sign off on this” after reading the criminal complaint. “I think it will become apparent to anyone with ordinary judgment that the allegations defy common sense,” he said.
Mabry declined to comment when approached by the AFRO.
Bell served 12 years on the city council before launching an unsuccessful mayoral bid against Gov. Martin O’Malley in 1999, a campaign which brought to light Bell’s unflattering personal and financial woes. He dropped out of public view and moved to Atlanta before resurfacing in Baltimore in 2006 for a state senate race, eventually won by Catherine Pugh, D-40.
