Members of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Operations Unit will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Wednesday, November 25 from 8 p.m. until 12 a.m. Special patrols and enforcement focused on impaired driving are conducted year round. The CCSO is reminding drivers who might become impaired to always designate a sober driver.
High Speed Chase in Leonardtown Results in Minor Injuries to Suspect, Deputy
On Monday, November 23, Corporal Jamie Davis responded to a reported traffic complaint in the area of Point Lookout Road in Loveville. A vehicle was observed operating on the wrong side of the roadway by several citizens. Corporal Jaime Davis located the vehicle in the area of Rt. 242 at Rt. 234 and stopped the vehicle.
During the initial contact, the operator drove off during the preliminary contact and continued on Rt. 242 at a high rate of speed. The vehicle turned around and continued back towards Leonardtown where deputies deployed stop sticks to incapacitate the vehicle. The vehicle continued with flat tires. The vehicle turned onto Washington Street in Leonardtown where it struck a police vehicle and injured the driver. The suspect continued and struck another vehicle operated by a civilian. Deputies used their vehicle's to prevent the driver from fleeing and removed him from the vehicle.
The suspect was transported to Medstar St. Mary's Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The civilian was not injured in the low-speed collision, and Corporal Vezzosi was transported to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspect, James Robert Gillespie, age 63, of Leonardtown, was released from the hospital and transported to the St. Mary’s County Detention Center. He was charged with Resisting Arrest, Driving Under the Influence, Driving without a License, Fleeing and Eluding, and multiple traffic offenses.
Ridge Man Allegedly Impersonates Licensed Plumber, Scams Consumer
In July 2015, investigators from the Maryland State Police-Criminal Enforcement Division, Central South Region, obtained information involving criminal allegations of Bernard M. Wathen, 41, of Ridge, Md., pictured above, representing himself as a plumber and/or contractor.
The ensuing investigation determined Wathen represented himself as a plumber to a senior citizen in the Ridge area of St. Mary's County. He collected a partial payment for plumbing work and failed to return to complete the work. A check with the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation revealed Wathen was not licensed in Maryland as a plumber or contractor.
In November 2015, charges were applied for and an arrest warrant was received charging Wathen with one count of acting as a contractor without a license and one count of theft under $1,000.
On November 22, Wathen responded to the Leonardtown Barrack and was served with an arrest warrant for the above charges. Wathen was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center pending a hearing with the District Court commissioner.
Each year, unlicensed home improvement contractors defraud Maryland homeowners of millions of dollars by cheating and stealing. Don't be an unlicensed contractor's next victim! Ask to see every contractor's Maryland home improvement contractor license, issued by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission. Then check to make sure their MHIC license is current. Citizens may check with the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation by calling 1-888-218-5925 or visiting their website at www.dllr.state.md.us.
Anyone having information relating to this crime or any other crime is urged to contact Detective Sergeant Jeffery S. Jones of the Maryland State Police-Criminal Enforcement Division at 410-535-1400, "TIPS" Line at (toll free) 1-888-210-1450, (local) 410-257-4925 or through email at msp.centralsouth@maryland.gov.
Suspects Identified in Bank of America and Cedar Point Federal Credit Union Robberies
David Terry “Lucky” Luckett, age 36, and Charles Nathaniel Thomas, Jr., age 40, both of Southeast, Washington, DC.
On November 9 at 7:25 p.m., officers responded to the Bank of America located in the 700 block of Charles Street in La Plata for the report of a robbery of a citizen. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the victim who reported that, after she had driven up to the ATM machine, a suspect armed with a long gun entered the back seat of her car and demanded money. A second suspect then entered the front passenger seat. The suspects ordered the victim to withdraw money from the ATM and then drive them to a nearby location where they fled. The victim was not injured and notified police immediately.
On November 11, at approximately 9:15 p.m., St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office and Charles County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputies responded to Cedar Point Federal Credit Union, located at 30330 Three Notch Road in Charlotte Hall, for the report of an armed robbery. While using the ATM, the victim observed two male subjects approach his location. Subsequently, the suspects obtained items of personal property from the victim. While attempting to flee to a local business, the suspects fired a weapon toward the victim. Detectives from the St. Mary’s County Criminal Investigations Division and Crime Lab responded to the scene and assumed the investigation
St. Mary’s and Charles County Sheriff’s Office investigators collaborated to determine the same suspects were responsible for both robberies. The property stolen from both victims was recovered in Washington, DC. The suspects, David Terry “Lucky” Luckett, age 36, and Charles Nathaniel Thomas, Jr., age 40, both of Southeast, Washington, DC, were positively identified as the suspects in both robberies.
Investigators from St. Mary’s and Charles County, with the assistance of members of the Investigative and Patrol Divisions of the Washington D.C Metropolitan Police Department, as well as the U.S. Marshall’s Service, were able to locate and arrest both suspects for their involvement in both of the related robberies.
Suspects Luckett and Thomas are currently being held in Washington D.C pending their extradition back to the State of Maryland.
High Speed Pursuit in Calvert
On November 23, at approximately 11:22 a.m., Dep. Holt of the Calvert County Sheriff's Office attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a 1996 Chevrolet Impala for failing to use a turn signal when making a left turn into the parking lot of the American Legion in Lusby from southbound Maryland Route 765. The driver of the Impala made an abrupt turn through a grassy area and returned to Rt. 765 northbound in an attempt to elude Dep. Holt and Dep. Dean Naughton. The vehicle continued north on Rt. 765 with Sheriff's Office units pursuing. The vehicle accessed northbound Rt. 4 at the north end of HG Truman Road. The vehicle was on Rt. 4 for a short period of time before the driver made a U-Turn at Nursery Road and continued travelling south on Rt. 4 before making a left onto Cove Point Road. The vehicle travelled east on Cove Point Road prior to turning left onto HG Truman Road to head back north. The driver continued to commit numerous traffic violations before making an abrupt right turn onto Camp Canoy Road. The Impala reached speeds of 100 miles per hour during the pursuit.
Once on Camp Canoy Road, Dep. Holt observed the drivers switch seating positions while the vehicle was still in motion and actively being pursued. Dep. Holt saw the opportunity to terminate the pursuit by using a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) which caused the vehicle to spin before it came to rest partially in a ditch. Both occupants of the vehicle were taken into custody without incident once the vehicle was stopped.
The first driver was identified as Terrence David Brooks, age 34, of Huntingtown, and the second driver was identified as Ali As-Siddiq, age 29, of Prince George, Virginia. Both subjects will be charged with fleeing and eluding as well as multiple other traffic charges. Terrence Brooks' privilege to drive in the state of Maryland was both suspended and revoked. The suspects were transported to the Calvert County Detention Center where they were processed accordingly.
Two Arrests Made in Calvert County 7 Eleven Robbery
On October 27, at approximately 1:30 a.m., troopers from the Maryland State Police, Prince Frederick Barrack and deputies from Calvert County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 7-Eleven convenience store, in the 2800-block of Chesapeake Beach Road, Dunkirk, Calvert County, for a report of an armed robbery. Maryland State Police-Criminal Enforcement Division, Central South Region investigators responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.
MSP-Criminal Enforcement Division investigators obtained several leads that led to identifying the suspects as John Rubin Smith 4th, age 30, of Lothian, pictured above, and Elmer Albert Moreland 3rd, age 55, of Lothian, pictured below.
On October 29, MSP-Criminal Enforcement Division investigators, along with the assistance from the Prince Georges County Police Department, located suspect, Moreland operating a Mazda truck in the Upper Marlboro area of Prince Georges County. Suspect Moreland was stopped, detained and transported to Prince Georges County, District 3 police station for questioning by MSP-Criminal Enforcement Division investigators.
During the investigation, MSP-Criminal Enforcement Division investigators were able to obtain a search and seizure warrant for Moreland’s Lothian residence. Prior to the execution of the search and seizure warrant, suspect John Rubin Smith 4th, age 30, of Lothian, was located and arrested at a neighboring residence. Subsequently, a second search and seizure warrant was obtained and executed on Smith’s residence.
Assisting with the execution of the search and seizure warrants were Calvert County Sheriff’s Office-Criminal Investigation Bureau, Southern Maryland Information Center (SMIC) and investigators from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
On October 29, suspects, Smith and Moreland, were charged with armed robbery, 1st degree assault, and theft. They were transported to the Calvert County Detention Center pending a hearing with the District Court Commissioner.
Additional charges are pending a review with Mrs. Kathryn Marsh, Deputy States Attorney for Calvert County.
Through the investigation, MSP-Criminal Enforcement Division investigators were able to identify a third suspect who was responsible for committing additional robberies in Prince Georges and Calvert County. MSP-Criminal Enforcement Division investigators are currently working with Calvert County Sheriff’s Office-Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Prince Georges County Police Department-Criminal Investigation Division with their robbery investigations.
This is just another example of, when criminals enter into other Maryland jurisdictions or cross Maryland boarders to commit such egregious crimes against Maryland’s citizens, Maryland State Police-Criminal Enforcement Division is committed to working with our local law enforcement partners and state’s attorneys in apprehending the suspect(s) and bringing them to justice.
Anyone having information relating to this investigation or any other investigation are urged to contact Trooper First Class R. Jackson or Corporal Jason Ewig of the Maryland State Police-Criminal Enforcement Division at 410-535-1400, “TIPS” Line at 410-257-4925 or msp.centralsouth@maryland.gov.