Southern Maryland police briefs

Woman allegedly breaks into home, fights officer

On Feb. 13 at 3:58 p.m., officers responded to Oak Avenue in La Plata for a report of a breaking and entering in progress.

The officer met with the homeowner, who said that when she came home she found her kitchen window smashed. She went inside the home and said “hello” to see if anyone was there, according to charging documents.

A voice then called back, which the homeowner did not recognize. The officer then began to make callouts within the residence, stating that he was with the La Plata police and to come out with their hands showing. According to the document, after the second call out, a female voice called back saying, “Who is it?”

After a third call out, Buffy Monopoli, 47, allegedly came around the corner into the kitchen, where the officer was.

The officer unholstered his firearm, issuing commands to show her hands and to face away from him. Monopoli did not comply, and began to walk closer to the officer, the documents say.

While she was being held at gunpoint, Monopoli allegedly began walking toward kitchen knives. At one point, she dropped down to one knee, but she got off her knee and did not comply with the officer’s commands again, according to the document.

The officer feared that Monopoli was going to grab a kitchen knife, so he decided to place her into custody using hand control techniques. The officer managed to take Monopoli to the ground, where she allegedly kicked the officer in his groin area, according to charging documents.

Monopoli was transported to a detention center and charged with third-degree burglary, second-degree assault, destruction of property, resisting arrest and failure to obey lawful orders.

Woman allegedly sets house on fire

On Feb. 12 around 5 p.m., officers arrived at 13029 Charles St. in Charlotte Hall for reports of a domestic assault and house fire.

Upon talking to Monique Antonette Proctor, 25, in the driveway, she allegedly told officers that she lit the residence on fire with a lighter after her boyfriend punched her in the eye, according to charging documents.

An initial investigation revealed Proctor was allegedly in a spare bedroom in the basement of the residence when she lit a mattress on fire. The flames became large enough to burn the ceiling in the spare bedroom before it was extinguished by responding firefighters, the documents say.

Proctor’s boyfriend was not at the residence during the time she said she was assaulted and officers could find no evidence of an assault, the document said.

The only people who were inside the residence at the time of the fire were Proctor’s grandparents, who said that she did not live at the house. Charging documents have Proctor listed as not having a fixed address.

Proctor was placed under arrest and transported to Charles County Detention Center. After a thorough search, a cigarette lighter was allegedly found in Proctor’s hoodie pocket. She was charged with first-degree arson.

Man charged after allegedly stealing car parts

On Dec. 7, 2023, officers responded to Meineke Car Care Center in Waldorf for reports of a theft.

Items missing included rims for Camaros, BMWs and Corvettes — with the Corvette rims costing up to $2,200 a piece. The total value of the missing rims was $9,050, according to charging documents.

Officers looked at surveillance footage and found a male wearing a black jacket, gray hoodie, black pants, a black beanie and black and white shoes walking on the side of the property with a shopping cart, the documents say.

The responding officer contacted Potomac Metals Inc. who said they had scrapped the stolen items for a total of $152.35 in cash, according to the document. Officers were able to obtain a name from the transaction and sent David Ransome a criminal summons.

Officers were able to contact Ransome, who was described as “very candid” during an interview and was irritated at being served the summons. Ransome said that he did not know the wheels were stolen and was asked to give someone a ride and help take the rims to the scrapyard, according to documents.

Ransome identified Charles Lattisaw, 55, as the one who committed the theft from the car shop, according to charging documents. Officers went back to review footage and found that the person stealing the rims did not match Ransome’s build. Ransome identified Lattisaw in the video by personal mannerisms and his shoes and said they had known each other for over 30 years.

Lattisaw was charged with felony theft between $1,000 and $25,000.

Football party ends in first-degree assault charge

On Feb. 12, officers responded to McIntosh Court in Waldorf for a report of an assault. The victim was located a few houses down from where a Super Bowl party was being held, and her face was bloodied, according to charging documents.

The victim initially did not want to provide a statement, was visibly upset and declined EMS treatment. Officers made contact with Evelyn Marte-Ramos, 31, at her house, where the party was being held.

Marte-Ramos told officers that she began to feel sick at the party and went upstairs to lay down. The other woman, who was a friend, and Marte-Ramos’s boyfriend came into the room while she was laying down and allegedly tried to sleep with each other, according to the charging document.

Marte-Ramos punched the other woman in the nose and her boyfriend tried to restrain her by pulling her hair, according to the documents.

The woman eventually gave her statement saying that Marte-Ramos accused her of sleeping with her boyfriend and started choking her on the stairs. The woman needed to kick Marte-Ramos in the chest to get her off of her, the documents say.

Marte-Ramos allegedly came back and slammed something into the victim’s head and began choking her again.

Others at the party attempted to get Marte-Ramos off the woman. Once Marte-Ramos was off her, the woman fled the house, screaming for help, according to charging documents.

Marte-Ramos was charged with first and second-degree assault.

Man allegedly assaults wife, causing her to flee home

Officers were dispatched to Neale Court in Waldorf on Feb. 13 for a report of an assault. While en route, officers were redirected to a nearby neighborhood, where they met a woman.

The woman said she fled her home with three of her four children to escape her husband attacking her, charging documents say.

Earlier in the day, she went shopping for groceries and her card did not work. When she went home, she told her husband, Paris Jones, 32, this information, who allegedly began to yell at her. The woman was later in the bathroom when Jones allegedly grabbed a laptop from her hands and smashed it on the ground, the documents say.

According to the charging document, Jones then allegedly grabbed the woman’s shoulders with both of his hands and began to slam her head against the cabinet behind the toilet. Jones proceeded to allegedly smash her head into the toilet tank before using his knees to strike the victim’s midsection multiple times.

She ran to a neighbor’s house after her husband stopped striking her, putting two of her children in a stroller and having the other run alongside her. A fourth child was at school, according to the document.

A protective order against Jones was filed and emergency housing was arranged for the woman and children, the documents say.

Jones was arrested, charged with first-degree assault and is scheduled for an April trial.

Mechanicsville man indicted for attempted murder caught

On Feb. 16, St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office detectives apprehended Charles Vernon Russell, 26, of Mechanicsville. According to an agency press release, Russell was arrested under an active warrant for attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault and related firearms charges.

The warrant stemmed from a Nov. 26 shooting outside an occupied home on Longmore Street in Leonardtown. No injuries were reported.

According to court records, Russell was indicted on the attempted murder counts on Dec. 18, 2023. The indictment includes six reckless endangerment from a car counts and firearm possession in a crime of violence.

A bond review was pending, according to the sheriff’s office press release.

Hollywood man charged with assaults

On Feb. 14, Maryland State Police Cpl. Christopher Ditoto of the Leonardtown barrack was sent to a residence in Hollywood for the report of an assault. The investigation revealed William E. Jones, 45, of Hollywood had allegedly assaulted a 71-year-old man.

Ditoto tried to calm Jones down. However, Ditoto stated in court papers that the defendant “struck me with a closed fist in my chest, causing my body-worn camera to become dislodged from its mount.”

After subduing and handcuffing Jones, the defendant was arrested.

The older man sustained a minor laceration in the fracas and refused treatment. Both his dress shirt and undershirt were ripped during the incident.

Jones was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, malicious destruction of property and resisting arrest.

After court hearings, Jones remains in jail on a no bond status. He will also be evaluated by the Maryland Health Department. A district court hearing on the charges Jones is facing will be held March 1.

Lexington Park man charged with felony theft

On Feb. 14, a 53-year-old Lexington Park man was charged with a single count of felony theft for allegedly stealing a power pack from a man in Valley Lee.

According to court documents filed by St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Christopher Truss, the owner of a boat reported the theft Feb. 5 and mentioned the name of George Huston Russell Jr. as a possible suspect, telling the deputy Russell “had committed many thefts and [had] various issues,” Truss wrote in court documents.

The missing power pack had an estimated value of $1,794.

On Feb. 8, Truss learned the missing power pack had been sold to another Lexington Park man who told the deputy Russell had sold it to him.

A court summons has been issued for Russell. A district court hearing on the case is scheduled for March 29.

Travelers stopped, charged in unrelated incidents

On Feb. 13, Trooper Black of the Maryland State Police Leonardtown barrack made a traffic stop on a Honda Accord at the Loveville Road/Kavanaugh Road intersection in Mechanicsville.

According to Black, his investigation revealed the driver — identified as Kendall James Buckler, 34, of Hughesville — was in violation of an active protective order.

A K9 scan of the vehicle revealed a quantity of suspected crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia in the possession of the Honda’s passenger, James Foley Somerville Jr., 66, of Chaptico.

After initially being jailed, Buckler was released on his own recognizance on Feb. 14. A district court hearing on the charge he is facing is scheduled for March 28.

Somerville was charged with possession of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia. He will also have a district court hearing sometime in late March.

Man busted for drugs, carrying gun

On Feb. 8, Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Ryan Campbell was on patrol in the Solomons area when he noticed a vehicle traveling well below the posted speed limit and displaying a “false vehicle registration,” according to court documents.

After stopping the vehicle and identifying the driver — Dennis Monte Moore, 27, of Lexington Park — Campbell had a vehicle status check done, which revealed caution codes for “armed and dangerous.”

The vehicle and Moore were searched. Deputies located a quantity of suspected crack cocaine, a large number of “counterfeit” oxycodone pills, two cellphones and a loaded Glock 17, which is classified as a “machine gun.”

Moore was charged with firearm possession with a felony conviction, possession with intent to distribute narcotics, distributing drugs with a felony conviction, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime plus several misdemeanor drug and weapons charges.

On Feb. 12 Moore was released after posting $25,000 bond. A district court hearing on the charges Moore is facing is scheduled for March 8.

Huntingtown pair arrested for crack distribution

Calvert County Sheriff’s Office narcotics deputies made two related arrests Feb. 13 after alleged drug distribution activity was observed.

A Cadillac driven by Chaz Duvall Reed, 42, of Huntingtown was stopped by detectives in the Dunkirk area. A K9 search yielded suspected drugs and led to Reed’s arrest. He was charged with possession with two counts of intent to distribute narcotics, manufacturing narcotics and four misdemeanor drug possession charges.

Detectives also raided Reed’s home with a judge-issued search and seizure warrant. Sharaze Tyuiana Gross, 34, of Huntingtown was arrested at the house. She was charged with two counts of possession with intent to distribute narcotics, manufacturing narcotics, plus misdemeanor drug charges.

The following day, both Reed and Gross were released on their own recognizance. District court hearings on the charges the two are facing will be held March 11.

P.G. man charged with drug distribution

A traffic stop at the Route 4/Brickhouse Road intersection in Dunkirk was attempted Feb. 8 by Calvert sheriff’s office Deputy Richard Cress.

According to court documents, the vehicle, a Chevrolet with Virginia tags, “continued traveling for several miles without stopping for deputies. Deputies executed a pit maneuver and a felony stop was conducted.”

Cress and other deputies observed a digital scale in the vehicle and as a result of a search three rocks of suspected crack cocaine and suspected amphetamine and suspected Dextroamphetamine pills were found.

The vehicle’s driver was identified as Jaymen Ryan Greenfield, 38, of Temple Hills.

Cress stated Greenfield was searched and found to be in possession of over $500 in cash.

Greenfield was charged with possession with intent to distribute narcotics and a drug possession charge. He was also issued several traffic citations for attempting to elude police, driving without a license and failure to display a license to a uniformed police officer.

After initially being held without bond, Greenfield was released after posting $10,000 bond. A district court hearing on the charges Greenfield is facing is scheduled for March 8.

Prince Frederick pair busted during traffic stop

On Feb. 9, Calvert sheriff’s Cpl. Luis Kelly made a traffic stop at Route 2/4 and Old Field Lane in Prince Frederick. A K9 search of the vehicle, which court records show was driven by Josephus Leroy Harris III, 45, of Prince Frederick, revealed a quantity of suspected drugs, drug paraphernalia, cash and two cellphones.

A vehicle passenger, identified as Tevon Anthony Middleton, 35, also of Prince Frederick, had in his possession a scale covered in white residue, a cellphone, seven suspected gabapentin pills and two grams of suspected crack cocaine.

A search of the vehicle yielded more suspected drugs, a second scale and a fourth cellphone.

According to court papers, Harris was charged with five counts of possession with intent to distribute drugs, including two counts for intent to distribute narcotics.

Middleton was charged with three counts of possession with intent to distribute narcotics.

Both Harris and Middleton were released on their own recognizance. District court hearings on the charges each man faces will be held March 8.