RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE/ANIMAL CRUELTY: On January 25, a Prince George's County police officer was on his way home from work when he ran a tag on a U-Haul truck. When he found that the truck had been reported stolen to the Vermont State Police earlier that day, the officer broadcasted a lookout for the vehicle. At approximately 9:51 p.m., a Charles County officer located the vehicle in a parking lot off of Drury Drive in La Plata. The two occupants, Malikah Saban Shabazz, 51 of Stark, New Hampshire, and Bettih Bahiyah Shabazz, 19, with no fixed address, were arrested. Further investigation revealed 7 pit bull terriers, some with severe injuries, in the back of the truck that were kept in inhumane conditions. Animal Control responded and transported the dogs to the Tri-County Animal Shelter, where they are currently in stable condition. Malikah Shabazz was charged with 7 counts of animal cruelty and theft. Bettih Shabazz was charged with theft. Cpl. T. Yates is investigating.
FOURTH DEGREE BURGLARY: On January 25 at approximately 3:38 p.m., officers responded to a junkyard located in the 10800 block of Charles Street in La Plata for the report of a theft from a motor vehicle. Investigation revealed that an employee observed two males stealing batteries from cars in the lot. When he confronted the males, they fled into the woods and back to their vehicle. Before they could get away, another employee pulled behind the suspect vehicle and stopped them until police arrived. David Roman Puhalsky, 18, of Newburg, was arrested and charged with burglary and theft. The juvenile that was with him was also charged. Pfc. M. VanHorn investigated.
BURGLARY/DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY: On January 26 at 8 a.m., a home repair contractor arrived at a home in the 7300 block of Port Tobacco Road in Welcome and found that the residence had been broken into by unknown suspect(s). The suspect(s) gained entry by breaking a window and screen. Nothing appears to have been stolen. Pfc. J. Marti is investigating.
Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS, texting CHARLES + the tip to CRIMES (274637) or submitting tips online at tipsubmit.com. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous.
For the current list of crime solvers cases in southern Maryland, see 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: 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 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 so.md/expungeme.