Rockville Criminal Defense Blog

Assault is a very serious crime in the state of Maryland. Anyone accused of assault will have to work hard and be aggressively represented in order to avoid serious penalties. A teenager who recently was arrested and charged with multiple counts of assault will now have to contemplate this for himself.

The young man was charged with both first- and second-degree assault in the wake of an apparent road rage incident earlier this month. Another driver told police that someone had taken a rifle from the car he was driving and pointed it at the man after a dispute on the road in Rockville, Maryland. The police had little trouble apprehending the man because the other motorist gave authorities a description of the armed man and his vehicle, as well as the license plate number of that vehicle.

A 23-year-old man from Silver Spring, Maryland, recently entered an Alford plea in county circuit court. He was initially charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and attempted first- and second-degree murder, in addition to gun charges. His plea, which only admitted to second-degree murder and the use of a handgun in a violent crime, allowed him to maintain his innocence but conceded that prosecutors could have convicted him. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

The alleged crime involved a botched drug deal that took place outside the Marley Station shopping mall near the food court. According to police, the man met with two other men -- one of whom was from Snow Hill, Maryland -- on March 29, 2011. Allegedly, the 23-year-old got into the vehicle where the other two men were waiting and exchanged drugs for cash.

Two individuals were arrested late in 2009 after leaving a bar in Baltimore. They were taken into custody by four policemen, who alleged that one of the two, a 32-year-old male, had committed second-degree assault during an altercation with two of the officers. Recently, the 30-year-old female who was arrested with the male has filed a lawsuit against Baltimore County, accusing the arresting officers and the Baltimore County Police Department of assaulting her and violating her constitutional rights.

There are at least two different accounts of what happened the night the duo was arrested. The woman said that her male friend got into a disagreement with a bar employee before they left earlier in the night. The employee had called 911, and police arrived on the scene.

Earlier this month outside of a small town in northern Maryland, four men reportedly entered the home of a 26-year-old man. Police claim the men entered the home in order to steal money, weapons and drugs. The alleged theft occurred at approximately 2 a.m. on a mid-December night, when the 26-year-old man was shot in the leg during the altercation. His dog was also shot. A 19-year-old girl in the apartment was threatened but not harmed.

Police believe they have apprehended the four men, one of which was taken into custody after police were allowed to enter the home his grandmother. He was allegedly found hiding underneath some clothes in a closet. Authorities believe he was the one who shot the apartment resident. He has been accused of attempted murder, armed robbery, first-degree assault and several other charges.