UPDATE 12/27/2024: A fourth individual, identified as Deondre Maceo Straughn, 18, of Saint Inigoes, has been arrested following an incident on November 28, 2024, involving multiple firearms violations and a high-speed police chase that ended in a crash. Deondre Maceo Straughn joins his brothers, Tireke Allen Straughn, 21, Tywon Deontae Straughn, 23, both of...
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UPDATE 12/27/2024: The Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD), along with surrounding companies, responded to a devastating structure fire in their first-due response area on Monday, December 23rd. This tragedy struck the home of their Past Fire Chief and current Board of Director Bobby Johnson. The fire not only displaced the family during the holiday...
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UPDATE 12/27/2024: Four individuals have been charged, and four local businesses have been cited for underage sales violations as part of a recent enforcement operation in St. Mary’s County. These cases, which arose from sales made on November 26, 2024, were officially filed in the District Court for St. Mary’s County on December 26,...
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UPDATE 12/27/2024: Police in St. Mary’s County have charged Thomas Campbell Bowling Von-Goetz, 56, of Avenue, in connection with two incidents at local churches during the Christmas holiday. Court documents describe a series of disruptive and threatening actions that allegedly endangered parishioners and interrupted religious services at Holy Angels Church and St. Francis Xavier Church....
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UPDATE 12/26/2024: The Independent Investigations Division (IID) of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General has identified the decedent and the Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputies involved in the fatal police-involved shooting that occurred on Friday, December 20, 2024, in White Plains, Charles County, Maryland. The decedent has been identified as 30-year-old Jordan Proctor...
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On December 20, 2024, Sheriff Ricky Cox and the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office welcomed four new deputies following the final inspection and graduation exercises from the Southern Maryland Criminal Justice Academy (SMCJA) Police Entrance Level Training Program Session 54 at Chopticon High School in Morganza, MD. The deputies were among a total of 17...
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On December 20, 2024, Henry Joseph Rupinski, 53, of Lusby, was sentenced in Calvert County Circuit Court to 15 years, with 18 months of active time, for possession of child pornography. Upon release Rupinski will be on 5 years supervised probation and will be required to register as a sex offender for life, forfeit...
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Angela Marie Hanson, 52, of California, Maryland, has been indicted on charges of embezzlement and theft following allegations of financial misconduct during her tenure as Finance Manager for Historic Sotterley, Inc. According to court documents, Hanson is accused of stealing nearly $15,000 over a five-month period from October 31, 2023, to April 15, 2024....
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Richard William Ellis, 47, of Newburg, is facing 51 criminal charges, including 16 counts of first-degree assault, after allegedly pointing a firearm at a school bus in an incident on September 20, 2024. The Charles Circuit Court issued an arrest warrant for Ellis on December 20, 2024, and he is currently being held without...
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Officers reported that they took a mischievous man into custody who calls himself the Grinch. This Whoville troublemaker was up to no good, but don’t worry—he won’t be causing any more trouble this holiday season. With the Grinch behind bars, Santa Claus can deliver presents to all the boys and girls without any interruptions....
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This holiday season, the Southern Maryland News Net would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the incredible community of St. Mary’s County and the dedicated men and women of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. They put together a video featuring a few of the many voices of community leaders, businesses, and residents...
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On December 19, 2024, Krystal Ninette Clay, age 64, of Indian Head, Maryland, was arrested in Charles County on charges of abducting a child under the age of 12. According to court documents, officers responded at approximately 8:59 a.m. to a welfare check in Bryans Road. A witness reported seeing a white Chevrolet Malibu...
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Alan Douglas Oberlander, 49, of Prince Frederick, faces a charge of second-degree assault following an incident at the Calvert County Detention Center on December 14, 2024. According to court documents, at approximately 12:56 a.m. at the detention center on Stafford Road, Calvert County Correctional DFC Kelly responded to the report of a disorderly inmate,...
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A routine traffic stop on December 9, 2024, in Calvert County led to the arrest of Dontray Joseph Creek, 30, of Prince Frederick, after authorities discovered he had used another person’s identity to avoid identification and outstanding child support warrants. According to court documents, Deputy Deinert of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office stopped a...
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UPDATE 12/24/2024: Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, December 19, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Vincent Anthony Fisher, II, 49, to 104 years in prison for two counts of First-Degree Arson and the Second-Degree Murders of Rashawn Cline and Dashawn Cline. Fisher was found...
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On December 22, 2024, a routine welfare check at a gas station in Lexington Park led to the arrests of four individuals on charges ranging from drug possession to providing false information to law enforcement. Senior Trooper Oyler and Trooper Abdel Wahab of the Maryland State Police, Leonardtown Barrack, were dispatched to the Shell...
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Deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office (SMCSO) are investigating a death preliminarily linked to an unreported traffic collision. On Sunday, December 22, 2024, at approximately 2:15 a.m., deputies and Emergency Medical Services responded to a residence in the 21000 block of Montfort Road in Bushwood for a report of an unresponsive individual....
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Maryland hunters reported harvesting 30,833 deer during the two-week firearm season from Nov. 30 through Dec. 14. The firearms season harvest was almost 9% higher than last year’s official count of 28,312 deer. “The two week firearm season continues to be our most popular deer season,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Karina Stonesifer said. “We’d like to thank...
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On December 19, 2024, a traffic stop in Lexington Park resulted in the arrests of two individuals, Zuri Kali Harrison, 22, of Great Mills, and Cindi Lynn Sweeney, 45, of Lexington Park. Both were arrested after a search of the vehicle revealed multiple controlled dangerous substances (CDS) and related paraphernalia. According to the St....
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Demetrius Demell Carroll, 30, of Nanjemoy, has been indicted by a St. Mary’s County Grand Jury on charges stemming from a false bomb threat made at the Walmart located on Miramar Way in California, Maryland. The indictment, issued on December 16, 2024, accuses Carroll of transmitting false information concerning the detonation of a destructive...
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UPDATE 12/19/2024: The case involving Antwian Marquis Johnson, 38, of Prince Frederick, and Shannon Marie Johnson, 37, of Great Mills, has officially moved forward in the legal system, now advancing to the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, Maryland. This development follows their arrests on December 5, 2024, and the subsequent indictment on numerous...
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Bruce Bernard Franks, Jr., 32, of Dameron, is facing legal trouble after being indicted on multiple charges related to illegal firearms and ammunition possession. The indictment stems from an extensive investigation conducted by the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)....
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U.S. District Theodore D. Chuang sentenced Andrew Trayvon Hale, 27, of Prince George’s County, to 15 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, in connection with 11 armed commercial robberies and the discharge of a firearm during one of the robberies. Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of...
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UPDATE 12/19/2024: Nahvarj Mills, 31, of Brandywine, Maryland, was found guilty today of 24 counts related to cyberstalking, disseminating sexually explicit photos, and multiple shootings involving two victims. The jury verdict, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge...
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Released December 18, 2024 – “Dear Parents, Guardians, and Staff: Administrators received a report today that a student reportedly had a gun at school and was showing it to others. As part of our investigation, we spoke with several students and viewed school surveillance camera footage. With support of our school resource officer (SRO), we...
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