Pekka Robert Heinonen, age 59, of Great Mills, Md. (Booking photo)
SUSPECT ARRESTED FOR ASSAULTING DEPUTY: On Tuesday, July 26, 2016, St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office Deputy Blaine Gaskill responded to the 45000 block of Stoney Run Drive in Great Mills for a disturbance. Upon arrival, Deputy Gaskill made contact with a resident of the home, who advised the argument occurred in an upstairs apartment. As the deputy made his way to the apartment, with the homeowner, he observed a man standing on the front porch pointing a handgun at him. Deputy Gaskill gave multiple commands for the subject to drop the weapon, but he refused. Ultimately, the suspect, Pekka Robert Heinonen, age 59, of Great Mills, complied and was placed under arrest. He was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and charged with First Degree Assault, Reckless Endangerment, and Use of Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. A preliminary breath test at the Detention Center confirmed the suspect was under the influence during the incident.
Anita Louise Schriver, age 36, of Lexington Park, Md. Booking photo)DETECTIVES IDENTIFY BURGLARY SUSPECT: On July 12, 2016, deputies from the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office Patrol Division responded to a residence in Callaway for a burglary investigation. The investigation revealed a large quantity of jewelry, currency, purses, and wallets were stolen from the residence.
Deputies identified that a similar residential burglary occurred on July 21, 2016, in Leonardtown, where the homeowner encountered a female believed to be the suspect outside of the residence. The information provided by the owner was used to identify, Anita Louise Schriver, age 36, of Lexington Park, as the suspect.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division continued the investigation and learned Schriver pawned several items of the stolen property. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant through the District Court Commissioner's Office on Schriver for Burglary First Degree and Theft $10,000—$100,000.
On July 27, 2016, a search and seizure warrant was executed on Schriver's residence where several items of the stolen property were located. Schriver was arrested on the outstanding warrant and transported to the St. Mary's County Adult Detention Center pending an appearance before the District Court Commissioner.
Incident Briefs 7/27/2016
BURGLARY: Unknown suspect(s) entered a victim's shed and stole property in the 39000 block of Golden Beach Road. Deputy J. Bare is investigating the case. CASE# 38607-16
BURGLARY: Unknown suspect(s) attempted to force entry into a residence in the 45000 block of Buttercup Lane in Great Mills. Deputy L. Johnson is investigating the case. CASE# 38651-16
THEFT/VANDALISM: Unknown suspect(s) pried open the change machine and stole money at a Car Wash in the 22000 block of Three Notch Road in California. Deputy T. Siciliano is investigating the case. CASE# 38513-16
ARSON/VANDALISM: Unknown suspect(s) damaged numerous pieces of playground equipment and attempted to light several pieces on fire in the 47000 block of Lincoln Avenue in Lexington Park. The Maryland State Fire Marshal was contacted, and they assumed the investigation. CASE# 38505-16
BURGLARY: Unknown suspect(s) forced entry into a residence and stole property in the 44000 block of Green Acre Lane in California. The case is being investigated by Deputy First Class K. Flerlage. CASE# 38572-16
Sheriff's Office Implements "Focused on Driving" Initiative
Distracted and aggressive driving endangers everyone. Particularly in the summer months, statistics have traditionally shown an increase in distracted and aggressive driving-related crashes. In an effort to keep drivers' minds on the road, and to reduce frustration, the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office has implemented an educational initiative, called "Focused on Driving." The new campaign is aimed at continuing driver education while supplementing ongoing law enforcement methods.
"Our efforts throughout the year (e.g., sobriety checkpoints, smooth driver campaigns and seat belt enforcement) are effective ways to continually educate the public," says Captain Steven Hall. He adds, "The purpose is not just to pass out tickets, but to balance education and enforcement efforts, to effectively change motorists' behaviors."
During the "Focused on Driving" initiative, drivers in the community can expect to encounter high-visibility enforcement and education efforts specifically targeting violations such as illegal cell phone use, speeding, failure to use seat belts, avoiding traffic signals by cutting through private property, using turn signals inappropriately, running red lights, aggressive driving, and blocking intersections.
"We are not just educating motorists; we are educating our personnel on how to effectively balance education and enforcement efforts to make roadways safer. The initiative is designed to be a recognizable and sustained extension of our current efforts," said Sheriff Tim Cameron.
The Sheriff's Office encourages members of the community to follow our efforts on social media. In the interest of visibility, the Sheriff's Office will highlight its efforts under the initiative using the hashtag #FocusedonDriving.
For a list of Southern Maryland's Most Wanted and unsolved crimes, visit http://so.md/mostwanted
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://so.md/presumed-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. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://so.md/expungeme.