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The Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office has since changed Burgess’ charges to sexual abuse of a minor: household/family member.

On June 17, 2017, the victim, who was 18 years old at the time, and her mother met with Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputies regarding an ongoing sexual relationship between Burgess, who was in a relationship the victim’s mother, and with the victim.

During an interview with police, the mother of the victim said that she intercepted several text messages between her daughter and Burgess, which were very explicit in nature.

The victim told police that the defendant would let her lay in bed with him when she was about 15 or 16 years old. She said that she and Burgess talked about falling in love and sex, per court documents.

In December 2015, the defendant and the victim engaged in a sexual act, and a couple months later they engaged in another sexual act, according to court documents.

According to court documents, in January or February of 2017, the defendant and the victim engaged in sex.

During an interview with police, the victim explained that she was willing to participate in the sexual acts, but she feels that she was taken advantage of, according to court documents.

On June 21, 2017, officers interviewed Burgess and he admitted to the two sexual acts with the victim in 2016, according to charging documents.

On the first day of the trial, assistant state’s attorney Sarah Freeman called to the stand the victim’s older siblings who lived with their mother and the defendant at the time of the incident.

On Wednesday, Freeman called the now 19-year-old victim to testify. The victim told the jury that during 2015-2017 she lived with her mother, older siblings and Burgess. She testified that she was between the ages of 15 and 17 during 2015-2017.

The victim told the jury that she was bullied in school because of her physical appearance, which caused her to suffer from depression. She testified that the summer of 2015, she attempted suicide.

The victim said that after her suicide attempt, she and Burgess got closer because his affection toward her intensified. She said they would “hang out” almost every day by laying in bed and watching T.V. Burgess then started to hug and rub on the victim, according to her testimony.

She told the jury that Burgess made her feel “really good.”

“I didn’t really have anyone else,” the victim said in court.

She said that she did not have a lot of friends and felt that she could not talk to her family about her feelings or problems; however, Burgess made her feel comfortable to talk about her feelings with him.

The victim said there came a point where both she and Burgess admitted that they loved each other, which eventually led to them being physical together, including kissing, sexual acts and sexual intercourse. The victim said she became physical with Burgess at the age of 16.

She told the jury that her relationship with Burgess made her feel good and that he made her feel loved because she felt like she did not have anyone else.

The victim said that her mother and other family members would confront them about being very close; however, she would deny it.

On the first day of the trial, the jury was shown a 45 minute recorded interview between Burgess and a detective, after the victim and her mother reported the sexual abuse.

In the interview, Burgess said that he knew the victim dealt with bullying and depression.

“I’ve lived in that house for six years,” Burgess told the detective.

Freeman showed and discussed text messages between the victim and the defendant, which supported the victim’s statements about their sexual relationship.

The state and the defense, represented by public defender Gerald Riviello, both rested Wednesday afternoon.

During closing arguments, Freeman told the jury that at the age of 33, the defendant took advantage of the victim, who was a minor, while knowing she was vulnerable.

“He is the adult and she is the child,” Freeman said.

“It’s not just morally wrong, it’s criminally wrong,” Freeman said before she asked the jury to find the defendant guilty.

During the defense’s closing statements, Riviello argued that Burgess did not commit a crime by engaging in sexual acts with the victim because it was consensual. He also mentioned that the age of consent in Maryland is 16, which the victim was during the time of the acts.

Freeman later knocked down his theory by telling the jury that according to the law, in order to convict Burgess of sexual abuse of a minor, he had to be a household member in the victim’s home, the victim had to be sexually abused and the victim had to be under the age of 18 at the time of the abuse.

“This is not sexual exploitation,” Riviello told the jury before asking them to find the defendant not guilty.

After the jury deliberated less than 10 minutes, they came back with a guilty verdict.

Burgess was taken into custody following the verdict and will be held in the Charles County Detention Center until his sentencing date, which was set for July 31.

Burgess could face up to 25 years in prison.

On April 12, 2017, Crandell pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

Investigators believe Crandell helped stage the attempted robbery which led to the murder of Beers.

On Jan. 12, 2016, Beers was targeted by two masked gunmen, who barged into the home, demanded money, and then shot the victim multiple times in the head, chest, hip and hand, according to charging documents.

Around 4:23 a.m., the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 11500 block of Terrace Drive for the report of a possible shooting. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the body of Beers in the house and began their investigation.

Based on initial findings, investigators believed there was another man, 32, and two women, one aged 52 and Crandell, in the house at the time of the shooting.

According to charging documents, in the summer of 2015, Beers met Crandell who worked as an exotic dancer at a gentleman’s club in Baltimore, and they dated a few times since then.

According to Assistant State’s Attorney Johnathan Stackhouse in court Tuesday, Crandell, who was also dating one of the gunmen, had a plan with three other men to rob Beers. Stackhouse said that Crandell sketched a map of Beers’ home.

He said that the plan was that Crandell would get Beers drunk and have sex with him, while the men robbed his home.

According to Stackhouse, around 2 a.m., Beers was awakened by Crandell knocking on his window. Beers let her in and it was “unclear if Beers had been drinking,” but he did have sex with Crandell, Stackhouse said in court.

Crandell then called and texted the men to come to the home, which they did, and Crandell let them inside.

A friend of Beers sleeping on the couch was awakened and then beaten by the men. Stackhouse said that Beers’ friend, the men, Crandell and Beers were all in Beers’ bedroom, where the men demanded money.

Stackhouse said that this is when Crandell acted like she was not involved and exited the home. The men then got into a physical altercation, which led to the fatal shooting of Beers.

The two men, the driver and Crandell then left the scene, leaving Crandell’s cell phone behind.

Later in the investigation, Reigel Paul Wamack, 25, of Fairfax, Va., who was identified as the gunman, Bryan Javier Aquice, 26, of Arlington, Va., who was identified as the second gunman and Christian Humberto Alvarez, 27, of Dale City, Va., who was identified as the driver, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and other related charges.

Wamack and Alvarez took a plea deal; both of their sentencing hearings are scheduled for this summer. In April, Aquice was found guilty of all charges, including first-degree murder, in a trial; his sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

“There was an unbelievable amount of [investigative] work done in the case,” Stackhouse said.

He said that Crandell “deserves every minute” of the active time she was getting sentenced to Tuesday.

Beers’ “foster mother” who has known him for 15 years, also made a statement to the court Tuesday. She explained to the court that Beers lived in her home and she witnessed the men shoot and kill Beers that night.

“What she did to Micheal that night will stay with me forever,” she said.

She said that Beers was a father of three children, who are now ages 18, 15 and 3.

“I will never forget the image of what you did to Micheal,” she said.

Crandell’s defense attorney, Gerald Riviello, said that Crandell has been suffering from depression since she was incarcerated.

“I think she has a bad taste in men,” Riviello said.

Crandell also spoke to the court. She said that she was “truly sorry” and that she “wished that none of this took place.”

Before sentencing, Judge Jay West said that the violence was “senseless.”

“It wasn’t worth his life,” West said.

West also mentioned the fact that Beers was a father to three children.

He said that this was “easily” an above-the-guidelines case.

West sentenced Crandell to 25 years, suspended all but 15 years incarceration for the first-degree burglary charge and 20 years, all suspended, to be served consecutively for the conspiracy to commit armed robbery charge, as well as five years probation and restitution of $5,000.

Covington has brought his media presentation “Think About It” to two middle and three high schools this school year. Last week, Covington spoke with seniors and juniors at Westlake High School. On Monday he spoke to Westlake freshmen and sophomores.

“You need to decide right now, with the freedom to choose your own life comes a lot of responsibility to make sure you lead a successful life,” Covington told students.

Covington said that as a young man, he didn’t focus on his grades until an injury kept him away from an athletic scholarship. He went from a 2.0 GPA to a 4.0 in college before joining the United States Air Force, where he served as an intelligence officer.

Covington was elected state’s attorney in 2010, becoming the first African-American state’s attorney in the history of Charles County. He faces no challengers in seeking a third term this year.

Covington told students they don’t have to be wealthy to live a successful life.

“You take care of yourself, you take care of your family, that is a life well lived, and successful,” Covington said.

He also encouraged students to maximize their positive characteristics and strengths.

“Please understand that you were put on this planet for a reason. You are a unique gift. I know I am. I’m Tony Covington and I am a unique gift. I’ve got things I can do, and so does each and every one of you, because I’m no different from any one of you,” Covington told students. “And part of your reason here on Earth is to inspire others, whether it’s a brother, sister, father, mother, someone you meet in the hospital, that’s part of your job.”

Covington urged students to take good advice from people, advising students to avoid drugs and alcohol.

“I guarantee that if you wake up one day, and you see bars, and you’re on the inside of those bars, it is because of drugs or alcohol, one way or another,” Covington said. “People use drugs or alcohol to feel better about something instead of dealing with their reality.”

Westlake Principal Michael Meiser said he felt it was important to get Covington’s message out to students.

“His message and the things he has seen and dealt with in his profession are some things that you guys hopefully will never have to deal with,” Meiser told students. “But he has a great message about how to make wise decisions and how to handle difficult challenges and how he’s overcame those in his life.”

On June 8, 2017, around 11:15 p.m., Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 2800 block of Homette Place in Waldorf for the report of an armed robbery.

One victim said that one individual had a gun to his head and the other had a knife to his friend’s stomach. The victims told police that they gave the suspects two iPhones and marijuana. The suspects then fled the scene on foot, according to charging documents.

Malik Yorubs Chambers-Thomas, 22, of Brandywine and Marks-Wiggins were both arrested and charged with charged with armed robbery, robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and theft. In 2017, a judge set both men’s bail at $50,000.

On Jan. 8, Marks-Wiggins pleaded guilty to robbery and a violation of probation. Chambers-Thomas pleaded guilty to the same charged on April 4; his sentencing date is set for May 30.

On April 23, during Marks-Wiggins’ sentencing hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathan Beattie asked the court to consider the guidelines for the robbery charge, which includes three to eight years of incarceration.

Beattie told the court that this incident was a “setup robbery” where Marks-Wiggins and Chambers-Thomas knew that the victims would have marijuana on them.

According to Beattie, Chambers-Thomas was named the suspect with the gun and Marks-Wiggins was named as the suspect with the knife during the incident. Beattie said that this makes Marks-Wiggins the second most culpable in the robbery.

Marks-Wiggins also was on probation from a prior charge while he was charged in the armed robbery incident, Beattie reminded the court.

Representing Marks-Wiggins were attorneys Robert Castro and Brendan Callahan.

“Everything that the state said is true,” Callahan said. However, he said that the ‘victim’ that the defendant pulled a knife on was an “inside man” and knew about the robbery and knew what was going to happen.

Nicklas Adams, 22, of Waldorf, who was the ‘victim’ with a knife held to his stomach, was also charged in the case. He pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced to 18 months incarceration in January.

Callahan asked for no more than 18 months incarceration with work release for the robbery charge, given Adams’ sentence.

Castro, who was representing the defendant on his violation of probation, called Marks-Wiggins “a good kid” and “respectful.” He asked for the court to keep Marks-Wiggins local, at the Charles County Detention Center, instead of sending him to the state Department of Corrections (DOC).

“It’s a DOC case every way you look at it,” West said.

West told the defense attorneys that there was a better argument that this was an above guidelines case than a below guidelines case.

He said that the real victim who was robbed at gunpoint was not on the inside; he “could have gotten hurt pretty easily.”

“Someone easily gets seriously harmed in this case,” West said.

West sentenced Marks-Wiggins to six years incarceration at the Department of Corrections for the robbery charge and two years to run consecutive for the violation of probation charge.

The defendant will be credited 300 days incarceration and will have to pay the victims $930 in restitution.