Man facing gun, assault charges after incident near Elkton

ELKTON — A man is facing several criminal charges after he allegedly assaulted a woman at a residence near Elkton and reportedly brandished a shotgun at one point during the incident, according to Cecil County District Court records.

Investigators identified the suspect as 27-year-old Christopher James Earl Walker, a Dover, Del., resident whom Cecil County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested shortly after midnight Thursday in the 800 block of Nottingham Road as he was trying to leave the incident scene in a vehicle, police reported.

“During contact with Walker, he made an excited utterance that the shotgun that reportedly had been used was in the trunk of the vehicle,” according to the charging document, which indicates that Walker was “visibly intoxicated.”

Deputies searched the vehicle and seized a holstered 9mm handgun with one round in the chamber “stuffed between the driver’s seat and center console; a .12 gauge shotgun and a .22 rifle in the trunk; and a loaded 9mm magazine on the front passenger seat, court records allege. Investigators later learned that the shotgun they confiscated had been reported stolen to authorities in Pennsylvania, court records show.

During the follow-up investigation, the deputy who made the arrest contacted the Maryland State Police Gun Center, police said. MSP Gun Center officials reported to the CCSO investigator that Walker is prohibited from possessing firearms, after conducting criminal history and background checks on the suspect, police added.

CCSO deputies rushed to the Nottingham Road residence at 11:52 p.m. Wednesday, after receiving a dispatch regarding a “possible physical domestic” incident involving a firearm, police reported.

The alleged victim, a 23-year-old woman, told investigators that she and Walker were involved in a loud argument when he started choking her, causing her to blackout briefly, according to the charging document.

After she regained consciousness, the woman kicked Walker and was able to get away from him, court records show. “Deputies did observe redness on (the woman’s) neck, arms, legs and hands,” police reported in court records.

In addition, the woman told investigators that Walker brandished a shotgun at one point during the incident, but noted that he did not point the weapon at anyone, according to the charging document.

Information on what, if any, medical treatment that the alleged victim received was unavailable on Thursday.

Walker is facing seven criminal charges, including first-degree assault, reckless endangerment and possession of a shotgun by a disqualified person, according to court records, which, as of late Thursday morning, indicate that Walker remained in custody.