E-mail detailing crimes at mall provokes furor

Alleged incidents get wide airing in county

Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010

A widely circulated e-mail describing a weekend robbery and "increasing gang activity" at the St. Charles Towne Center recently prompted inquires from county residents and a police investigation into whether the message was legitimate.

The author of the e-mail claimed to be the mother of a robbery victim, who was with his girlfriend when he was accosted by a group of men wearing dark hooded sweatshirts. During the alleged incident, the men threatened the victim's girlfriend and stole $6, the message stated. The victim was reportedly injured in the robbery, which left him with a black eye and bruised ribs.

Including this incident, three "muggings" happened the same day at the center: one in the mall parking lot and two at the movie theater, the message stated. The e-mail said the occurrences happened Saturday but didn't provide a specific date.

Tuesday afternoon, the Charles County Sheriff's Office — which had received inquiries about the e-mail's validity — released a statement about the message.

A preliminary look at recent calls for service at the mall showed "limited activity for serious incidents including a fight on January 23 in which two people were arrested," the release stated.

In this incident, police were called to the St. Charles Towne Center for a fight in progress, according to the sheriff's office. Police reportedly found several groups of fighting juveniles and stopped the altercation, arresting two teens and detaining an 18-year-old man. A security guard was injured while trying to help stop the fight, police reported. The incident in still under investigation, said Diane Richardson, spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

The sheriff's office preliminary inquiry about the e-mail's claims also found that over the past couple of weekends, there were two robberies at the town center, one of which was closed with an arrest. There were no calls for police service at the movie theater in the past two weekends, the statement reported.

However, the agency will conduct a further investigation in response to inquiries stemming from the e-mail.

In addition to reporting a robbery at the center, the e-mail claimed that gang activity at the mall was on the rise and said serious criminal incidents are "part of this turf war." The message encourages shoppers who have parked far from the mall to ask for security guard accompaniment to their cars. It also warns that mounds of snow lower visibility in the parking lots.

The sheriff's office release did not respond to the statements about gang activity.

"Again, please pass this along to anyone you know who lives in southern Maryland or who frequents the Waldorf area for shopping," the e-mail states.

The sheriff's office reminds the public that the agency posts crime date on its Web site within 24 hours of a criminal event at www.ccso.us. Click on Crime Reports and follow the prompts.