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Woman sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter

La Plata, MD – Samantha Nicole Thomas, 33 of Waldorf, who sold a fatal dose of Fentanyl—a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic similar to morphine, but 50 to 100 times more potent—that led to the death of Christopher Wade, 35 of Mechanicsville, left, was sentenced to 10 years of active time in Charles County Circuit Court Wednesday, May 17.

Thomas accepted a plea agreement with the Charles County States Attorney’s Office after initially rejecting the offer weeks ago. Assistant States Attorney John Stackhouse said that Wade’s roommate found him unresponsive in the early morning hours of Oct. 31, 2015.

“He began CPR and called 911 at 2:19 a.m.,” Stackhouse related.

The prosecutor said Charles County Sheriff Office deputies and emergency personnel responded to the scene. Despite several attempts by an emergency medical technician to revive the patient with NARCAN, a counter-opiate drug, responders were not able to bring the patient back. “At no time was he responsive,” Stackhouse said. “At 2:48 a.m. he was pronounced deceased.”

Detectives found drug paraphernalia near the body and residue on that material tested positive for Fentanyl. Stackhouse added that had the case proceeded to trial, he would have questioned an expert witness who transcribed text messages between Thomas and the victim the day before his death, which would have shown that she provided him with the drugs that killed him.

“In an interview with two Charles County Sheriff’s Office investigators, Ms. Thomas did admit that she, the defendant, gave Wade the CDS. She told them she thought he was on Xanex, but there was no evidence of that in the toxicology reports,” he said.

Investigators found that Thomas was going to Baltimore City and brought back what was called “scramble,” a mixture about 5 to 7 percent heroin. “In this case, it was 100 percent Fentanyl,” Stackhouse stated.

Sandra Wade, mother of Christopher Wade, told the court that her son did everything he could for the defendant. “He took in her dogs because she kept getting evicted from place to place,” she said. “He did everything he could for her. She knew immediately, when she got the call [that he had died]. Yet, she continued to go out there and sell drugs. She continued to go to Baltimore.

“My son mattered,” Wade told the court. “He really mattered. I would like for the court to start taking these cases seriously.”

Stackhouse said there have been 15 fatalities this year alone from heroin and opiate overdoses, 179 in the past three years.

Thomas pled guilty to count two, manslaughter. It is the first time in the history of Charles County that a dealer has been sentenced on manslaughter charges related to opiate abuse.

Judge Amy J. Bragunier, as part of the plea agreement, sentenced Thomas to 10 years active time concurrent to her previous sentences.

“There is no probation, just a flat 10-year sentence and that sentence begins today,” the judge said.

Related links:

December 2016

January 2017

Originally posted on The BayNet:

http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/0517/woman-sentenced-to-10-years-for-manslaughter.html

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Movie theater shooter guilty of second-degree murder

La Plata, MD – It took longer to pick a jury in the first-degree murder trial of Deavan Quindel Jefferson, 20, for the shooting death of 19-year-old Ruell Hicks behind the AMC movie theater at Mall Circle in Waldorf last October than it took for the Charles County Circuit Court jury to render a verdict.

Barely an hour after the jury got the case Friday, May 5, they informed Judge Erik Nyce they had reached a decision.

Jefferson was found guilty of second-degree murder and three charges of illegally possessing a firearm used in the commission of a felony. He was found not guilty of first-degree murder.

Charles County Assistant States Attorney Constance Kopelman tried her hardest to get the jury to nibble on the concept that the murder was premeditated, that Jefferson lured the victim “into the shadows” with the intention of murdering him.

Kopelman’s closing went on for some time, causing Assistant Public Defender Matt Connell to object three separate times that the prosecutor was repeating the same thing over and over. The judge finally relented and asked Kopelman if she was getting close to finishing.

“The reason I am repeating the same thing over and over to you is because it’s important,” she told the jury.

There was no doubt that Jefferson shot Hicks in the head after a drug deal went south behind the movie theater and, the defendant claimed, the victim swung at him. That became evident during an interview with Charles County Sheriff Office detectives John Long and John Elliott the night of the shooting, played during the trial and again at closing, in which he told them that although he and Hicks had an altercation in the past, “we were all right.” But he added, he said even though he had arranged to purchase marijuana from Hicks that he was wary. “I know they do that jack bulls—,” he told the investigators. “I know for a fact he has committed armed robbery more than once.”

“Did he say anything?” Elliott is heard asking.

“I didn’t even wait to hear what he had to say,” Jefferson said. “After he swung at me…”

“Where’d you shoot him?” Elliott asked.

“I shot him in his f—— head,” the defendant said, almost shouting.

Jefferson also told detectives he knew one of the three men had a gun, but only two knives were found.

Kopelman said Jefferson at first tried to pin the murder on someone else.

“Who is robbing who here?” she asked. “The defendant’s story is all over the place.”

“Ruell Hicks set up a drug deal and agreed to sell drugs he didn’t even have,” Connell said in closing. “Hicks and his friend, Darius Wilson and Jared Ryce, they were going to commit an armed robbery. Wilson testified right in this courtroom, ‘Yes, we were going to rob the man who shot Ruell.’ My client told police he thought they were armed and they were,” he said, holding up the two knives found in a backpack with the two men.

Connell also said Hicks’ accomplices ransacked his body after he was shot, taking his iphone, belt and sneakers. “DJ [Jefferson] told police, this was a robbery that was reversed,” Connell told the jury.

His argument proved fruitful from the aspect that he was able to dissuade the jury from premeditation, but Jefferson still faces serious jail time for the second-degree murder charge and the illegal use of a firearm in a felony charge.

“There are no winners in a case like this,” Connell said after the verdict.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 10.

Originally posted on The BayNet:

http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/0517/movie-theater-shooter-guilty-of-second-degree-murder.html

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Former PG cop sentenced for murder

La Plata, MD – Anger and fear are the two most destructive forces in life. Consider Richard Travis Conway, 28, the former Prince George’s County police officer found guilty Jan. 11 of attempted first-degree murder of Krystal Mange, who didn’t say a word during his sentencing Tuesday, May 9 before Charles County Circuit Court Judge Erik Nyce.

His mother, Caroline Marie Conway, 53 of Waldorf, was sentenced to life in prison without parole the day before in the so-called “McDonald’s shooting” at Mall Circle in Waldorf.

Nyce sentenced the defendant to 30 years for second-degree murder in the death of Mange’s husband Robert, another 20 years to be served consecutively for the use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime, and on Count 4, attempted first-degree murder of his former girlfriend, Krystal Mange, the judge sentenced Conway to life in prison.

“In my view, Robert Mange did save Krystal,” Nyce said. “He was a hero. The level of harm was excessive. Her last moments with her husband was watching him bleed out under the Jeep. And then there was the defendant’s own statement when he was being interviewed by the investigators, ‘I hate her. I hate him even more.’ To have children with someone whose hatred has no bounds, those are extraordinary circumstances.”

“Because of the actions of Richard Conway, Robert will never be able to meet his daughter,” Krystal Mange told the court. “Every major milestone in her life, Rob will miss. My children visit their father in the cemetery. They talk to a headstone.”

“Make no mistake,” Charles County States Attorney Tony Covington said. “This crime does not take place without his actions.”

Assistant States Attorney Fran Granados told Nyce that the other victims in the shooting who happened to be in the McDonalds drive-through when the incident occurred May 20, 2015, decided not to attend the sentencing or make statements to the court.

“They are good, decent people,” he said. “They told me, ‘Our losses can’t compare to the loss of the Mange family.”

Granados outlined the long, sad story of a custody battle between Conway, his mother, and Krystal Mange. The prosecutor alleged that the defendant used his status as a police officer to abduct the children from their mother in Virginia, obtaining custody where they had the two young children 22 days out of the month.

“That wasn’t good enough,” he said, citing allegations that Krystal and Robert Mange were sexually assaulting the children, something an investigation failed to find “a shred of evidence” to support.

Granados also played an audio of a conversation between Conway and his girlfriend, who told him, “you’ve been lying to me for two f——-g years.” In the recording, the defendant maintained that he did not know what his mother intended to do.

“You lied to me since day one,” she can be heard saying.

Defense Attorney C.T. Wilson said that while the state was asking for life, he was “asking for something lower.” He said the state had offered a 30-year sentence and that’s what he felt was appropriate.

Covington said that offer was contingent on Conway telling them where the gun was and to testify against his mother, both of which he refused to do.

The state also alleged that while in jail, Conway attempted to bribe a fellow inmate in a “murder-for-hire” hit against local attorney Rudy Carrico, who had defended Krystal Mange in her child custody battles with him.

In addition to the major offenses, the judge also gave him five five-year sentences on the reckless endangerment charges and gave him credit for 715 days of time served.

“During the trial and sentencing, the defendant had the theory that he was under the influence of the mother, that she acted alone,” the judge said. “In my view, he acted in concert with her and accepted her influence.”

Originally posted on The BayNet:

http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/0517/formerpgcopsentencedformurder.html

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Grandmother sentenced to life without parole

La Plata, MD – Caroline Marie Conway, the 53-year-old grandmother from Waldorf who shot and wounded her former daughter-in-law Crystal Mange and killed her new husband, Robert Mange, in the parking lot of the Rock N Roll McDonald’s in Waldorf will spend the rest of her natural life in prison.

Visiting Charles County Circuit Court Judge Steven I. Platt handed down that decision Monday, May 8 in La Plata.

Platt said that in his 17 years on the bench in Prince George’s County he sentenced 11 people to life sentences, seven of those without the possibility of parole.

“As far as I know, life without parole in Maryland means life without parole,” he said.

The judge said he felt the defendant was still a threat to Crystal Mange.

“Even if I sentenced you to life with parole, you’re 53, it’s a 20-year sentence … you would still not see the light of day,” Platt said. “During the defendant’s testimony, I don’t believe she ever said anything she didn’t believe at the time. You had an excellent defense [Attorney James Farmer].”

Conway said during testimony, and Farmer continued to hammer home the point during his arguments, that her grandson was being abused by someone in the Mange household. “You were obsessed in believing your grandson was being abused,” he said, “That the system failed in your mind. But your obsession makes you dangerous.”

Farmer asked for his client to be placed in the Patuxent Institute, chipping at holes in the state’s case, that a roommate in the Mange household, who Crystal Mange had told the social worker was never alone with the children, yet pointed out text messages between the two that indicated he was, in fact, alone with them. He continued through a list on incidents, of interviews between the young child and social workers that seemed to indicate that something was going on.

Jessica Baldwin, mother of the slain victim, told the court, “Two years ago tomorrow will be the last day I ever saw my son alive. The next time I saw him, I was pinning his Navy pin onto his uniform as we prepared to bury him. His daughter is walking now. She says ‘da da,’ but da da isn’t there.”

“Your honor, the jury has spoken,” Charles County States Attorney Tony Covington told the court. “This smoke screen was just that. This was a premeditated murder. Ms. Mange almost lost her life as well.”

Assistant States Attorney Fran Granados added to that argument, saying that Conway has claimed she doesn’t remember the shooting.

“She knew what she was doing,” he said. “Robert sacrificed himself to save his wife and their unborn child. This case is about a lot of things, but there’s a lot things it isn’t about. It’s not about child abuse.”

Coway faced Crystal Mange in the courtroom and apologized.

“I am sorry,” she said. “I did not want anyone to be harmed. I was worried abut my grandchildren.”

She told Platt, “I will accept whatever you decide.”

On Count 1, first-degree murder, he sentenced Conway to life, “for the rest of your natural life, with no possibility of parole.” On Count 2, conspiracy to commit murder, he handed down another life sentence concurrent to the first. For Count 3, use of a firearm in a crime of violence, another 20 years, five without the possibility of parole. Count 4, attempted first-degree murder, Platt handed down another life sentence. Count 6, the use of a firearm associated with the attempted first-degree murder charge netted another 20 years, five without parole, and four five-year consecutive sentences on the remaining charges.

Conway was given credit for 791 days of time served but in this particular case, that really doesn’t mean much.

Originally posted on The BayNet:

http://www.thebaynet.com/articles/0517/grandmother-sentenced-to-life-without-parole.html

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State v. Samantha Nicole Thomas, K16-1175

Drug Dealer Guilty of Manslaughter Gets Maximum Sentence

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County announced that on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, Samantha Nicole Thomas, 34 of Waldorf, who sold the drugs to Christopher Wade that ultimately killed him, entered a guilty plea to Manslaughter. Charles County Circuit Court Judge Amy J. Bragunier accepted the guilty plea and then sentenced Thomas to the maximum penalty for manslaughter, 10 years in prison.

On October 31, 2015, officers responded to the 2700 block of Sprague Drive in Waldorf for the report of a subject not breathing. Upon arrival, officers found the victim Christopher Wade unresponsive and lying on the bathroom floor. After unsuccessful attempts by emergency services personnel to revive him, Mr. Wade was pronounced deceased. Near the victim’s body, Officers recovered paraphernalia consistent with heroin use.

An investigation revealed that approximately three hours before his death, Thomas sold the victim a quantity of what she said, and the victim believed, was heroin. The toxicology report from the victim’s autopsy, however, revealed that fentanyl –a narcotic much more powerful than heroin– was actually the narcotic that caused Wade’s death. During an interview with officers, Thomas admitted that she routinely went to Baltimore to purchase the narcotics that she resold and that she was aware the substances she sold may not have been heroin. Experts indicate that someone ingesting fentanyl that they believed was heroin would have a very high likelihood of overdosing because an amount of fentanyl is so much more powerful than the same amount of heroin.

In modern Charles County history, Thomas is the first narcotics dealer to be convicted of Manslaughter for providing drugs that led to an overdose fatality. During the proceeding, Assistant State’s Attorney John A. Stackhouse said, “This County, like the rest of the country, is in crisis regarding opioid abuse. There are overdoses every single day in Charles County. And with all those overdoses, unfortunately, more than a few are fatal. This plea and sentence hopefully sends the message to the community and makes a difference for at least one person.”

Covington commented, “I hope drug dealers – especially those pushing the unbelievably addictive and deadly opioids like Fentanyl and Heroin — understand that we are going to hold them accountable not only for dealing drugs but also for the deaths we can link to their dealing. Lives are being lost, families ruined because in part these dealers want to make an easy buck off someone else’s misery. That’s not right. So I am giving dealers fair warning. If we have the evidence, we are coming for them relentlessly and without mercy.”

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State v. Richard Travess Conway, K15-558

Former Police Officer Sentenced to Life plus 50 Years

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County announced that on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, visiting Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Erik H. Nyce sentenced Richard Travess Conway, 28 of Waldorf, to an overall sentence of Life plus 50 years in prison for the murder of Robert Mange, conspiring and attempting to murder Krystal Mange, and the reckless endangerment of 4 others. Conway, a Prince George’s County police officer at the time of the crimes, conspired with and assisted his mother, Caroline Conway.

            At 5:45 PM on May 20, 2015, officers responded to the McDonalds at Mall Circle in Waldorf for a shooting. Once on the scene, officers found two adult victims, Robert Mange, 25 of Smithfield, VA, and his pregnant wife Krystal Mange, now 26, of Smithfield, VA, with gunshot wounds. Robert Mange was pronounced dead at the scene. Krystal Mange — who was 7 months pregnant at the time –was critically injured but survived. Her unborn child also survived. During her medical treatment on the scene, Krystal Mange told police that Caroline Conway, the mother of Richard Conway, Krystal’s ex-boyfriend and father of her 2 children, shot her and her husband.

An investigation into the shooting revealed that the victims were involved in an ongoing heated child custody battle with Richard Conway. On the day of the shooting, Richard Conway dropped his mother off near the McDonalds so she could execute the plan to kill Krystal Mange. Robert and Krystal Mange were sitting in their vehicle in the McDonalds parking lot, which was the Court ordered location for the visitation exchange of the children, when Caroline Conway jumped into the back seat. She had a gun in her hand and demanded that Robert and Krystal hand over their cellphones so that they were not able to call for help. Caroline Conway then forced Krystal Mange to call Richard Conway and tell him that the meeting time and location for the children’s exchange would be changed to 7:30 PM in La Plata. Fearing for himself, his wife and his unborn child, Robert Mange tried to disarm Caroline Conway at which point Caroline opened fire. Both Robert and Krystal fled the car. Robert fell to the ground by the driver side door. Caroline followed Robert out of the vehicle, stood over him and shot him three more times. Caroline Conway then circled around the car looking for Krystal. Caroline Conway found Krystal hiding on the other side of the car, shot her twice, then fled the scene.

As she was leaving the scene, Caroline called Richard and told him where to pick her up. Richard picked her up on Old Washington Road and drove her directly to the home of family acquaintances. While at that residence, Caroline admitted to the shooting. She changed her clothing and cleaned up in the bathroom. Witnesses at the residence reported that Richard placed the murder weapon, which was issued to him by the PGPD, in a plastic trash bag along with the clothing Caroline took off. Conway’s service weapon nor Caroline’s clothes have ever been recovered. The witness accounts were corroborated by home video surveillance.

At approximately 7:30 PM, in an attempt to create an alibi, Richard Conway called and texted Krystal Mange’s phone. He left messages each time asking where she was. This was done at 7:30 PM because Krystal Mange, at Carolyn’s orders, had called Richard and told him that they were changing the location and time to 7:30 PM. At the time of these phone calls Richard knew that Krystal had been shot and there would be no exchange.

The Conways then returned to their home where police had already set up a perimeter and both were detained.

State’s Attorney Tony Covington in commenting on an appropriate sentence, said, “The State is asking for a life sentence. During this custody case, Richard Conway repeatedly threatened to kill Krystal Mange. His mother also threatened to kill her if she tried to gain custody of the children. After the many lies they told to wrest custody from Krystal didn’t work, they conspired, planned and carried out this heinous crime. They killed Robert and almost killed Krystal– not to even mention her unborn child. That deserves a life sentence.”

Assistant State’s Attorney Francis J. Granados told the Court at sentencing that, “This crime could not have happened without the defendant. That was his gun, his children, and him driving around that afternoon. Despite his lies, he knew exactly what his mother was going to do. He exploited the trust the community placed in him to use his weapon responsibly. He used it to commit a murder. Richard Conway represents a continued threat, not to the public, but to Krystal Mange and her family. We ask that you never let that happen again.”

The judge, agreeing with Granados, stated, “I’m satisfied that a sentence above guidelines is appropriate. There was, in my view, significant evidence of planning of which the jury could determine its verdict. The plan to murder the mother of your children and her husband, and the amount of effort that went into the plan, makes the nature of this conduct especially vicious and heinous.”

CONVICTED

  • Second degree Murder of Robert Mange
  • Use of a Firearm in Murder of Robert Mange
  • Attempted First Degree Murder of Krystal Mange
  • Use of Firearm in the Attempted Murder of Krystal Mange
  • Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder of Krystal Mange
  • First Degree Assault of Krystal Mange
  • Use of Firearm in the First Degree Assault of Krystal Mange
  • Reckless Endangerment of Michael Hinchy, Joseph Rice, Niy’Airee Brown, and Nisere Brown

SENTENCE

Life plus 50 years

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State v. Caroline Marie Conway, K15-557

Woman Gets Life Without Parole

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County announced that on Monday, May 8, 2017, visiting Prince George’s County Circuit Court Judge Steven I. Platt sentenced Caroline Marie Conway, 53 of Waldorf, to Life without the possibility of Parole plus 60 years for the First Degree Murder of Robert Mange, Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder of Robert Mange, Unlawful Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence related to the Murder of Robert Mange , Attempted First Degree Murder of Krystal Mange, Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Murder of Krystal Mange, Unlawful use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence related to the Attempted Murder of Krystal Mange, First Degree Assault of Krystal Mange, Unlawful use of a Firearm in the Commission of a crime of violence related to the First Degree Assault of Krystal Mange, and Reckless Endangerment of four other individuals.

Conway was sentenced for the terror she caused at the Rock-n-Roll McDonalds on May 20, 2015. On that date, officers responded to the McDonalds at Mall Circle in Waldorf for a shooting. Once on the scene, officers found two adult victims, Robert Mange, 25 of Smithfield, VA, and his pregnant wife Krystal Mange, 24 of Smithfield, VA, with gunshot wounds. Robert Mange was pronounced dead at the scene. Krystal Mange, though critically injured, survived. Her unborn child also survived. During her medical treatment on the scene, Krystal Mange told police that Caroline Conway shot and killed her husband and shot her.

An investigation into the shooting revealed that the victims were involved in an ongoing heated child custody battle with former Prince George’s County Police Officer, Richard Conway, the son of Caroline Conway. On the day of the shooting, Robert and Krystal Mange were waiting in the McDonalds parking lot to exchange children with Richard Conway when Caroline Conway jumped into the vehicle. She had a gun in her hand and demanded that Robert and Krystal hand over their cellphones so that they were not able to call for help. Caroline Conway also forced Krystal Mange to call her son, Richard Conway and tell him that the meeting time and location for the children’s exchange would be changed. Fearing for himself, his wife and his unborn child, Robert Mange tried to disarm Caroline Conway at which point Caroline opened fire. Both Robert and Krystal fled the car. Robert fell to the ground by the driver side door. Caroline followed Robert out of the vehicle, stood over him and shot him three more times. Caroline then circled around the car looking for Krystal. Caroline found Krystal hiding on the other side of the car and shot her twice.

In addition to shooting both victims, she shot into at least two occupied vehicles that were in the McDonalds drive through line. While fleeing the scene, Conway changed her clothing appearance and later on disposed of the clothes and weapon used during the murder. She was later apprehended by officers at her home.

At sentencing Assistant State’s Attorney Francis J. Granados told the judge, “The defendant will continue to pose a danger to society, especially when it comes to her family. She poses a distinct threat to Krystal Mange. Someone who has no remorse and cannot acknowledge what they did was wrong cannot be rehabilitated. She thought about, planned, and executed the murder and attempted murder. Someone like that has no place in our society. Life without parole is the only sentence that does justice for Robert and Krystal Mange.”

State’s Attorney Tony Covington added, “One thing we certainly can’t condone in society is the actions we saw here. She wasn’t getting her way and she had her solution. Her solution did not work so she did the ultimate. Her and her son planned it and carried it out too. We hope the court incarcerates this person and keeps her away from trying to complete the job.”

Judge Platt told Conway during sentencing before imposing a life without parole sentence, “Your obsession continues and it is unclear at best whether any treatment can eliminate, let alone mitigate, it. The evidence is what it is. I don’t believe you didn’t know what you were doing. The obsession makes you dangerous.”

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State v. Deavan Quindel Jefferson, K16-1092

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County announced that on Friday, May 5, 2017, a Charles County jury convicted Deavan Quindel Jefferson, 20, of Second Degree Murder of Reuel Laparis Hicks, Jr., Unlawful Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence related to the Murder of Reuel Laparis Hicks, Jr., Possession of a Regulated Firearm under the age of 21, and the Wear, Carry, and Transport of a Handgun Upon Their Person.

 

On October 26, 2016, officers responded to the AMC Loews Movie Theater located at the 11100 block of Mall Circle in Waldorf for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, officers found one victim, Reuel Laparis Hicks, Jr., 18 of Waldorf, with a single gunshot wound to his head. The victim was flown to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.


An investigation into the shooting revealed that Jefferson and the victim, who were acquaintances, first made contact at the area mall where Jefferson solicited the victim for marijuana. Jefferson and the victim then walked to a secluded area of the movie theater parking lot to complete the drug transaction. During the transaction, Jefferson and the victim got into a brief argument when Jefferson suddenly produced a handgun, shot the victim, and then fled the scene.
Two witnesses of the shooting were able to give a detailed description of the shooter to officers. Jefferson was apprehended that night.


A sentencing date has been set for July 10, 2017. Jefferson faces 55 years.

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State v. Rodrigueze Lavon Nowlin, Jr., K16-434

LA PLATA, MD—Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Thursday, April 27, 2017, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Amy J. Bragunier sentenced Rodrigueze Lavon Nowlin, Jr., 22, to 25 years suspend all but 18 months for 3 counts of First Degree Assault and 18 months for the Possession of an Assault Rifle, which will run concurrent to the First Degree Assault charge. Nowlin was also sentenced to 10 years suspend all but 18 months for 2 counts of Second Degree Assault and 18 months for Reckless Endangerment, which will run consecutive to the First Degree Assault and Possession of an Assault Rifle charges. Nowlin was sentenced to a total of 3 years.

On April 9, 2016, an officer stationed in the 2000 block of Nantucket Drive in Waldorf was frantically approached by a person who reported seeing Nowlin carrying a AR-15 rifle towards a nearby recreation center. The officer subsequently responded to the location and witnessed Nowlin walking in the parking lot of the recreation center towards a side door with a rifle. The officer confronted Nowlin and was able to apprehend him on the scene without shots being fired.

An investigation revealed that Nowlin was attending his girlfriend’s baby shower at the recreational center when he was assaulted by an adult male guest. In response to the minor assault, Nowlin went outside to retrieve a AR-15 from his vehicle. Guests attending the baby shower witnessed Nowlin walking back to the center with the rifle and locked the doors to prevent entrance. After being unable to enter the interior door, he started walking towards the side entrance but was startled by the police officer’s quick arrival and attempted to hide himself and conceal the rifle he was carrying. The semi-automatic AR-15 was loaded with 27 rounds, was ready to fire and was reported stolen from North Carolina.

At sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah K. Freeman, before making a recommendation to the Court, noted that the defendant’s Maryland Sentencing Guidelines were 4 years to 9 years. The guidelines are a sentencing guide for judges and generally signal what an appropriate sentence would be for a particular defendant given the defendant’s crime he is being sentenced for and his criminal history. Freeman recommended a 10 year sentence explaining that the terror this defendant produced warranted a sentence above or at the top of the defendant’s guidelines.

Covington commented that, “But for the timely arrival of Deputy McCue, Waldorf very well would have been the center of the national media’s universe because of this AR-15 toting defendant and the carnage he planned to create. His intent to harm everyone in that rec center was clear. They certainly felt terrorized and he should be severely punished for his inexcusable actions.”