UPDATE from Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal (July 6, 2026) — Deputy State Fire Marshals are investigating a fatal house fire Sunday night in Hollywood that claimed the life of a father who re-entered his burning home in an attempt to locate his 10-year-old child. At around 9:40 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, 2026, firefighters from the Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department and several surrounding departments responded to the 22800 block of Thornbury Drive for a reported house...
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On Sunday, July 5, 2026, after the Solomons Island Fireworks Show ended, police were dispatched to the area of the Solomons Island Boardwalk near the gazebo for reports of a fight. Upon arrival, deputies located a 17-year-old male suffering a stab wound to the stomach. Firefighters and EMS requested a helicopter due to the teen’s injuries. Maryland State Police Aviation Command Trooper 7 was already on the ground at Solomons Volunteer Fire Department for an unrelated medical call. The...
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On Saturday, July 4, 2026, at approximately 6:57 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Peppertree Lane and Barberry Drive in Huntingtown, for the reported motor vehicle collision involving a golf cart. 911 callers reported a golf cart rolled over, with one victim being unconscious. Crews arrived on the scene to confirm the information and requested a helicopter due to the victim being unconscious with agonal breathing. Due to weather, all helicopters were unavailable....
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UPDATE 7/6/2026: The cause of the fire was a lightning strike. The fire quickly spread through the attic and second floor resulting in the family losing a majority of their belongings. Fortunately, no injuries were reported and all occupants were able to safely escape. The displaced occupants are being assisted by friends. A GoFundMe has been started and can be assisted by clicking here. 7/5/2026: On Saturday, July 4, 2026, at approximately 11:46 p.m., firefighters from Mechanicsville, Hollywood, Leonardtown, Newburg,...
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On Saturday, July 4, 2026, at approximately 8:40 p.m., firefighters from Bay District, NAS Patuxent River, Hollywood, Leonardtown, Second District, and Ridge were dispatched to 48798 Wentworth Court in Lexington Park, for the reported structure on fire. Dispatchers advised they were receiving multiple 911 calls advising the houses garage was on fire, with all occupants out of the home. Firefighters arrived on scene within minutes to confirm fire showing from the attached 1-story garage with extensions into the two-story...
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Investigators from the Maryland State Police Child Exploitation Unit charged a Calvert County man with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. The accused is identified as Jurel Daquone Leo Bowman, 32, of Lusby, Maryland. He is charged with six counts of sexual solicitation of a minor. He was arrested by Maryland State Police shortly before 9:00 p.m. yesterday without incident and transported to the Harford County Detention Center where he is currently held without bond. Beginning in...
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UPDATE 7/3/2026: Attorney General Anthony G. Brown announced today that a Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge has ordered a lead paint inspector to pay $8.7 million and permanently banned him from the industry for fraud. The ruling against Green Environmental, LLC and its principal operator, Rodney Bryan Barkley, follows Barkley’s criminal conviction and sentencing earlier this year for falsifying lead paint certificates and related environmental violations. The civil action, filed by Attorney General Brown on behalf of the Maryland Department...
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Amber Louise Prusha, 38, of Mechanicsville, is facing multiple misdemeanor charges in St. Mary’s County after three separate incidents in June 2026, including two trespassing allegations, theft of lodging services, and indecent exposure. The earliest incident happened June 17, 2026, at a home on Woodridge Drive in Mechanicsville. The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded around 10:39 a.m. for a reported domestic disturbance. According to the allegations, an adult male property owner told deputies Prusha had shown up unexpectedly...
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Southern Maryland residents will have several opportunities to celebrate Independence Day weekend with fireworks displays, community events, live entertainment, food vendors and family activities across the region. Several displays are scheduled for Friday, July 3, and Saturday, July 4, 2026, with events planned in St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles counties, along with nearby Colonial Beach, Virginia. Friday, July 3 St. Mary’s Freedom Fest will be held at the St. Mary’s County Fairgrounds in Leonardtown. The event begins at 5...
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On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the Plaza Azteca located at 22201 Three Notch Road in Lexington Park, for the reported CPR in progress. Crews arrived on the scene and confirmed CPR was in progress. Arias was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced deceased. In memory of Ricardo Arias, manager of Plaza Azteca. In support of his repatriation and final resting place. A GoFundMe...
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On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at approximately 5:13 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Three Notch Road and Patuxent Beach Road in California, for the reported motor vehicle collision with injuries. Multiple 911 callers reported a serious crash with at least 3 vehicles involved. Crews arrived on the scene to find multiple vehicles involved with one adult patient unresponsive and requested a helicopter. Maryland State Police Aviation Command Trooper 7 transported the adult...
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On June 29, 2026, a 13-year old juvenile was released on probation with electronic monitoring after having been found involved in the rape of two 6-year old girls. The Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office, who prosecuted the case, recommended that the juvenile be placed in a secure “out-of-home” facility where he could receive treatment and counselling. Instead, the juvenile was returned to the home where some of the abuse allegedly occurred. Although the victims no longer live in the...
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UPDATE 6/30/2026 @ 2:40 p.m.: On Tuesday, June 30, at approximately 7:40 a.m., emergency personnel responded to the 27500 block of Thompson Corner Road in Mechanicsville for a reported single-vehicle crash. Upon arrival, first responders located a green pickup truck that had left the roadway and struck a tree. The driver was trapped inside the vehicle. The driver, identified as Malik Javonn Somerville, 27, of Chaptico, was pronounced dead at the scene. Due to the severity of the crash,...
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Malik Desean Norris, 18, of Callaway, has been charged in two separate St. Mary’s County cases involving allegations of stolen firearm property, possession of firearms as a minor, illegal ammunition possession, carrying a handgun, possession of a firearm without a serial number, and possession with intent to distribute cannabis. In one case, Maryland State Police allege Norris stole a gray Glock G48 firearm, a loaded magazine containing 10 rounds, and an unloaded magazine from an adult female victim at...
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UPDATE 6/28/2026: The Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission is sharing an expanded consumer advisory from the Food and Drug Administration regarding a total recall of all Clover Hill Dairy brand cheeses due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. To date, nine illnesses, eight hospitalizations and one death have been linked to the soft cheese products. Officials urge consumers, producers and regional agricultural communities to check their refrigerators immediately. Do not eat, sell or serve the recalled cheese. The recall involves all...
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On Sunday, July 5, 2026, during the Solomons Island Fireworks Show, a 60-year-old male worker on the barge suffered an injury which required immediate medical care. Solomons VFD Rescue Boat 3 was able to transfer the patient to the boat from the barge, and transported them to awaiting EMS at the Solomons Boat Ramp....
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Clay Andrew Burris, 28, of Dameron, and Cassandra Dorothy Foard, 28, of Lusby, are facing charges in Calvert County after deputies reported finding suspected drugs and paraphernalia during two separate traffic-related incidents in June and July 2026. Foard is charged in a July 1, 2026 case with possession of a controlled dangerous substance other...
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Sean Patrick Heckman, 23, of Indian Head, is facing a felony charge of possessing or receiving a weapon while confined or detained, a misdemeanor charge of possessing contraband in a place of confinement, two misdemeanor counts of possessing a controlled dangerous substance other than cannabis, and one misdemeanor count of possessing drug paraphernalia, according...
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On Saturday, July 4, 2026, at approximately 9:46 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of 1660 Grays Road in Port Republic, for the reported motor vehicle collision with unknown injuries. 911 callers reported a vehicle struck a downed tree, with unknown injuries reported. Crews arrived on the scene to confirm...
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On Saturday, July 4, 2026, at approximately 11:15 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of 3rd Street and Erie Avenue in North Beach, for the reported stabbing. Crews arrived on the scene to find a 46-year-old male suffering from multiple stab wounds to the chest and back. The patient was...
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James Robert Anderson Jr., 44, of Hollywood, faces several St. Mary’s County District Court cases involving misdemeanor drug possession, drug paraphernalia and theft charges, including three open cases from 2026 and one closed case from late 2025. The most recent case stems from a June 25, 2026, arrest in Lexington Park. Anderson is charged...
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On Saturday, July 4th, 2026, firefighters, SMECO, County Roads and State Highway crews worked tirelessly through the high winds, heavy downpours, and constant lightning strikes in the tri-county area. In St. Mary’s County, firefighters responded to over 60 calls of service between 7:00 p.m., and 2:00 a.m., with the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department handling...
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Walter Jay Brown Jr., 47, of Leonardtown, was charged in two separate 2026 St. Mary’s County arrests, including a March second-degree assault case that has since been closed and a June controlled substance possession case that remains open. The first arrest followed a reported disturbance on March 15, 2026, at the Island Inn and...
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On Saturday, July 4, 2026, at approximately 9:09 p.m., emergency medical services were dispatched to the Charles County Detention Center located at 6905 Crain Highway in La Plata, for the reported injuries after an assault. The correction officers advised an adult inmate was assaulted with confirmed loss of consciousness. EMS arrived on the scene and...
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On Saturday, July 4, 2026, at approximately 3:40 p.m., police, firefighters and emergency medical services responded to the area of Marshalls Corner Road and Middletown Road in La Plata, for the serious motor vehicle collision with entrapment. Crews arrived on the scene to find a two-vehicle T-bone style collision with one adult female trapped....
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The Board of Public Works approved more than $1.18 million in grants from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to local governments for sports fields and courts and playgrounds in Allegany, Calvert, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, and Washington counties. About $455,000 in Program Open Space – Local funding was approved for projects in Dorchester and Frederick Counties....
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Shaniya Curshawn Mason, 25, of Lexington Park, has been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting/interfering with arrest following a June 17, 2026, incident in Lexington Park, according to charging documents. She was released on her own recognizance following an initial appearance and is scheduled for trial in St. Mary’s County District Court on July...
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Rose A. Jones, 44, of Lusby, is facing misdemeanor charges of possession of a controlled dangerous substance other than cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia following a traffic stop in St. Mary’s County on June 23, 2026. According to charging documents, a deputy with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office was patrolling near Norris...
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UPDATE 7/4/2026: Zamahri Lydell Talley, 22, of Prince Frederick, pleaded guilty on June 1, 2026, in the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County to one count of loaded handgun in a vehicle before Judge Amy Lorenzini. As part of the disposition, Talley was sentenced to five years in prison, with all but 12 months...
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Victor John-Lee Scotland, 37, of Lexington Park, has accumulated multiple criminal convictions in St. Mary’s County over the past several years, including a felony robbery conviction, a second-degree escape conviction, and, most recently, a conviction for resisting arrest. His latest conviction stems from a March 19, 2026, encounter with the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s...
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Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and a multistate coalition secured 53 million eggs for consumers nationwide and $3.3 million from some of the nation’s largest egg producers for colluding behind the scenes to raise prices. A bipartisan multistate investigation with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that Cal-Maine Foods (Cal-Maine), Versova/Centrum (Versova), and...
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Governor Wes Moore today announced approximately 200,000 Maryland households will receive increased help with their energy bills this year under a major expansion of the state’s energy assistance programs administered by the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS). “In our region and across the country, the rising cost of energy has gotten out of...
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