UPDATE 5/28/2026: Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, May 14, 2026, Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Scott Anthony Goldsmith, 55, to 48 years in prison for the Second-Degree Murder of Timothy Louis Portzen and the First-Degree Assault of a second victim. On March 9, 2026,...
Read More »
UPDATE 5/28/2026: Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Monise A. Stephenson, following an eight-day jury trial, declared a mistrial in the case against Anthony Dangelo Wilkins regarding the charges of Second-Degree Murder in the death of Miaquita Gray and the Attempted...
Read More »
Paige Johnna Eldred, 31, of Chesapeake Beach, has been charged in Calvert County District Court with one count of embezzlement or fraudulent misappropriation, 10 counts of stealing another person’s credit card, and three counts of using another person’s credit card for charges under $100, according to court documents. The case was filed on May...
Read More »
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at approximately 9:23 a.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services were dispatched to the area of the Bradfords Neighborhood Market located at 23860 Hollywood Road in Hollywood, for the reported house on fire. Multiple 911 callers reported smoke coming from the residence. Crews quickly arrived on the scene to find fire...
Read More »
On Sunday, May 24, 2026, at approximately 8:50 p.m., police responded to the area of Three Notch Road and Shady Mile Drive in California, for the reported assault involving a vehicle. The 911 caller reported his ex-wife was possibly impaired and purposely went around other vehicles in traffic to strike his vehicle multiple times...
Read More »
On Thursday, May 21, 2026, at approximately 7:20 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Port Tobacco Road and Durham Pointe Place in La Plata, for the serious motor vehicle collision with one trapped. Crews arrived on the scene to locate a single vehicle collision and confirmed one occupant...
Read More »
Nathaniel Warren Shaklee, 19, of Hollywood, has been charged with 13 counts connected to an alleged burglary at Brudergarten in Leonardtown and a series of reported vehicle break-ins in the Leonardtown area, according to District Court documents filed in St. Mary’s County. Shaklee is charged with second-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary of a store, eight...
Read More »
UPDATE 5/22/2026: A GoFundMe has been started to support the family of a 1-year-old girl who died after suffering a medical emergency in Mechanicsville. According to the fundraiser, Savi was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, also known as CDH, and spent her entire first year in the NICU at Children’s Hospital. During that time,...
Read More »
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,...
Read More »
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...
Read More »
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...
Read More »
John “Johnny” Oscar Gatton Sr., 83, of Hollywood, Maryland, passed away peacefully on May 19, 2026, surrounded by his family in the comfort of his home. Johnny was born on February 10, 1943, at his family home in Hollywood, Maryland, to William Raymond and Ruth Evelyn Gatton. He was one of six children and...
Read More »
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...
Read More »
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...
Read More »
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...
Read More »
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...
Read More »
Shayonna Renee Miles, 24, of Lexington Park, has been charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and reckless endangerment after St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office deputies say she used a vehicle to strike people during a May 16, 2026, disturbance in Lexington Park. According to charging documents, deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office...
Read More »
The number of wildfires in Maryland in 2025 remained steady but total acres burned nearly doubled, largely due to arson, according to the Maryland Forest Service’s Annual Wildland Fire Report. The report covers wildfires across 3.2 million acres of land overseen by the Maryland Forest Service. In Maryland, 172 wildland fires burned 8,167 acres during...
Read More »
On Monday, May 18, 2026, at approximately 1:30 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Point Lookout Road and Potato Hill Farm Lane in Leonardtown, for the serious motor vehicle collision with one unconscious. Crews arrived on the scene to find a two vehicle T-bone style collision and confirmed...
Read More »
David Allen Roberts, 34, of Prince Frederick, is facing separate criminal cases in Frederick and Calvert counties, including felony charges tied to a Frederick County commercial burglary and suspected arson, as well as 14 misdemeanor animal cruelty-related charges filed in Calvert County. In Frederick County, Roberts is charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree arson, first-degree...
Read More »
Michelle Rene Kelley, 63, of Hollywood, is charged in St. Mary’s County District Court with 147 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty for allegedly failing to provide proper care for animals at a Brown Road property in Hollywood, according to court documents. The case, filed on May 14, 2026, lists the charge description for each...
Read More »
Charles Franklin Harding Jr., 62, of Welcome, is facing felony drug distribution and multiple misdemeanor charges after a May 13, 2026 traffic stop near Hawthorne Road and Lower Wharf Road in Charles County, according to District Court records. Harding is charged with possession with intent to distribute narcotics, possession of a controlled dangerous substance...
Read More »
By: Christine Condon, May 4, 2026 – Maryland Matters. MM is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. In dark corners and supply closets in firehouses across Maryland sit gallons upon gallons of a toxic firefighting foam that firefighters can no longer use. In 2022, the state legislature passed a...
Read More »
Sheriff Ricky Cox and the men and women of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office are proud to announce that DFC Hendrickson and his K9 partner, Atlas, earned 1st place out of 20 K9 teams at the 2026 Capital K9 Trials. The competition, hosted at Joint Base Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County,...
Read More »
Laroi James Burch, 35, of Lexington Park, is facing nine drug and firearm-related charges after authorities said a search of his Radford Lane home led to the discovery of crack cocaine, packaging materials, a digital scale, cash, ammunition and a Polymer80 handgun without a serial number, according to District Court documents filed in St....
Read More »
