PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. (Aug. 1, 2008)—Police in Calvert County on Thursday announced that their investigation in the drowning death of Demetrius Lamar Hall, age 26, of Lusby on May 5 was complete. The conclusion is that Hall drowned accidentally of his own accord and police officers were not involved, despite allegations from family members to the contrary.
Hall's death was being investigated by the Calvert Investigative Team—a group of detectives from the Sheriff's Office and the local State Police barrack. The case remained open pending the findings of the autopsy conducted by the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. On July 16, CIT received the autopsy report and concluded their investigation.
The autopsy report concluded that the cause and manner of death was an accidental drowning and there were no signs of trauma on Hall's body. The toxicology report indicated that Hall's Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was 0.06.
Hall's body was located floating in Lake Lariat inside of the Chesapeake Ranch Club in Calvert County on May 5 around 5:16 p.m.
Hall was reported missing by his mother, Martha Tate, on Saturday, May 3. Police say Tate reported that her son was missing and was last seen at an address on Durango Drive in Lusby.
Police had a run in with Hall the day before when they responded to the Durango Drive address where the mother reported her son was last seen. The Sheriff's Office said in a press release that after responding to the address for a loud party complaint, Deputy Rickard observed a subject flee from the residence into a wooded area towards a nearby lake. Deputy Rickard chased the fleeing subject, but was unable to locate him.
Police later concluded that the man they chased was Hall.
Police and fire fighters searched for Hall on Sunday, May 4, using the residence where the party was held as ground zero. Hall's body was discovered the following day and reported to police via a 911 call.
The statement released by police on Thursday regarding the conclusion of the investigation is printed verbatim below:
"On May 2, 2008, at approximately 9:22 p.m. deputies were dispatched to a residence in the 11000 block of Durango Drive in the Chesapeake Ranch Estates for a loud party/drug violation complaint. When the deputies arrived, they heard what sounded like someone walking or running through the woods next to the house. They checked the area where the noise was coming from, but were unable to locate anyone. They contacted the residents of the house and asked who had run from the house. They were told that no one had run from the house and that there are people walking in the woods behind their house all of the time. Since the deputies were unable to identify the person who had run or why they had run, they cleared the call. None of the deputies actually saw the person who had run. They could only hear the person rustling through the woods.
"On May 3, 2008 at approximately 4:51 p.m. a deputy was dispatched to an address in the 11000 block of Stirrup Lane in the Chesapeake Ranch Estates for the report of a missing person. The complainant, Martha Tate stated that her son, Demetrius Hall had been missing since May 2nd and she had not heard from him. She further stated that Hall had been at the Durango Drive address the previous night when the deputies responded for the loud party complaint. Hall's friends told Ms. Tate that Hall had been the person who had fled the residence and ran into the woods when the deputies arrived. She also told the deputy that Hall had called his girlfriend and told her that he had fled the police and was in the woods. Ms. Tate stated that Hall had an open warrant and that was probably why he fled the residence when the police arrived.
"On May 4, 2008, members of the Sheriff's Office Special Operations Team and members of the Solomons Volunteer Fire Department conducted a search of the area around the Durango Drive address including nearby Lake Lariat. Hall was not located.
"On May 5, 2008 at approximately 5:08 p.m., deputies were dispatched to the area of Lake Lariat for the report of a body in the water. The body was later identified as that of Demetrius Hall. Hall's body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy. The cause and manner of death was determined to be an accidental drowning. There were no signs of trauma on Hall's body. The toxicology report indicated that Hall's Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) was 0.06.
"Mr. Hall's death has been determined to be an accidental drowning. Deputies on the scene of the loud party at Durango Drive had no idea who had run from them and received no cooperation in identifying the subject while investigating the complaint of the loud party. There was no indication that the person who ran from them was in any imminent danger. The deputies never actually saw Hall and he was at no time in police custody. The investigation is deemed closed with the finding of an accidental drowning by the Medical Examiner's Office."
RELATED INFORMATION:
Lusby Man Found Floating in Lake Lariat, May 7, 2008
http://somd.com/news/headlines/2008/7606.shtml
Obituary for Demetrius Lamar Hall
http://somd.com/announcements/obits/report.php?rec=1182