Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office – 2022 Year in Review

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CALVERT COUNTY STATE’S ATTORNEY’S OFFICE (SAO)

2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  1. Significant Prosecutions

 

  • Harold Bernard Gross was convicted of possession of fentanyl in large volume and, on November 14, 2022, was sentenced to 5 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

 

  • Travis Benjamin Ridgely was convicted of the first degree premeditated murder of Selena Noel Persinger and was sentenced on November 14, 2022 to life imprisonment suspended to 35 years of active incarceration. Ridgely will not be eligible for parole until he has served at least 20 years of his sentence.

 

  • Ancil Tony Hamrick, convicted in 2001 of the premeditated murder of Darlene Turley, lost his bid to have his sentence reduced. Hamrick will continue to serve a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder, plus 20 additional years for burglary.

 

  • Jeffrey Scott Osborne was convicted of attempted second degree murder and sentenced on September 26, 2022, to 30 years imprisonment suspended to 13 years of active incarceration. Osborne must serve at least ½ of his sentence before becoming parole eligible.

 

  • Steven Terrell Wheeler of Beltsville, MD, was sentenced on September 26, 2022, to 12 years imprisonment for the crime of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Wheeler also received an additional 7 years for a violation of probation.

 

  • Ryan Christopher Carpenter was convicted of second degree rape and sentenced to 14 years of active incarceration.

 

  • Bryce Everett-Earl Goggins was convicted of the armed robbery of the Fastop in North Beach and was sentenced to 20 years incarceration on April 4, 2022. The first 5 years of the sentence must be served without the possibility of parole.

 

  • Rodney Carlton Rance of Lusby was sentenced to 3½ years in prison for his role in a major dogfighting ring in Southern Maryland. Rance was convicted of 14 counts of felony animal abuse.

 

  • 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. Baugher will not be eligible for parole consideration until he is 71 years old.

 

  • Christopher Morgan Hynson was sentenced to 10 years incarceration on January 24, 2022, for the crime of vehicular manslaughter.

 

 

  1. Community Outreach

 

  • On October 7, 2022, the State’s Attorney’s Office began its Student Shadowing Program. The Program permits Calvert County high school students the opportunity to accompany prosecutors into court and observe courtroom proceedings.

 

  • For the second year in a row, the Office participated in the Day of Law Event. This event brings home-schooled students and their parents to the courthouse to learn about the criminal justice system.

 

  • The State’s Attorney’s Office participated in a number of community events to include the Calvert County Fair, the National Night-Out Program, Neighborhood Watch, the Juneteenth Celebration at Jefferson Patterson Park, the Domestic Violence Victims Vigil on the courthouse lawn, the Women’s Health Fair at the hospital, and numerous Chamber of Commerce events.

 

  • Prosecutors made presentations to criminal justice students at all four Calvert County high schools.

 

  • State’s Attorney Harvey attended meetings of the White Sands and Kenwood Beach homeowners’ associations.

 

  • Prosecutors attended the regular monthly meetings of the Calvert County Bar Association. This year’s meetings included presentations by Chief Judge John Morrissey of the Maryland District Court and Margaret Phipps, Register of Wills, among others.

 

  1. Policy and Training

 

  • State’s Attorney Harvey and ASA Christopher Monte provided a total of 24 hours of training to Sheriff’s Office deputies on the proper procedures for obtaining blood specimens in impaired driving cases involving fatalities or serious bodily injury. The training was provided in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit.

 

  • Prosecutors provided 26 hours of training at the Southern Maryland Criminal Justice Academy on recent developments in criminal law and procedure.

 

  • The Office continued its in-house training program for attorneys. Retired Judge Michael P. Whalen made presentations on the law regarding search and seizure and opening and closing statements in criminal trials.

 

  • From June 12-15, 2022, 17 staff members attended the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association (MSAA) Summer Conference in Ocean City for three days of training.

 

  • On April 28, 2022, State’s Attorney Harvey and several other attorneys and staff members attended a Human Trafficking Conference at the College of Southern Maryland. The Conference was instructed by members of the Federal and State Human Trafficking Task Force.

 

  • Staff members attended a number of training programs outside of the office to include:
    • DSA Timothy Maher, Homicide Prosecutions, National District Attorneys’ Association (NDAA), Chicago, IL, 6/27/22 – 7/1/22.
    • ASA’s April Brown and Sierrah Beeler, Street Gang Prosecutions, National Gang Center, Gaithersburg, MD, 6/28-29/22.
    • Victim Advocate Tammie Terrell, Administrative Staff Training, MSAA, Linthicum Heights, MD, 9/20/22.
    • ASA Patrick Cathro, Trial Advocacy, MSAA, Linthicum Heights, MD, 10/11-13/22.
    • ASA Elsie Coale, Breaking the Cycle of Violence, NDAA, San Diego, CA, 10/24-28/22.
    • ASA Elsie Coale, Animal Abuse Leadership Summit, Phoenix, MD, 11/4/22.
    • ASA’s Lee Bell and Christopher Monte, Crime Scene to Courtroom, NDAA, Orlando, FL, 11/7-9-22.
    • ASA Kyle Tores, Criminal law Update, MD State Bar Association, Hanover, MD, 11/17/22.

 

  1. Awards

 

  • ASA Christopher Monte received the Victoria Gelfman Legal Excellence Award from the MSAA. The Award, which includes a $5,000 stipend, is given annually to one Maryland prosecutor in recognition of his/her outstanding contributions to the legal profession.

 

  • ASA Elsie Coale was awarded a scholarship, funded by the NFL Foundation, to attend the Breaking the Cycle of Violence Conference in San Diego, CA, on October 24-28, 2022.

 

  • ASA Lee Bell was the recipient of the annual Optimist Club Respect for Law Award presented on September 12, 2022.

 

  • The State’s Attorney’s Office Child Support Division was recognized as being number one in the State of Maryland in percent of child support collected and arrears paid.

 

  1. Diversion Programs

 

  • In August, the Calvert County Adult Treatment Program, aka drug court, graduated 11 participants. Since 2020, 84 individuals have graduated from this program with a recidivism rate of 9.5%.  The typical recidivism rate for drug offenders, according the Bureau of Justice Statistics, is 59%, providing evidence that the drug court is working.

 

  • Work began on an initiative to improve the services available to military veterans through the drug court and mental health court dockets.

 

  1. Policies and Procedures

 

  • Written policies were issued to staff members regarding methods for conducting Grand Jury investigations and for collecting restitution payments.

 

  • A written policy was developed and issued, in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit, for the obtaining of blood specimens from suspects involved in fatal auto collisions.

 

  1. Personnel

 

  • ASA Anthony Navalaney joined the Office as a prosecutor in the Domestic Violence Unit.

 

  • ASA Bryan Jones was hired as a prosecutor in the District Court Division.

 

  • Dimitra Milne was brought on as the new front desk receptionist in District Court, replacing Teresa Weeks who was promoted to another position within the office.