Friday, Oct 22nd Sat, Oct 23rd
Northampton County Commonwealth's Attorney Bruce Jones reports that on Monday, October 18, the following cases were heard in Northampton County's Circuit Court:
ACCOMAC -- Accomack residents who may have had personal information compromised when a government-owned laptop computer was stolen Oct. 7 should receive official notice from the county this week. "The notice is being provided by Accomack County as quickly as possible following the theft, given the totality of the circumstances," said county attorney Mark Taylor in an e-mail.
County Administrator Steve Miner said as many as 35,000 names and Social Security numbers, and some resident addresses, were on a computer stolen from a Las Vegas hotel room.
The computer had been taken there by county employee Joshua Taylor on a personal vacation; Miner said it was taken there without permission.
The letter states that the county has no proof that the recipient's personal information has been accessed "by any unauthorized person." It asks recipients to review account statements and monitor credit reports by providing websites and phone numbers.
It asks recipients to call the county office if they feel personal information has been accessed or misused.
It also suggests a change in how county computers are used "by ensuring that no other computers are permitted to leave county facilities containing such data."
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Marcus Martin said Taylor reported missing a Dell laptop valued at $1,300 and a backpack.
Taylor resigned shortly after 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release issued by the county.
The theft took place at the Mandalay Bay Hotel Casino. He said there are two periods of time in which the electronically monitored room lock wasn't fully latched.
"Who did that is still up for the detective to determine," Martin said. "Was it a maid? Was it engineered? Was it the visitor's carelessness? We can't say."
While the county waited seven days before notifying the media of the computer's theft, Miner said last week that the county had to determine what exactly was on the laptop.
"Any suggestion that Accomack County has 'waited' to take action is simply wrong," said Mark Taylor, county attorney. "Responding to this computer theft has been the county staff's top priority since the theft was reported."
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was narrowly appointed to the bench almost 19 years ago to the day after a notoriously bitter confirmation process in which he was accused, but never found guilty, of sexual harassment by a former colleague named Anita Hill. His wife, Virginia Thomas, has never quite gotten past that ugly episode, it seems."Good morning, Anita Hill, it's Ginny Thomas," said the voice, "I just wanted to reach across the airwaves and the years and ask you to consider something. I would love you to consider an apology sometime and some full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. So give it some thought and certainly pray about this and come to understand why you did what you did. Okay have a good day."
Hill, who is now a professor at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, said she "initially thought" the message was a "prank," but went ahead and forwarded it to campus police, who passed it along to the FBI, The New York Times reports.
When contacted by reporters, Virginia Thomas responded: "I did place a call to Ms. Hill at her office extending an olive branch to her after all these years, in hopes that we could ultimately get past what happened so long ago." When told of the response, Hill said that she would not apologize since she had testified to the truth of her experience so many years ago.
In the confirmation hearings, Hill told the Senate that back when Thomas was her boss at the Department of Education, she repeatedly declined his invitations for the two of them to go out socially before he began "to use work situations to discuss sex" of a graphic and sadistic nature in vivid detail. At the time of the alleged harassment, Thomas was married to another woman, Kathy Ambush, whom he later divorced.
Thomas steadfastly denied all of Hill's accusations and countered that she was just a minor part of the larger plot against him, which he characterized as a "high-tech lynching for uppity blacks," though it's worth noting that Hill herself is African-American.
Hill's testimony was a political bombshell in what had already been a fairly contentious confirmation process: Even before her words went public, many black-activist and liberal groups opposed Thomas, a noted conservative-leaning judge and the second black nominee in U.S. history. After she spoke, a number of women's groups, including congresswomen, also joined their voices in opposition. Still, Thomas ended up getting appointed by a slim majority vote, 52-48.
For her part, the second Mrs. Thomas, nee Lamp, has also courted controversy of her own: Last year, she launched Liberty Central Inc., a nonprofit tea party activist group that opposes President Barack Obama's "hard-left agenda," a move that many liberals denounce as a clear conflict of interest when it comes to her husband's role as a Supreme Court justice (though it is technically legal).
She gave no indication to reporters why she was "reaching out" to Hill on this occasion, after so much time.
The Science Museum of Virginia is getting its eyeball back.Eighteen days after thieves stole an eyeball cover that sheathed the museum’s Grand Kugel, a replacement eyeball is set to be unveiled Wednesday at noon.
“When our eyeball was stolen a few weeks ago, there was so much community support that we had to replace it,” Richard Conti, the museum’s director, said in a statement.
The eyeball’s vendor replaced the cover at a “considerably reduced price,” Conti said, because “of all the incredible news coverage around the world.” The original cover cost $4,000.
During the early morning hours of Oct. 2, thieves cut away the eyeball that tightly wrapped the 8½ foot diameter, 29-ton ball. The decoration had been installed just 12 hours earlier to promote a new exhibit — “Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear” — at the museum.
The thieves have yet to be caught and the eyeball remains missing. Virginia’s Capitol Police, who have jurisdiction over the Science Museum Property, continue to investigate.
To celebrate the replacement eye, the museum staff “is asking for eye-deas on how to keep an eye on our eye,” Conti said. Suggestions can be posted on the Science Museum of Virginia’s Facebook page.
All ideas will be entered into a random drawing for an “eye-pod” and a free family museum membership, Conti said. The winner will be announced at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
HAMPTON — Just before defendants are about to be sentenced, the judge asks them if they want to say anything.
Pentagon entrances were locked down early Tuesday after a report of possible shots fired near the building.Maj. Chris Perrine, a Pentagon spokesman, says a civilian reported he may have heard shots at about 5 a.m. EDT on the south side of the massive Defense Department headquarters.
Perrine says police authorities did a sweep of the area and didn't find anything.
The roads and pedestrian entrances leading to the Pentagon were reopened a little after 5:30.
Here's a video of his run that tied him for second place with Ken Daisey, driver of 'Ole Blue'.
I don't have a video of Ken Daisey and his 4.311 second run but I do have a photo to show just exactly WHERE 'Ole Blue' and his driver ended up..............
They ended up in the bean field! 
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have brought two new charges against a northern Virginia man accused of offering himself as a fighter to a Somali terror group, and have charged his wife with making a false statement in connection with the case.Zachary A. Chesser, who was arrested this summer and allegedly told FBI agents he had twice tried to travel to Somalia to join a terror group, was charged Monday in federal court in Virginia with one count of communicating threats and another count of soliciting crimes of violence, both related to his previous case. The new charges carry a total of 15 years in prison.
Chesser, 20, was charged in July with material support to terrorists, which carries a potential 15-year sentence. Chesser acknowledged to FBI agents that he wanted to travel to Somalia to join the al-Qaida-linked terrorist group al-Shabab, according to an FBI affidavit filed this summer.
Before Chesser's arrest this summer, he was best known for posting harshly worded online warnings to the creators of the animated TV show "South Park" that they risked death for mocking the prophet Muhammad.
Chesser's wife, Proscovia Kampire Nzabanita, was also charged Monday with one count of making a false statement, which carries a possible prison sentence of up to eight years. Her charge is related to her husband's case, but it was not clear how.
Chesser and Nzabanita, who is from Uganda, have an infant son whom Chesser tried to take with him on a flight from New York to Uganda this summer in order to appear less suspicious, the affidavit said. Chesser was denied entry to the flight and told he was on the no-fly list. He and his wife had previously tried to go to Somalia by way of Kenya, but that attempt also failed.
After his latest attempt to leave the country, Chesser apparently tried convincing FBI agents he had renounced his extremist views and said he would work for the FBI if the government helped him travel to Africa, according to the affidavit. Instead of accepting Chesser's offer, FBI agents arrested him.
Chesser has not yet been indicted in the case and the timeline for doing so has been extended twice. Lawyers often seek an extension of the indictment deadline to work out details of a plea bargain
An attorney for Chesser, Michael Nachmanoff, said in an e-mail that he could not comment further on the case. An attorney for Nzabanita, David Smith, did not immediately respond to e-mailed requests for comment.
Legislative Chairman of the Woman's Club of Accomack County.
A spectacular stream of meteors believed to be leftovers from Halley's Comet is expected to streak across the skies this week, but a full harvest moon will compete for attention and may obstruct some of the show.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 10 popular Facebook applications have been transmitting users' personal identifying information to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies.
POCOMOKE CITY -- Two men whose backgrounds share military service but little else are contending to represent District 1, Worcester's southernmost region, as a Worcester County Commissioner.Merrill Lockfaw Jr., a Republican, won his primary against three other contenders, while Jimmy Schoolfield, a Democrat, advanced to the general election unopposed.
The seat represents Pocomoke City and surrounding areas. It is currently held by Bobby Cowger, who did not seek re-election.
Lockfaw and Schoolfield have served in the armed forces. Lockfaw spent four years in the Air Force, while Schoolfield spent six years in the Army.
Lockfaw worked for Worcester County government as a road superintendent for 19 years, retiring in June.
"I thought with my business experience as well as working with large budgets and county government would make me a good candidate," Lockfaw said.
Schoolfield has been a minister at Georgetown Baptist Church in Pocomoke for 14 years, in addition to being vice president of the NAACP for Worcester County. He resigned his NAACP role when he decided to run for the County Commissioners seat.
His life path wasn't a smooth one. In the early 1990s, between the ages of 29 and 32, Schoolfield was charged with 12 separate crimes in Maryland courts, including assault, theft and malicious destruction of property.
"A lot of those extended from when I was out in the world drinking," Schoolfield said. "I watched what alcohol and drugs did to me, and that has given me a lot of things I can talk with youth about. I can say from experience there are other things we can do besides hanging on the street and drink."
He has not been charged with a crime since 1995, although he has three active cases in the civil court system, including one in which his wages were ordered to be garnished by $13,622. Schoolfield said he and his wife took out a loan to start a fashion store shortly before she had to undergo heart surgery. As a result, they closed the store and incurred the debt.
If elected, Lockfaw said he wants to be able to provide citizens with the services they need, such as police officers and firefighters.
"While protecting ourselves, we can't overregulate ourselves to the point it would drive businesses away," Lockfaw said.
Schoolfield said he wants to focus on ways to improve the housing situation, build the community and reach out to youth.
"I want to be a force for the lower district," Schoolfield said. "I would like to work with the youth and on education issues. Crime is also an important issue, especially in downtown Pocomoke."
When asked about legislation requiring all homes built after Jan. 1 to contain residential sprinkler systems, both men said they would like to tweak the law as it would apply to Worcester.
Lockfaw said he opposes mandating sprinklers, while Schoolfield would be satisfied with an amendment restricting the requirement to homes on a municipal water supply.
Saturday morning at 7:40 an empty trailer became uncoupled from it's tractor and fell into the Chesapeake Bay. The accident occured at mile post 12 on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
An off-duty Baltimore police detective, taking part in the Canton nightlife on the eve of his birthday Saturday, was killed after being struck in the head after an argument over a parking spot, police said. He would have turned 38 today.Brian Stevenson, an 18-year veteran and married father of three, was pronounced dead at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center not long after he was attacked in the 2800 block of Hudson St. at about 10 p.m.
Acting on information from witnesses, police arrested 25-year-old Sian James later Saturday night at a downtown club. On Sunday afternoon, he was charged with first-degree murder.
Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III told reporters outside the hospital that the argument was "incredibly petty."
"It's an incredible tragedy for the family, for all of us," said Bealefeld, who spoke with Stevenson's family members along with Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. "The city's losing … we're losing a fantastic detective who works to make people safe in this city. It's just senseless."
Stevenson grew up in the city and went on to investigate shootings and robberies in the Northeast District. He went to have dinner with a longtime friend near Canton Square when an argument broke out in the parking lot of an eye care clinic. Residents say the neighborhood is typically jam-packed, with some area bars offering valet service and drivers jockeying for precious parking spots.
Police sat James picked up an object — a rock or piece of concrete — and hurled it at Stevenson, striking him in the right temple and causing him to fall to the ground.
Stevenson lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
James went on to a club in the Power Plant area, where officers found and detained him, police said.
Stevenson is the first city officer to be killed in an attack since January 9, 2007, when Officer Troy Lamont Chesley Sr. was fatally shot during a robbery while he was off-duty in Northwest Baltimore. Last month, Officer James Fowler died after losing control of his vehicle while driving to a training program in Pennsylvania.
Friends recalled Stevenson as a jovial man who was one of the department's snappiest and unique dressers, pairing wild colors and patterns. Detective Thomas Jackson, a homicide investigator who worked with Stevenson in the Northeast District investigating shootings and robberies, said Stevenson was called "Smiley" because of his consistently upbeat mood.
As a detective, Jackson said, Stevenson was able to relate to those he interacted with in the streets. He grew up in the city and graduated from Dunbar High School, Jackson said.
"He loved doing his job, and he made sure his family was provided for," said Detective Sandra Forsythe, who continued to bring baked goods to her former partner after she moved on to the homicide unit this year.
Stevenson was featured in a 1994 Baltimore Afro-American article about the first class of officers to graduate under the then-new police commissioner, Thomas Frazier. His mother beamed with pride when discussing her son.
"I think that it is wonderful because he's doing something for society," Sheila Dorsey told the Afro. "He has always been the type of person who would help other people in any way that he could. I know that he will be a good police officer, because he has the Lord on his side."
At the scene, neighbor Tricia Zebron said that the neighborhood is typically chaotic on weekends. She said parking spots are hard to come by - her car was parked in the same lot where Stevenson was struck, though there are "private parking" signs posted that warn that driver's will be towed.
"It's a circus every weekend here," she said.
The suspect, James, lived around the corner in the 2800 block of Dillon St.. Court records show he was charged in July with attempted rape, third-degree sex offense, assault and false imprisonment. Initially held without bond, he was released in mid-September on $150,000 bond. Details of that case were not immediately available.
Records also show that in late July James was ordered to stay away from a woman who had filed her second protective order against him in a span of four months. Reached for comment, a man who answered the woman's phone said that they could not discuss James because of an "ongoing situation."
Outside the emergency room entrance at Hopkins Bayview on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, dozens of officers in uniform or street clothes stood solemnly. Some were retired officers. There was little discussion. Deep into the morning, relatives of Stevenson continued to arrive.
As one group of officers walked to their cars to head home, they each shook hands.
"Be safe," they said to each other.
Jackson, who investigates city homicides, many over petty disputes and slights, said Stevenson's death was one of the most senseless he could think of.
"All of them are terrible, but a parking spot?" Jackson said.
The driver of a limo parked outside the nearby Clutch sports lounge said he didn't see or hear the commotion from the attack, but he noted that he was an off-duty Prince George's County police officer. "It hurts," he said of news that a fellow law enforcement officer had been killed.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR DAD TODAY ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN HIS 86th BIRTHDAY!
Our Dad.... one of the wisest, humorous, dedicated, personable person that ever lived. We all continue to love and miss you and still use your good advise.
Thankyou for always (and still) being there for all of us.
POCOMOKE CITY -- The final step in the installation of Delmarva Discovery Center's 6,000-gallon freshwater aquarium is just days away.A dedication ceremony for the aquarium is scheduled for Oct. 21 from 6-8 p.m. and will call attention to a $250,000 grant from the Fulton Owen Foundation, which made the purchase and operation of the tank possible.
Staff and volunteers are ready to show off the exhibit to the public, after working to install the tank and prep and introduce the fish to their new habitat.
"(The tank) is a great opportunity to highlight the ecology of the Pocomoke River and the unique fish that live in it," says Executive Director Brian Garrett. "We just want to recognize their generous donation and acknowledge the positive impact it's having on the discovery center."
The ceremony will include a speech by Garrett, in addition to a presentation of the tank, acknowledgment of the donors, a short speech by representatives of the Snow Hill-based Fulton Owen Foundation and a casual reception.
The tank is designed to look similar to the underwater world of the Pocomoke River and has been stocked with native fish, including Atlantic sturgeon, largemouth bass, channel catfish and bluegills.
Garrett expects the tank to increase learning opportunities for area residents as well as the attractiveness of Pocomoke City as a regional tourist destination.
"For this summer, between June 1 and the end of August, we had 3,600 general admissions," said Garrett. "We are on pace to put between 7,500 and 8,000 through the center this year."
After the ceremony has ended, staff at the Discovery Center are expected to get to work on their next big project. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore recently donated a 1,500 gallon tank for a Chesapeake Bay ecological exhibit.
Garrett says before moving forward on that, the Discovery Center needs to secure additional funding, to ensure once the tank is installed there will be enough money to keep it operational and allow for the care of marine life.
SEVERNA PARK, Md. - Is there life after death? For one local woman, there most definitely is.A neighbor says 89-year-old Ruth Johnson had not been seen for days when Anne Arundel County police went to her home in Severna Park, on Oct. 1.
A police report says officers found Johnson motionless on a bathroom floor. Her skin was blue and she wasn't breathing. Because she appeared to be dead, according to the report, police did not check her pulse.
Police told Johnson's family she had passed away. They also notified her doctor, and the Chief Medical Examiner's office in Baltimore.
Three hours later, a man with the State Anatomy Board came to pick up the body, which Johnson had agreed to donate to science. It was then that Johnson was seen moving her arm, and taking breaths.
The Annapolis Capitol reports she was rushed to a hospital and has since been discharged.
A police spokesman says the case is under administrative review to make sure the officers involved followed proper procedures.
High winds caused a trailer to come loose from a tractor and fall over the side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Saturday morning at the 12 mile mark, according to tunnel police.Chief Edward Spencer said the trailer was empty and no one was injured.
Traffic was stopped at about 7:45 a.m., but there is no back up now.
As of mid-day, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel has issued a Level 2 advisory for winds of about 47 mph.
Rome’s Colosseum has opened the underground pits where gladiators and wild beasts waited before being winched from darkness into the light of the killing ground, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Friday.At the same time, the famed monument is also reopening its third story, closed since the 1970s, which offers a breathtaking view of Rome.
The two new attractions aim to boost visitor numbers at the site, which is already Italy's single most visited monument at some 19,000 people a day.
Crowds were already flocking to get up to the 33 meter (108 feet) third ring to enjoy its spectacular views Friday, while fans of ancient bloodletting will have to wait until Tuesday when groups of 25, strictly by reservation, will take the first steps by members of the public into the underground pits.
According to Colosseum site director Rossella Rea, the gladiatorial areas are all the more fascinating because "they were completely buried in the 5th century AD and have been perfectly conserved."
"They never suffered the depredation which the surface parts of the monument were victims to," ANSA quoted her as saying.
The so-called 'hypogeum' (literally, 'underground') has been restored in a project that has also installed new, muted lighting.
Rea said the aim was to recapture "some of the atmosphere" of the breathless moments before the games commenced, when the armored or naked fighters and the wild animals were hauled up through 80 trapdoors.
The visit starts from the Porta Libitinaria, named after the goddess of the dead Libitina, through which the gladiators marched in and from which their corpses were taken out, ANSA said.
Construction on the city's iconic monument started between 70 and 72 AD under the Emperor Vespasian.
It was completed in 80 AD by his son Titus. Titus inaugurated it with 100 days of games including the recreation of a sea battle between Romans and Greeks.
RICHMOND, VA. — The deadline is approaching for Virginians planning to vote by absentee ballot. The State Board of Elections says the deadline to apply to vote by absentee ballot for the Nov. 2 election is Oct. 26 by mail. Virginians looking to vote by absentee ballot in person can apply and vote by Oct. 30.
There are more than 18 different ways to qualify to vote by absentee ballot. That information and an application are available on the State Board of Elections website.
Officials are encouraging qualified voters to consider voting by absentee ballot to make sure they are able to take part in the election.
The board says there are currently more than five million voters registered in Virginia.
Online: www.sbe.virginia.gov
An Accomack County employee returned from apersonal holiday to Las Vegas without a computer that belongs to the county. Files in that laptop contain vital information, including the Social Security numbers of local personal-property owners.Accomack County believes that the stolen computer contained a file or files
from which taxpayer identity might be extracted.
Any citizen who is concerned about the security of their identity may request a fraud alert on their credit report by calling 888-766-0008, 888-397-3742 or 800-680-7289.
Citizens who may be affected will receive a more specific written notice from AccomackCounty. This is Accomack County’s entire comment on this matter pending advance of the ongoing criminal investigation and the internal personnel issue involved.” Board Chairwoman Laura Belle Gordy called for Wednesday’s meeting Eastern Shore Post that afternoon.
The announcement stated that the meeting would be closed and would only be used to discuss personnel. The session started at 5 p.m. and began with the usual prayer and
Pledge of Allegiance. Before a motion was made, Gordy said, “I know we can go into closed session for personnel, but that’s not the real reason.” The attorney suggested
that they also meet under another section of law that allows the group to speak privately with him.
County Administrator Steve Miner defined taxpayer identity as name, Social Security number, perhaps address and the personal property owned. He said real-estate holdings are not in question.
Josh Taylor did not attend the session. Miner, Mason, County Treasurer Dana Bundick, Commissioner of the Revenue Leslie Savage and another IT worker attended the private session.
Asked about the IT Department, Miner said there is only one person “who reports back to me” and others who work in IT are under other departments. He said he is unsure if the
employee in question regularly takes the laptop home. “I’m not sure but suspect the answer is no,” Miner said.
"I don’t provide anyone with Social Security numbers,” Savage explained Thursday. “Josh Taylor has been part of the project team” working on software that provides the county with the capability of twice-a-year billing.
Las Vegas Police Officer Marcus Martin said Josh Taylor reported the incident on Oct. 8. Taylor was staying at the Mandalay Bay, an upscale hotel and casino. Upon awakening that morning
he found that clothing was thrown on the floor and the laptop and a red backpack were gone, Martin said.
An investigation of the electronic entry to the room showed that between 10:53 a.m. and 12:35 p.m. on Oct 7 and from 8:14 p.m. Oct 7 and 9:21 a.m. Oct 8, the door to Room 16122, where he
was staying was “not properly latched.” Martin said it is unclear why. Taylor was out of the room between 8 p.m. Oct 7 and 2 a.m. Oct 8 and hadn’t noticed anything missing or in disarray
upon return. Martin added that the case just landed on a detective’s desk and he had not had time to check a video of the hallways.
“It appears the suspect also drank (the contents of) two mini liquor bottles” while in the room, the officer said.
So, because Mr. Taylor was whooping it up in Las Vegas Accomack taxpayers have endure the risk that private information has been obtained by those other than Accomack County workers. Shame on you, Mr. Taylor, for being so inconsiderate! Keeping hours like those it"s quite apparent that you did not intend on doing any "work" while vacationing.
The county is in bad enough shape without having this happen. Besides, when hard working Accomack County taxpayers pay their taxes we assume our private information is just that. PRIVATE!! Lock those computers to the desks!
REVOKED LICENSE. David Alan Widdowson, 48, of Pocomoke City was issued a citation for driving on a revoked and suspended license on Oct. 5 by Somerset deputies. Deputies rersponded to the area of Whitehaven Ferry road regarding a car in the ditch, and found Widdowson to be the driver. Widowson was released after signing citations.FAILURE TO APPEAR. Richard Nathaniel Armstrong, 42, of Salisbury was taken into police custody on Oct. 5 by Somerset deputies on a warrant for failure to appear in court. Armstrong was later held on a $500.00 bond.
FAILURE TO APPEAR. Ernest Wells, 40, of Princess Anne was taken into police custody on Oct. 6 by Somerset deputies on a warrant for failure to appear in court. Wells was held on a $500.00 bond.
DRUGS. Robert William Handy, 48, of Crisfield was taken into police custody on a Circuit Court indictment for drug possession - not marijuana and narcotics possession with intent to distribute on Oct. 11 by Somerset deputies. Handy was later held on a $75,000 bond.
DRUGS. Clifton Ricardo Fields, 34, of Crisfield was taken into custody on a Circuit Court indictment for drug possession - not marijuana and narcotics possession with intent to distribute on Oct. 11 by Somerset deputies. Fields was later held on a $75,000 bond.
FAILURE TO APPEAR. Quinton Jerome Bailey, 27, of Princess Anne was taken into police custody on Oct. 12 by Somerset deputies on a warrant for failure to appear in court. Bailey was later released on a $10,000 unsecured bond.
PROBATION VIOLATION. Gregory Davis Sterling Jr., 28, was taken into custody by Somerset deputies on Oct. 12 on a bench warrant for violation of probation. Sterling was later held without bond.
FAILURE TO APPEAR. Kenneth Martin Stachowski Jr., 45, of Princess Anne was taken into police custody on Oct. 13 by Somerset deputies on a warrant for failure to appear in court. Stachowski was later released after posting a $500.00 bond.
SUSPENDED LICENSE. Larry Kefford Linton, 40, of Pocomoke City was issued a citation for driving on a suspended out of state drivers license on Oct. 13 by Somerset deputies. Linton was later released after signing citations pending trial.
SUSPENDED LICENSE. Stacey Paulette Holden of Withams Virginia was issued a citation for driving on a suspended out of state license on Oct. 13 by Somerset deputies. Holden was later released after signing citations pending trial.
SUSPENDED REGISTRATION. Elizabeth Anne Cullen, 31, of Marion was issued a citation for driving on a suspended registration on Oct. 13 by Somerset deputies. The Maryland Motor Vehicle placed a police pick up order on the tags for insurance violations. Cullen was later released after signing citations pending trial.
SNOW HILL -- A man charged with murdering his mother by hitting her with a van on a rural Worcester road has pleaded not guilty, and is set to have a jury trial on Jan. 4.Steven Molin, a 58-year-old man from Darby, Pa., was charged after allegedly running over his 85-year-old mother, Emily Belle Molin, with a large work van on Carey Road on Aug. 31.
Police were alerted to the crime when Molin called 911 around midnight to report a serious motor vehicle accident, according to officers from the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation.
Molin later told police he and his mother were riding in his vehicle, which he was driving, when his mother fell out. He told police once he realized she had fallen, he stopped and drove in reverse.
Accident reconstruction specialists looking at the scene were able to tell the elderly woman had been driven over two to three times, police said.
Based on his interview with police and the forensic evidence from the scene, Molin was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter. He is being held without bond in Worcester County Jail.
Worcester County State's Attorney Joel Todd said he is not seeking the death penalty for Molin if he is convicted. Under Maryland law, to press for a sentence of death there must be "aggravating circumstances," such as a robbery or rape, which are not present in this case, Todd said.
Burton Anderson, assistant public defender for Worcester County, is representing Molin. "Because the case is pending before the court, it would be inappropriate for me to make any comment," Anderson said.
Court records show the Public Defender's Office has filed several motions to prepare Molin's defense, including one seeking a transcript of the 911 call made by Molin, as well as copies of all police photographs taken at the scene.
The Public Defender's Office has also filed routine motions to receive pre-trial documents and evidence, including the name and address of each person the state intends to call as a witness, and the criminal history of anyone the state intends to call as a witness or who has been viewed as a suspect.
