News

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

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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.

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State v. Nijuan Wilson, C-08-CR-23-000471

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 9^th, 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.”

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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

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State v. Mehki Joseph Smith, C-08-CR-22-000630

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Donine Carrington Martin sentenced Mehki Joseph Smith, 24, of Waldorf, to Life with all but 35 years suspended in prison for the First-Degree Murder of Michael Anthony Dodson, Sr. and the Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence. In a separate case, Smith was sentenced to a concurrent 15 years in prison for Second-Degree Burglary. Upon release, Smith will be on supervised probation for five years.

On January 25, 2024, Smith entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charges.

On October 25, 2022, officers responded to a parking lot located on Old Washington Road in Waldorf for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found the victim, Michael Anthony Dodson, Sr., suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, Dodson was pronounced deceased by Emergency Medical Services due to his injuries.

During the investigation, officers located Smith walking in the area of the shooting with signs of injury to his leg. A further investigation revealed that on the evening of the incident, Smith was involved in a physical altercation with the victim’s son. When the physical altercation was done, Smith left the area but later returned with a handgun. Witnesses stated that Smith said he was going to kill the victim’s son. A witness called the victim alerting him that Smith was back. After the victim arrived, Smith shot him 25 times.

In a separate incident occurring on June 2, 2019, Smith burglarized a business that sold firearms, leaving with an AR style rifle.

During sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathan Beattie told the judge that “these cases are about decisions.” He furthered that Smith’s “choice was to retrieve a weapon and escalate the situation while [the victim’s] choice was to de-escalate the issue. – He makes a decision to get revenge and unfortunately, he took revenge on the wrong person.”  

Before sentencing Smith, the Honorable Judge Carrington Martin told him, “Twenty-five bullets; twenty-five times you had a choice.”

Sentencing

C-08-CR-22-000630

• Count 1: First-Degree Murder
  • Life with all but 35 years suspended
• Count 2: Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence
  • 20 years concurrent to Count 1

C-08-CR-23-000342

• Count 2: Second-Degree Burglary
  • 15 years
  • Concurrent with sentence for C-08-CR-22-000630
  • 5 years of supervised probation upon release

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State v. Michael Darrell Dukes, C-08-CR-23-000330

LA PLATA, MD— Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Makeba Gibbs sentenced Michael Darrell Dukes, 22, to 10 years with all but 18 months suspended in prison for the Gross Negligent Manslaughter of Zkiara Kemp. Dukes will also be on supervised probation for five years.

Dukes entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charge on February 26, 2024.

On July 8, 2022, officers from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to Maryland Point Road in Nanjemoy after a single vehicle collision. Upon arrival, they discovered that a black Kia Rio crossed the double yellow center lane markings on the road and struck a tree, ultimately catching on fire. Dukes and another passenger were located outside of the vehicle. Victim Kemp was unable to escape the vehicle and was pronounced deceased at the scene. Dukes and the other passenger were transported to a hospital for their injuries. Dukes was treated for life-threatening injuries; however, both he and the other passenger survived.

An investigation into the collision revealed that at approximately 2:18 a.m., Dukes was operating the black Kia Rio with one passenger in the front seat and victim Kemp, the vehicle owner, in the backseat of the vehicle. The Kia Rio crossed the double yellow center lane markings when the roadway turned to the right. The vehicle struck a mailbox post then collided into a tree. Dukes was able to escape the vehicle and help the other passenger out of the vehicle before it caught on fire. However, Kemp was unable to exit. The fire after the collision resulted in a total loss of the vehicle and its contents.

A toxicology report of Dukes detected cannabis and Benzodiazepine present at the time of the incident.

At sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Caspar told the judge that Dukes, “purposefully took a drug to alter his mind then got in the car and drove. – This is the very definition of excessive harm, not only to kill someone but to rob their mother of burying her child.” She furthered, “This was not an accident. It could have been prevented by him not using drugs.”

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State v. Malcolm Fluellyn, C-08-CR-23-000466

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Monday, April 15, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Malcolm Fluellyn, 27, of Bryans Road, to 46 years in prison with all but 15 years suspended for two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor and six counts of Fourth-Degree Sexual Offense. Fluellyn will be on supervised probation for five years upon release.

On February 26, 2024, Fluellyn entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charges.

On February 10, 2023, a Charles County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer at General Smallwood Middle School reported that multiple students accused Fluellyn of inappropriately touching them.

An investigation of the allegations revealed that Fluellyn was working as a permanent substitute teacher at General Smallwood Middle School from December 2022 through February 2023. Fluellyn inappropriately touched the victims, some on numerous occasions, at the school while he worked there. Additionally, Fluellyn reached out to some of the victims on Instagram and made inappropriate sexual comments about their bodies.  

The eight victims ranged in age between 12 and 13 years old. Fluellyn was immediately fired from the school when school officials learned of the assaults.

The Assistant State’s Attorney assigned to the case told the judge at sentencing, “Members of this community, and any community, should be able to send their children to school without having to worry that an adult will sexually prey on them in any way. It’s just not acceptable.”

Sentencing

• County 16 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor
  • 25 years with all but 7 years suspended
• Count 21 – Sexual Abuse of a Minor
  • 21 years with all but 8 years suspended
  • Consecutive to Count 16
• Count 4, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39 – Fourth-Degree Sexual Offense
  • 1 year
  • Concurrent with each other and Count 16

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State v. James Stephen Gass, Jr.

C-08-CR-23-000446 & C-08-CR-22-000462

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Friday, March 22, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Monise A. Brown sentenced James Stephen Gass, Jr., 32, of Leonardtown, to a total of 14 years in prison for two separate cases. Gass was sentenced to 9 years for First-Degree Assault against four juveniles and the Unlawful Use of a Firearm During the Commission of that First-Degree Assault. In a separate case, he was sentenced to an additional 5 years for possessing a firearm illegally due to a prior felony conviction. Upon release, Gass will be on supervised probation for five years.

On December 1, 2023, Gass entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charges.

On June 6, 2023, officers made contact with a juvenile victim who reported that he and three other juvenile victims were threatened by a driver operating a white Ford Crown Victoria. An investigation revealed that the four juveniles were riding their bikes in the area of Chicamuxen Road and Mason Springs Road when Gass pointed a long gun at them and threatened to harm them while using racial epithets.

During the investigation, an officer discovered Gass’ vehicle parked in the Dollar General located on Bicknell Road. When the officer attempted to make contact, Gass entered his vehicle and fled from multiple officers, causing a high-speed chase.

During the incident, Gass was a convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

C-08-CR-22-000462

• Possession of a Firearm with a Felony Conviction
  • 5 years in prison

C-08-CR-23-000446

• Count 1: First-Degree Assault
  • 20 years with all but 9 years suspended
  • Consecutive to sentence in C-08-CR-22-000462
• Count 2: Unlawful Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony or Crime of Violence
  • 20 years suspend all but 9 years in prison
  • Concurrent with Count 1
  • 5 years of supervised probation

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State v. Janae Elizabeth Bishop, C-08-CR-22-000106

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, March 7, 2024, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Donine Carrington Martin sentenced Janae Elizabeth Bishop, 32, of Waldorf, to 30 years in prison with all but 10 years suspended for two counts of Second-Degree Child Abuse. 

On August 30, 2023, Bishop entered a guilty plea to the aforementioned charges.

On February 21, 2022, Bishop’s fiancé reported to officers that he witnessed and recorded Bishop assault the children, ages 5 and 3 years old at the time of the incident, in their apartment located in Waldorf.

An investigation revealed that during the morning hours of February 17, 2022, Bishop’s fiancé got the 5-year-old victim ready for school while Bishop was sleep in her bed. The fiancé attempted to wake Bishop to take the victim to school, however, she refused to take him. She began to make harmful statements and threatened to kill both victims.

Bishop got up from bed and brought the victims to the bathroom, where she filled up the bathtub. Bishop then unclothed the victims and put them into the bathtub, where she put their heads down under the water multiple times. She then proceeded to take the victims out of the bathtub and brought them outside in the cold while they were wet and without clothing. After putting them outside, she locked the door to enter the apartment.

During sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse told the judge, “When something like this happens in the community, there’s got to be a strong reaction. This really impacts the whole community, but mostly impacts these two boys.” He furthered, “Parents get angry. Parents discipline their kids, but this is a whole other level. There are lines that you should never cross, and she crossed those lines.”

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