LA PLATA, Md. (July 8, 2013)—The Charles County Sheriff's Office released the following incident and arrest reports.
THEFTS FROM MAILBOXES: The Charles County Sheriff's Office is advising residents about several mail thefts that have been reported during the past few weeks throughout the county. In each case, homeowners have placed mail (usually bill payments) in their mailbox for the postal employee to pick up and deliver. However, someone is stealing the mail, altering the checks, and attempting to cash them at various banks - locally, in other cities, and in different states. The CCSO is vigorously pursuing leads. Investigators say in at least two cases, two different women attempted to cash the stolen checks. The women provided bank tellers with an ID but detectives believe the ID's did not actually belong to the women. In some cases, the checks were cashed and in other cases the bank tellers questioned the validity of the checks and did not cash them.
Charles County Crime Solvers is offering a cash reward. Anyone with information about these thefts is asked to call Det. E. Clark of the CCSO at (301) 609-6499. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact Charles County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS or Text CHARLES + your tip to CRIMES or visit http://www.ccso.us to submit a web tip. Residents are encouraged to drop off mail in a secure mailbox or take mail directly to the post office when possible. Police departments across the region are investigating similar crimes.
BURGLARY OF VACANT HOME: Between June 27 - July 1, unknown suspects broke into a vacant house in the 4300 block of Mattawoman Creek Road in Marbury and stole several appliances. PFC M. Mellott is investigating.
BURGLARY: Between June 28 - June 29, a homeowner reported someone broke in a house in the area of Virgo Road in Bel Alton and stole electronics and jewelry. Officers believe the suspect(s) used a rock to break out a window to gain entry. Officers collected evidence and are pursuing leads. PFC R. Herbert is investigating.
Charles County Sheriff Rex W. Coffey said citizens are making a difference. Last week, officers nabbed three suspects in three different theft cases after citizens called to report suspicious activity.
CALL FROM ALERT CITIZEN RESULTS IN IDENTIFICATION OF METAL THEFT SUSPECTS: On July 3 at 1:58 p.m., a citizen reported seeing two males trying to dismantle an air conditioner in the back of a pick-up truck behind a store in Bryantown. The citizen thought something was suspicious and called police. The men left the store but not before the citizen jotted down the tag number and their description. Charles County Sheriff's officers responded and spotted the truck. They initiated a traffic stop and learned the men had actually stolen the air conditioner from Anne Arundel County and had turned the scraps in to a local dealer. CCSO officers responded to the scrap dealer, retrieved the parts and contacted the other police jurisdictions. The suspects, both adult males from California, MD, will be charged after further investigation. The CCSO is encouraging anyone who sees something suspicious to call police immediately.
CITIZENS' CALLS TO POLICE - COMBINED WITH SOLID PATROL WORK AND EXCELLENT FIELD COVERAGE BY A POLICE K-9 TEAM - HELP CCSO NAB TWO SUSPECTS IN WHEEL THEFTS: On July 2 at 2:40 a.m., officers responded to the 5000 block of Fallen Timber Way in Indian Head after a citizen called to report someone had removed the center caps and lug nuts from his Chevy truck. As officers approached the area, they spotted a silver Ford Taurus leaving the neighborhood. They attempted to stop the car, but the driver fled and crashed into a guard rail. The occupants jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot. Patrol officers set up a perimeter and CCSO K-9 officer Cpl. J. Freeman and his partner, Brix, responded. One suspect, Derrick Dwight Dew, 27, of Washington, D.C., was located hiding near a school. He was arrested and officers found him to be in possession of burglary tools. Officers also found four Yokohama tires and two sets of Chevy center caps in the car Dew jumped out of. Officers canvassed the area extensively and quickly found a vehicle sitting on landscaping blocks. They linked the tires they found in the suspects' car to that vehicle. Dew was transported to the Charles County Detention Center where he was charged with two counts of theft and one count of rogue and vagabond.
Later that morning, at 4:08 a.m., officers responded to the 4300 block of Crain Highway in White Plains after a citizen called to report suspicious activity. The citizen provided officers with a description of several males who were in the process of stealing tires from a Ford Mustang which was parked in the parking lot of a business. Pfc. Weedon and Sgt. Myers were on the scene within a minute. Upon arrival, they saw at least two suspects running away from the area. They also noticed the tires from a car had been removed. Officers established a perimeter and CCSO K-9 officer Cpl. J. Freeman and his partner, Brix, responded and immediately began a track which went south towards DeMarr Road. Officers then spotted three suspects running across Crain Highway to Stanhaven Place where they split up. One suspect, Marcellus Frank Burns, 19, of Washington, D.C., was quickly apprehended and the other two suspects fled; detectives are in the process of trying to identify them. Burns was transported to the Charles County Detention Center where he was charged with two counts of theft and one count of rogue and vagabond.
A district court commissioner released both Dew and Burns from jail on personal recognizance a few hours after they were charged. It is not clear if the cases are linked and the investigations are continuing.
Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://somd.me/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://somd.me/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://somd.me/expungeme .