St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to a call for a report of shots fired this morning at approximately 2:30 a.m. in Lexington Park. When they arrived, deputies located several spent Aguila .380 caliber shell casings on the ground in front of an apartment in the 22000 block of Valley Estates Drive.
Witnesses told deputies they heard an argument between a male and a female in which the male threatened to shoot the female. A short time later, the witnesses also heard shots being fired from that area.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division obtained a search warrant for the residence, and Donnie Richardson, 49, of Lexington Park, was located in a closet. Richardson was taken into custody, and during the search of the residence, deputies located a Ruger .380 caliber handgun loaded with the same brand of ammunition as was found outside the residence and a box of the same ammunition in another part of the room.
The subsequent investigation determined Richardson is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to being convicted of a disqualifying crime. Richardson was charged with five offenses:
- knowingly possessing a regulated firearm by a person convicted of a disqualifying crime
- knowingly possessing ammunition after being prohibited from possessing a regulated firearm
- reckless endangerment
- two counts of wearing/carrying a handgun on or about their person.
Richardson was transported to an area hospital at his request for evaluation for an unrelated, preexisting medical issue. He has since been discharged and is incarcerated at the Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown, pending a bond hearing before the court commissioner.
The case remains under investigation. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Warren Forinash at 301-475-4200, ext. 8072, or by email at Warren.Forinash@stmaryscountymd.gov.
