La Plata Man Charged With First-Degree Assault After Waldorf Stabbing, Woman Hospitalized

Frederick Alric Echols, 56, of La Plata, is charged with first-degree assault and second-degree assault following an alleged stabbing that left a woman seriously injured outside a Waldorf hotel on March 6, 2026, according to court documents.

Court records state that deputies with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported stabbing in front of the Hampton Inn on Crain Highway in Waldorf. When deputies arrived, they located an adult female victim who had sustained a deep cut to her left calf. A deputy had already placed a tourniquet on her leg to control the bleeding.

According to charging documents, the adult female victim told officers she had been struck in the head and dragged out of a tent by her hair before being cut in the leg with a steak knife that had a black or brown handle. The victim identified Echols as the person who allegedly punched and cut her, according to the statement of probable cause.

Deputies observed a deep laceration on the victim’s leg and a trail of blood in the parking lot area where she was found sitting on a curb. Court documents state that the victim also had a mark on her neck and continued to bleed while officers were on the scene. She was transported to a trauma center for treatment of her injuries.

Investigators reported that when Echols was located, he had dried blood on his hands. Officers also recovered a knife with blood on the blade from the ground inside the tent area, according to court records.

Authorities wrote that Echols and the adult female victim had been living together in a tent in the area of Smallwood Drive in Waldorf and had been involved in a relationship for several years.

Echols was arrested on March 6, 2026. During his initial court appearance, District Court Commissioner Alexander Robinson ordered him held without bond, citing a reasonable likelihood that he posed a danger to the alleged victim or the community and might fail to appear in court if released.

As a condition of the case, Echols was ordered not to contact or harass the adult female victim.

A bail review hearing was held on March 9, 2026, where the hold without bond was continued. A preliminary hearing is currently scheduled in the District Court for Charles County.

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