Bereket Eshetu Beyene, age 27, of Silver Spring, Maryland
On Thursday, February 5, 2026, at 2:00 a.m., a patrol officer was flagged down in the area of Ell Lane and Route 5 in Waldorf, by a person reporting their 2015 Kenworth truck tractor, without the trailer, had been stolen and was actively being tracked through a GPS device.
The victim advised that the vehicle was traveling southbound on Route 5.
Officers located the truck in the area of Leonardtown Road and Bryantown Road and attempted to initiate a traffic stop; however, the driver refused to stop and continued southbound toward St. Mary’s County.
Deputies with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and Troopers from the Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack were notified and assisted by controlling intersections and deploying stop sticks, which disabled the truck near Friendship School Road in St. Mary’s County.
The driver was arrested without further incident. The investigation determined that the truck had been stolen from a service center parking lot located in Waldorf.
The driver, Bereket Eshetu Beyene, age 27, of Silver Spring, Maryland, was charged with the following.
- THEFT: $25,000 TO UND $100,000
- MAL DESTR PROP VALUE $1,000+
- UNSAFE LANE CHANGING
- FAILURE TO DRIVE RIGHT OF CENTER
- DRIVER FAILURE TO OBEY PROPERLY PLACED TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE INSTRUCTIONS
- RECKLESS DRIVING
- NEGLIGENT DRIVING VEH. IN CARELESS AND IMPRUDENT MANNER ENDANGERING PROPERTY, LIFE, AND PERSON
- ATTEMPT BY DRIVER TO ELUDE POLICE IN OFFICIAL POLICE VEHICLE BY FAILING TO STOP
- ATTEMPT BY DRIVER TO ELUDE UNIFORMED POLICE BY FAILING TO STOP
On February 5, a judge ordered Beyene could be released from the Charles County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond. However, judge Patrick Devine held Beyene on a no bond status as of 2/6/2026.
