Tag Archives: aberdeen

ANOTHER STRONG SENTENCE FOR A VIOLENT FELONY CONVICTION: 70 YEARS TO SERVE

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, Gary Dashon Davenport, 44, of Edgewood, was found guilty of First Degree Assault, Second Degree Assault, Illegal Possession of a Firearm By a Person with a Felony Conviction, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence, Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting a Handgun on a Person, and Transporting a Handgun in a Vehicle following a two-day jury trial before the Honorable Yolanda Curtin.

Evidence presented in trial showed that on August 11, 2023, officers of the Aberdeen Police Department responded to Horizon Cinemas for reports of an assault with a weapon. Upon arrival, officers learned that a red Kia arrived at the movie theater and entered the parking lot at a high rate of speed. Gary Dashon Davenport was in the passenger seat of that vehicle. Officers reviewed surveillance footage from the Horizon Cinema and Aberdeen Marketplace, which showed Davenport and another individual exiting the vehicle, running into the theater, and chasing after a group of juveniles. Upon exiting the theater, Davenport was observed removing a firearm from a black satchel, holding it down by his side and hunting the juveniles through the parking lot. Davenport’s accomplice re-entered the Kia, weaving throughout the parking lot directly towards the fleeing juveniles. Eventually, Davenport re-entered the Kia and continued to chase the juveniles to the rear of Aberdeen Marketplace and into the parking lot of Aberdeen Proving Ground Federal Credit Union where witnesses heard a gunshot. Officers of the Aberdeen Police Department were able to recover one .40 cal. shell casing at the entrance to the APGFCU parking lot where the red Kia entered. Surveillance footage showed the juveniles reacting to the gunshot and running in the opposite direction with one juvenile hiding behind an electrical box for cover. Det. Soto of the Aberdeen Police Department Criminal Investigation Division investigated the matter and was able to identify Davenport as the individual who chased the juveniles with the handgun. Additionally, a Search and Seizure warrant was executed, and clothing matching what Davenport was wearing on the night of the offense was recovered. Evidence presented also showed that Gary Dashon Davenport is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his previous conviction for Second Degree Murder in 2008. At the time of this incident, Davenport was on parole for that offense after being released from custody in 2022.

At the sentencing hearing on Thursday, March 7, 2024, Assistant State’s Attorney Jeremy Brooks argued for the maximum sentence in this case, which is an upward deviation from the 10 to 15 year sentence calculated by the Maryland Automated Sentencing Guidelines. Mr. Brooks further argued that the court needed to send a strong message that “shows the citizens of Harford County that violence against children will not be tolerated.” He added that given the nature of this offense, as well as the prior violent felony conviction, the upward deviation in sentencing was appropriate.
Ultimately, Davenport was sentenced by the Honorable Yolanda Curtin to the maximum penalty allowable by law – 60 years to serve, with the first 20 years being mandatory and without the possibility of parole. In addition, as a result of the conviction in this case, Davenport was also found in violation of probation in the 2008 Second Degree Murder case. At the request of Assistant State’s Attorney Vincenzo Culotta, the court further imposed the remaining 10 years of that sentence as a result of the violation and ordered that it be served consecutively to the sentence in this case, for a total sentence of 70 years to serve. Davenport’s accomplice has also been charged and is pending trial in this matter. The trial is scheduled for later this year.

Following the sentencing, State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey issued the following statement: “From an evidentiary standpoint, this case was challenging, but as our office has proven repeatedly, we will not shy away from bringing tough cases to trial, and we will do so successfully. Justice prevailed when the jury returned guilty verdicts in this case, and our citizens are safer for it. The citizens of this county should be free to take their children to the movies without the threat of gunfire and without any fear for their safety. This kind of violent criminal behavior that puts innocent people at risk will not be tolerated in our community. I commend Assistant State’s Attorney Jeremy Brooks and Assistant State’s Attorney Vincenzo Culotta for their incredibly hard work in this case to ensure that this Defendant, who already has a history of extreme violence, is incarcerated for the maximum time allowable by law.”

State’s Attorney Healey continued by expressing her gratitude to Detective Soto, Officer Kinlaw, and the other members of the Aberdeen Police Department that worked tirelessly to investigate this case and to ensure that those responsible were charged and held accountable.

ABERDEEN MAN GUILTY OF FIRST DEGREE RAPE – STATE TO SEEK 85 YEARS TO SERVE

RE: State of Maryland vs. Tavon Isaiah Harvey
On Monday, October 23, 2023, Tavon Isaiah Harvey, 29, of Aberdeen, Maryland pled guilty in three separate cases before the Honorable Kevin J. Mahoney. Harvey pled guilty in the most serious case to one count of First Degree Rape. In the other two cases, Harvey pled guilty to one count of an Inmate Causing Contact with Bodily Fluid and entered into an admission to violating probation for a prior conviction for Second Degree Assault (the equivalent of a guilty plea for a Violation of Probation proceeding).

Facts presented to the court in support of the guilty plea on the charge of First Degree Rape revealed that on December 30, 2022, the victim reported a rape to the Aberdeen Police Department. Officer Haddix assumed the investigation which revealed Harvey vaginally and anally penetrated the victim over the course of two hours between midnight and 2 A.M. that same date. The victim identified Harvey via an MVA photograph and further reported seeing Harvey watching her walk into the police precinct that morning wearing the same clothes, a distinctive red sweatsuit. The rape occurred inside an abandoned building at 18 N. Law Street in Aberdeen. Harvey held the victim at knifepoint during the rape and also strangled her. The victim was able to escape when another individual entered the abandoned house, distracting Harvey. Harvey was Mirandized and gave several conflicting versions of events, to include that he had not seen the victim and only knew her in passing. A Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (“SAFE”) was conducted, evidencing injuries and bruising consistent with the victim’s recitation of events. DNA evidence was also collected during the SAFE exam, which confirmed Harvey’s identity as the assailant.

In Harvey’s second case, evidence showed that on April 8, 2023, while being held at the Harford County Detention Center awaiting trial, Harvey used empty bottles from his shower items to collect fecal matter, which he then sprayed over the bars and walls of the day room during shift change. Responding deputies and correctional officers were forced to decontaminate the area.
Harvey remains held without bond at the Harford County Detention Center while awaiting sentencing which is currently scheduled for January 25, 2024. Pursuant to the plea agreement in the First Degree Rape case, the State will be arguing for a sentence of Life suspend all but eighty-five (85) years of active incarceration to serve.
At the conclusion of the proceedings, State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey offered the following comment: “Harford County has no place for violent criminal offenders like Tavon Harvey. The egregious acts that were perpetrated upon his victim in the rape case were nothing short of horrific. It is my sincere hope that the First Degree Rape conviction will give the victim some relief that justice was served as she closes this chapter and begins to heal. Mr. Harvey’s blatant disregard for others as demonstrated in all three of these cases
sends a clear message that he should be removed from our community for as much of the remainder of his life as possible, if not all of it, so he cannot continue to harm the citizens of our community. Our office continues to repeatedly send the message that we will not tolerate criminal behavior in Harford County.”

Ms. Healey continued on to express her gratitude to Deputy State’s Attorney Trenna Manners for her hard work in securing this plea agreements in these cases, for her advocacy on behalf of the victims, and for ensuring that another violent criminal is removed from the streets of Harford County. She also thanks Officer Haddix and the Aberdeen Police Department for their diligence in the investigation of the rape case and the correctional staff at the Harford County Detention Center for their efforts in the Bodily Fluids case and in housing Harvey while awaiting trial.

ABDERDEEN WOMAN CONVICTED OF MULTIPLE ASSAULT OF CHARGES

Ieshia Smiley, 40, of Aberdeen, Maryland was convicted on April 18, 2023 of First Degree Assault, Second Degree Assault, and Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Assault following a two-day jury trial in the Circuit Court for Harford County. The case originated following a report of a stabbing that occurred in the Unit Block of N. Philadelphia Boulevard in Aberdeen, Maryland on October 27, 2022.

Evidence at trial before the Honorable Judge M. Elizabeth Bowen established that officers from the Aberdeen Police Department were dispatched to the Exxon at 7 N. Philadelphia Boulevard at approximately 5:38 p.m. Officers initially met with Smiley and a co-defendant who acknowledged being in a fight with the victim. Witnesses at trial testified that Smiley and the co-defendant approached the victim as she was leaving the Exxon and confronted the victim about $10. Smiley and the co-defendant then began to attack the victim using a knife and, what were believed to be, brass knuckles. The victim was believed to be stabbed in the head two times suffering lacerations to her head, a contusion to her forehead, and the loss of three teeth.

A portion of the incident was captured on Exxon’s video surveillance system and was introduced at trial. Three knives were recovered at the scene, with one being located near Smiley and the co-defendant, which had a strand of hair on it that was the same color as the victim’s.

Smiley is being held without bail pending sentencing. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 26, 2023. Smiley faces up to twenty five years of incarceration for First Degree Assault and twenty five years of incarceration for Conspiracy to Commit First Degree Assault. The Second Degree Assault conviction will merge into First Degree Assault for purposes of sentencing. Smiley also faces a Violation of Probation for an unrelated First Degree Assault.

State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey said after the jury’s verdict: “The permanent injuries the victim sustained during this violent crime are deplorable, and in Harford County, we will not tolerate injuries of any kind being perpetrated upon our citizens, and especially not injuries of this magnitude. My office continues to demonstrate that we are aggressively pursuing violent offenders to remove them from our community. I commend the victim in this case for her courage to stand up against a Defendant who committed a horrific crime against her by providing compelling testimony that was supported by the independent evidence, resulting in this significant verdict.”

Ms. Healey thanks Deputy State’s Attorney David W. Ryden for his hard work and pursuit of justice for the victim in this case. In addition, she thanks Officer Epps, Corporal Hoffman, and Detective Soto from the Aberdeen Police Department for rapidly responding to render aid to the victim and for securing evidence during their investigation leading to Smiley’s arrest and conviction.

Baltimore Man Convicted of Possession With Intent to Distribute Cocaine

MEDIA RELEASE

DATE: March 21, 2022

Conviction of Sterling Anton Melton
(Bel Air, Maryland) – Albert J. Peisinger, Jr., State’s Attorney for Harford County, has announced the conviction of Sterling Anton Melton, 35, of Baltimore, Maryland, for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

On February 25, 2020, Detectives from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office received information that a man was selling illegal narcotics from an apartment at the Stay Inn and Suites, located at 636 S. Philadelphia Boulevard in Aberdeen. Working with the Aberdeen Police Department, Detectives from both agencies conducted covert surveillance on the Stay Inn and Suites and observed what appeared to be illicit narcotics activity, specifically originating from room 117. Based upon this information, Detectives sought and obtained a search and seizure warrant.

On March 3, 2020, Detectives from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the Aberdeen Police Department conducted further surveillance on room 117 and observed the suspected dealer, later identified as Sterling Anton Melton, leave the room and get into a waiting vehicle. That vehicle was then stopped and Mr. Melton was taken into custody. The subsequent search of room 117 resulted in the recovery of approximately seven grams for crack cocaine, as well as marijuana, and three loaded handguns. A search incident to the arrest of Sterling Melton resulted in the additional recovery of approximately 16 grams of crack cocaine from his person.

On March 21, 2022, the Honorable Paul W. Ishak imposed a total sentence of twenty (20) years suspending all but fourteen (14) years to be served at the Division of Correction. Upon release, Mr. Melton will be on three (3) years of supervised probation.

“This conviction serves as yet another reminder that my Office works closely with our law enforcement partners from across Harford County to pursue persons involved in the sale of dangerous drugs and hold them accountable,” said Harford County State’s Attorney Albert Peisinger, Jr. “We will take whatever steps are necessary to remove illegal guns and narcotics from our communities and make our neighborhoods safe.”

Mr. Peisinger thanked Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Jaskulski-Tripp who prosecuted this matter and commended the Harford County Sheriff’s Office and the Aberdeen Police Department for their teamwork and dedication to conducting the investigation which resulted in the arrest and conviction of Sterling Anton Melton.

TWO HARFORD COUNTY COCAINE DEALERS CONVICTED AFTER FEDERAL TRIAL FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN A DRUG DISTRIBUTION CONSPIRACY

U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Maryland
Erek L. Barron 36 South Charles Street 410-209-4800
United States Attorney4th Floor TTY/TDD: 410-962-4462
Baltimore, Maryland 21201 410-209-4885
Marcia A. Murphy FAX 410-962-3091
Public Affairs Specialist Marcia.Murphy@usdoj.gov
March 11, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact MARCIA MURPHY
www.justice.gov/usao/md at (410) 209-4854

TWO HARFORD COUNTY COCAINE DEALERS CONVICTED AFTER FEDERAL TRIAL FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN A DRUG DISTRIBUTION CONSPIRACY

Baltimore, Maryland – A federal jury convicted Che Jaron Durbin, age 43, of Aberdeen, Maryland and Terrell Darnell Walton, age 36, of Delaware, yesterday on federal charges related to their participation in a drug trafficking organization distributing cocaine and crack cocaine in Harford County, Maryland. Specifically, the jury convicted Durbin and Walton for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. The jury also found Durbin guilty of two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

The guilty verdict was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Harford County State’s Attorney Albert J. Peisinger, Jr.; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office; and the Harford County Drug Task Force, a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program, comprised of members of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, the Aberdeen Police Department, the Bel Air Police Department, and the Havre de Grace Police Department.

According to evidence presented at the eight-day trial, in May 2019, members of the Harford County Drug Task Force were investigating Durbin, who was suspected of drug trafficking in the Harford County area. Durbin testified at trial that he had a previous federal drug trafficking conviction in Maryland, as well as a previous conviction in Harford County Circuit Court for drug trafficking.

Witnesses testified that on May 17, 2019, a U.S. Postal Inspector notified detectives that a suspicious package was en route to Durbin’s mother’s apartment in Aberdeen, Maryland. Detectives watched as a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier delivered the parcel to Durbin, who took it into the apartment. A short time later, a woman, later identified as co-defendant Jameka Cara Thompson, left the apartment with the parcel and drove to her home. Law enforcement detained Thompson and obtained a search warrant for her vehicle. The parcel was found to contain one kilogram of compressed cocaine. Further investigation revealed that co-defendant Jack Anderson from Tucson, Arizona was the sender of the package.

On January 22, 2020, law enforcement learned from U.S. Postal Inspectors that Durbin sent a parcel from Havre de Grace, Maryland, addressed to Anderson in Tucson, Arizona. A search warrant was obtained for the parcel after a K9 gave a positive alert. The parcel contained $82,300 in cash inside a wireless headphones box.

In February 2020, as part of the investigation, law enforcement intercepted Durbin’s
communications, as well as those of Anderson, Walton, and other co-defendants to whom Durbin supplied cocaine and crack. The evidence at trial also showed that Walton obtained cocaine from Durbin, which Walton then sold to a network of individuals in Harford County. Intercepted communications between Durbin and Walton included discussions regarding the amounts of drugs and the price, often using coded language.

According to trial testimony, in May 2020, law enforcement surveilled Durbin meeting with Anderson at a Tucson, Arizona hotel. Soon after the meeting, Durbin picked Thompson up at the Tucson Airport and drove her back to his hotel room. Durbin flew back to Maryland the next day and Thompson ultimately obtained a bulk supply of cocaine from Anderson on Durbin’s behalf. Thompson drove cross-country from Arizona to Harford County, where she was arrested on May 12, 2020. Law enforcement searched her vehicle, seizing an additional 1.4 kilograms of cocaine. Durbin was also arrested. According to trial testimony, over the course of the conspiracy Thompson made at least eight similar trips on Durbin’s behalf, transporting almost 40 kilograms of cocaine to Maryland for Durbin to distribute.

Durbin and Walton each face a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. Durbin also faces a maximum of 40 years in federal prison for each of two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has not scheduled sentencing dates for Durbin or Walton.

Co-defendant Jack Anderson IV, age 45, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced to 126 months in federal prison in December 2021, after Anderson entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Co-defendants Jameka Cara Thompson, age 41, of Abingdon, Maryland; Garrick Devlon Jackson, age 39, of Havre de Grace, Maryland; and Michael Ronnell Wells, age 37, of Forest Hill, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy and are awaiting sentencing.

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the Harford County State’s Attorney’s Office, the DEA, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Harford County Drug Task Force for their work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for its assistance. Mr. Barron thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Romano and Jason X. Hamilton, who are prosecuting the case.

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/project-safe-neighborhoods-psnexile and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

Aberdeen Man Convicted of Possessing Handguns and Large Amounts of Fentanyl

MEDIA RELEASE
DATE: March 10, 2022
RE: Conviction of Adrian Lamar Goodwin

(Bel Air, Maryland) – Albert J. Peisinger, Jr., State’s Attorney for Harford County, has announced the conviction of Adrian Lamar Goodwin, 36, of Aberdeen, Maryland, for possession of fentanyl in the amount of five grams or more and for possession of a regulated firearm after having been convicted a disqualifying crime.

In February 2020, the Harford County Narcotics Task Force began an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in Harford County, Maryland. Utilizing court ordered surveillance, investigators determined that a drug trafficking organization was transporting cocaine from Tucson, Arizona into Harford County for redistribution. Multiple co-conspirators were identified in this criminal enterprise including Adrian Lamar Goodwin. After numerous hours of surveillance, investigators were able to identify several residences utilized daily by the coconspirators, including a house located at 620 S. Freedom Lane in Havre de Grace, Maryland, where detectives observed numerous actions consistent with the drug trade. Over the course of the investigation, Adrian Lamar Goodwin was identified as one of only two people who had a key to this residence. Mr. Goodwin was observed at this house almost daily using a key to enter the location. Additionally, between April and May 2020, Mr. Goodwin was the only individual spending the night.

On May 12, 2020, a search and seizure warrant was executed at 620 S. Freedom Lane and Adrian Lamar Goodwin was inside one of the bedrooms. In that same bedroom, inside the dresser was a prescription pill bottle with no label containing 69 greenish pills with a weight of approximately 7.5 grams that were later determined by the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division to be fentanyl. These pills had been pressed to look like oxycodone. Also located within the residence in the other bedroom was a bag containing three handguns and ammunition.

On March 9, 2022, the Honorable Paul W. Ishak sentenced Adrian Lamar Goodwin to twenty years suspending all but fourteen years of which the first five are to be served without the possibility of parole for possession of Fentanyl in the amount of five grams or more and to five years without the possibility of parole for possession of a regulated firearm after having been convicted of a disqualifying crime to be served concurrently in the Division of Corrections.

“According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, a fatal dose of fentanyl is approximately two milligrams, making it one of the most dangerous narcotics illegally trafficked today,” said Harford County State’s Attorney Albert J. Peisinger, Jr. “The actions of the Harford County Narcotics Task Force have saved many lives by taking off of the streets enough fentanyl to kill thousands of people and removing the drug dealer responsible from our community.”

Mr. Peisinger thanked Assistant State’s Attorneys Jennifer Jaskulski-Tripp and Christopher J. Romano who prosecuted this matter and commended the Harford County Narcotics Task Force, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Aberdeen Police Department, the Havre de Grace Police Department, the Bel Air Police Department, the Cecil County Drug Task Force, the DEA, the U.S. Postal Inspectors Office and the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division for their teamwork and dedication which resulted in the arrest and conviction of Adrian Lamar Goodwin.

Aberdeen Man Sentenced to Life in 2018 Murder

DATE: June 1, 2021
RE: Homicide Sentencing

(Bel Air, Maryland) – Albert J. Peisinger, Jr., State’s Attorney for Harford County, has announced the sentencing of Joseph Daniel Parrish, 28, from Aberdeen, Maryland, for murder in the first degree, witness retaliation and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

On November 11, 2018, officers of the Havre de Grace Police Department responded to the 200 block of North Washington Street in Havre de Grace, Maryland following a report of an individual suffering from a laceration. Upon arrival, officers discovered that the victim, 61 year-old Jeffrey Coudon, had sustained gunshot wounds. Despite immediate life-saving efforts and transport of Mr. Coudon to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma, he succumbed to his injuries three days later on November 14, 2018. Following an extensive investigation, two individuals, Robert Lee Zeman, III, 34, from Havre de Grace, Maryland and Mr. Parrish were identified and arrested in April of 2019. Mr. Zeman was convicted on February 14, 2020 for being an accessory to the murder.

Following a lengthy trial in the Circuit Court for Harford County before the Honorable Paul W. Ishak, Mr. Parrish was found guilty by a jury on October 17, 2019. The case was prosecuted by Assistant State’s Attorneys Timothy Doory and Gabriella Vazzana.

Today, following the presentation of statements by friends and family of the victim, the Court sentenced Mr. Parrish to life in prison for the first degree murder, 20 years for witness retaliation and 20 years for the firearm charge, both of which are to be served consecutive to each other and to the murder.

The Office of the State’s Attorney for Harford County expresses its deepest sympathy and condolences to Mr.
Coudon’s family and friends for their unimaginable loss.