State v. Sabrina Cocheye Embrey, C-08-CR-23-000881
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, August 15, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Makeba Gibbs sentenced Sabrina Cocheye Embrey, 51, of Waldorf, to 6 months in jail for Second-Degree Child Abuse and Second-Degree Assault. Embrey will be on supervised probation for three years upon release.
On May 16, 2024, a Charles County jury found Embrey guilty of the aforementioned charges.
On October 3, 2023, an officer with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in Waldorf for the report of a domestic assault. An investigation revealed that Embrey got into a verbal disagreement with the 12-year-old victim, who was living with her. The disagreement escalated in Embrey’s bedroom, and she threatened the victim with pepper spray. The victim left Embrey’s bedroom however, Embrey followed the victim into his bedroom with pepper spray. The victim became combative, and Embrey pepper sprayed him.
Embrey previously used pepper spray on the victim during a separate altercation and was warned by Child Protective Services not to do it again.
During sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Edward Stickles told the judge, “It is the State’s hope that this never happens again.” Assistant State’s Attorney Blaec Shaw furthered that Embrey “very clearly antagonized the victim throughout the incident” and that she took “action both physically and mentally that will forever affect [the victim].”
State v. Deanthony Lamont Warrick, C-08-CR-23-000298
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge William R. Greer, Jr. sentenced Deanthony Lamont Warrick, 35, of Indian Head, to Life Without Parole (LWOP) in prison for the First-Degree Murder of Jasmine Lakesha Hicks and related charges. Warrick was convicted of the charges by a Charles County jury on June 6, 2024.
In commenting on the Court’s sentence, Covington said, “The decision to seek a LWOP sentence – the most serious penalty in the State of Maryland – is mine and not made lightly. Unless I give the defendant advance notice that we are seeking LWOP, the Court cannot impose it. We did give proper notice in this case, and I am gratified that the Court, having heard all the evidence at trial and all the testimony and arguments during sentencing, saw this case the way I did and imposed LWOP. The vicious and callous way he committed this crime, in my mind, says he should never walk free in our community again. He purposefully and permanently erased Jasmine Hicks from this planet – forever. Justice requires he be held accountable. The jury held him accountable with their verdict and the Judge imposed the proper and just sentence we requested.”
On April 12, 2023, in the early morning hours, officers responded to a residence in Bryans Road for the report of an unconscious female in the yard. Upon arrival, officers discovered Ms. Hicks lying in the yard with several stab wounds. Unfortunately, she was pronounced deceased at the scene.
An investigation of the murder revealed that Warrick and Ms. Hicks were outside of Warrick’s residence prior to the stabbing. Warrick and Ms. Hicks began engaging in a verbal altercation about items that Warrick claimed had been stolen from him by another individual. During the altercation, Warrick began stabbing Ms. Hicks about her head, face, neck, shoulders, back, chest, abdomen, and arms. An autopsy revealed 20 distinct wounds on Ms. Hicks.
Audio of the murder was captured on a nearby surveillance camera. As Warrick was repeatedly stabbing Ms. Hicks, he can be heard to say, “Don’t make me kill you.” After the stabbing, Warrick fled the scene leaving Ms. Hicks in the yard. She remained there from midnight until approximately 6:30 a.m. when her body was discovered by a neighborhood resident.
During the investigation, Warrick confessed to the murder.
At sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Caspar told the Court, “If I have ever seen a case that deserves life without parole, it is this one. The defendant left her in that yard, all alone, in the dark, to bleed to death. And, as we know from the surveillance audio, her death did not come mercifully quick. She suffered greatly before her death. This was vile, malicious, and vengeful.”
Judge Greer, in sentencing the Defendant, said, “This was a heartless death…cold-blooded and vile.”
Sentence
First-Degree Murder of Jasmine Lakesha Hicks
Life Without Parole
Wear and Carry of a Dangerous Weapon with the Intent and Purpose of Injuring Jasmine Lakesha Hicks
3 years
Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance to wit: Phencyclidine
1 year
Possession of a Regulated Firearm, to wit: Taurus 9mm handgun, after being convicted of a crime of violence
15 years
Possession of a Regulated Firearm, Rifle/Shotgun, after being convicted of a crime of violence
State v. Jeremiah Terrell Bryant, C-08-CR-24-000146
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Friday, August 2, 2024, a Charles County jury, after a 5-day trial, convicted Jeremiah Terrell Bryant, 25, of Armed Robbery and related charges.
On January 9, 2024, detectives with Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Sunoco Gas Mart in Waldorf for the report of a commercial armed robbery. Detectives spoke with a store employee who reported that the suspect, later determined to be Bryant, pointed a semi-automatic handgun at him and took money from the cash register and the employee’s phone.
An investigation revealed that Bryant entered the store, approached the sales counter, and handed the employee a brown plastic shopping bag while simultaneously pointing a handgun at him. Bryant demanded the employee to put money in the bag. When the employee opened the cash register, Bryant reached over the counter and took $494.00 from the cash register. He then left with the cash and the employee’s cell phone. However, Bryant left the plastic bag at the store.
Surveillance video captured the incident, as well as Bryant arriving and leaving in a Mitsubishi Outlander with a broken passenger side mirror. Detectives later located the Mitsubishi Outlander outside of Bryant’s mother’s residence.
The plastic bag Bryant left on the scene was processed and the fingerprints recovered belonged to Bryant. Cell site analysis of Bryant’s cell phone also placed him at the scene of the Armed Robbery.
A sentencing date for Bryant has been set for September 26, 2024. Bryant faces up to 78 years in prison.
CONVICTED
Armed Robbery
Two Counts of Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence
State v. Marvin Ernesto Funez-Martinez, C-08-CR-23-000840
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Friday, July 26, 2024, a Charles County jury, after a 10-day trial, convicted Marvin Ernesto Funez-Martinez, 22, of White Plains, of the Second-Degree Murder of Marco Alexander Pulido-Castro and the Wear and Carry of a Dangerous Weapon with the Intent to Injure.
In the early morning hours of October 29, 2023, officers responded to a residence in White Plains for the report of an assault and stabbing. While at the scene, officers located victim Pulido-Castro in the trunk of a Nissan Sentra. The victim was found unresponsive in the fetal position and had numerous stab wounds. Unfortunately, the victim was pronounced deceased at the scene.
An investigation revealed that Funez-Martinez hired the victim to drive him and two other individuals to a club in Washington, D.C. The victim went into the club with the occupants of the vehicle. The victim then drove Funez-Martinez and the other individuals back to their home in White Plains. Before they arrived in White Plains, the victim stopped at a gas station, where he requested additional money for gas. The victim’s vehicle began overheating at the gas station; however, he was still able to drive the occupants to their home.
On the way to White Plains, Funez-Martinez and the victim were involved in a small argument because the victim requested more money.
Upon arrival at the residence, the victim’s engine continued overheating, and the victim remained outside. Funez-Martinez, who was already carrying a pocketknife, went inside his residence and retrieved a larger knife from the kitchen. The victim was checking under the hood of the vehicle when Funez-Martinez returned outside, and Funez-Martinez began stabbing the victim repeatedly. The victim tried to escape to a yard across the street, but Funez-Martinez followed him and continued to stab him. Funez-Martinez ultimately stabbed the victim 59 times and knocked out multiple teeth. After the stabbing, Funez-Martinez dragged the victim to his vehicle and placed his body in the trunk. He then fled to the rear of his residence. Witnesses reported Funez-Martinez’s location to responding officers, who apprehended him that morning. At the time of arrest, Funez-Martinez had multiple cuts on his hand.
During the investigation, Funez-Martinez admitted to the murder. The victim’s blood was found on Funez-Martinez’s hands, the knife used in the attack, as well as the sweatshirt that Funez-Martinez was wearing.
A sentencing date for Funez-Martinez has been set for October 23, 2024. He faces 43 years in prison.
State v. Daevian Davon Christian Hurd, C-08-CR-21-000408
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Makeba Gibbs sentenced Daevian Davon Christian Hurd, 23, of Indian Head, to 5 years in prison for the Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
On July 31, 2023, Hurd entered a guilty plea to the above-mentioned charge.
On March 8, 2021, a detective with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office received a copy of an interview conducted with the victim by the Prince George’s County Department of Social Services. In the interview, the victim reported that she was sexually assaulted by Hurd on multiple occasions.
An investigation revealed that Hurd made sexual contact with the victim, touching her inappropriately over her clothes, at a residence in Indian Head on multiple occasions from 2018 through 2019. The victim was in third grade when the assaults began.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Hurd was incarcerated in Prince George’s County for separate sexual assault charges involving different victims that occurred in Prince George’s County.
Pictured above: Belk Family with Prosecutors and Investigators
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, July 18, 2024, a Charles County jury, after a 9-day trial and approximately two hours of deliberation, convicted Andre Taylor, 63, of the 1979 First-Degree Murder and First-Degree Rape of Vickie Lynn Belk.
Commenting on the case, State’s Attorney Tony Covington said, “I can’t give enough credit to the Assistant State’s Attorneys that put in ridiculously long hours and effort to achieve justice in this case. John Stackhouse and Jonathan Beattie were phenomenal. And the Sheriff’s Office in this cold case investigation, led by Detective Sergeant John Elliott and all the other police officers in this case should know I don’t take their work for granted. These cold cases are rarely solved. They get solved with dogged determination and talent. I am very grateful that Charles County, after 45 years, was able to bring some closure for the Belk family and justice for Vickie Lynn Belk.”
On August 28, 1979, Belk’s then-boyfriend reported her missing to the Prince George’s County Police Department after last seeing her the day before at their shared place of work in Washington, D.C. Belk had not returned to her apartment in Suitland, MD.
On August 29, 1979, a local teenager called 911 after noticing a body on the ground in a wooded location in the area of Metropolitan Church Road and Route 227. Officers with the Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) responded to the location and discovered the body of a woman with a gunshot wound to the right side of the head and undressed from the waist down.
On August 30, 1979, Belk was positively identified as the woman who was discovered in the wooded area. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore ruled her cause of death to be from the gunshot wound.
Investigators recovered, processed, and maintained evidence during the initial investigation; however, the case went cold. In the following years, several detectives worked on the case. In more recent years, Detective Sergeant John Elliott of the CCSO’s Criminal Investigations Division continued the investigation and worked with various agencies to pursue leads.
As forensic technology advanced, the evidence of the murder continued to be re-examined. In 2022, the CCSO’s Forensic Science Section re-evaluated the evidence and submitted Belk’s clothing for testing with newer technology. A profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA database.
On November 1, 2022, Noelle Gehrman, the Deputy Director of the CCSO’s Forensic Science Section, was notified of a DNA match between the profiles developed from the evidence obtained from the Belk case and Taylor.
While investigating Taylor’s background, detectives learned that he was arrested for violent crimes that occurred in Washington, D.C. It was also discovered that Taylor lived at a residence in Bryan’s Road around the time of the murder. The address was less than 4 miles from where Belk’s body was discovered. Taylor also had connections to the area of Washington, D.C. where it is believed that Belk was abducted.
Detectives began trying to locate Taylor, but he had no known address since 2019. In collaboration with the United States Homeland Security Investigations, DC Metropolitan Police Department Homicide, and the U.S. Secret Service Baltimore Field Office, detectives of the CCSO were able to locate Taylor in Washington, D.C., where he resided.
On June 22, 2023, Taylor was arrested by detectives assigned to the CCSO’s Criminal Investigations Division, CCSO’s Warrant/Fugitive Unit, the United States Marshals Service, Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, and members of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In an interview with detectives, Taylor admitted to actions that amounted to the rape of Belk, but he denied having any part in her murder.
At the time of the murder, Belk was 28 years old, and Taylor was 18 years old. There is no evidence that indicates that Belk and Taylor knew each other before the incident.
A sentencing date has been set for September 6, 2024. Taylor faces Life in prison for First-Degree Murder and Life in prison for First-Degree Rape.
State v. Johnny Darrell Hammonds, C-08-CR-24-000051
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Monday, July 1, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge William R. Greer, Jr. sentenced Johnny Darrell Hammonds, 54, of White Plains, to 25 years in prison for 4 counts of Solicitation of Child Porn. Upon release, Hammonds will be on supervised probation for five years.
On May 3, 2024, Hammonds entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charges, as well as admitted to violating his probation in a separate case involving the sexual solicitation of a minor.
On July 27, 2023, an officer of the Charles County Sherriff’s Office received an anonymous tip that Hammonds was sexually harassing the tipster. The tipster also reported that Hammonds was using the social media site, Quora, to send communications.
An investigation into the tip revealed that Hammonds was using Quora to reach out to minors and leave inappropriate comments that were sexual in nature. Hammonds also exchanged inappropriate messages with four minor female victims and asked them to send sexually explicit photographs.
In 2010, Hammonds was convicted in Charles County Circuit Court for the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old victim. In 2021, he was convicted in Charles County Circuit Court for a separate incident involving the sexual solicitation of a minor and the failure to register a social media account with the Maryland Sex Offender Registry.
Hammonds, a Tier III Level Sex Offender, is required to report all his social media accounts to the Maryland Sex Offender Registry. However, Hammonds failed to report his Quora profile to the Maryland Sex Offender Registry. Additionally, Hammonds was ordered not to have contact with minors including through electronic means.
Sentence
C-08-CR-24-000051 Count 1 • 10 years in prison
Count 3 • 10 years in prison • Consecutive to Count 1
Count 5 • 10 years in prison with all but 5 years suspended • Consecutive to Counts 1 and 3
Count 9 • 10 years in prison with all suspended • Consecutive to Counts 1, 3, 5 • 5 years supervised probation
C-08-CR-21-000227 Violation of Probation: 8.5 years in prison concurrent with C-08-CR-24-000051
State v. George Christopher Floyd, C-08-CR-24-000006
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, June 27, 2024, a Charles County jury, after a 4-day trial, and approximately 2.5 hours of deliberation, convicted George Christopher Floyd, 44, of the Second-Degree Murder and False Imprisonment of Triston Treshaun Irvin, as well as related charges.
Commenting on the verdict of the case, State’s Attorney Tony Covington stated, “Thankfully, the jury saw this case for what it was: an unjustifiable, outrageous taking of a young, innocent life. How can anyone, including this defendant, George Floyd, even think to put someone in a chokehold for 20 minutes and expect the victim to survive? Everyone knows you can’t, and this defendant knew it too. He didn’t care. Pure depravity which amounted to murder.”
On October 8, 2023, officers responded to a residence in Waldorf for the report of a subject not breathing. When officers arrived, they located the 18-year-old victim unresponsive on the floor in a bathroom. Officers also made contact with Floyd, the victim’s stepfather. Floyd reported to officers that he put the victim in a neck restraint because the victim was trying to run away. The victim ultimately became unresponsive as a result of the neck restraint. Emergency Medical Services rendered aid to the victim then transported him to the hospital for further treatment. However, he, unfortunately, died as a result of the restraint.
An investigation revealed that Floyd, the victim’s mother, and the victim were engaged in a verbal disagreement the night before the murder but went to bed peaceably. Floyd entered the victim’s bedroom at approximately 5 a.m. the next morning and demanded that the victim clean his room. Shortly after, Floyd began to restrain the victim, ultimately putting him in a neck restraint. The victim’s mother entered the bedroom after hearing the commotion, then requested three of the victim’s friends who were sleeping over and his teenage brother to help defuse the situation.
Floyd ordered the young men to help him restrain the victim and pray over him. At one point, Floyd ordered one of the victim’s friends to get olive oil, which Floyd then used to put a cross on the victim’s forehead. However, Floyd kept the neck restraint around the victim for approximately 15-20 minutes while the victim was lying on the floor. During this time, the victim was not moving or talking, but Floyd continued to hold his arm around the victim’s neck. When Floyd got up and saw that the victim was not responsive, he and the other young men attempted to render aid but did not immediately call for emergency personnel. When the victim remained unresponsive for approximately 5-10 minutes, Floyd called 911.
A sentencing date for Floyd has been set for August 16, 2024. He faces over 75 years in prison.
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, June 6, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Makeba Gibbs sentenced Nijuan Wilson, 17, to Life in prison with all but 30 years suspended for the First-Degree Murder of Deangelo Beale. Wilson will be on supervised probation for five years upon release.
On May 24, 2024, Wilson entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charge.
On June 9, 2023, officers responded to an apartment complex in Waldorf for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, they located victim Deangelo Beale in the parking lot suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased at the scene. Another individual, Marquise Jackson, was later discovered deceased in connection with the incident.
An investigation revealed that during the morning hours of June 9th, Beale and Jackson were at the same nightclub in Washington, D.C. and got into an argument. After leaving the nightclub, Jackson and four other suspects robbed Beale of his belongings and abducted Beale at gunpoint. Beale was brought to his apartment in his vehicle. Three of the suspects exited the vehicle and entered Beale’s apartment, holding Beale’s girlfriend, who shared the apartment, at gunpoint and demanding property. Jackson and another suspect, later determined to be Wilson, stayed in the vehicle with Beale.
At some point, Beale was able to take one of their firearms inside the vehicle and shoot Jackson. The suspects inside of the apartment heard the commotion then came outside and shot Beale, killing him. The suspects were able to flee the area in Beale’s vehicle and drop Jackson off at a nearby hospital. Jackson was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
Before giving Wilson his sentence, the Honorable Judge Gibbs told him, “Your actions were callous, cruel, senseless, and tragic. You ruined a lot of lives, including yours.”
State v. Deanthony Lamont Warrick, C-08-CR-23-000298
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, June 6, 2024, a Charles County jury, after a 4-day trial and approximately two hours of deliberation, convicted Deanthony Lamont Warrick, 35, of Indian Head, of the First-Degree Murder of Jasmine Lakesha Hicks and related charges.
On April 12, 2023, officers responded to a residence in Bryans Road for the report of an unconscious female in the yard. Upon arrival, officers discovered victim Hicks lying in the yard with several stab wounds. Unfortunately, she was pronounced deceased at the scene.
An investigation into the murder revealed that Warrick and the victim were outside of Warrick’s residence prior to the stabbing. Warrick and the victim began engaging in a verbal altercation about items that were stolen from Warrick by another individual. During the altercation, Warrick began stabbing the victim repeatedly. At one point, Warrick told the victim “Don’t make me kill you.” After stabbing the victim several times, Warrick fled the area.
The murder was captured on a nearby surveillance video. Warrick also confessed to the murder during the course of the investigation.
A sentencing date has been scheduled for August 6, 2024, at 2 p.m. Warrick faces Life in prison for First-Degree murder, plus additional time for the lesser related charges.
Guilty
First-Degree Murder of Jasmine Lakesha Hicks
Wear and Carry of a Dangerous Weapon Concealed on or About His Person
Wear and Carry of a Dangerous Weapon with the Intent and Purpose of Injuring Jasmine Lakesha Hicks
Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance to wit: Phencyclidine, with intent to distribute the said controlled dangerous substance
Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance to wit: Phencyclidine
Possession of a Regulated Firearm, to wit: Taurus 9mm handgun, after being convicted of a crime of violence
