Wendell Giovanni Estes, 49, of Waldorf, is facing a wide array of criminal and traffic charges following an early morning incident on March 28, 2025, that began at a hotel in La Plata and ended in a high-speed pursuit spanning multiple jurisdictions. According to court documents, officers with the La Plata Police Department were...
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On Monday, March 31, 2025, at approximately 1:25 p.m., firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the 7200 block of Hawthorne Road in La Plata, for the reported structure fire. Multiple 911 callers, involving one member of the Bryans Road Volunteer Fire Department reported a large woods fire involving a shed and multiple vehicles. Crews...
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Governor Wes Moore released the following statement regarding President Trump’s executive order ending federal workers’ collective bargaining rights. “Maryland will always have the backs of working people and organized labor. And amid the draconian federal cuts impacting public servants across our state, our partnership with organized labor has become more important than ever. In...
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On Saturday, March 29, 2025, at approximately 9:30 p.m., firefighters from Charles and Prince George’s County responded to the 2200 block of Bridle Path Drive in Waldorf, for the reported house on fire with animals possibly trapped. Crews arrived on the scene to find fire showing from the first and second floor of a...
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On Saturday, March 29, 2025, at approximately 6:03 a.m., firefighters from Charles County responded to 3755 Opals Place in White Plains, for the reported house on fire. Crews arrived on the scene to find fire showing from the first floor of the two-story residence, with an elderly male suffering from smoke inhalation. Shortly after...
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On Friday, March 21, 2025, at 1:34 p.m., patrol officers initiated a traffic stop in the area of Western Parkway near Acton Lane in Waldorf on a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The driver refused to pull over and fled from officers where they later struck a curb in the area of Crain...
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On Sunday, March 30, 2025, at approximately 4:10 p.m., firefighters responded to the 14000 block of Oaks Road in Hughesville, for the reported unknown fire. 911 callers reported a large amount of smoke coming from the woods in the area of the given address. Additional callers then reported a fire in the woods near...
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UPDATE 3/27/2025: On March 27, 2025, at approximately 2:00 p.m., Charles County Sheriff’s detectives were notified by the Prince George’s County Police Department that Richard Wilson, Jr., age 86, who had been reported missing from his Waldorf home on January 25, 2025, was located deceased in the water near Mariner Drive in Fort Washington,...
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Special Weather Statement issued March 27th, 2025, by NWS Baltimore MD/Washington DC. The combination of recent dry weather, relative humidity falling to 15 to 25 percent, and sustained west to northwesterly winds around 10 mph with gusts to around 20 mph may result in an elevated threat for the rapid spread of fires today,...
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The Office of the Comptroller launched its new website, Marylandcomptroller.gov. The new modernized website showcases a user-friendly interface with improved navigation and connects to the agency’s new customer service portal, MyCOMConnect. “Our new website and our new customer relationship management portal are critical tools that will make our arm of government work better for...
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UPDATE 3/26/2025 @ 1:00 P.M.: On Wednesday, March 26, 2025, shortly after 9 a.m., deputies from the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Patrol responded to a report of a serious motor vehicle collision involving a school bus on Rt. 231 near Sea Gull Beach Road in Prince Frederick. Upon arrival, deputies found that the school...
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On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at 3:25 a.m., patrol officers were responding to the area of Wedgewood Place in Waldorf for the report of an iPhone notification of a crash. As officers approached the scene, an officer noticed a silver Hyundai with front end damage and the driver wearing a ski mask. When the...
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UPDATE 3/26/2025: On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at approximately 5:13 p.m., Troopers from Maryland State Police La Plata Barrack along with deputies from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to United States Route 301 (Crain Hwy) at Holly Lane for a report of a serious motor vehicle collision. Due to the circumstances, the Maryland...
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On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at approximately 6:40 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of 4800 Livingston Road in Indian Head, for a motor vehicle collision with unknown injuries. The first 911 call came from an automatic crash notification which could only advised a female was heard in the...
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Charles County Sheriff’s detectives and Forensic Science personnel are seeking to identify a serial sex offender. Here are the facts of the cases: Between November 1996 and August 2003, an unidentified male targeted women in Prince George’s County and Washington, DC by offering them a ride under false pretenses. Once inside his vehicle, the...
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Shannon Nicole Smallwood, 36, of Waldorf, is facing multiple criminal charges in Charles County following two separate incidents involving theft, with one case escalating into a physical assault on a store employee. According to court documents and police reports, Shannon Nicole Smallwood, 36, of Waldorf, was first charged in connection with a March 17,...
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A deputy with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office has been suspended following his arrest for allegedly assaulting a relative at a Mechanicsville residence, according to court documents filed in St. Mary’s County District Court. Deputy David William Moats, 26, of Mechanicsville, was arrested on March 20, 2025, and charged with second-degree assault, a misdemeanor...
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Maryland Environmental Trust has approved 20 grants totaling $238,751 to be awarded for environmental education, community cleanup, tree planting, and beautification projects through the Keep Maryland Beautiful program. Presented annually since 1986, the grant program is managed by the Maryland Environmental Trust – a unit of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) – and administered...
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The Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Traffic Operations Unit is conducting an impaired driver checkpoint on March 21, 2025. Special patrols and enforcement focused on impaired and aggressive driving are conducted year round with the goal of educating drivers and deterring these dangerous behaviors. The CCSO is reminding motorists to always designate a sober...
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La Plata Police Department Captain Matthew Norris has been named Acting Chief of Police by Mayor/CEO Jeannine James. Acting Chief Norris joined LPPD in June 2009. During his tenure with the LPPD, he has served in patrol and in the Investigative Division assigned to the Charles County Drug Task Force. His role prior to...
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Former Governor Larry Hogan released the following statement. “Today is a sad and unfortunate day for Maryland that was entirely avoidable. The tax hikes proposed would cripple Maryland’s economy and already struggling Marylanders. They are the exact opposite of the approach we took for eight years to cut taxes and create a record surplus....
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On Thursday, March 20, 2025, at approximately 4:02 p.m., firefighters from Charles and Prince George’s County responded to the 2300 block of Progress Court in Waldorf, for the reported house on fire. Multiple 911 callers reported their neighbors house was on fire with smoke coming from the roof. Crews arrived on the scene to...
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On Thursday, March 20, 2025, at approximately 1:52 p.m., firefighters from Charles County and Prince George’s County were alerted to the 7300 block of Gabriel Drive and 2900 block of Edgewood Road in Bryans Road, for the reported house fire. Multiple 911 callers reported a large brush fire involving a fence which was quickly...
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UPDATE 3/21/2025: St. Charles High School Principal Tammika P. Little released the following statement. “I want to notify you about a community situation that impacts the community. Last night, St. Charles High School administrators were notified by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office about the arrest of a former coach. We were informed that Marquise Taylor,...
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On Wednesday, March 19, 2025, a student, age 11, at the F. B. Gwynn Educational Center made a threat that they were going to kill all of the teachers and students by using a gun. The school resource officer initiated an investigation, contacted the student’s relative, and went to the student’s home. There are...
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