Police briefs

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A judge ordered Monday that John Andrew Wilson, 33, of Leonardtown be held in jail without bond on a charge of first-degree assault in court papers alleging he beat a pregnant woman Saturday night along Great Mills Road.

St. Mary's sheriff's deputies found Wilson "standing over victim Darneka Chanel Bush while she was laying on the asphalt crying and bleeding," court papers state. Wilson told police that the woman had fallen down, court papers state, but Bush said she had been repeatedly kicked in the ribs, and she later identified Wilson as her assailant. "The victim stated she was afraid the defendant would kill her when he was released from jail if she told the police the truth," sheriff's deputy Michael Worrey wrote in a statement of probable cause.

Woman charged with child abuse

Kristen M. Zook, 39, of Lexington Park was released on personal recognizance after she was charged with two offenses of physical child abuse last Thursday and a second-degree assault on a sheriff's deputy.

Charging papers allege that Zook pushed a 4-year-old child across a floor at their home, and that she threw a glass at a 15-year-old boy, who deflected it from striking his face. Sheriff's deputies found the broken glass on a table. Zook was handcuffed before she began to break loose from the law officers taking her from the residence to a police cruiser, and charging papers allege she kicked sheriff's deputy Michael Campbell's left arm.

A court commissioner ordered that the suspect not abuse the children as a condition of her pretrial release.

Reward offered in probe of attempted burglary

Law officers in St. Mary's are seeking the public's help through the Crime Solvers program in their probe of an attempted burglary on June 11 at a home on Colton's Point Road in Bushwood, where a woman heard a loud noise and police later noticed a raised window screen outside her home.

Citizens with information about this case and other crimes in St. Mary's County can collect a cash reward by calling Crime Solvers 24 hours a day at 301-475-3333. They can withhold their name and later collect their reward through a number-identification system.

St. Mary's County Crime Solvers is a nonprofit organization that assists law enforcement in solving open investigations that may not have been closed without the extra incentive of anonymity and an offer of a reward of up to $2,000, providing the information leads to an arrest or indictment.

The Crime Solvers board of directors meets for about one hour on the second Thursday of every other month at 7:30 p.m., in the conference room of the sheriff's office at 23150 Leonard Hall Drive in Leonardtown. To be considered for membership on the board, attend a meeting or call the sheriff's office at 301-475-8008.

Contributions to the Crime Solvers reward fund can be mailed to the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office, Crime Solvers Division, P.O. Box 275, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622. Contributions to the fund are tax deductible.

Police Tips Line open

Maryland State Police in Leonardtown operate a Tips Line at 301-475-2936, inviting anyone with information about a crime that has occurred, or they expect may occur, to anonymously report that information 24 hours a day to authorities.

jwharton@somdnews.com