On October 19, 2017, Investigator Ted Jones of the State’s Attorney’s Office was a speaker at the Center for Abused Person’s Annual Community Breakfast. The annual breakfast recognizes October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and seeks to encourage others to break the silence and speak out against domestic violence.
LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West sentenced Tyreq Kaylin Tilghman and his three co-defendants for their respective roles in the murder of Mason Atkins and the assault of Nicholas Brennan during an event that occurred on Mona Farm Place in La Plata on September 25, 2016.
Tyreq Kaylin Tilghman, 19 of Waldorf, was sentenced to 58 years in prison for the Second Degree Murder of Mason Atkins, the Unlawful Use of a Firearm in a crime of violence, and the First Degree Assault of Nicholas Eric Brennan.
Kevin Averell Jones, 19 of Waldorf, was sentenced to 7 years for the Second Degree Assault of Nicholas Brennan. Talivah Laraih Salahuddin and Shanya Imari Milstead, also sentenced for the Second Degree Assault of Brennan, were both sentenced to a 10 year period of incarceration with all of the time suspended except for the time they had served prior to sentencing. Both Salahuddin and Milstead were placed on unsupervised probation.
In the early morning of September 25, 2016, officers responded to 10400 block of Popes Creek Road for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found two teenaged victims, Mason Atkins and Nicholas Brennan, suffering from gunshot wounds. Atkins, who suffered a gunshot wound to both his neck and finger, was rendered first aid and CPR by officers, but was pronounced deceased at the scene. Brennan, who ultimately survived his injuries, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and was flown to a hospital for treatment.
An investigation into the murder revealed that the victims showed up to a bonfire party on Mona Farm Place uninvited and were turned away. The victims, who were unfamiliar with the area, left the location of the party, drove a short distance, then stopped their vehicle on side of the road to decide what to do next. Tilghman, a passenger in a different vehicle, also arrived uninvited to the party on Mona Farm Place and was subsequently turned away along with the other occupants of the vehicle he was travelling in. The vehicle Tilghman was travelling in passed the victims’ parked vehicle. At that time, a verbal confrontation between the occupants of each vehicle occurred. As a result of this argument, Salahuddin, Jones and Tilghman got out of their vehicle and approached the victims’ vehicle. Once at the victims’ vehicle, Jones began punching Mason Atkins through the open passenger side window. Jones also tried to pull Atkins, who was still seated in the vehicle, out of the vehicle through the window. At that point, Atkins, in effort to defend himself, pepper sprayed Jones. Tilghman, who was also hit by the pepper spray, then used a handgun to shoot multiple times into the vehicle, killing Atkins and injuring Brennan. After the shooting, Tilghman and his accomplices returned to their vehicle and Milstead, who had remained in the vehicle, drove away. Brennan, who was suffering from a gunshot to the chest, also drove away in effort to get to a safe location and call emergency personnel while simultaneously rendering aid to Atkins.
The defendants were ultimately identified through good police work. As part of the investigation, a CCSO detective identified the closest gas station on the probable escape route of the defendants, assuming that the defendants would need to treat the effects of being pepper sprayed. The Detective’s instincts were proven correct as he recovered a video from that gas station. The video shows the defendants pull into the gas station, park at one of the pumps and Salahuddin entering the gas station and purchasing water. Salahuddin then takes the purchased water to the car where Tilghman and Jones can be seen using the water to rinse out their eyes. This video was the key piece of evidence that lead to the identification of the defendants.
At sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse told the judge, “Tilghman took his brother’s gun out of a safe, then took the gun to a party, then gets out of a car with the gun, then kills somebody and almost kills somebody else. He made the choice to fire that gun at point blank range into a defenseless Mason Atkins. Tilghman needs to be held accountable for the life he senselessly took and that means spending as much of his life in jail as the statutes allows.”
Stackhouse, in recommending a sentence for Jones, told the Court that, “This murder does not occur without Kevin Jones assaulting Mason as he sat in his car essentially unable to defend himself. And the resulting level of harm that Jones begot is off the charts. Because of Jones’ actions, the parents of Mason Atkins had to do something that no parent should ever have to do – bury their child. Kids should outlive their parents, not the other way around. Your sentence, your Honor, should not be limited by the guidelines. Jones earned and deserves a sentence more than that.”
Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Freeman, in commenting on Milstead’s and Salahuddin’s role in this murder said, “No one argues that these two young women went out that night to kill somebody. But you have to make good choices in life. They didn’t that night. Had they made better choices perhaps Mason Atkins might still be here. We will never know. But their present predicament should be a lesson for everyone, especially young folks, that they need to think about the consequences of their actions and see beyond the moment directly in front of them.”
Sentence Summary
State v. Tyreq Kaylin Tilghman, K16-1009: Overall Sentence 58 Years
Count 1, Second Degree Murder, 25 years
Count 5, First Degree Assault of Nicholas Brennan, 18 years
Count 6, Use of Handgun in Crime of Violence, 15 years
All sentences to run consecutively
State v. Kevin Averell Jones, K16-998
Count 7, Second Degree Assault of Nicholas Brennan, 7 years
State v. Talivah Laraih Salahuddin, K16-1003
Count 7, Second Degree Assault of Nicholas Brennan, 10 years suspend all but 126 days, credit 126 days served, 1 year unsupervised probation
State v. Shanya Imari Milstead, K16-999
Count 7, Second Degree Assault of Nicholas Brennan, 10 years suspend all but 21 days, credit 21 days served, 3 years unsupervised probation
Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, hosted an Opioid Abuse Awareness fundraising event at the Southern Maryland Blue Crab’s game Sept. 16. As part of the event, the State’s Attorney’s Office, in partnership with Charles County Emergency Medical Services, had an opioid drop-off center for community members to drop off their unwanted and unneeded prescription medications, as well as receive educational resources to combat opioid abuse.
Over 200 students attending the event received a free Under Armour book bag from the State’s Attorney’s Office. Students also received Chick-fil-A La Plata cards for free meals. Both adults and youth received wristbands to raise awareness about opioid abuse, as well as brochures with more information about opioid abuse, prevention and treatment. During the event, over 75 students signed a pledge to make good decisions and stay away from drugs and alcohol. Nine of the children walked the field with State’s Attorney Covington as he addressed the Regency Furniture Stadium crowd about opioid abuse.
Proceeds from the tickets purchased through the fundraiser will be donated to a drug addictions treatment program.
“This was a great event for our community,” Covington said in a news release. “We were able to reach a number of people – especially kids – and let them know this opioid abuse really is an epidemic. Thousands are dying. That isn’t exaggerated hype – it is real. I hope parents understand the need to educate their kids that painkillers, even though prescribed by a doctor, are still dangerous and can lead to deadly consequences. Also, I can’t say enough about G.S. Proctor and Associates, Terrence Byrd of Under Armour, Chick-fil-A La Plata, Charles County Emergency Medical Services and, of course, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for their great support of this important community awareness event.”
Originally posted on The Maryland Independent:
http://www.somdnews.com/independent/news/local/covington-hosts-opioid-abuse-awareness-event/article_92ab75f3-861c-54e1-ac66-8269d220bb19.html
State’s Attorney Tony Covington, Deputy State’s Attorney Karen Piper Mitchell, and Executive Assistant Kristen Williams pass out information to fight drug abuse, book bags and other giveaways to students and parents.
On September 16, Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County hosted an Opioid Abuse Awareness fundraising event at the Southern Maryland Blue Crab’s game. As part of the event, the State’s Attorney’s Office, in partnership with Charles County Emergency Medical Services, had an opioid drop-off center for community members to drop off their unwanted and unneeded prescription medications, as well as receive educational resources to combat opioid abuse.
Over 200 students attending the event received a free Under Armour book bag from the State’s Attorney’s Office. Students also received Chick-fil-A La Plata cards for free meals. Both adults and youth received wristbands to raise awareness about opioid abuse, as well as brochures with more information about opioid abuse, prevention and treatment. During the event, over 75 students signed a pledge to make good decisions and stay away from drugs and alcohol – 9 of the children walked the field with State’s Attorney Covington as he addressed the Regency Furniture Stadium crowd about opioid abuse.
Proceeds from the tickets purchased through the fundraiser will be donated to a drug addictions treatment program.
Covington commented on the evening saying “This was a great event for our community. We were able to reach a number of people – especially kids – and let them know this opioid abuse really is an epidemic. Thousands are dying. That isn’t exaggerated hype – it is real. I hope parents understand the need to educate their kids that painkillers, even though prescribed by a doctor, are still dangerous and can lead to deadly consequences. Also, I can’t say enough about G.S. Proctor and Associates, Terrence Byrd of Under Armour, Chick-fil-A La Plata, Charles County Emergency Medical Services and, of course, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for their great support of this important community awareness event.”
On September 16, 2017 State’s Attorney Tony Covington and representatives of the office took a stance against opioid abuse with the support of the community at Regency Furniture Stadium. Read more
On September 15, 2017, State’s Attorney Tony Covington and representatives of the office visited the Charles County Fair.
On Wednesday, September 14, 2017, State’s Attorney Tony Covington was invited to speak about community concerns at La Plata Rotary Club’s meeting.
On Wednesday, August 2, 2017, State’s Attorney Tony Covington presented the SAO’s new “Think About It” initiative to the youth at the Just Say No camp.
On Tuesday, August 1, 2017, the State’s Attorney’s Office enjoyed being out in the community for National Night Out 2017 and meeting with the citizens of Charles County.
Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington (D) announced more than 100 additional charges for a former Charles County Public Schools instructional assistant and track coach, and raising the number of suspected child victims from 10 to 24.
On June 30, Carlos Deangelo Bell, 30, of Waldorf was arrested and charged with second-degree assault of a minor and production of child pornography, after police investigators allegedly found images of Bell sexually assaulting students at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, where he had worked since 2015.
Monday afternoon, Covington held a press conference in front of the Charles County Courthouse to announce the unsealing of a grand jury indictment against Bell, including 119 additional counts, and covers a time frame from May 2015 until June 2017.
Covington said the charges include 12 counts of child sex abuse, 48 counts of second-degree sex offense, two counts of third-degree sex offense, two counts of second-degree assault, 44 counts of filming child pornography, two counts of solicitation of a minor, five counts of displaying obscene matter to a minor, three counts of transmitting or attempting to transmit the HIV virus to another, in addition to other charges.
Covington also said the number of suspected victims is now believed to be 24, 11 of whom have yet to be identified.
Covington said the investigation is still ongoing, and urged any member of the public with information to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).
“This indictment does not signal the end of this investigation. It is continuing as we speak,” Covington said.
Covington said Bell, like any other accused individual, is entitled to the presumption of innocence until found guilty by a court or jury.
“An indictment is simply allegations. Everybody, no matter the gravity of the charges, from murder down to theft, is entitled to be presumed innocent until proven guilty,” Covington said.
Covington declined to answer any further questions and left immediately after the announcement.
Following the announcement, CCPS sent out a press release stating that Stoddert Principal Kenneth Schroek has been reassigned to the Office of Supporting Services. The transfer is due to the ongoing investigation, said Kimberly Hill, CCPS superintendent.
The investigation into Bell began in November 2016 after the parent of a student at La Plata High School, where Bell worked as an indoor track coach, noted inappropriate text messages on the student’s phone, which were determined to have come from Bell.
Police found no further evidence at the time but submitted Bell’s electronic devices to the Maryland State Police Crime Lab, and Bell was reassigned to the central office, pending the outcome of the investigations. Bell failed to show up for work and was terminated, according to school officials.
In late June, the crime lab reported finding video on Bell’s electronic devices of Bell sexually abusing middle school-aged boys on school property and other locations.
Bell informed investigators he is HIV-positive, and police received evidence to support the claim.
Originally posted on The Maryland Independent:
http://www.somdnews.com/breaking/former-instructional-assistant-charged-with-counts/article_0668dc7b-5aac-5655-b582-9767012a3594.html