District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Kiara Smith, 28, of Prince George’s County, to 42 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, in connection with the scheme. Judge Boardman also ordered Smith to pay $3.5 million in restitution and...
Read More »
The Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, a cooperative effort between the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, estimates a total of 349 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay in 2026, a 46% increase over the estimate of 238 million crabs last year. The survey also estimated...
Read More »
Three Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Unified track and field teams raced to the winner’s circle earlier this week at the Special Olympics Maryland Unified Track and Field state competition. The teams each took home first place in their respective divisions which are based on the number of students on a team. A combined...
Read More »
The investigation began on May 20, 2025 after the Maryland State Police received a CyberTip. On August 19, 2025, members of the Maryland State Police Child Exploitation Unit, Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the United States Secret Service executed a signed residential search and seizure warrant at a...
Read More »
Shayonna Renee Miles, 24, of Lexington Park, has been charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment after St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office deputies say she used a vehicle to strike people during a May 16, 2026, disturbance in Lexington Park. According to charging documents, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office...
Read More »
The Hollywood Volunteer Rescue Squad announces with regret the sudden passing of Life Member Rich Battenfield on Sunday, May 17, 2026. Rich was known for his years of dedicated service to the community. Rich became a member of the department in March 2001 and held a number of positions over the years. At the...
Read More »
The number of wildfires in Maryland in 2025 remained steady but total acres burned nearly doubled, largely due to arson, according to the Maryland Forest Service’s Annual Wildland Fire Report. The report covers wildfires across 3.2 million acres of land overseen by the Maryland Forest Service. In Maryland, 172 wildland fires burned 8,167 acres during...
Read More »
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources reported that 69 white-tailed deer sampled in 2025 tested positive for chronic wasting disease, a neurological disease found in deer, elk, and moose that the department monitors annually. All the positive samples came from within the existing seven-county Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area. The deer were found in Allegany (27), Baltimore (2), Carroll (2),...
Read More »
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Gun Crimes Unit charged a man with 66 offenses in connection with a violent crime spree on Friday afternoon. The suspect is 68-year-old Larry James Simpson of Glen Burnie. Additional charges against him maybe pending. Simpson committed multiple shootings and carjackings at five locations across the northern portion...
Read More »
On Monday, May 18, 2026, at approximately 1:30 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Point Lookout Road and Potato Hill Farm Lane in Leonardtown, for the serious motor vehicle collision with one unconscious. Crews arrived on the scene to find a two vehicle T-bone style collision and confirmed...
Read More »
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit charged a son with murdering his mother on Tuesday. The suspect is 54-year-old Darrick Alston of Cheverly. He’s charged with fatally stabbing 80-year-old Brenda Wheeler of Cheverly. On May 12, 2026, at approximately 9:10 am, officers with the Cheverly Police Department were called to a domestic...
Read More »
David Allen Roberts, 34, of Prince Frederick, is facing separate criminal cases in Frederick and Calvert counties, including felony charges tied to a Frederick County commercial burglary and suspected arson, as well as 14 misdemeanor animal cruelty-related charges filed in Calvert County. In Frederick County, Roberts is charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree arson, first-degree...
Read More »
Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that former Correctional Officer Sergeant Awungjia Rita Atabong, Correctional Educator Lakesha Murry, and Correctional Officer Kathyrn Hawes were sentenced after pleading guilty for their involvement in three separate contraband smuggling schemes operating at Jessup Correctional Institution (JCI) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The investigations were led by...
Read More »
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) today announces two assistant principal appointments and five assistant principal transfers. The appointments and transfers take effect July 1 and include appointments at the elementary and middle school levels. The following appointments were approved by the Board of Education. Assistant Principal Appointments Melissa Griffith, instructional resource teacher at T.C....
Read More »
On Saturday, May 16, 2026, at approximately 1:14 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the 6200 block of North Solomons Island Road, for a serious motor vehicle collision with one overturned and trapped. Crews arrived on the scene to find a multi-vehicle collision and confirmed one vehicle overturned with one occupant...
Read More »
St. Mary’s College of Maryland, the National Public Honors College, graduated 400 students with Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees during an outdoor ceremony on the College’s Townhouse Green. Alumnus Brandon Scott ’06, Baltimore’s 52nd mayor, delivered the keynote address. In his message, Scott told the Class...
Read More »
Antwand L. Johnson, 43, of Mechanicsville, is facing misdemeanor charges of trespassing on private property, resisting or interfering with arrest, and concealing a dangerous weapon after deputies responded to a reported disturbance at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in Leonardtown on May 8, 2026, according to District Court documents. Court records list the incident location...
Read More »
Glenn F Flores, 33, of Great Mills, is charged in St. Mary’s County District Court with second-degree escape related to conditions of release after authorities alleged he removed a court-ordered ankle monitor on May 8, 2026. According to court documents, Deputy Preston Dixon of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded on May 8,...
Read More »
The Department of the Navy (DON) established the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Aviation, PAE(A), led by Vice Adm. John Dougherty IV. The PAE model is the new operational standard for the acquisition enterprise, injecting urgency and a ruthless focus on accelerated capability delivery. The organizational changes are key initiatives of Secretary of War Pete...
Read More »
James Pernell Knott Jr., 31, of Pomfret, has been charged in Charles County District Court with robbery, second-degree assault and theft of property valued between $100 and under $1,500 after authorities said a man was robbed in Waldorf. According to charging documents filed by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, the reported robbery took place...
Read More »
Xavier Alexander Jones, 24, of Sunderland, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of indecent exposure after court documents say he allegedly exposed himself to an adult female victim inside a Prince Frederick TJ Maxx. The case was filed May 8, 2026, in District Court for Calvert County and remains open. According to the...
Read More »
Michelle Rene Kelley, 63, of Hollywood, is charged in St. Mary’s County District Court with 147 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for allegedly failing to provide proper care for animals at a Brown Road property in Hollywood, according to court documents. The case, filed on May 14, 2026, lists the charge description for each...
Read More »
Carlonte A. Knott, 34, of Lexington Park, is charged with second-degree assault on a Department of Corrections employee or inmate after authorities said he assaulted an adult male inmate during a basketball game at the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown on May 4, 2026. According to charging documents, Deputy Michael...
Read More »
Shanice B. Scott, 34, of Waldorf, is facing charges in Charles County District Court for felony theft scheme of $25,000 to less than $100,000, misdemeanor vulnerable adult abuse by a custodian, and misdemeanor malicious destruction of property valued at $1,000 or more, according to court documents. The case was filed on May 10, 2026,...
Read More »
Tae’Jeaune Andrea Gray, 23, of Indian Head, has been charged in Charles County District Court with possession of a controlled dangerous substance other than cannabis, possession of narcotics production equipment, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, and a second count of possession of a controlled dangerous substance other than cannabis, according to court records....
Read More »
