SCOTLAND — Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) arrested a St. Mary’s County man on Wednesday, August 30 for attempting to break into the honor box at Point Lookout State Park.
Timothy Rulon Kelley, 49, of Scotland, was arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property greater than $500; malicious destruction of property less than $500; possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), marijuana; possession of a CDS, not marijuana; and possession of CDS paraphernalia. Kelley was placed under arrest without incident and transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention Center.
The arrest was the result of an ongoing investigation that started on August 28 when NRP responded to the boat ramp area of the park and found that someone had unsuccessfully attempted to cut the lock off of the honor box. Failing to do so, the would-be thief then attempted unsuccessfully to pry the box open with a pry bar. A vehicle had stuck the honor box as well. Officers recovered numerous pieces of a broken headlight and turned the signal light on the ground around the box. An honor box is a device used by park patrons to pay for services in the park when the tollbooth attendant is not on duty.
Through their investigation, NRP located a vehicle matching a description of the suspect’s and found it to be registered to Kelley. This vehicle has been used in prior honor box break-ins at Point Lookout and St. Mary’s River state parks. On August 30, NRP executed a search and seizure warrant on Kelley’s residence and recovered evidence implicating him in the attempted break-in, as well as controlled dangerous substances.
Kelley was also served with an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court. Kelley was arrested and charged by NRP in July of this year for allegedly stealing money from honor boxes at Point Lookout and St. Mary’s River state parks. Maryland State Police assisted the NRP with this investigation.