LA PLATA, Md. (Dec. 13, 2007) - The Charles County Sheriff's Department today released the following incident and arrest reports.
HANDGUN POSSESSION: On Dec. 7 at 11:19 p.m., Charles County Sheriff’s officers J. Timko and A. Sullivan were patrolling the parking lot of Thai Seafood located at 2732 Crain Highway in Waldorf while attempting to locate a missing person. Officer Timko approached a vehicle parked in the lot and observed a handgun sticking out of the map pouch behind the driver’s seat. Additional officers responded to assist and security personnel at Thai Seafood made an announcement requesting the owner of the vehicle to return to his vehicle. The owner of the vehicle, Anthony Leon Williams, 19, of Clinton, exited Thai Seafood and was met by officers outside. Officers recovered the handgun from the vehicle and discovered it was loaded. During a search, officers also discovered more ammunition in the vehicle. Williams was arrested and charged with having a handgun in his vehicle and with being a person under the age of 21 in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was being held at the Charles County Detention Center pending an appearance before a district court commissioner. Officer Timko investigated.
THEFT: On Dec. 7 shortly before 7 p.m., Charles County Sheriff’s Officer J. Timko was off-duty in Safeway located at 40 Shining Willow Way in La Plata when he observed two women and a teenage male acting suspiciously in the store. As one of the women was pushing a full shopping cart, the other woman and the teen were loading the cart with items including meat, which the woman was attempting to conceal beneath other items in the cart. A few minutes later, the officer observed the woman who had been pushing the cart leave the store. He then observed the other woman and the teen pushing the cart near the second exit on the other side of the store. Believing a shoplifting was in progress, he ran to the second exit and observed the teenager pushing the cart in the parking lot. Knowing the food had not been paid for, he identified himself as a police officer and ordered the teen to stop. The teen fled but the officer gave chase and apprehended him. Officer P. Sady, who was also off-duty, entered the parking lot and assisted by apprehending one of the women as Officer E. Leukhardt and La Plata Town Police Officers M. Powers, C. Davis and R. Bagley arrived on scene. The officers apprehended the other woman. The women were identified as Jennifer Dawn Whitehead, 35, of Indian Head and Tavita Lyvonne Neal, 34, of Portsmouth, Va. The teenager was identified as a 16-year-old Indian Head resident related to one of the women. The stolen food was valued at nearly $400. The women and the teenager were charged with theft valued at less than $500. The women were released from the Charles County Detention Center on their personal recognizance and the teenager was released to a parent. Officer Davis of the La Plata Town Police investigated.
The incident is an example of the Sheriff’s Office’s Cop or Not campaign, which is conducted throughout the holiday season. During the campaign, the Sheriff’s Office reminds criminals to think twice before committing a crime because they may be doing so in the presence of a plain-clothes or off-duty police officer ready to make an arrest.
HANDGUN POSSESSION: On Nov. 12 about midnight, Charles County Sheriff’s Officer J. Timko was patrolling a parking lot in the 1000 block of St. Ignatius Drive in Waldorf when he observed an occupant of a parked vehicle litter. He approached the vehicle and asked the driver to retrieve the littered item and dispose of it properly. When the occupant exited the vehicle, the officer smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana. Other officers responded to the scene to assist and secured the two other passengers in the vehicle. During the investigation, Officer T. Yates discovered one of the passengers was in possession of a loaded handgun. The passenger, Delvon Louis King, 18, of Waldorf, was arrested. King was charged with possession of a handgun, having a handgun in the vehicle and being a person under the age of 21 in possession of a firearm and ammunition. No drugs were found in the vehicle and the other occupants were released. King was released from the Charles County Detention Center on a $2,500 bond.