Keedysville man charged in burglary says he was drunk

Victim says she found Charles Douglas Zimmerman stealing her jewelry

February 23, 2012|By DAN DEARTH | dan.dearth@herald-mail.com

A Keedysville man Thursday told a Washington County District Court judge that he was inebriated when he was caught allegedly burglarizing a neighbor’s home earlier this week.

Charles Douglas Zimmerman, 24, of 18 Mt. Vernon Drive, appeared Thursday in a bail-review hearing before Judge Mark D. Thomas.

Thomas reduced Zimmerman’s bond from $70,000 to $50,000 after listening to Zimmerman’s account of the incident via closed-circuit television from the Washington County Detention Center.

“I wasn’t myself,” Zimmerman said. “I was inebriated to the point I wasn’t aware what I was doing.”

Zimmerman has been charged with one count each of first-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary, theft of $1,000 to under $10,000, malicious destruction of property — $500 and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the statement of charges.

The charges carry a maximum 33 years in prison.

Washington County Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Boyer said the incident had “a peculiar set of facts.”

The victim “found him stealing her jewelry,” Boyer said at the hearing. “He stood with her on the porch while she called 911.”

Police were called at 2:40 p.m. Tuesday to a house at 54 S. Main St. for a report of a burglary in progress, according to the statement of probable cause.

“Upon my arrival at approximately 3:10 p.m., units from the Maryland State Police had a perimeter set up and were in the process of speaking with a suspect, who they had located in a trailer at 18 Mt. Vernon Drive,” Washington County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Alan Matheny said in a report. “The suspect was identified as Charles Douglas Zimmerman .... A warrant check revealed that Zimmerman had an outstanding arrest warrant through Baltimore County Police Department so Zimmerman was taken into custody at that time.”

The victim told deputies that when she returned home, she found a man going through her jewelry and told him to leave.

“(The victim) said that while she was calling the police the male was standing on her back porch with her,” the charging documents said. “(The victim) said that after a short period of time, the male said he had to go check on his dog and he started to walk north on Mount Vernon Drive.”

The victim said the man left and, after going back into her home, she noticed two Civil War handguns were missing.

Police said they used a K-9 unit to track the man to 18 Mt. Vernon Drive.

Officers searching Zimmerman’s home said they found clothes that were similar to the ones witnesses said they saw a man wearing near the scene at the time of the crime.

Police said they also found a clear glass, smoking device with a burnt residue and prescription medication labels with the victim’s name on them.

Neither the prescription bottles nor the Civil War handguns was recovered, the documents said.

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