William Shawn Carter, age 46, of Lexington Park
On Wednesday, July 21, 2021, at approximately 4:30 p.m., Deputy M Graves of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Tackle Box located on Three Notch Road, in Lexington Park after the Youth Gun Violence Task Force received information that a firearm and shotgun barrel with a scope was stolen from the business on Saturday, July 17, 2021.
Upon reviewing video surveillance of the theft, Deputy Graves recognized the suspect in the theft as William Shawn Carter, age 46, of Lexington Park. He was able to positively identify Cater from his previous encounters with Carter.
The video showed Carter enter the store on Saturday, July 17 at approximately 6:52 a.m., and begin to walk around the store before removing a shotgun barrel from a display stand and place it in his pants and under his shirt and exits the store, Carter then reentered the store and removed a black powder rifle from the display stand and conceals it in his pants and under his shirt and walk out of the store without purchasing any items.
Police located and detained Carter in the area of Three Notch Road and Valley Driven Lexington Park.
Carter admitted to taking the shotgun barrel with a scope and the black powder rifle which he believed was a shotgun. Carter told Police the black powder rifle and shotgun barrel with scope was at the Extended Stay of America in a friend’s hotel room. At the time of his arrest Carter was wearing a red t-shirt and camouflage shorts.
Police recovered the black powder rifle and shotgun barrel with scope from a room at the Extended Stay of America.
After a manager at the Tackle Box reviewed the video of the theft, he told police Carter also stole a folding pocket knife from a display shelf.
Carter is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a conviction of manufacturing and distributing narcotics in 2010.
When Carter was taken into custody suspected cocaine, fentanyl and a CDS smoking device were located on his person as well as a backpack containing numerous grocery items, later determined to have been stolen.
Carter was transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown and served the outstanding warrant for the gun charges and additionally charged with CDS: Possession-Not Marijuana, CDS: Possession-Paraphernalia and Theft.
