Britny Lee Blankenship, 35, of Lexington Park
UPDATE 3/26/2025: The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the whereabouts of Britny Lee Blankenship, 35, of Lexington Park, for escape.
On March 22, 2025, Deputies responded to the 21000 block of Liberty Street in Lexington Park for the report of tampering on Blankenship’s ankle monitor. The monitoring device was found to have damage to the band, indicating that it had been cut.
Blankenship is a white female, 5’5”, 205 pounds, with blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair.
Anyone with information about Blankenship’s whereabouts is asked to contact Detective Joseph Bowling at Joseph.Bowling@stmaryscounty md.gov, or at 301-475-4200, ext. 1959.
Tipsters can also call Crime Solvers 24/7 at 301-475-3333 or text Crime Solvers at 274637. Type “Tip239” in the message block and select SEND. After you get a response, continue your conversation.
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3/22/2025: Britny Lee Blankenship, 35, of Bowie is facing criminal charges in St. Mary’s County stemming from two unrelated incidents involving alleged cocaine possession and malicious property destruction, according to court records filed in March 2025.
On March 18, 2025, around 8:26 a.m., deputies with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop on a 2014 Ford Taurus bearing a Virginia registration. The vehicle was seen leaving the Quik Shop at on Great Mills Road without stopping at required signage.
According to the statement of probable cause submitted by Cpl. Westphal, the vehicle “failed to come to a complete stop when pulling onto the access road,” and also “failed to stop behind the stop line at the flashing red traffic signal at the intersection of Great Mills Road and Chancellor’s Run Road.” The deputy activated emergency equipment and conducted a stop near the intersection.
The driver, identified as Britny Lee Blankenship, was accompanied by other occupants. Cpl. Westphal wrote that “one of Blankenship’s co-defendants admitted to possessing CDS paraphernalia, which was a glass smoking device containing CDS residue.”
A probable cause search was conducted on Blankenship, and officers found “a glass CDS smoking device” in her jacket pocket “which contained burnt residue which was identified as cocaine.”
Following her arrest, Blankenship was transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center. There, she disclosed to officers that “she had a small tie of baggie of crack cocaine which was concealed in her bra.” The report confirms, “the tie off baggie was seized and confirmed to be crack cocaine.”
Deputy Sheriff Travis Wimberly formally charged Blankenship with the following misdemeanors:
CDS: Possession Not Cannabis (Maryland Criminal Law §5-601)
CDS: Possession of Paraphernalia (Maryland Criminal Law §5-619)
Blankenship was initially held without bond on March 19, 2025. However, at a bail review hearing held the following day, she was released on her own recognizance.
In an unrelated case, Blankenship is also charged with malicious destruction of property under $1,000 for an incident that allegedly took place on February 18, 2025, at a residence on Baja Lane in Great Mills.
Deputy Erik Fleenor responded to a vandalism complaint at the location and interviewed two individuals, one of whom reported that he had been texting with Blankenship. According to Fleenor’s written statement:
“The victim stated he had been talking to a woman identified to be Britny Lee Blankenship. When Blankenship stated via text that she would slash his tires if she found out other women were at his residence.”
Soon after, two passenger tires on a 2006 Ford Taurus parked in the driveway were found deflated and punctured. The car’s owner, who is listed as a male adult victim in the report, confirmed the tires were undamaged two days earlier. The cost of the damage was listed as $82.50.
Deputy Fleenor also reported that the Sheriff’s Office Crime Analyst discovered a phone call made by Blankenship to an incarcerated individual at the detention center, during which she reportedly confessed:
“Defendant Blankenship had made a call to an incarcerated individual… confessing to slashing the tires. Defendant Blankenship was under the impression the vehicle belonged to someone else.”
Fleenor added that he was provided “the audio recording of Defendant Blankenship admitting she slashed the tires and stating she was not worried about it.”
Blankenship was identified using an MVA photograph, and a criminal summons was issued on March 18, 2025. She is required to appear for a preliminary inquiry on May 2, 2025,in St. Mary’s County District Court.
Charges Summary for Blankenship:
CDS: Possession Not Cannabis – Cocaine (Misdemeanor)
CDS: Possession of Paraphernalia – Glass smoking device (Misdemeanor)
Malicious Destruction of Property Less Than $1,000 – Tire slashing incident (Misdemeanor)
In 2023, Detectives from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division arrested two people in connection with the murder of Scott Marvin Bernich that took place at St. Mary’s Fine Wine & Spirits in Great Mills.
Arrested were Leroy Christopher Neal, 48, of Mechanicsville, MD, and Britny Lee Blankenship, 33, of no fixed address.
Neal and Blankenship were taken into custody and charged with Murder First Degree, Murder Second Degree, Assault First Degree, Assault Second Degree, and Firearm Use in the Commission of a Crime of Violence.
SMCSO patrol units were dispatched Saturday, at approximately 12:30 a.m., to St. Mary’s Fine Wine & Spirits, where Scott Marvin Bernich, 46, was found suffering from a gunshot wound. Bernich was transported to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital for immediate care and then flown to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, MD, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
Britny Lee Blankenship, 35, of Lexington Park
