Truck catches fire after collision
Just after 5:20 a.m. on Aug. 5, Charles County sheriff’s officers and members of the Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department responded to a vehicle collision involving a U-Haul truck in the area of Prince Frederick Road and Brandywine Road. Firefighters were able to quickly put out the blaze and no injuries were reported.
St. Mary’s crash results in no injuries
Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department personnel responded to a one-vehicle crash on Sunday, Aug. 7, at 3:30 p.m. in the 23500 block of Point Lookout Road. Units found that the driver had escaped from the vehicle. The person was not transported to the hospital, according to the fire department.
Truck catches fire after collision
Just after 5:20 a.m. on Aug. 5, Charles County sheriff’s officers and members of the Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department responded to a vehicle collision involving a U-Haul truck in the area of Prince Frederick Road and Brandywine Road. Firefighters were able to quickly put out the blaze and no injuries were reported.
St. Mary’s crash results in no injuries
Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department personnel responded to a one-vehicle crash on Sunday, Aug. 7, at 3:30 p.m. in the 23500 block of Point Lookout Road. Units found that the driver had escaped from the vehicle. The person was not transported to the hospital, according to the fire department.
Indian Head man charged with theft from church
Guy Dwight Johnson, 54, of Indian Head was charged with theft of $1,500 to under $25,000 on Aug. 2.
According to charging documents, Charles sheriff’s officers were called to a church in the 8100 block of Annapolis Wood Road in La Plata for report of a theft on July 17, 2021. Officers spoke with a deacon at the church who discovered that the catalytic converter on the church’s van, valued at $3,381, had been removed.
A reciprocating saw blade was found near the vehicle and processed as evidence. DNA from the blade allegedly implicated Johnson on Feb. 3.
A search and seizure warrant for Johnson’s DNA was executed on Feb. 17. The sample from Johnson allegedly matched the sample taken from the reciprocating saw blade.
A summons was issued on Aug. 2 and Johnson is due in court on Sept. 19.
Hughesville man, 65, charged with theft scheme
Stephen Michael Guertin, 65, of Hughesville was charged with two felonies of theft scheme of $1,500 to under $25,000 on Aug. 8.
Sheriff’s officers were called to a sheet metal business in the 4500 block of Graphics Drive in White Plains on July 25 for an alleged employee theft.
When officers arrived they spoke with an executive with the business that accused Guertin of buying copper for jobs that did not require it and scrapping the copper at a local metals company.
Guertin allegedly stole $13,211.73 in copper materials from the business between Oct. 19, 2021, and July 6, 2022.
Guertin was also accused of stealing tools from his work truck and pawning the items at a local pawn shop. A search of the pawn shop’s transactions showed that Guertin allegedly sold a Hilti drill on Jan. 28, a Rigid soil pipe cutter on Feb. 9 and a Milwaukee Force Logic tool on July 18. The value of all three items was $4,455.99.
A summons for Guertin was issued on Aug. 8 and he is expected in Charles County District Court on Sept. 19.
Cobb Island man charged with theft
Michael T. Drinks, 54, of Cobb Island was charged with felony theft of $1,500 to under $25,000 and two misdemeanors for acting as a contractor without a license and failure to perform contract on Aug. 5.
Charges stem from work Drinks was contracted to perform at a home in the 10200 block of Bluff Point Road in Nanjemoy in November 2021.
According to a complaint filed by the homeowner, Drinks allegedly took $2,100 as partial payment for home improvement work that he failed to perform. Charging documents do not list the specific work Drinks was contracted to do.
The homeowner also alleged that Drinks does not have a contracting license and has refused to return the cash he was initially paid.
A summons for Drinks was issued on Aug. 5 and he is due in Charles County District Court on Sept. 26.
Lexington Park man, 27, charged in teen’s death
Matthew Mark Mazza, 27, of Lexington Park was charged with felony negligent manslaughter by vehicle and misdemeanor contributing to negligent manslaughter in the death of Jamari Tyrese Duckett, 18, on July 9.
Assistant state’s attorney Laura Caspar filed the charges in circuit court alleging that Mazza killed Duckett in a grossly negligent manner and caused his death in a negligent manner. According to a court document, Mazza was driving a green 2012 Chevy Silverado pickup with Michigan plates at 3:35 a.m. and rear-ended a 2015 Ford Focus that was driven by Duckett.
Mazza was northbound on Willows Road near Bradley Boulevard and was only wearing gray shorts and gray socks at the time, the document states. He allegedly had a blood alcohol content of .20 from a breath test. Mazza said the Focus pulled out in front of him, but there were no brake marks on the road, only skid marks. Duckett was transported to a hospital in critical condition and later died.
Mazza is being held without bond.
Woman, 51, charged with robbery, violating peace order
Robin Ann Laabs, 51, of no fixed address was charged with felony robbery and several misdemeanors, including trespass, failure to comply with a peace order and theft of less than $100.
Police responded at 6:52 a.m. on Aug. 5 to the 21400 block of Great Mills Road. A man said Laabs came to his residence and was banging on a window and the front door. He opened the door, and she allegedly came in without permission, according to a charging document.
The man said his cellphone and an empty prescription bottle went missing. He had a peace order and a no trespass order issued on July 7 against the woman, according to the document. A summons was issued on Aug. 5.
Lexington Park woman faces felony assault, other charges
Leah Michelle Hicks, 18, of Lexington Park was charged with felony and misdemeanor assault and several other misdemeanors, including three handgun charges, following two incidents on Aug. 3.
A report was received about a green GMC being driven erratically on Chaptico Road and someone hanging out the window. A woman said she passed a vehicle that was stopped in the road and a man and a woman were arguing in the back. A woman with a long braid allegedly pointed a gun at the passerby. The woman then yelled and threw the gun on the ground.
A short time later, police stopped the GMC on Three Notch Road near St. Andrew’s Church Road. Four people were in the vehicle, and a handgun was seen on the driver’s side floorboard, a court document states. Hicks, who had a long braid, said the gun wasn’t hers.
Hicks also faces misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree burglary and trespass stemming from July 30. In that case, she was in a townhouse on Castaway Circle in Lexington Park screaming and throwing things at her mother, a court document states. Hicks complained of being assaulted earlier in the evening by a man who held a firearm to her head and held her down.
Hicks had several abrasions on her neck and chest, but would not cooperate with police because of fear of retaliation. Hicks allegedly entered her mother’s home through an unlocked front door, but a protective order had been in place since February.
Piney Point man, 35, charged with theft of vehicle
Zachary Kenneth Lengfield, 35, of Piney Point was charged with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and misdemeanor unauthorized removal of a vehicle stemming from Aug. 1.
Lengfield’s father said he drove his son to court on Aug. 1 but he left before his case was called. The father said his red 2019 Toyota Tacoma was missing. Lengfield was on an ankle monitor for unrelated cases.
He was tracked to Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Lexington Park where the vehicle was found and the keys were on his person. He was transported to St. Mary’s MedStar Hospital.
Lengfield, who was issued a summons on Aug. 3, also faces multiple misdemeanors from six other cases, including assault, trespass and theft of less than $100.
Daniel Leon Lindsey Jr., 35, of Bushwood was arrested for allegedly being a fugitive out of Prince William County, Va., where he was wanted for making a threat in writing, a felony. According to a court document, Lindsey allegedly threatened to kill or do bodily injury to a woman.
Dunkirk fire company vehicle involved in serious crash
According to the chief of the Dunkirk Volunteer Fire Department, the local company is cooperating with the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office in the investigation of a two-vehicle collision involving one of its vehicles.
The incident occurred during the early evening hours of Aug. 3 at the intersection of Southern Maryland Boulevard and Solomons Island Road, known better as the Route 2/4 split.
According to a press release from Dunkirk chief Toby Sealy, the assistant chief’s vehicle was en route to a fire reported in the Broomes Island area when the crash occurred.
“The collision left a civilian vehicle overturned,” Sealy stated, adding, “The occupants of both vehicles involved were able to self-extricate and were transported to the appropriate medical facilities for further evaluation and treatment.”
A Maryland State Police helicopter had been called to fly out one of the injured motorists, Sealy reported.
Investigation revealed a 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe belonging to Dunkirk fire company and operated by Kirk Spencer Jr., 25, of Chesapeake Beach was attempting to make a left turn onto southbound Route 4 while responding to an emergency call with lights and sirens activated. A 2015 Jeep Limited, operated by Kristan Jadwick, 41, of Chesapeake Beach, was traveling north on Route 4 and had the green light.
Spencer proceeded through the intersection and struck the Jeep causing it to roll over on its side, according to police. Jadwick and a juvenile passenger were transported to CalvertHealth Medical Center for minor injuries. Spencer refused medical treatment on scene.
In their investigation, the department’s press release stated, the sheriff’s office has “the full cooperation from the executive officers and accident review board of the Dunkirk VFD along with the Calvert County Safety Review Committee. As always, the Dunkirk VFD keeps the delivery of emergency services to our citizens and visitors as our priority.”
Fugitives from Virginia nabbed in Calvert
On Aug. 3, Deputy Herschel Wilder of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men wanted on separate charges in Spotsylvania County, Va. According to court records, Devin Thomas Chewning, 22, of Fredericksburg, Va., was wanted for unlawful wounding, reckless handling of a firearm and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office, Chewning was charged with those crimes on June 10, 2021.
Chewning is charged in Calvert with being a fugitive from justice and is being held without bond. According to court papers, Chewning has waived extradition to Virginia. A hearing on the fugitive charge is scheduled for Sept. 2 in district court.
Court documents revealed Christopher Michael McNulty, 29, of Lusby is wanted in Spotsylvania County for possession of heroin and fentanyl. McNulty is also being held without bond, has waived extradition to Virginia and has a hearing on Calvert’s fugitive charge on Sept. 2 in district court.
Multiple catalytic converter thefts under probe by police
Deputy Robert Burgraff of the Calvert sheriff’s office is investigating two thefts of catalytic converters removed from vehicles in the Lusby area reported on July 27. One of the thefts occurred in the parking lot of Southern Community Center. The converter was removed from a truck. Another theft occurred in the Rausch Funeral Home Lusby parking lot. A catalytic converter was taken off a parked van.
Both catalytic converters are valued at $500. Those with information about the thefts can contact Burgraff at the Calvert sheriff’s office at 410-535-2800.
Those with information may also call Crime Solvers, which provides a means for citizens to anonymously provide law enforcement agencies with information concerning crimes and/or suspects. If the information leads to an arrest or indictment, the caller may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000. Information may also be submitted online through an anonymous form. The Crime Solvers telephone number is 410-535-2880.
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