LEONARDTOWN, Md. (November 2, 2007)—As part of an ongoing investigation into several residential burglaries which occurred in the area of Abell, in the seventh district of St. Mary's County, police arrested and charged John Michael Jackson, 32, of Abell. Detectives, from the St. Mary's County Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI), charged Jackson with one count of First Degree Burglary, two counts of Theft, one count of Malicious Destruction of Property, and two counts of Rogue and Vagabond.
Jackson was incarcerated at the St. Mary's County Detention Center and was held on a $10,000.00 bond.
The seventh district has been so plagued by theft and burglaries in recent weeks that Sheriff Timothy Cameron, State's Attorney Richard Fritz, Lt. Brian Cedar of the Maryland State Police, and representatives from the Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) yesterday scheduled a community meeting for Tuesday, November 6, 7:00 p.m., at the Seventh District Volunteer Fire Department. According to the meeting announcement, the aforementioned officials will be on hand to "discuss burglaries, crime, and community concerns in the Seventh District."
According to Steven Hall of the Sheriff's Office, today's arrest will not result in the cancellation of the public forum scheduled for next Tuesday. "The arrest was simply part of the on-going investigations into the burglaries in the area and obviously a great development for us in our attempts to resolve these investigations and restore piece of mind to the citizens we serve in the 7th district," wrote Hall in an email response to our inquiry.