What happened this year in St. Mary’s

Former Circuit Judge C. Clarke Raley, 78, died Jan. 16 following 10 years of retirement from serving as a jurist for nearly three decades in St. Mary’s County.

Moll Dyer Rock moved

Tuesday, Feb. 16, was moving day for the famed Moll Dyer rock. It was unveiled at its new location outside Tudor Hall in Leonardtown on Feb. 26.

The rock, which was said to have a handprint of a woman thought to be a witch, was originally “found” by Washington Star newspaper reporter Phillip Love in the woods near the town in 1968 and moved by National guardsmen to a location outside Leonardtown’s Old Jail in 1972.

Fort discovered

In December of 2019, a long sought-after St. Mary’s Fort was located on Mill Field, a tract of land next to Mattapany Road. It was announced on Maryland Day this year on March 25.

The 1.25-acre fort, which was likely constructed in 1634, held hundreds of colonists for a nearly 10-year period in a fortification made to protect the colonists against potential attacks by native people.

Historic St. Mary’s City researchers used ground-penetrating radar technology to find evidence of the fort, and conducted excavations that verified results of a survey.

Somerville, county’s first Black sheriff, dies

Joseph Lee Somerville, who was the first Black sheriff in the state of Maryland and St. Mary’s County, died April 1.

Somerville, 81, was first hired at the St. Mary’s Sheriff’s Office in 1966, and was the first Black deputy there when there were only six deputies on the force. Somerville was appointed to the sheriff’s post by then-Gov. Marvin Mandel (D) in 1977.

When Somerville was running to keep the office in the 1978 election, there had only been six Black sheriffs in the U.S. He won that election by a large margin and became not only the first Black sheriff in the county, but the county’s first Black elected official.

Teen shot dead by trooper in Leonardtown

A 16-year-old Leonardtown High student was shot dead outside a Leonardtown home by a state trooper on April 13.

The St. Mary’s County state’s attorney’s office ultimately decided in October not to press any charges against the trooper, Joseph Azzari, in the death of Peyton Ham. Ham’s family has disputed the decision, and is still calling for justice in the boy’s death.

Prized horse shot dead

“He was huge but a gentle giant.”

With those words, Leonardtown resident Cheryl Bean described her beloved late horse, Leggs, who died after being illegally shot with a .22 caliber weapon on June 20. Leggs, who was 18, was one of 15 horses at Moll Dyer Farm where Bean gives trail rides. The horse was also used at children’s camps and other venues.

On Monday, June 21, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office investigated the report of animal cruelty at the farm. The case was not solved. Tips can be shared through Crime Solvers by calling 301-475-3333 or through the sheriff’s office at 301-475-4040.

Stokes found guilty of manslaughter in crash

An Indian Head man who turned 21 on Aug. 16 was convicted of vehicular manslaughter by a jury Aug. 5 following a two-day trial.

The jury also found Avery Leslie Stokes not guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a 63-year-old hitchhiker Thomas E. Douglass.

Stokes, who was with his then-girlfriend Alexandra C. Howard at the time, picked up Douglass before he crashed his vehicle into a tree in a rural Mechanicsville area on May 18, 2019. Stokes and Howard were treated for their injuries, but Douglass was pronounced dead at the scene.

Stokes was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Sept. 10 and given credit for 393 days in jail.

Callaway man gets life for murder of wife

Timothy Christian Wagner, 38 of Callaway was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole on Aug. 13 for the first-degree murder of his wife.

On Feb. 2, 2020, Wagner shot and killed his 29-year-old wife, Felicia Renee Wagner, four times while she slept. According to a charging document, Wagner called 911 the night of the shooting and confessed to killing his wife.

Prior to the sentencing, defense attorney Bradley MacFee noted that his client had lived “the picture of a law-abiding life” and didn’t even have a speeding ticket. Wagner had a high-level security clearance at a naval base, MacFee said.

Wagner earlier pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney Richard Fritz (R) agreed to not ask for life without parole.

“This man has got to have some mental health problem. On the surface, we’re in Ozzie and Harriet land,” MacFee said.

After the court hearing, Fritz said Wagner wouldn’t be eligible for parole for at least 25 years. As to motive, Fritz called Wagner “a bit socially awkward” and was “thinking he was going to lose his job.”

Gator found living in county

An alligator had been living in a small lake in St. Mary’s County. That was the word last summer from Stephen Walker, the director of the county’s emergency services department.

In August, Walker said the county was informed about a year prior of the possible existence of the gator. “We didn’t think much of it” at the time, Walker said. However, Dave Edwards of Gentle Hands Wildlife Services of Hollywood produced a video that Walker said he watched.

“I saw something move across the water. I think he’s a credible source,” Walker said, noting Edwards was getting permits so he could trap and then transport the reptile to Florida.

“We don’t want 87 rednecks going in there and trying to shoot up the area,” Edwards said. “It’s going to a preserve in Florida.”

There is no law against hunting alligators in Maryland, but Walker said he didn’t want the reptile to be killed.

In June, Southern Maryland News reported that Chesapeake Ranch Estates resident William Adams trapped and then killed a 7-foot alligator with a crossbow in a pond in the southern Calvert County neighborhood.

Campus SMART building opens

The $86 million Southern Maryland Autonomous Research and Technology, or SMART, building was featured in a grand opening on Oct. 15 at the University System of Maryland Southern Maryland campus in California.

Eileen Abel, the executive director of the higher education center, told the St. Mary’s County commissioners during an August presentation that “the SMART building is not just a building, but a way to rethink education.”

Commissioner President Randy Guy (R) called the building “the leading edge of technology” and said, “This is a tremendous edge for us.”

The 84,000-square-foot building is the third building on the regional campus, which is located on Airport Road next to the St. Mary’s airport.

Man charged in couple’s death

Aleksandar A. Ivanchev, 39, of Lexington Park faces second-degree murder charges following a two-vehicle crash on July 30 on Route 5 near Golden Beach Road.

Ivanchev was driving a 2008 Subaru Outback that allegedly ran a red light and struck a 2005 Ford Escape. The two occupants of the Escape, Shawn Douglas Bailey, 27, and Melody Ann Russell, 29, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their vehicle was engulfed in flames when officers arrived.

Former Marine gets 3-plus years

A 32-year-old former U.S. Marine was given a sentence of three years and five months on Nov. 5 for one count of sexual abuse of a child in the household.

Gilbert Estevez was convicted at trial in June of only one charge after jurors deadlocked on six other charges, including four counts of rape.

The female victim was 8 at the time of the offense, prosecuting attorney Sarah Proctor said.

Judge David W. Densford noted that there were several anomalies in the case. He said the jury agreed that a crime occurred, but couldn’t agree on exactly what happened.

Defense attorney Bradley Warby noted that Estevez has no prior criminal convictions, was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps and had been working as a defense contractor at Naval Air Station Patuxent River at the time of his arrest in September 2019.

“This family started to fall apart when in Arizona,” Densford said, referring to where their 2-year-old died from heat exhaustion.

Mechanicsville couple faces 34 animal cruelty charges

A Mechanicsville man and a woman each face 34 animal cruelty charges, along with several counts of either child abuse, assault or neglect.

Austin Lee Tippett, 28, is charged with two counts of felony child abuse and two counts each of misdemeanor assault and child neglect. Heather Amanda Tippett, 31, faces four counts of child neglect.

Child Protective Services received a referral on Oct. 5 about a 5-year-old boy who came to school with his bottom lip split open, a charging document states. Austin Tippett allegedly struck the boy with a closed fist, according to the document.

According to a statement filed by St. Mary’s sheriff’s office Cpl. Taylore Nauman, when police and a Child Protective Services employee arrived at a home in the 28400 block of Lockes Hill Road in Mechanicsville, they were hit with a “foul smell” when they arrived on the property. Upon entering the house, the smell was “horrific” and living conditions were “deplorable.”

A total of 37 dogs and the pig were confiscated and taken to the Tri-County Animal Shelter. Several of the dogs were allegedly underweight, along with the pig.

Gravel pit approved

Despite overwhelming opposition from the community, the St. Mary’s County Board of Appeals approved a gravel pit in Mechanicsville on Nov. 18.

The vote to approve the request was 3-2 with a number of conditions. The gravel pit would be on 150.69 acres at 26901 Morganza-Turner Road.

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