On Thursday, June 25, 2026, at approximately 9:47 a.m., firefighters from the Second District VFD in St. Mary’s County responded to Calvert County to assist the Department of Natural Resources with a recovery operation. Police and firefighters recovered the victim on the the St. Mary’s County side of the Patuxent River near the Thomas...
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UPDATE 6/26/2026: St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced that Stacey Lynn Wilkinson, now 39, of Callaway, was sentenced to a total of 120 days of active incarceration in connection with driving while impaired by alcohol, repeated incidents of driving while suspended, and a probation violation. Prosecutors said Wilkinson was convicted of driving...
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On Thursday, June 25, 2026, at approximately 12:40 p.m., firefighters and emergency medical services were dispatched to the 26000 block of Sycamore Drive in Mechanicsville, for the reported traumatic injuries. 911 callers reported a 10-year-old male was trapped on the deck after a metal rail went through the victims foot. 7 Firefighters from the...
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On Wednesday, June 24, 2026, at approximately 3:25 p.m., firefighters from Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s County were dispatched to the 39000 block of Cooney Neck Road off Route 6 in Mechanicsville, for the large brush fire threatening a barn. 911 callers reported a large field on fire spreading and threatening a barn. Crews...
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The Southern Maryland Studies Center (SMSC) at the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) La Plata Campus received a $50,000 donation from the National Society of Descendants of Lords of the Maryland Manors to support the preservation and study of records connected to colonial Maryland manors and Southern Maryland family history. The organization, which merged...
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UPDATE 6/24/2026: The law enforcement investigation at Point Lookout State Park concluded. No injuries were reported. The subject has been safely located. The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office thanks our partners, Maryland State Police and Department of Natural Resources Police, for their assistance. We thank the public for their cooperation and patience while the...
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Jordan S White, 25, of Henderson, Texas, is facing misdemeanor charges in St. Mary’s County for violating an out-of-state protective order and violating a protective order after authorities said he repeatedly contacted a protected adult female victim on June 19, 2026. According to charging documents filed in District Court for St. Mary’s County, a...
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State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced today that Christina Lee Calero, 47, of Leonardtown, was sentenced to five years with eighteen months of active incarceration for Theft: $100 to Under $1,500 as a subsequent offender. On August 19, 2025, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the JCPenney in California, Maryland, for...
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UPDATE 6/23/2026: On Sunday, June 21, 2026, at approximately 6:57 a.m., firefighters from Bay District, Hollywood, Solomons, Leonardtown, Ridge, and Second District were dispatched to 23165 Mirfield Lane in Lexington Park, for the reported structure on fire. Crews arrived on the scene to find a two-story single family home with fire showing from the...
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SMNEWSNET.COM is currently unable to obtain dozens of requested booking photographs from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office because the agency says it did not keep local copies of the photos after they were taken. The issue involves three closed Maryland Public Information Act requests submitted by SMNEWSNET.COM for booking photographs from late May...
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The Applebee’s restaurant, located at 45480 Miramar Way, California, Maryland, is shut down and no longer operating. The location had served customers in the California and Lexington Park area for years as one of the chain casual-dining options near First Colony and the Route 235 business corridor. No official public statement explaining the closure...
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Mark Travis Grove, 41, of Mechanicsville, has been charged with second-degree assault, while Bernard Wood Jr., 24, and Bernard Wood, 60, both of Lusby, have each been charged with malicious destruction of property valued at $1,000 or more after a May 31, 2026, dispute outside West Marine on HG Trueman Road in Solomons, according...
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Jezenia T. Beale, 21, of Lexington Park, has been charged with third-degree burglary and three counts of malicious destruction of property valued under $1,000 after deputies said she forced her way into an apartment on Great Mills Road in Lexington Park and damaged several items on June 19, 2026. According to allegations filed by...
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A Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince Georges, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico, Worcester and Baltimore City in MD until 9:00 pm. Scattered severe thunderstorms capable of producing damaging winds and isolated tornadoes are possible this afternoon...
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On Sunday, June 21, 2026, at approximately 6:05 p.m., police responded to the Royal Farms located at 21779 Tulagi Place in Lexington Park, for the reported robbery. The 911 caller reported a black male wearing a black shirt and brown pants approached the victim, grabbed him by the shirt and stole an undisclosed amount of...
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Father’s Day is a chance to celebrate the dads, grandfathers, stepdads, and father figures who have helped shape our lives. Whether they’re teaching us how to change a tire, helping with a home project, coaching from the sidelines, or simply being there when we need them most, Father’s Day is an opportunity to say...
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Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office were called to Lowe’s in the 45000 block of Worth Avenue in California on Thursday, June 18, at about 1:39 p.m. for a reported shoplifting. Upon arrival, it was reported that a male subject entered the store, placed various tools and equipment items in a shopping...
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The Maryland Department of Transportation is Serious About Safety and launching, in partnership with the Maryland State Police, a joint summer initiative to publish fatal motor vehicle crashes statistics from across the State. The campaign aims to raise public awareness of roadway fatalities and encourage safe driving habits during the peak summer travel season, also known...
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Master Deputy State Fire Marshal Melissa Decker has been selected as the Southern Regional Office nominee for the 2025 James C. Robertson Deputy State Fire Marshal of the Year Award. She was nominated by Deputy Chief John Nelson, commander of the Southern Regional Office. Decker will join nominees from each regional office and the...
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St. Mary’s County Government’s Department of Recreation & Parks (R&P) is excited to announce the return of food service at Chancellor’s Run Regional Park in Great Mills. Food and beverages are now available for purchase from a new quick-service concession stand located in the Hall of Fame Building at the center of the park....
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State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced that Collin Andrew Hixson, 35, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, was sentenced to 30 years in prison with 10 years and 302 days of active incarceration for the sexual abuse of a minor while he was a houseguest in a Mechanicsville home in May 2025. “The Defendant was welcomed into...
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Charles Edward Karpiak, 57, of Charlotte Hall, was arrested on June 17, 2026, and charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and wearing a handgun while under the influence. The charges were filed in District Court in St. Mary’s County following an arrest by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Karpiak is accused of committing...
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Joseph Valentino Thomas, 37, of Dowell, is facing new charges in St. Mary’s County after authorities say he fled from a traffic stop in Leonardtown and was later linked to multiple bags of cocaine and crack cocaine found near where his vehicle had stopped. Thomas is charged with possession with intent to distribute narcotics,...
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UPDATE 6/17/2026: Melvin Andrew Oshea Pinkney, 43, of California, has been charged with impersonating a police officer after Montgomery County police said he used red and blue lights to pull over a covert police vehicle in downtown Silver Spring on June 15, 2026. The misdemeanor charge carries a possible penalty of up to two...
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Steve L Thomas, 56, of Lexington Park, has been charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance other than cannabis and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia after a June 2, 2026 traffic stop near Great Mills Road and FDR Boulevard in Lexington Park. According to allegations filed in District Court for St....
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