On May 21, members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office’s Judicial Services Section assigned to the United States Marshals Service Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force (CARFTF) and detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division arrested Jose Mercedes Pineda-Callejas, age 45, of Riverdale, MD, in connection with multiple sexual offenses involving a minor. Pineda-Callejas had...
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UPDATE 5/22/2026: Legend McKinley Carter, 30, of Lexington Park, pleaded guilty in St. Mary’s County District Court to failing to obey a reasonable and lawful order by law enforcement after an April 19, 2026, incident near Old Hewitt Road in Lexington Park, according to court documents. The case was filed on April 20, 2026,...
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Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson has announced that 37-year-old Sergeant Robert Warrington has been convicted of attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and misconduct in office. Warrington is a police officer with the City of Bowie Police Department. After the judge rendered a verdict, the State’s Attorney was advised of information...
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On May 11, 2026, at approximately 5:46 a.m., officers responded to a residence in the 4600 block of Smallwood Church Road in Indian Head to serve multiple outstanding warrants on Sean Patrick Heckman, 23, of Indian Head. While relatives inside the home told officers they did not know Heckman’s whereabouts, officers conducted a search...
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On May 4, 2026, patrol officers responded to a reported burglary at the Swan Point Golf Course pro shop in Swan Point, MD. Officers learned that at approximately 9:35 p.m., on May 3, a male suspect forced entry into the business using a pry tool and stole approximately $5,300 worth of golf clubs and...
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On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the school resource officer assigned to Great Mills High School was notified by school administrators that a student had threatened to stab a teacher. Following the verbal threat, school administrators searched the student and located a pocketknife in the student’s pants pocket. The knife was immediately confiscated. The 15-year-old...
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Maryland State Police arrested an Annapolis man with sexual abuse of a minor in Queen Anne’s County. The accused is identified as Dustin Moss Burket, 52, of Annapolis. Burket is criminally charged with second-degree rape, abuse of a minor, fourth degree sexual offense, and second-degree assault. He was taken into custody yesterday without incident...
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UPDATE 5/22/2026: Annaya Lisette Hines, 26, of Waldorf, is facing multiple fraud, identity theft, and theft-related charges after detectives from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division said she used stolen personal information to lease an apartment on Talbert Place in Waldorf. Court records show Hines was arrested on May 20, 2026, and...
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UPDATE 5/22/2026: On May 20, 2026, detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division arrested Annaya Lisette Hines, age 26, shortly after she was released from the Charles County Detention Center on electronic monitoring. Hines had initially been arrested on May 14 on an active warrant. While she was in custody, detectives served her with a...
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May 20, 2026: Pennsylvania State Police recently concluded “Operation Wrong Place” a three-day undercover sting targeting individuals seeking to sexually exploit children online. Police conducted the operation from May 15 to May 17, which utilized online ads to lure suspects to designated meeting spots where troopers made arrests. Undercover troopers posted ads on a...
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On May 18, 2026, at approximately 3:39 a.m., an officer from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office initiated a traffic stop on Chicamuxen Road near High Ground Farm Place in Indian Head. The driver slowed but continued traveling for a short distance. During that time, the driver was observed placing items into the back seat...
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On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at approximately 6:33 p.m., firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the 13000 block of Sankston Place in Newburg, for the reported hazardous materials investigation with injuries. 911 callers reported a 12-year-old male was conscious alert and breathing after spilling acid on his face. Firefighters arrived on the scene...
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Thousands of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) have started landing on Maryland’s shores this spring for what is believed to be the world’s oldest wildlife migration. Dating back an estimated 350 million years, the annual spawning occurs from May through July, peaking with high tides on or around the full and new moons in June....
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Filo Joseph Blake, 43, of Prince Frederick; Katie Renee Blake, 45, of Prince Frederick; and Makayla Leann Brehm, 20, of Prince Frederick, are facing misdemeanor animal cruelty-related charges in Calvert County District Court after authorities alleged about 95 animals were seized from an Arthur King Road property in Prince Frederick on May 7, 2026....
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Joseph Moreland Bylan, 50, of Dunkirk, is facing new misdemeanor charges in Calvert County for possession of a controlled dangerous substance other than cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia after a May 13, 2026, traffic stop on Maryland Route 260, according to District Court records. The open case, filed May 14, 2026, in the...
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On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at approximately 8:15 p.m., police, firefighters, emergency medical services and dive teams responded to the Port Tobacco River in Welcome, for the reported missing person in the water. 911 callers reported a 40-year-old female was last seen in the water with her location currently unknown. Crews arrived on the...
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Joel Harold Notman, 31, of Lexington Park, has been charged in St. Mary’s County District Court with one misdemeanor count of violating a protective order after an alleged disturbance on Great Mills Road in Lexington Park on May 14, 2026. According to charging documents filed by Deputy Matthew Craig of the St. Mary’s County...
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Matthew Tyler Eastburn, 31, of Mechanicsville, has been charged in St. Mary’s County District Court with possession of a controlled dangerous substance that was not cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of alcohol per se, driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of alcohol,...
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Edwin Stanford Foote Jr., 63, of Huntingtown, is facing misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled dangerous substance that was not cannabis, possession of drug paraphernalia, and obstructing and hindering after an arrest in Calvert County on May 14, 2026, according to District Court records. According to court documents filed by Det. Tunnell of...
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Aleksandrs Koptevs, 31, of Owings Mills, is facing felony and misdemeanor drug and firearm charges after Maryland State Police said a welfare check in a Prince Frederick parking lot led to the discovery of suspected controlled substances, drug-packaging materials, and a loaded handgun, according to District Court documents filed in Calvert County. Koptevs is...
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On May 15, 2026, Timothy Lee Townsend, 61, of North Beach, was sentenced to 30 years in prison, with 20 years of active time, for sex abuse of a minor (continuing course of conduct). Upon release, Townsend will be on 5 years of supervised probation and required to register as a sex offender. In...
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The Maryland Department of Natural Resources cautions anyone who encounters a fawn to avoid disturbing it and resist the urge to feed or handle it. Removing deer from the wild and keeping them in captivity is against the law in Maryland in order to protect animal welfare and ensure public safety. Even if no adult deer are...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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