St. Mary’s News

Routine Bridge Inspection for Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge Set for Monday Night, December 9th, 2024

Routine Bridge Inspection for Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge Set for Monday Night, December 9th, 2024

The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will continue its routine bridge inspection of the MD 4 bridge over the Patuxent River (Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge) on Monday night, December 9, 2024. Starting at 9 p.m., crews will close one lane and alternate traffic in the open lane using a flagging operation. Overnight...
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VIDEO: What to Expect at a Sobriety Checkpoint and How to Act

VIDEO: What to Expect at a Sobriety Checkpoint and How to Act

Sobriety checkpoints are common tools law enforcement uses to ensure road safety by identifying impaired drivers. If you find yourself approaching one, it can be helpful to know what to expect and how to handle it smoothly. As you approach a sobriety checkpoint, you’ll likely notice signs and flashing lights, along with uniformed officers...
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Police in St. Mary’s County to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint on Friday, December 6, 2024

Police in St. Mary’s County to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint on Friday, December 6, 2024

To mitigate alcohol-related accidents and their devastating consequences, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office (SMCSO) will conduct a roadside sobriety checkpoint in the vicinity of California, MD, on Friday evening, December 6, 2024. Deputies will evaluate drivers for signs of alcohol or drug impairment. SMCSO recognizes that roadside sobriety checkpoints are highly visible and...
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Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack – Weekly Press Release 12/4/2024

Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack – Weekly Press Release 12/4/2024

The Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack is a full-service barrack, meaning it provides a comprehensive range of law enforcement services to the community in St. Mary’s County. These services include enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, conducting investigations into various offenses such as assaults, burglaries, drug-related crimes, murders and serious violent incidents. Additionally, the...
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Unsolved Cold Case File of Henrietta Ragan – A Rape and Murder in Leonardtown 1959

Unsolved Cold Case File of Henrietta Ragan – A Rape and Murder in Leonardtown 1959

Unsolved Cold Case Files: HENRIETTA RAGAN – In 1959, Leonardtown, Maryland, was a quaint little place where everyone knew one another. Tonight, 65 years ago, there was an incident that shook our quiet community; Henrietta Wilmer Ragan was raped and murdered. Her killer was never apprehended. Henrietta Ragan was born and raised in Leonardtown;...
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Mother and Two Children Flown Out After Single Vehicle Rollover in Mechanicsville

Mother and Two Children Flown Out After Single Vehicle Rollover in Mechanicsville

On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 9:10 a.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of 40517 New Market Turner Road and Morgan Brothers Road in Mechanicsville, for the serious motor vehicle collision with entrapment. The 911 caller reported she was involved in a single vehicle rollover with her, and her...
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Avenue Man Faces Second-Degree Assault Charges in St. Mary’s County

Avenue Man Faces Second-Degree Assault Charges in St. Mary’s County

Joseph Franklin Burch, 27, of Avenue, has been charged with second-degree assault following an incident on July 28, 2024, according to court documents filed in the District Court for St. Mary’s County. The charge stems from an alleged altercation at the defendant’s residence on Burch Road. According to the statement of charges filed by...
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Fort Washington Man Arrested on Multiple Offenses Following Lexington Park Incident

Fort Washington Man Arrested on Multiple Offenses Following Lexington Park Incident

Andre Timothy Green, 35, of Fort Washington, was arrested after an altercation at a residence in Lexington Park, on November 25, 2024. The charges stem from incidents that occurred at a home on the 46800 block of Flower Drive and involved multiple individuals, according to court records and the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office....
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UPDATE: One Injured After Vehicle Strikes Wentworth Nursery Greenhouse, Police Investigating

UPDATE: One Injured After Vehicle Strikes Wentworth Nursery Greenhouse, Police Investigating

UPDATE 12/4/2024 @ 15:10: Audio added – We provided details given about the incident as stated over the air by St. Mary’s County Dispatchers, and First Responders in real time due to the serious nature of the call, and alert for the possible road closures/delays in the area. The incident was dispatched as a...
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Prosecutors Successfully Argue for Murderer’s LIFE Sentence to Endure

Prosecutors Successfully Argue for Murderer’s LIFE Sentence to Endure

State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling announced today that a convicted murderer’s sentence of LIFE without the possibility of parole will stand. Earlier this year, Dana Collins, 63, asked the Court to reconsider his sentence stemming from a 1995 murder. The State argued against Collins’s motion. The Court agreed with the State, denied Collins’s motion, and...
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Lexington Park Woman Arrested After Handgun Found During Traffic Stop

Lexington Park Woman Arrested After Handgun Found During Traffic Stop

On November 27, 2024, Rayshona T. Jones, 35, of Lexington Park, was arrested after a traffic stop conducted by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Vice Narcotics Investigation Division near Willows Road in Lexington Park. During the traffic stop, officers asked Jones, who was the front-seat passenger in a 2017 Hyundai Genesis, to exit...
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Lexington Park Man Arrested on Drug Charges Following Traffic Stop

Lexington Park Man Arrested on Drug Charges Following Traffic Stop

On November 27, 2024, John F. Dorsey, a 36, of Lexington Park, was arrested after a routine traffic stop in St. Mary’s County led to the discovery of narcotics and drug paraphernalia. According to court documents, Deputy Joseph Senatore of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office initiated the stop after observing a gold Toyota...
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UPDATE: Police Arrest 25-Year-Old Wanted Man in Hollywood After His Fifth Violation of a Protective Order Within the Past Year

UPDATE: Police Arrest 25-Year-Old Wanted Man in Hollywood After His Fifth Violation of a Protective Order Within the Past Year

Kaimrhon Emmanuel Bonaventure, 25, of Douglas Georgia, was arrested in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on November 27, 2024, for violating a protective order and attempting to break into a residence in Hollywood, Maryland. He faces charges including violating a protective order, third-degree burglary, and fourth-degree burglary. According to court records, officers from the St....
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Suttler Post Farm’s 6th Annual Holiday Open House Fundraiser For Hospice Of St. Mary’s Set for December 14th and 15th, 2024

Suttler Post Farm’s 6th Annual Holiday Open House Fundraiser For Hospice Of St. Mary’s Set for December 14th and 15th, 2024

The community is warmly invited to Suttler Post Farm’s 6th Annual Holiday Open House, taking place on December 14 and 15, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Suttler Post Farm. This cherished event will benefit Hospice of St. Mary’s, offering a festive celebration for a meaningful cause. This year’s open house will feature...
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Natural Resources Police Toy Drive Underway for 2024 Holiday Season

Natural Resources Police Toy Drive Underway for 2024 Holiday Season

The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is conducting its annual “Boatload of Toys” holiday gift drive at several locations across the state in advance of the 2024 holiday season. NRP officers are collecting donations of new, unopened toys for local children in need. The program is part of the national United States Marine Toys for...
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Maryland’s ‘Gift of Trees’ Available for 2024 Holiday Season

Maryland’s ‘Gift of Trees’ Available for 2024 Holiday Season

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is offering holiday shoppers a different type of gift this year–one that can be in honor of a loved one, to benefit future generations, and improve the environment. The Gift of Trees is a program where Marylanders purchase native trees — either a single tree or a grove...
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Firefighters from Maryland and Virginia Respond to Large Boat Fire in Colonial Beach

Firefighters from Maryland and Virginia Respond to Large Boat Fire in Colonial Beach

On Sunday, December 1, 2024, at approximately 12:50 p.m., firefighters from Virginia, Maryland and NDW Dahlgren responded to the 1700 block of Castlewood Drive in Colonial Beach, VA, for the report of multiple boats on fire. Crews arrived on the scene to find an approximate 30 foot boat on fire threatening other boats and...
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Cocaine Found During Routine Traffic Stop in Lexington Park

Cocaine Found During Routine Traffic Stop in Lexington Park

Alehandro Brown, 52, of Lexington Park, was arrested on November 26, 2024, following a traffic stop initiated by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Brown faces multiple charges, including drug possession and tampering with evidence. The charges stem from a routine traffic enforcement operation that escalated into a search and seizure of illegal substances....
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UPDATE: Video Footage Captures Home Invasion in St. Mary’s County; Suspect Charged with Attempted Murder

UPDATE: Video Footage Captures Home Invasion in St. Mary’s County; Suspect Charged with Attempted Murder

UPDATE 11/2/2024: Robert Eric Hyatt Jr., 38, of Fort Washington, has been arrested and charged with numerous crimes, including attempted first-degree murder, after an alleged violent home invasion in St. Mary’s County. On November 29, 2024, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a home invasion at an...
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Archaeologists Work with Indigenous Peoples, Department of Natural Resources to Uncover History at Chapel Point State Park

Archaeologists Work with Indigenous Peoples, Department of Natural Resources to Uncover History at Chapel Point State Park

Before John Smith arrived and even before the glaciers melted to create the Chesapeake Bay, Indigenous Peoples had called the land that is now Maryland home. Indigenous sites in Maryland have been dated as early as 12,000 years ago by archaeologists. Many Indigenous People lived along the then Susquehanna River, using the resources provided...
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Christmas on the Square & Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in Leonardtown is Here!! Friday Nov.29th, 2024

Christmas on the Square & Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in Leonardtown is Here!! Friday Nov.29th, 2024

The holiday season begins in Leonardtown when Santa arrives for Christmas on the Square & the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony in the Town Square on Friday, November 29, 2024. The festivities begin at 4:30 PM with holiday music, entertainment, sleigh rides, train rides, hayrides, live nativity, balloon art, face painting, children’s crafts, hot drinks, food, holiday...
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St. Mary’s County Woman Arrested After Stabbing in Lexington Park

St. Mary’s County Woman Arrested After Stabbing in Lexington Park

Raven Savannah Gardiner, 22, of Leonardtown, has been charged in connection with an altercation that left a man with multiple stab wounds and another woman injured. The incident, which occurred on November 10, 2024, in the North Essex Drive area of Lexington Park, involved an attempt to break up a fight that escalated into...
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Commissioners of St. Mary’s County & NAS PAX Announce Joint Meeting

Commissioners of St. Mary’s County & NAS PAX Announce Joint Meeting

The Commissioners of St. Mary’s County (CSMC) and the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS PAX) will hold a joint meeting on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 9 a.m. in the Frank Knox Building, located just outside of NAS PAX Gate 2 at 21866 Cedar Point Road, Patuxent River. “Our partnership...
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Rock in the Holiday Season with Historic St. Mary’s City

Rock in the Holiday Season with Historic St. Mary’s City

December 2024 marks the return of a beloved holiday tour, along with a fresh approach to celebration! Historic St. Mary’s City is thrilled to unveil an entire weekend filled with holiday magic, offering activities that will delight every member of your family. Enjoy everything from an outdoor rock show to crafting your own fresh...
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Cannabis-Related ER Visits Increased Ahead of Recreational Legalization, State Dashboard Shows

Cannabis-Related ER Visits Increased Ahead of Recreational Legalization, State Dashboard Shows

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters November 24, 2024 Cannabis-related emergency room visits climbed steadily through July 2023, when recreational use was first legalized in Maryland, but have never reached that peak again, fluctuating up and down in the months since. That was just one of the findings of a new Maryland Health Department...
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