Five women from Lexington Park and Waldorf are facing second-degree assault charges following a violent group attack on a woman inside a Wawa convenience store on Three Notch Road in California, Maryland, according to court documents filed by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident took place at approximately 1:35 a.m. on July 26, 2025, when deputies were called to the Wawa for a reported fight inside the store. A female witness at the scene told responding deputies that her sister, an adult female victim, entered the store’s bathroom and was followed by Shaniya Curshawn Mason, 24, of Lexington Park. The witness said that Jnaiya Denise Butler, 22, also of Lexington Park, entered shortly after Mason.
The witness reported hearing a disturbance from the bathroom and, upon opening the door, observed the three women engaged in a physical altercation. She said she intervened and broke up the fight. Afterward, Mason and Butler reportedly exited the store, and the victim proceeded to retrieve her food order.
During this second altercation, three additional females entered the store and allegedly joined the assault. They were later identified as:
Nijah Renai Long, 23, of Waldorf (identified using a Maryland Vehicle Administration photo)
Kentasia Lynique Wills, 20, of Lexington Park (known personally to the victim and the witness)
Emoni Tishon Brantley, 27, of Lexington Park (returned to the scene after the incident)
According to court filings, all five suspects participated in the assault by repeatedly striking the victim. The group reportedly fled the scene in a vehicle registered to Long after learning law enforcement had been contacted.
Deputies reviewed surveillance footage from the store, which they stated corroborated the witness and victim accounts. The video reportedly showed Butler and Mason involved in the initial altercation near the bathroom, and all five women participating in the second assault in the store’s aisles.
While conducting interviews, deputies encountered Brantley again outside the store. She was reportedly in a vehicle with an unidentified male. When asked to exit the vehicle, she verbally identified herself as Emoni Tishon Brantley and told deputies she had not witnessed the first fight and only entered the store to break up the second altercation. However, deputies said video footage showed Brantley kicking and punching the victim multiple times, directly contradicting her account.
All five women are charged with second-degree assault, and applications were submitted for disorderly conduct charges as well. The incidents occurred in St. Mary’s County, and all cases were investigated by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office.
Each defendant has been summoned to appear in St. Mary’s County District Court for preliminary inquiries scheduled for September 12 or 19, 2025, depending on their individual court dates.
