Charles News

Brandywine Woman Skeptical, Then Elated about $10,000 Scratch-off Win!

Brandywine Woman Skeptical, Then Elated about $10,000 Scratch-off Win!

Initially thought Lottery app made a mistake Carol Dyer of Brandywine plays Maryland Lottery scratch-offs to relax but when she won $10,000, she was so excited it took days to settle down and realize she truly won a second-tier prize in the $100,000 Crossword 5th Edition game. “I scanned my scratch-off with my phone...
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Brandywine Woman Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter After Striking and Killing Her Boyfriend

Brandywine Woman Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter After Striking and Killing Her Boyfriend

The Prince George’s County Police Department charged a woman for striking and killing her boyfriend with a car in Brandywine. The suspect is 38-year-old Udele Burno of Brandywine. The victim is 40-year-old Shamatto Clarke of Riverdale. On August 20, 2022, at approximately 8:45 pm, officers responded to the 6100 block of Floral Park Road...
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Waldorf Woman Charged with Attempted Murder

Waldorf Woman Charged with Attempted Murder

On August 20 at 3:26 a.m., officers from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 11600 block of Billingsley Road for the report of a domestic-related assault that occurred at a different location. When officers arrived, they spoke with a man who indicated the suspect, Dayana Garcia-Munoz, 24, of Waldorf, assaulted him at...
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Police Investigating Motor Vehicle Collision in Mechanicsville, Two Victims Flown to Trauma Center

Police Investigating Motor Vehicle Collision in Mechanicsville, Two Victims Flown to Trauma Center

On Thursday, August 25, 2022, at approximately 5:50 a.m., police, fire and rescue personnel responded to the area of Budds Creek Road and Mechanicsville Road in Mechanicsville, for the motor vehicle collision reported serious with one vehicle overturned with entrapment. A Charles County Sheriff’s officer arrived on the scene and requested helicopters for two...
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Police in Waldorf Recover Loaded Firearm from Vehicle / Driver and Passenger Prohibited from Possessing Firearms

Police in Waldorf Recover Loaded Firearm from Vehicle / Driver and Passenger Prohibited from Possessing Firearms

On August 22 at 12:56 p.m., a patrol officer from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop near St. Charles Parkway and Leonardtown Road in Waldorf after observing a motor vehicle violation. A check revealed the driver, Melvin Emell Lampkin, 28, of Waldorf, had an open warrant for failure to appear in...
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Charles County Officers Recover Stolen Handgun and Arrest Wanted PG County Man, Judge Releases Suspect Less Than 24 Hours Later

Charles County Officers Recover Stolen Handgun and Arrest Wanted PG County Man, Judge Releases Suspect Less Than 24 Hours Later

On Sunday, August 21, 2022, at 9:54 p.m., a patrol officer initiated a traffic stop in the area of Cecil Avenue near Kent Avenue in La Plata after observing a traffic violation. Upon approaching the vehicle, a front seat passenger began trying to hide a cross-body bag that had been strapped across his chest....
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Governor Hogan Announces Maryland’s State Small Business Credit Initiative Programs Now Open

Governor Hogan Announces Maryland’s State Small Business Credit Initiative Programs Now Open

Governor Larry Hogan announced Maryland programs funded by the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) are open. Up to $198 million in federal small business relief is being administered by three state agencies: the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the Maryland Department of Commerce, and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO)....
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MDOT SHA Crews to Perform Routine Maintenance on Benedict Bridge Thursday, August 25, 2022

MDOT SHA Crews to Perform Routine Maintenance on Benedict Bridge Thursday, August 25, 2022

The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) will perform routine maintenance on the MD 231 (Hallowing Point Road) Benedict Bridge over the Patuxent River on the Charles/Calvert County line this week. Beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday, August 25, drivers should be prepared to stop for temporary bridge openings lasting no longer...
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CSM Gets Green Light to Administer MVA’s CDL Exams, Allowing New Truck/Bus Drivers to Enter Workforce Quicker

CSM Gets Green Light to Administer MVA’s CDL Exams, Allowing New Truck/Bus Drivers to Enter Workforce Quicker

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) and the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) have come up with a solution that puts qualified employees into a tractor-trailer and/or bus driver’s seat, and into the regional workforce, a whole lot quicker. Through a new agreement between CSM and MVA’s Employer Testing Program, CSM students who complete...
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Governor Hogan Announces Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 Grant Program

Governor Hogan Announces Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 Grant Program

Governor Larry Hogan announced the launch of the Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 grant program, a new Maryland Department of Commerce initiative that provides grants to small and mid-sized Maryland manufacturers to invest in Industry 4.0 technologies to modernize their operations. This pilot program is funded by $1 million in the fiscal year 2023 budget, which...
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Police Investigating Waldorf Man Struck and Killed by Vehicle in Oxon Hill

Police Investigating Waldorf Man Struck and Killed by Vehicle in Oxon Hill

The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit is investigating a fatal pedestrian collision in Oxon Hill. The deceased pedestrian is 38-year-old Noshua Vann of Waldorf. On Saturday, August 20, 2022, at approximately 9:45 p.m., patrol officers were called to the 6100 block of St. Barnabas Road. The preliminary investigation suggests...
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SMECO Joins CSM to Help Inspire Future Engineers

SMECO Joins CSM to Help Inspire Future Engineers

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) recently hosted more than a dozen high-school students from the area who were participating in College of Southern Maryland’s (CSM) annual ‘Engineer Like a Girl’ program to help the college inspire the next generation of women engineers. The ‘Engineer Like a Girl’ program is one of several outreach activities...
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State Fire Marshal Investigating House Fire in Waldorf

State Fire Marshal Investigating House Fire in Waldorf

On Thursday, August 18, 2022, at approximately 7:45 a.m., firefighters responded to 20 Greystone Circle in Waldorf, for the reported structure fire. The 911 caller was a next-door neighbor who observed smoke coming from the back of the residence and alerted the homeowner, allowing them to safely exit the home. The fire was extinguished...
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CSM Lifts COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements Effective Immediately

CSM Lifts COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements Effective Immediately

The College of Southern Maryland (CSM) Board of Trustees voted Aug. 19, 2022 to lift the college’s current COVID-19 vaccination requirements. The trustees reached this decision based on numerous factors, including the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issuing new federal guidelines loosening virus protocols and erasing the distinction among people based on vaccination status....
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Officers Deescalate a Call for a Man Armed with a Gun, Police Recover Firearm, Knife, and Pepper Spray

Officers Deescalate a Call for a Man Armed with a Gun, Police Recover Firearm, Knife, and Pepper Spray

On Wednesday, August 17, 2022, at 3:36 p.m., officers responded to the area of Smallwood Drive and McDaniel Road in Waldorf, for the report of a male who had stolen a firearm from a relative and fled on foot. Family members indicated the man may be experiencing a mental health episode and were concerned...
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Brandywine Native Serves Aboard Floating Airport USS Carl Vinson

Brandywine Native Serves Aboard Floating Airport USS Carl Vinson

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jerry Jimenez, Navy Office of Community Outreach – SAN DIEGO – A native of Brandywine, Maryland, serves the U.S. Navy aboard one of the world’s largest warships, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson. Petty Officer 2nd Class Asia Stith, a 2008 Frederick Douglas High School graduate,...
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Brandywine Man Sentenced to 19 Years in Federal Prison for Posing as a 16-Year-Old Boy to Entice at Least Three Minor Victims to Produce Sexually Explicit Images and Videos

Brandywine Man Sentenced to 19 Years in Federal Prison for Posing as a 16-Year-Old Boy to Entice at Least Three Minor Victims to Produce Sexually Explicit Images and Videos

U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel sentenced Derrell Lamar Hooker Orange (“Orange”) age 37, of Brandywine, Maryland, to 19 years in federal prison, followed by 12 years of supervised release, for enticement of a minor to produce child pornography and to possession of child pornography.  Judge Hazel also ordered Orange to pay $15,000 in...
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Charles County Sheriff’s Office to Conduct a Sobriety Checkpoint Today

Charles County Sheriff’s Office to Conduct a Sobriety Checkpoint Today

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) Traffic Operations Unit is conducting an impaired driver checkpoint this Friday, August 19, 2022. Special patrols and enforcement focused on impaired and aggressive driving are conducted year round with the goal of educating the community and deterring these dangerous behaviors. The CCSO is reminding motorists to always designate...
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Waldorf Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

Waldorf Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor

Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Friday, August 12, 2022, Charles County Circuit Court Judge William R. Greer, Jr. sentenced Clarence Henry Henderson, 30, of Waldorf, to 10 years in prison for Sexual Abuse of a Minor. Upon release, Henderson will be on supervised probation for five years and must...
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Bryans Road Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad Announce Passing of Life Member Gary Curtis

Bryans Road Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad Announce Passing of Life Member Gary Curtis

It is with great sadness that the Bryans Road Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Inc., announce the passing of Gary Curtis. Gary passed peacefully on Sunday August 14th after a long battle with cancer. Gary joined the department in 1989 and a life member who served our department of over 32 years. Gary...
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UPDATE: Brandywine Man Sentenced to Life Plus 30 Years in Prison for Murder During Robbery at Waldorf Hotel

UPDATE: Brandywine Man Sentenced to Life Plus 30 Years in Prison for Murder During Robbery at Waldorf Hotel

UPDATE 8/17/2022: Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Monday, August 15, 2022, Charles County Circuit Court Judge William R. Greer, Jr. sentenced Marc Carlyle McLaughlin, Jr., 33, to Life in Prison plus 30 years for the First-Degree Felony Murder of Kenneth Brawner, Attempted Armed Robbery, and related charges. On May...
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Two Men Charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Crack – Cocaine Following Traffic Stop in Charles County

Two Men Charged with Possession with Intent to Distribute Crack – Cocaine Following Traffic Stop in Charles County

On August 9 at 9:16 a.m., an officer assigned to the Traffic Operations Unit observed a registration violation on a commercial vehicle in the area of Leonardtown Road and Bryantown Road and initiated a traffic stop. A check revealed the driver of vehicle had a suspended driver’s license. Through further investigation, the officer recovered...
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Maryland Humanities Kicks of Maryland Tour of Smithsonian Exhibition on Rural America in Charles County

Maryland Humanities Kicks of Maryland Tour of Smithsonian Exhibition on Rural America in Charles County

Crossroads: Change in Rural America, a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition, is opening at Serenity Farm in Benedict on September 8 at noon. The farm serves as the first venue of a five-stop tour of the state, presented through Maryland Humanities’ Museum on Main Street program. The Farm Heritage Conservancy partners with Maryland Humanities for...
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Governor Hogan Announces Expansion of Landmark SmartBuy Initiative To Help More Homebuyers

Governor Hogan Announces Expansion of Landmark SmartBuy Initiative To Help More Homebuyers

Governor Larry Hogan today announced that the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has expanded the state’s landmark SmartBuy initiative to address rising housing market prices. To help manage purchase costs, homebuyers can now eliminate up to $50,000 in student loan debt—up from $30,000. The program has also added an additional down...
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Maryland Lottery, Casinos and Sports Wagering Contribute Record-Breaking $1.511 Billion to the State in FY2022

Maryland Lottery, Casinos and Sports Wagering Contribute Record-Breaking $1.511 Billion to the State in FY2022

Maryland Lottery and Gaming shattered records on all fronts in Fiscal Year 2022, generating an all-time high of $1.511 billion in contributions to support the state’s good causes. The new record for contributions to the state, which includes funds from the Lottery, casino gaming, sports wagering and fantasy competitions (daily fantasy sports), beat the...
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