Hagerstown Police Department

A Hagerstown woman accused of stabbing and seriously injuring her boyfriend Tuesday morning was ordered to remain in the county detention center without bail during a bond review hearing Wednesday in Washington County District Court. Renee Nichole Benjamin, 19, of 720 W. Franklin St., appeared before District Court Judge Ralph H. France II via closed circuit television from the detention center. Benjamin is charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure in the incident at her home.

A Hagerstown woman has been charged with stabbing a man in the back with a rat-tail comb Thursday morning inside an apartment building at 211 W. Franklin St. Saundra Hewlett, 48, was charged with one count each of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, Hagerstown Police Lt. Chad Woodring said. “It was a domestic incident,” said Woodring, noting the wound didn't appear to be life-threatening. Woodring said 54-year-old Wayne Duvall was taken to Meritus Medical Center to have part of the comb removed from his back.

The case of a man charged with pulling a knife on another resident at a drug and alcohol treatment facility in Hagerstown was forwarded to Washington County Circuit Court on Tuesday. Washington County District Judge Ralph H. France II found at the conclusion of a preliminary hearing that there was enough evidence to send the trial of Darrin Jones to Circuit Court. Jones, 43, is accused of pulling a knife on another man on Aug. 26 as they were living at the Wells House at 124 E. Baltimore St. Hagerstown Police Lt. Tom Langston said after the hearing that Jones was charged with one count each of first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.

Editor's note: This story was edited at 8:40 p.m. Sept. 19 to correct the charges listed against Justin Bryant Leibrand, Benjamin Andrew Benner and TImothy Scott Everett Jr. Four people were charged following two armed robberies in the Hagerstown area Saturday, the Washington County Sheriff's Office said. At 3:55 p.m. Saturday, the sheriff's office received a call for an armed robbery at Rosewood Liquors at 11205 John F. Kennedy Drive. A male entered the store, showed a firearm, and fled with merchandise and cash, police said.

Hagerstown Rescue Mission has on occasion accepted people convicted of violent crimes in other jurisdictions, a move that has prompted local officials to question and criticize the practice. Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith said last week that the Hagerstown Rescue Mission at 125 N. Prospect St. most recently accepted a Worcester County, Md., man who was on parole following convictions for sexual offenses. “This is not the kind of guy you want loose in your community,” said Smith, who discussed the matter shortly before he was to retire.  Smith said Washington County Community Supervision, formerly known as Parole and Probation, told him that man arrived at the shelter Aug. 1. The Hagerstown Police Department picked him up and drove him back to Worcester County the next day. In November 2011, the man, described in a newspaper account of the court proceedings as having mental problems, entered Alford pleas in Worcester Circuit Court to a charge of abuse of a vulnerable adult resulting in physical injury and to a second-degree sex offense, court records said.

Burglaries, vandalism, thefts reported in Washington County The following incidents were reported by the Washington County Sheriff's Office between 8 a.m. Monday to 8 a.m. Tuesday: A burglary was reported in the 17700 block of Broadfording Road near Hagerstown. A burglary was reported in the 16700 block of Edward Doub Road in Williamsport. A burglary was reported on North Conococheague Street in Williamsport. A burglary was reported in the unit block of Cumberland Street in Clear Spring.

A 3-year-old boy accidentally shot himself Friday morning after he found a handgun in weeds near a parking area on West Franklin Street in Hagerstown, according to the Hagerstown Police Department. The shooting was called in at 11:12 a.m. behind 24 1/2 W. Franklin St., according to Hagerstown police. The child, whose name was not immediately available, was playing outside with his 7-year-old sister when they apparently found what police believe is a .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun.

Crowds of area residents turned out to learn about crime prevention and meet law enforcement officers at National Night Out celebrations in Hagerstown and Smithsburg Tuesday night. Law enforcement officers and attendees said Hagerstown's event was more popular than last year's, in part due to cooler temperatures. National Night Out was held as a partnership between the city of Hagerstown and the Hagerstown Police Department, and was sponsored by Target, according to Pete Moreno, Target logistics executive team leader.

Dennis Miller's sisters said he often would go somewhere to drink for a while; they wouldn't see him for a day or two. “He was an alcoholic, but he didn't stay drunk,” said his twin sister, Dianne Miller. He would stay somewhere until he had sobered up, then come back to the Halfway home he shared with his sisters. But, at the end of June, after a day away from home stretched into two, then three, then four, his sisters grew worried and tried to find him. They looked and called around Hagerstown, checking with the police and the hospital, they said, but they didn't file a missing-person report.

Ethan Paugh was reunited with his stolen therapeutic tricycle Tuesday afternoon at the Hagerstown Police Department. The 7-year-old laughed and smiled as he rode the orange, 8-foot-long trike around the police station parking lot with several of his friends running beside him. “He's in seventh heaven now riding it,” Ethan's grandmother, Tammy Paugh, said with tears in her eyes. “It was heartbreaking for the family, especially for Ethan. It was his way to be with his play group.” Paugh said Ethan suffers from Prader-Willi, a syndrome that, among other things, causes obesity and reduced muscle tone.