The P in IHOP Doesn't Mean Pancakes
 

Biker Dead in Wreck
 

Semi Crashes into Cars at Light, Woman Killed

Southern Maryland Police Blotter

'Gunfight at O.G. Corral' 8 Arrests Made in Shootout 10 Thugs Hop Out Of Cars and Start Firing at Crowd Near Playground; Two Shoot Back    Two Lexington Park men have been arrested and several more are sought after a Tuesday night gunfight at Suburban Drive trailer park.    One victim, at right, was sprayed with "bird shot" from a shotgun.    Another victim is thought to have escaped with the carloads of shooters. Get The Story Medics arrive to take a look at the victim ST. MARY'S TODAY photo by Sean Rice

School Evacuated for Fake Bomb Threat
 

Drunken, Rowdy 12-Year-Old Arrested . . .  CSM Bomb Threat a Hoax . . . Plymouth with Piles of Pot

Pipes  . . .  More Police Reports
 

 Obituaries

4 Helicopters Needed for Rt. 6 Wreck

    (April 21, 2007) - At Approximately 12:30 p.m. Saturday, a portion of Rt. 6 near Zekiah Swamp in Charles County was shut down for a serious crash that required the service of four helicopters to transport patients from the scene to regional hospitals.
    Subjects were trapped in both vehicles of the crumpled wreck, and one occupant was reportedly unrestrained and in very critical condition.
    A total of four helicopters were used: US Park Eagle, Trooper 6 out of Centerville and two birds from Med-star.
    Route 6 was shut down for an extended period of time.
    The crash may have involved a police vehicle, and dog was involved in the crash.
    Officials called in a A K9 unit from Charles County Sheriff’s Office to restrain another dog in the crash. Typically, officials would use animal control if it was a citizen’s dog.

• 27 Charged in High School Brawl •
 

Driver of Dump Truck Dead After Hitting Tree

WALDORF ---  A Charlotte Hall man died on Thursday just before noon when the dump truck he was operating left Rt. 5 and ran through a field before striking a tree.  According Maryland State Police Lt. Randy Stephens, commander of the La Plata Barrack, Brent Guy Bowling died in the crash.
Troopers from the Maryland State Police La Plata Barrack responded to southbound Maryland Route 5 north of Maryland Route 488, Forest Park, Charles County, Maryland for the report of a personal injury collision involving a commercial vehicle.
The investigation revealed the dump truck was traveling southbound Maryland Route 5 north of Maryland Route 488 were the vehicle traveled off the roadway 3/10 of a mile across a field and collided into a tree.  Emergency medical personnel on the scene initial assessment indicated the operator may have suffered a medical emergency prior to the crash.  The operator was pronounced deceased at the scene and the cause of death will be determined pending the autopsy, say police.

Dow Closes Closes Up Again!      -           Story

Coast Guard Says No One Knows Why Eight 123' Patrol Boats Have Hulls That Don't Work

"Multiple extensive studies and analyses by both Coast Guard engineers and third-party naval architects and marine engineers over many months have described the failures in these vessels. They have been unable to determine a single definitive root cause for the 123-foot patrol boat structural problems." --- Admiral Thad Allen    see complete statement to Congress

Murder trial comes to a close over two bodies found in trunk of car

BALTIMORE --- According to the U.S. Attorney’s office for Maryland, closing arguments were expected to be held on Wednesday, April 18 in the trial of James Moore, of Andrews, South Carolina, and Walter Babbs, of Greensboro, North Carolina, before U.S. District Judge Andre M. Davis, courtroom 5B. The indictment alleges that the defendants murdered Willie Robinson and Alexandria Withers on November 5, 2003 by use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking conspiracy, and that the victims' bodies were found the next day in the trunk of a vehicle after it was stopped on I-95 in Cecil County, Maryland for a traffic violation. Defendant Porsha Harper of Greensboro, North Carolina previously pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and is awaiting sentencing.

Rolled SUV Kicked Off Weekend Windstorm

                                                                                      ST. MARY'S TODAY photo by SEAN RICE

Two Men Charged  With Rape of 13-Year Old Girl
    CHAPTICO ---  According to St. Mary's Sheriff's Lt. Rick Burris, on April 17 the St. Mary's County Bureau of Criminal Investigations began an investigation into a reported rape.
    The investigation revealed that Irvin Joseph Branson, 25 of Chaptico, and, Gary Ignatius Branson, 21 of Clements, had sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old female. Irvin Branson had intercourse with the female on four separate occasions over a two week period, and Gary Branson had sexual intercourse with her on one occasion.
    Both were arrested and transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center. Irvin Branson was charged with 4 counts of 2nd Degree Rape, and Gary Branson was charged with one count of 2nd Degree Rape, and were incarcerated at the St. Mary’s County Detention Center.
    BCI is a joint criminal investigation team of the Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack and the St. Mary's Sheriff's Dept.

Brawlers Dish Out Punches on Deputies
  On April 16, St. Mary's County Sheriff's Deputy Todd Fleenor responded to a reported fight in progress in Lexington Park.
    Once on the scene suspect Charles Edwin Compton, 20 of Leonardtown, and Kenneth Ryan Caldwell, 25 of Park Hall, were observed attempting to leave the area.
    Deputy Fleenor attempted to speak to them about the incident and Caldwell struck the Deputy and a physical altercation ensued.
    While Deputy Fleenor was attempting to get Caldwell into custody on the ground, suspect Compton punched Deputy Fleenor in the face with a closed fist.
    Additional Deputies responded and both were placed into custody. Compton was placed in the rear of a marked police unit and kicked out the rear window.
    He was charged with Assault on a Police Officer, Property Destruction, Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest. Suspect Caldwell was charged with Assault Second Degree, Disorderly Conduct and Resisting Arrest.

 

Brake Time at Club Mickey D's

Did St. Mary's school bus driver fail to use the McBrake on the McBus when having lunch
 at McDonalds on Rt. 235 in California? 

This photo for ST. MARY'S TODAY was sent to us by a reader, who will receive a year's subscription for her great photo....


St. Mary's Cops Nab Man for 3 Armed Robberies After Clerk Chased Gunman Out of Store  

Bozo gunman who held up 3 different Shell stations snared by cops
LEONARDTOWN ---  St. Mary's Sheriff's Lt. Rick Burris reports that on April 14, 2007 at approximately 10:14 pm a suspect entered the Callaway Shell in Callaway Maryland. He displayed a handgun and demanded money from the store clerk. The clerk chased the suspect from the store and he fled on foot. Detectives from St. Mary's County joint criminal investigation unit of the State Police and St. Mary's Sheriff's Dept. responded and pursuant to their investigation located Otis Scorpio Williams 22, from Lexington Park, at a residence in Piney Point Maryland. He was taken into custody and charged with three counts of Armed Robbery for the Callaway Shell robbery, the April 12^th robbery of the Esperanza Shell in Lexington Park, and the April 4^th robbery of the Pegg�s Road Shell in Lexington Park. He was incarcerated at the St. Mary's County Detention Center.

cops hunt Jenkins in shooting of Charles County deputy James Thompson
St. Mary's Sheriff Tim Cameron told ST. MARY'S TODAY that two St. Mary's homes were searched after the residents voluntarily admitted police to show that they were not hiding Jenkins....
 

And now Cheap Shots take on Imus Flap:  Rev. Jackson and Rev. Sharpton visit St. Mary's Commissioner's Secret Meeting...see this Cheap Shots special...

.... and did you ever wonder why the dead heroes of St. Mary's are organized by race on the WWI memorial in center of Leonardtown...right where all the politicians file onto the stage each year for Memorial Day and Veterans Day and never shame the town fathers over this disgrace. Those who went off to war and died were buried elsewhere, but in the center of the town, the memorial which notes their sacrifice has them listed under the words "White" and "Colored".

Burch files ethics complaint on appointment of developers to RPD Task Force


Friday the 13th Lucky Day for Calvert's Boozing Drivers as

Cops Quit Checkpoint after 1 Hour

War Takes Toll on Two Maryland Families

Lt. Gwilym Newman, 24 of Waldorf, Died Thursday

   WASHINGTON (April 14, 2007) - The Department of Defense announced the death of two Maryland soldiers on Saturday; one soldier was serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the other was in Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom.
   1ST Lt. Gwilym J. Newman, 24, of Waldorf, died April 12 in Tarmiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained from enemy small arms fire while on dismounted patrol.
   He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
   Sgt. Edelman L. Hernandez, 23, of Hyattsville, died April 11 in Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, while on combat patrol. The incident is under investigation. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

DoD Story from 12/06 on Vital Task Newman's Unit Undertook- 'Putting CROWS to Work'
“The only real way to catch the insurgents emplacing the IEDs to to catch them when they do it,” said 1st Lt. Gwilym Newman, a platoon leader with Co. D, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment. “It is also important that we use the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System (CROWS) while conducting route reconnaissance and when setting up observation points because it gives us the ability to cover a large area regardless of the cover that an insurgent may be using because of the thermal sights that detect heat signatures for a distance (greater than 1000 meters).”

More on those who have served and died in Iraq and Afghanistan...Faces of the Fallen
65 Maryland soldiers have died in war since attack on America on Sept. 11, 2001.

Watch Out For That Mustang Looking

to Race in Waldorf, It Might Be a Cop

Man Gives 2 Acquaintances a Lift and Gets Gun to Head as Thanks

St. Mary’s Sheriff Reports

 

500 Separate Outage Incidents Keep 3,000 in the Dark
HUGHESVILLE (April 17, 2007) - Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) is currently working to restore power to nearly 3,000 customers as of Tuesday morning.
   The storm system that swept through the Midwest and into the mid-Atlantic and New England areas left thousands without power as rain and high winds brought down trees and power lines.
   Damage from the storm caused scattered outages throughout SMECO’s service area, and crews are working to make repairs.  More than 500 outage incidents are currently identified as being in need of repair.  With over 40 crews working in the service area, we expect to have power restored by late afternoon or late this evening.
   To report outages and downed power lines, customers should call 1-888-440-3311 or 1-877-747-6326.  Downed power lines are dangerous.  People should stay away from downed lines and anything that may be touching a power line.  Customers are encouraged to use flashlights during an outage, not candles, because candles may cause fires.
   SMECO thanks all of its customer-members for their patience while crews work to restore service.

New Housing To Be Banned Near PAX

Click here for the exclusive report on plans to save NAS Pax River from the nightmare happening to another Navy town; Virginia Beach, which may become "former home of NAS Oceana"

 

Anthrax Threat Closes Charles Co. Courthouse

Hoax: So Far No Bombs Found, No Chemical Attack

   LAPLATA (April 9, 2007) - As of 1:30 p.m. Monday the Charles County Circuit Courthouse and surrounding area is being completely evacuated due to a bomb threat and suspected anthrax attack.
   A threatening letter was reportedly received with a white powdery inside, and the paper read “tick tick boom.”
   Bomb threats are a common occurrence in Charles County, but officials must still treat each report as serious as the real thing.
   Check back with ST. MARY’S TODAY at details emerge.
   At 4:07 p.m. Charles County Commissioners Chief of Staff Joyce Schmidt released the following news:

Charles County Courthouse, Powder Substance & Bomb Threat
   Charles County Courthouse Security notified the 911 Center at 11:48 a.m., of an incident involving a white powder substance. Employees had opened an envelope, white powder was disbursed and two employees were exposed.
   Courthouse Security secured the area and blocked entry into the building for all others. The Charles County Sheriff’s Office, Charles County Emergency Services, Charles County Tactical Response Team which includes Emergency Services, County Government, Charles County Sheriff’s Office and volunteers. A number of units from the Fire/EMS Services, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U. S. Postal Inspection Service, and St. Mary’s Fire, St. Mary’s Regional Response Team Members, State Fire Marshall, Maryland State Police, La Plata Police Department and U. S. Navy Dalghren were called in.
   Once the Hazmat Team finished opening the envelope they found a note indicating the possibility of an explosive devise. The Courthouse was evacuated, Charles Street (Rt 6) in front of the Courthouse and Washington Avenues were closed.
   Samples of the powder at this time are being tested and everything has determined to be negative. The U. S. Postal Service will be handling the precise testing and also criminally processing.
   Two additional County Employees, whom were responsible for mail delivery to the buildings are being observed and treated for possible contamination. William Stephens of the Charles County Department of Emergency Services said “All units of the Regional Response Team, Emergency Services, Sheriff’s Office, Health Department, FBI, Postal Services, Fire and EMS units, etc. worked well together on this incident to protect the community.”
 

Longtime Local Lawman Dies    One of the old-school peace officers who climbed up the ranks of the Maryland State Police to the top post of Barrack Commander for Leonardtown, retired Lt. Al Potts, died this week of lung cancer.     Potts flirted with the possibility of running for St. Mary's Sheriff in 1998 and again in 2002, while he filled in his free time in retirement by working as a court bailiff and working on fix up projects in local churches where his son, Rev. Ron Potts, worked as a priest.    Potts gained local fame just before his retirement when he single-handedly nabbed a man wanted for murder in Calvert County when he spotted the suspect's car on Rt. 5 in Helen and made the capture.    Potts was a traditional police officer who worked well with the public and had a reputation for being a commander who would back up his officers.  Services

One Dead in Fiery Wreck...again

23-Year-Old Kenneth Bacon of Clements Killed

LEONARDTOWN ---  The first reports from the scene of a wreck on Rt. 5 in Leonardtown, near Clarks' Rest Lane, is that a vehicle went out of control and ended upside down on the head of one of the occupants of the vehicle, with that person reported to be fatally injured.  A fire ensued and responding fire department units from the Leonardtown Vol. Fire Department were requested to 'step it up' as the situation was becoming more desperate despite a quick response to the call for help just after 2 am Easter Saturday. A early report from the scene described the wrecked vehicle as being upside down in water but a later report said that the vehicle was upside down in a ravine.  A reconstructionist was called to the scene at about 2:30 am.  The St. Mary's Sheriff traffic division has several reconstructionists who meticulously record and measure crash scenes where fatalities occur or where such critical injuries are involved which may lead to a fatality.
An official release from the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office on Monday morning states:
   On April 7, 2007 at 2:10 a.m., Kenneth Bacon 23 from Clements, was traveling South bound on Maryland Route 5 in a 2001 Toyota Tundra. As he passed Maryland Route 243 in Leonardtown, St. Mary's County, Maryland, he failed to negotiate the curve and exited the Southbound roadway, the vehicle struck an embankment and came to rest on its roof. Kenneth Bacon succumbed to his injuries on the scene. Speed and poor weather conditions are contributing factors at this time.

Teen Dead in Wreck

Law Allowing Children the to Right to Drive Claims Another Life

   CLEMENTS  --  St. Mary's Sheriff Cpl. Mark Clark reports that at about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sean T. Gibson, 17 of Mechanicsville, was driving a 1998 Dodge Neon west on Sunnyside Road in Clements, near the intersection of Colton's Point Road when he failed to negotiate a curve and lost control of the vehicle.
   Gibson's vehicle crossed the center lines and struck an east bound 2000 Pontiac Grand Am head on, which was driven by Amber R. Russell, 20 of Clements.
   The front seat passenger in Gibson's vehicle, Ethan W. Chewning, 16 of Chaptico, succumbed to his injuries on the scene. The rear seat passenger in Gibson's vehicle, Nathaniel T. Fitch, 16 of Clements, received life threatening injuries and was flown to Prince George's Trauma Center by Trooper-7.
   Both Gibson and Russell received incapacitating injuries and were treated at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.
   Driver error and speed appear to be contributing factors on the part of Gibson. No contributing factors were uncovered on the part of Amber Russell.
   Police say that the investigation will continue by the St. Mary's Sheriff's Office Collision Investigation Team.

12-Year-Old Struck Dead on Rt. 6

Bohanan: Several St. Mary's Initiatives Moving Toward Law

St. Mary’s Legislative Proposals Round Up

 - Dems Congratulate Each Other For a Productive Legislative Session

Cops Say Daggering Drunkard Was Packing Meds Too

. . . More Southern Maryland Police Beat

“I’m 36 … 38, … no wait, I’m 41”

Liar Driver Trades Ticket for Arrest

Post Features Racist Cartoon    The Washington Post ran this cartoon on the front page of it's sports section on Saturday, March 31st, as part of an article about the Final Four playoff game between Georgetown and Ohio.    The cartoon showed the key players with big lips, exaggerated physical features and various degrees of coloration.    The figures depicted star players with the caption, "Can they cut it?" perhaps undermining a positive role model for young blacks and further disparaging black males by showing them wearing their underwear while menacing unknown persons with sharp scissors.  One of the males depicted shows him screaming otherwise being rowdy while another figure is simply smiling.  One of the figures has a particularly dumb look on his face which is blatantly racist.

Politically Correct Crowd on the Assault

 <<<
   Cartoons of the ruthless rednecks that set fire to more than 20 brand new homes, mostly owned by black families, in an upper-middle class subdivision in Charles County, the Hunter's Brooke arson demonstrate that toons of white criminals can be published without complaint from the politically correct - but no one shall dare draw a cartoon of black armed robbers.  See the link to Toonville for many other cartoons.  The offending cartoon is republished this week, along with a selection of past toons, to help tune up the discussion, now available on newsstands.....
   WUSA Channel 9 Nancy Yamada's video interview.

Associated Press article

   Washington Post story
(Note: the Post reporter said that no comment was given.  That is not true. She apparently didn't like the comment. The comment was as follows: "You are not the editor of St. Mary's Today, if someone has a problem with our editorial cartoon that person can call or write us a letter to the editor".  Then the call was ended. In the interest of full disclosure, Janice Walthour's sister, Elfreda Mathis, was a candidate in last year's election and sought but did not win the endorsement of this newspaper. Mathis did not win her bid to oust Commissioner Kenny Dement. In addition, why would Walthour allow her sister to purchase campaign ads in a newspaper she told the Post is racist? Mathis advertised heavily in ST. MARY'S TODAY during the campaign.)

Editorial: Toons That Kill
   
   We didn't know that the armed robbery lobby was so powerful.

An example of a historic racist cartoon               

Letter to the Editor:  Reporter Didn't Tell The Whole Story

   "I fondly recalled the cartoon renditions of criminal Caucasian rednecks, crazed Caucasian outlaw bikers, and even the time I appeared in caricature as a ballerina with my hairpiece slipping off ... I want to see what Commissioner President Jack Russell will look like as a cartoon character."

Man Shot While Attacking Police and

Bystander Now in Stable Condition....

LEONARDTOWN ---  St. Mary's Sheriff Tim Cameron reports that Steven Todd Coryell, 40, who was shot on Saturday by a St. Mary's Deputy as he attacked the officer and a bystander with a knife is now listed in stable condition.  Coryell repeatedly made slashes to his neck during the incident which took place at the intersection of Rt. 244 (Medley's Neck Road) and Breton Beach Road.  Coryell fought deputies for at least 15 minutes and delayed his medical treatment, cursing them and flailing with the knife, according to a witness.