Month: March 2022

Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert Harvey is pleased to announce that law enforcement has taken down a major dogfighting ring operating in Southern Maryland.  Rodney Carlton Rance, 53, of Lusby, was sentenced on March 28, 2022 to 3 years and 6 months of active imprisonment to be served at the Department of Corrections for 14 counts of felony dogfighting.  Rance was also ordered to pay $84,056 in restitution to Calvert County Animal Control.  Following his release, Rance will be placed on a 5 year term of supervised probation at which time he is prohibited from possessing, residing with, or owning any animals.  Any violation of that probation could result in the imposition of an additional 38 years of incarceration.  The sentence, imposed by the Honorable Mark S. Chandlee of the Circuit Court, represents the highest limit of the sentencing guideline range for the offenses.  Rance’s co-defendant, Charles Henry Hall, 44, of Chaptico, was sentenced on March 14, 2022 to 4 months of active imprisonment for 2 counts of dogfighting.

These charges are the result of a collaborative effort between the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, St. Mary’s County Animal Control, Humane Rescue Alliance, and the Calvert County Animal Cruelty Task Force, comprised of members of the Sheriff’s Office, Animal Control, and the State’s Attorney’s Office.  State’s Attorney Robert Harvey would like to extend special recognition to Detective Jernigan of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, Deputy Director Dowd of Calvert County Animal Control, Chris Schindler, Vice President of Field Services for the Humane Rescue Alliance and Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Christopher J. Monte, for their efforts in investigating and securing a conviction in this case.

James Eric Baugher, 56, of Lusby, was sentenced on March 25, 2022, to 30 years imprisonment for sex offenses that he committed over a 7-year period with a minor child.  The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Mark S. Chandlee of the Calvert County Circuit Court.  Baugher will not be eligible for parole until he has served at least 15 years of his sentence, at which point he will be 71 years old.  He will also be subject to lifetime supervision as a sex offender and lifetime registration on the sex offender registry.  State’s Attorney Robert Harvey would like to commend Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Rebecca N. Cordero for her outstanding work on behalf of the victim, the victim’s family, and the citizens of Calvert County.

On March 16, 2022, Bryce Everett-Earl Goggins, 30, of St. Leonard, entered a guilty plea in Calvert County Circuit Court to two counts of armed robbery and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.  Goggins was charged in connection with a robbery that occurred on October 19, 2021, at the Fastop in North Beach in which $380 was taken.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 4, 2022.  Goggins is facing a maximum of 60 years incarceration, 5 of which must be served without the possibility of parole.  He is also facing an additional 6 years for a violation of probation.  The case is being prosecuted by Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert Harvey.

Donte Terrell Jones, of Owings, MD, was sentenced on February 28, 2022, to 25 years imprisonment, with all but 7 years of active incarceration suspended, followed by 5 years of supervised probation.  The sentence was imposed for a first degree assault that occurred in July 4, 2021, in which the victim was seriously injured in a knife attack.  According to Calvert County State’s Attorney Robert Harvey, the Stare requested a sentence in excess of the Maryland Sentencing Guidelines, which recommended 4-9 years.   Because first degree assault is a crime of violence, Jones must serve at least 1/2 of his sentence before becoming parole eligible.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorney Lee A. Bell.