St. Mary’s News

Maryland State Police To Celebrate National Faith & Blue Weekend 2024 With Communities Across The State

Maryland State Police To Celebrate National Faith & Blue Weekend 2024 With Communities Across The State

Maryland State Police will join faith-based organizations and law enforcement agencies across the state to celebrate National Faith & Blue Weekend, set for October 11-14, 2024. National Faith & Blue is a collaborative initiative that builds bridges and breaks down biases through activities and outreach amongst law enforcement professionals and the communities they serve....
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UPDATE: Inmate Charged After Makeshift Weapon is Discovered at St. Mary’s County Detention Center

UPDATE: Inmate Charged After Makeshift Weapon is Discovered at St. Mary’s County Detention Center

UPDATE 10/2/2024: Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown on Monday, Sept. 30, following a report of a concealed makeshift weapon found inside a cell. Upon investigation, deputies recovered a wooden knife, and incarcerated individual Demetrius Rashud Puifory, 46, was arrested and charged with...
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Justice Department Awards $4B to Support Community Safety

Justice Department Awards $4B to Support Community Safety

The Justice Department announced today that it is awarding $4 billion to support public safety and community justice activities in the states and territories and in local and Tribal communities. The grants, from the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will fund efforts across the country to reduce violence, expand services for crime victims and...
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VIDEO: State’s Attorney Jamie Sterling Proposes Office Reorganization to Enhance Efficiency and Prosecution

VIDEO: State’s Attorney Jamie Sterling Proposes Office Reorganization to Enhance Efficiency and Prosecution

During the St. Mary’s County Commissioners meeting on October 1, 2024, Jamie Sterling, the State’s Attorney for St. Mary’s County, presented a proposal for a reorganization of the State’s Attorney’s Office. The reorganization was aimed at improving the office’s efficiency and effectiveness in handling its workload, particularly in terms of prosecuting cases and managing...
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CM Equity Partners Completes Acquisition of Sabre Systems, INC.

CM Equity Partners Completes Acquisition of Sabre Systems, INC.

New York, NY, Warrington, PA, and Lexington Park, MD – September 26, 2024 – CM Equity Partners (“CMEP”), a private investment firm providing growth capital to the Federal services industry, announced that it has acquired Sabre Systems, Inc. (“Sabre”) from its founder and majority owner. Mr. Jamie Norris is the newly appointed President of...
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MetCom Provides Grant Funding for Oyster Revitalization Efforts

MetCom Provides Grant Funding for Oyster Revitalization Efforts

The St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) reflecting the commitment of both organizations to collaboratively promote and enhance the health of local ecosystems, including the Potomac and Patuxent Rivers, the Chesapeake Bay and their respective tributaries. Oyster revitalization provides...
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Black Panther Author Coming to Leonardtown on October 11th, 2024

Black Panther Author Coming to Leonardtown on October 11th, 2024

Award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, whose work on the Marvel Black Panther comic book series garnered international acclaim, is coming to Southern Maryland. Okorafor will take part in a moderated discussion from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on October 11 at Leonardtown High School. The event is free and open to the public, but registration...
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Bow Hunting Now Restricted at Elms Beach Property

Bow Hunting Now Restricted at Elms Beach Property

St. Mary’s County Government (SMCG) is announcing changes to bow hunting access on county-leased acreage at the Elms Beach property. Effective immediately, hunting is no longer permitted on the 85 acres of land leased by St. Mary’s County from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), located at 19350 Back Door Road in Lexington Park,...
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Motorcyclist Transported to Trauma Center After Rear-Ending Car in St. Mary’s County

Motorcyclist Transported to Trauma Center After Rear-Ending Car in St. Mary’s County

On Thursday, September 26, 2024, at approximately 9:53 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Chancellor Run Road and Pegg Road for the reported motor vehicle collision involving a motorcycle. Crews arrived on the scene to find single motorcycle into the rear end of Subaru with the operator of...
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Rescheduling of Marijuana: DEA’s Proposed Rulemaking and Hearing

Rescheduling of Marijuana: DEA’s Proposed Rulemaking and Hearing

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), a part of the Department of Justice, has announced a public hearing regarding a significant change in how marijuana is classified under federal law. The proposal seeks to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This move, which has...
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Mechanicsville Man Arrested for Stealing from Church and Damaging Property

Mechanicsville Man Arrested for Stealing from Church and Damaging Property

Devin Eric Webb, 38, of Mechanicsville, was arrested on September 29, 2024, following a break-in at Our Lady of the Wayside Church on Chaptico Road in Mechanicsville. According to court documents, Webb is accused of entering the church, damaging property, and stealing items including approximately $700 in cash and nine foldable chairs. The St....
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Great Mills Woman Faces Child Abuse Charges After Punching 11-Year-Old Daughter in the Face

Great Mills Woman Faces Child Abuse Charges After Punching 11-Year-Old Daughter in the Face

On September 28, 2024, Sadiyah Mone Vaughan, 27, of Great Mills, was arrested and charged with second-degree child abuse and second-degree assault after an altercation with her 11-year-old daughter. According to court documents, the incident occurred at their apartment on Foxchase Drive and was reported as a domestic disturbance. St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s deputies...
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Woman Accused of Assaulting Employee at California IHOP During Payment Dispute

Woman Accused of Assaulting Employee at California IHOP During Payment Dispute

A Lexington Park woman is facing second-degree assault charges following an altercation with an IHOP employee earlier this month. According to court documents, Sabrina Lynn Mawson, 39, of Lexington Park, allegedly assaulted a female employee during a dispute over a meal at the restaurant located on First Colony Blvd in California. The incident took...
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Witness Reports Multiple Kittens Thrown from Moving Vehicle in St. Mary’s County

Witness Reports Multiple Kittens Thrown from Moving Vehicle in St. Mary’s County

Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to an animal cruelty complaint at approximately 8:09 a.m. on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at the intersection of northbound Route 5 and Route 242 in Morganza. A caller reported seeing an individual in a silver SUV, possibly a Toyota, throwing several kittens—eight or nine—from the...
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Registration is Now Open for the Community Health & Wellness Fair on October 11, 2024

Registration is Now Open for the Community Health & Wellness Fair on October 11, 2024

St. Mary’s County Government’s Department of Aging & Human Services (DAHS) is excited to announce the annual Community Health & Wellness Fair, which will be held on Friday, October 11, from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland, located at 44219 Airport Road in California, MD. This...
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Update: La Plata Man Faces DUI and Gun Charges After Crashing into Hill’s Country-Store in Mechanicsville

Update: La Plata Man Faces DUI and Gun Charges After Crashing into Hill’s Country-Store in Mechanicsville

UPDATE 9/30/2024: The driver of the vehicle involved in the crash on on Friday, September 27, 2024, has been identified as Samuel William Vargo, 28, of La Plata. According to court records, upon arrival at the scene, police found Vargo sitting on the damaged staircase of the building, speaking on the phone with his...
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St. Mary’s County Planning Commission Meeting Summary – September 16, 2024

St. Mary’s County Planning Commission Meeting Summary – September 16, 2024

The St. Mary’s County Planning Commission convened its meeting on September 16, 2024, to address several agenda items, including a public hearing on the Tidal Wave Car Wash site plan and a detailed discussion on the county’s Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plan amendment process. Below is a summary of the key points from the...
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Overnight Pavement Repairs on Thomas Johnson Bridge to Begin Sunday, September 29, 2024

Overnight Pavement Repairs on Thomas Johnson Bridge to Begin Sunday, September 29, 2024

The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will begin pavement repairs on the MD 4 Bridge over the Patuxent River (Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge) at the Calvert/St. Mary’s County line. The night-time work will begin Sunday, September 29. Crews will make repairs along the concrete bridge deck and replace the navigational lights under...
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One Transported to Trauma Center After Multi-Vehicle Crash in Mechanicsville

One Transported to Trauma Center After Multi-Vehicle Crash in Mechanicsville

On Friday, September 27, 2024, at approximately 9:32 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Three Notch Road and New Market Turner Road in Mechanicsville, for a serious motor vehicle collision with injuries and entrapment. Crews arrived on the scene to find a three vehicle collision involving a Dodge...
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Second Suspect at Large After Lexington Park Vehicle Break-In, Public Asked for Help

Second Suspect at Large After Lexington Park Vehicle Break-In, Public Asked for Help

On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to an attempted vehicle theft in the 21000 block of South Essex Drive in Lexington Park. The incident occurred around 10:44 a.m., when an adult female victim left her vehicle running and locked while she entered a nearby business. Moments...
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NAS PAX RIVER Sets Noise Advisory for NAS Pax River, Wallops Island October 3-November 15, 2024 for Nighttime Test Flights

NAS PAX RIVER Sets Noise Advisory for NAS Pax River, Wallops Island October 3-November 15, 2024 for Nighttime Test Flights

PATUXENT RIVER NAVAL AIR STATION, MD – Communities surrounding Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland and Wallops Island, Virginia are advised that noise-generating nighttime testing events are scheduled to take place Oct. 3 to Nov. 15, 2024 from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. In an effort to lessen the disturbance of these missions, pilots have...
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St. Mary’s County Postal Worker Charged with Stealing Checks Worth Over $84,000 From Delivery Route

St. Mary’s County Postal Worker Charged with Stealing Checks Worth Over $84,000 From Delivery Route

A United States Postal Service (USPS) employee in California, Maryland, has been charged with multiple federal offenses following allegations of mail theft and check fraud. Darian Smith, employed as a rural carrier associate at the California Post Office, is accused of stealing checks from mail along his route and depositing them into his personal...
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October 2024 Events at Historic St. Mary’s City

October 2024 Events at Historic St. Mary’s City

October, 1. Tuesday.   Members Only – “Color Me Autumn” from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., Chancellor’s Point Natural History Area HSMC members are invited to join a private session with HSMC groundskeeper Kim in this talk about all things fall in St. Mary’s City. Activities will include pumpkin decorating and leaf collecting. Registration is required....
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St. Mary’s Deputies Commended for Quick Work in Apprehending Juvenile Carjacking Suspects

St. Mary’s Deputies Commended for Quick Work in Apprehending Juvenile Carjacking Suspects

In a coordinated operation, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Calvert and Charles County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Services Teams, executed search warrants today leading to the arrest of four juvenile suspects, aged 15 to 17, in connection with attempted carjackings that took place over the weekend. The investigation, launched...
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Young Child Nearly Struck and Puppy Killed by Suspect in Stolen Vehicle in Lexington Park

Young Child Nearly Struck and Puppy Killed by Suspect in Stolen Vehicle in Lexington Park

On Sunday, September 22, 2024, a red 2018 Toyota Highlander SUV with Maryland registration plates was stolen from the 45000 block of Morgallion Way in California. The 911 caller reported that the vehicle was stolen between 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. that day. On Monday, September 23, 2024, a black male wearing a blue...
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