Charles County
Bus safety program in full effect throughout county
Charles County Sheriff’s Office announced that the BusPatrol school bus safety program went into full effect on Tuesday, Jan. 18, according to a press release.
Tuesday marked the end of a 60-day warning period that began in November to alert drivers of the new program that uses cameras on Charles County Public School buses to catch motorists violating bus stopping laws.
The Charles sheriff’s office, in partnership with safety technology company BusPatrol, placed 375 cameras on district school buses in an effort to stop drivers from running bus-deployed stop signs.
A total of 1,120 violations were caught in a trial period from Nov. 18 to Dec. 31, 2021.
The sheriff’s office also reminded residents that on Leonardtown Road, drivers must stop for school buses with flashing signs no matter what direction they are traveling, since the road is not divided by a barrier, median or other dividing structure in Charles.
During the evaluation period, the 5100 block of Leonardtown Road near Forest Park in Waldorf, the 2800 block of Crain Highway in Waldorf and the 6300 block of Crain Highway in La Plata where the leading violation areas, according to the release.
Washington man charged with theft of motor vehicle
Anthony Holland, 38, of Washington, D.C, was arrested and charged with two felonies for theft between $1,500 and $25,000, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle on Jan. 11.
According to charging documents, deputies with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office found Holland sleeping behind the wheel of a silver 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck at a gas station in the 4700 block of Crain Highway in White Plains.
When officers ran a check on the registration plates, the vehicle was flagged as stolen through Prince George’s County on Jan. 2. Officers then took Holland into custody.
Documents state that officers found the ignition system in the vehicle had been tampered with and a screw driver that could fit inside the ignition key hole was found in the vehicle.
Mechanicsville man arrested for burglary and theft
Brandon David Cather, 32, of Mechanicsville was charged with felony second-degree burglary and misdemeanor theft between $100 and $1,500 after an alleged theft on Jan. 13.
Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputies encountered Cather after he was caught traveling at 80 mph in a 45 mph zone while traveling north on Smallwood Drive in Waldorf, according to a release from the sheriff’s office. Officers then observed Cather pull into the back of a nearby hotel.
Charging documents state that Cather informed officers he was a former employee of Tractor Supply and identified his vehicle, a Honda Fit.
During their investigation, officers allegedly found a Coleman motorized minibike, valued at $899, in the passenger seat of the vehicle still wrapped in the original packaging.
Officers were later informed by two members of the Waldorf Fire Department who alleged they witnessed Cather exit the rear parking lot of the Tractor Supply at a high rate of speed and ran through a red light at the intersection of Crain Highway and Billingsley Road.
When officers went to the Tractor Supply, they found an opened shipping box for the minibike with documentation linking the bike in Cather’s car to the one that was stolen.
DARRYL KINSEY JR.
St. Mary’s County
Great Mills man, 32, charged with burglary and assault
John Otha Dickens Jr., 32 of Great Mills was charged with fourth-degree burglary, second-degree assault and malicious destruction of property, all misdemeanors, stemming from a Dec. 10 incident.
Dickens allegedly pulled his girlfriend’s hair and her wig came off during an altercation. The woman allegedly struck Dickens’ arm with a knife and caused it to bleed after he allegedly broke into her residence in the 22000 block of Fleets Way in Lexington Park. Dickens allegedly damaged the front door and door frame and broke a 65-inch flatscreen TV. The door damage was estimated at $650 and the TV at $500.
Dickens was arrested on Dec. 29 and posted a $3,000 bond that day.
Lexington Park man charged with assault on woman
Pierre Rashad Chase, 29, of Lexington Park was charged with second-degree assault, a misdemeanor, after he allegedly punched his girlfriend in the head and slapped her all over her body in the 21600 block of Liberty Drive in Lexington Park on Dec. 25. He was arrested and posted a $5,000 bond on Dec. 29.
Great Mills man, 23 charged with assault at motel
Tavaz Kelvon Somerville, 23, was charged with first- and second-degree assault, a felony and a misdemeanor, after police responded to the Super 8 Motel in California on Sept. 14. Somerville allegedly hit a man in the face with the butt of a handgun and pointed a gun at the man in two separate incidents on Sept. 14 and 18.
Somerville was arrested Jan. 14 and held without bond. According to a charging document, Somerville is prohibited from owing a firearm. He was found guilty of second-degree assault on May 24 stemming from a Feb. 1 incident last year.
Leonardtown woman charged with assault with a cup
Rachel Nicole Cooksey, 24, of Leonardtown was charged with misdemeanor second-degree assault on Dec. 24 after she allegedly threw a metal pink cup at her fiance.
The cup allegedly struck the man in the jaw and caused it to bleed. She was arrested and released on her own recognizance on Dec. 24.
CALEB M. SOPTELEAN
Calvert County
North Beach man, 54, charged with assault
A 54-year-old North Beach man is being held with bond after being charged with assaulting a 62-year-old woman on Jan. 11. In charging documents filed in court by Calvert sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Jones, the victim alleged the defendant, Paul Scott Walker, pushed her up against a wall at a North Beach residence, then stuck a pen against her neck, kicked her in the ankle and shoved her.
Walker allegedly told the woman, “I’m going to kill you if you don’t find my drugs,” Jones wrote in charging papers.
Jones stated the woman was evaluated by emergency medical services but refused hospital treatment.
Walker was arrested after fleeing to a nearby residence. He was charged with first-and second-degree assault.
After two bail reviews, he remains incarcerated and was ordered not to imitate or harass the victim. A hearing on the charges is scheduled for Feb. 11 in district court.
Lusby woman, 33, faces assault charges from Thanksgiving
On Jan. 13, a Lusby man filed a written complaint with the Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office alleging a 33-year-old woman assaulted him during an argument on Thanksgiving Day.
The alleged assaulter is identified in the complaint as Christine Browning Harris of Lusby.
According to the complaint, the victim was attempting to drive away from his residence but Harris stood in the vehicle’s path. The complainant stated when he got out of the vehicle to tell her to move, “she choked me until I nearly passed out.”
The man wrote he had a neck bruise and had trouble speaking “for about a week” after the alleged assault.
A criminal summons charging Harris with first- and second-degree assault and false imprisonment was issued.
A preliminary inquiry regarding the incident is scheduled for March 7 in district court.
Calvert man wanted in Delaware as fugitive
On Jan. 14, Richard Carl Morrison, 56, of North Beach was arrested by Calvert County authorities after it was learned he was a fugitive from justice in Delaware. According to court records, the arresting officer was Calvert sheriff’s office Deputy Cody Shoemaker.
Documents stated Morrison had been charged a third time for driving under the influence of drugs by police in Georgetown, Del., when he fled and returned to Maryland.
The same day as his arrest, Morrison posted $5,000 and was released. Court records show Morrison declined to waive extradition. A district court hearing on the fugitive from justice charge in Calvert was scheduled for Thursday.
One charged with vandalism, theft in case from summer
Last Sept. 6 a Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Chevy Tahoe used by the K9 unit was found vandalized on Broomes Island Road in Port Republic, where it had been parked. A spotlight that had been attached to the vehicle was missing.
On Jan. 14 charges were filed against Andrew Jason Causey Jr., 20, of Lusby by sheriff’s office Detective Michael Mudd. Causey is charged with theft and malicious destruction of property. A summons was issued that day.
According to charging papers submitted to district court by Mudd, Causey, who was identified by a “tipster,” is alleged to have thrown a liquor bottle at the driver’s side window. Additionally, a woman located during the subsequent investigation told police she saw Causey at a party displaying the spotlight.
A preliminary inquiry regarding the charges is scheduled for Feb. 28 in district court.
MARTY MADDEN
