LEONARDTOWN, Md. (November 22, 2012)—The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office released the following incident and arrest reports.
SECOND DEGREE ASSAULT: On November 1, Deputies responded to a residence on Chancellor's Run Court in Lexington Park, Maryland for a report of a disturbance. Investigation revealed Thomas Carroll Gordon, Jr. 30 of Lexington Park, Maryland was engaged in a verbal dispute with the victim. The verbal dispute escalated into a physical assault when Gordon grabbed the victim several times. Gordon was arrested and charged with second degree assault.
VIOLATION OF A PROTECTIVE ORDER: On August 27, James Earl Rohme, 33 of Leonardtown, was served with a protective order commanding that he refrain from contacting, by any means, the petitioner of the order. The protective order was in effect until August 27, 2013. On November 1, deputies responded to a residence on Megan Lane in Leonardtown, for a report of a disturbance. Upon arrival deputies found Rohme with the petitioner in violation of the active protective order. Rohme was arrested and charged with violating the conditions of a Protective Order.
DRUG ARREST: On November 2, Cpl. Connelly stopped a vehicle operated Suzanne Mary Maguire, 48 of Hollywood, for a traffic violation. Upon contacting Maguire, Cpl. Connelly smelled an odor of burnt marijuana. Further investigation revealed Maguire was in possession of suspected marijuana. Maguire was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, suspected marijuana.
DRUG ARREST: On November 2, Deputy Wood stopped a vehicle in which Kyle Robert Sargent, 20 of Hollywood, was passenger. As Deputy Wood was speaking with the driver, Deputy Potter approached the vehicle and observed Sargent attempting to hide something between the center console and the front passenger seat. For officer safety, the driver and Sargent were removed from the vehicle. A search of the area where Sargent was attempting to conceal something revealed a smoking device containing suspected synthetic marijuana hidden between the front console and the front passenger seat. Further investigation revealed Sargent to be in possession of synthetic marijuana. Sergeant was arrested and charged with possession of a non-controlled dangerous substance and possession of paraphernalia.
VIOLATION OF A PROTECTIVE ORDER: On April 12, Chad Aaron Stump, 33 of Mechanicsville, was served with a final Protective Order ordering that he have no contact with the petitioner of the order. On November 5, he violated the conditions of the order by contacting the petitioner. Stump was arrested and charged with violating the conditions of the Protective Order.
SUSPECTED MARIJUANA: On November 6, Deputy Potter was patrolling Point Lookout Road when he observed a vehicle with no rear registration plate illumination. Deputy Potter stopped the vehicle for an equipment violation. The driver was identified as Robert Wayne March, 34 of Lexington Park, Maryland. As Deputy Potter was speaking with March he could smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage on March's breath and person. March was administered a Standardized Field Sobriety Test. As a result of the test March was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. A canine scan of March's vehicle was also conducted. As a result of the canine scan a probable cause search of the vehicle was conduced. The search resulted in the discovery of suspect marijuana located inside of the vehicle. March was also charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance, suspected marijuana.
HOLIDAY SAFETY AND CRIME PREVENTION INITIATIVES: The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office, in cooperation with the State Police - Leonardtown Barrack, will be conducting Holiday Safety and Crime Prevention initiatives beginning Thanksgiving Day and continuing through the New Year.
Local law enforcement has prevention initiatives in place to promote safe travel and deter criminal activities such as robberies, shoplifting and thefts from motor vehicles. We are increasing uniformed and plainclothes foot patrols in shopping centers and utilizing marked, unmarked and covert police vehicles to keep holiday shopping a safe experience for everyone. Sobriety checkpoints are a possibility and both organizations will conduct drunk and aggressive driving saturation patrols during the week and on weekends.
Our goal is for everyone to have a safe and happy holiday season. Local retailers will experience an increase in purchasers wishing to start their holiday shopping early and take advantage of the many sales. Lines at store registers are expected to be longer then normal. We are emphasizing patience and cooperation.
Motor vehicle traffic will increase and shopping center parking lots will be full. We encourage all motorists to adopt a traffic safety philosophy. Motorists should plan ahead, allow for longer travel times, reduce speed, be mindful of pedestrians, use only hands-free cell phones, and reporting aggressive and/or impaired driving.
Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron and Lt. Michael Thompson of the State Police encourage citizens to use the following precautions in securing their vehicles to prevent thefts:
1. Lock your vehicle and make sure windows are completely up and secured
2. Lock passenger compartments of your vehicle including the glove box and center console.
3. Never leave packages or valuable items in plain view. Remove them from the vehicle or secure them in the trunk.
4. When shopping, avoid carrying large sums of cash, bring only what is needed such as a driver's license and a credit card; carry those items in your pocket.
5. Know your surroundings, park in well-lit areas and report suspicious activity.
6. Shop with a friend and if you feel concerned for your safety ask a store employee, store security or law enforcement officer to escort your to your vehicle.
MAXIMUM DEPLOYMENT HOLIDAY PATROLS OPERATION: Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron wishes to announce a "Maximum Deployment Holiday Patrols Operation" beginning Friday November 23rd and continuing on Fridays, November 30th, December 7th, December 14th and December 21st from 3:00 p.m. until 11:00 p.m.
"Based on statistical data collected and analyzed, we have determined our highest demand for police service is Friday nights between the hours of 3:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. On Friday nights we see an increase in illegal drug activity, violent assaults, larcenies, theft from autos, burglaries and robberies. The purpose of this operation is to increase public safety by creating a high visibility police presence in our residential and business communities. We anticipate our high visibility presence and direct enforcement will carry over onto other days throughout the holiday season." (Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron)
The maximum deployment operation is in additional to the Sheriff's Office regularly scheduled Patrol and Special Operations Holiday enforcement initiatives. Approximately thirty to thirty-five additional deputies, normally not assigned to uniformed division will participate; this includes Command Staff and personnel from the Administrative Division, Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Vice/Narcotics, Office of Professional Responsibility, CSAFE, Warrant Unit, K-9 Unit, Court Security and the Southern Information Center. The operation will include DDCATS traffic enforcement operations, theft detection and prevention, robbery decoy operations, warrant service operations, Vice/Narcotics overt and covert drug detection and neighborhood saturation patrols.
The Sheriff Office Command Post will be set up at different locations throughout the county during each operation and public roll calls will be held promptly at 3:00 p.m. for all personnel participating. The public is invited to attend the roll calls. The Command Post schedule is as follows:
-- November 23, - Wildewood Shopping Center in California, Maryland
-- November 30, - Charlotte Hall Plaza, Charlotte Hall, Maryland
-- December 7, - St. Mary's Square Shopping Center, Lexington Park, Maryland
-- December 14, - Target, California, Maryland
-- December 21, - Wal-Mart, California,
"We are using all available resources and data to deploy our personnel strategically to provide a safe holiday experience for everyone." (Sheriff Timothy K. Cameron)
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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumption_of_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.