May 13, 2008 5:34 pm US/Eastern
Man In Center Of Pikesville Mystery Free On Bail
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) ―
He scared his Pikesville neighbors in the middle of the night for years before police found him.
Now, the man accused of firing pyrotechnics out of the window of his fourth floor condominium building has been released from jail.
Derek Valcourt first broke the story with exclusive video of the disturbing blasts and explains bail has been reduced for Frederick Mackler.
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Eyewitness News has video capturing the blasts that woke neighbors and baffled police. Those blasts, always in the middle of the night, happened so frequently that police started investigating and set up cameras to find out where it was coming from.
That led them to the fourth floor Stevenson Commons condo of 59-year-old Frederick Mackler. According to court charging documents, Mackler confessed to using a bird blast that emits a light and loud bang to scare aware birds. But police say he used it to intentionally upset his neighbors.
"He may have had issue with some of the residents in that area or even with the condominium," said Cpl. Mike Hill with Baltimore County Police.
Inside Mackler's condo, police say they found 12 handguns, an Uzi submachine gun, .223 rifle, two shotguns, 200 rounds of pyrotechnics, six ounces of cocaine and one ounce of marijuana.
A defense attorney said Mackler was chronically depressed and crying out for help.
At first, a judge denied Mackler bail, concerned he would "blow up the neighborhood." But now a different judge has released Mackler on $250,000 bail. The judge ordered him to home detention at his brother's Owings Mills home or at a psychiatric treatment center on the Eastern Shore. At all times, he must keep at least five miles away from the Stevenson Commons condo building.
Prosecutors argued unsuccessfully against allowing bail and have argued all along Mackler is a flight risk and a threat to the community.
"Anytime you have a mental health component, it creates uncertainty as to what that person might do," said Kristin Blumer, a Baltimore County prosecutor.
For now, neighbors are glad for a good night's sleep.
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