Police Headquarters

Hagerstown Police Chief Dale Jones said Thursday that police officials would resolve the City Council's concerns about having an officer in the lobby of police headquarters at night. During Tuesday night's work session, Mayor Robert E. Bruchey II said he hadn't seen an officer in the lobby on several occasions at night. Councilman Lewis C. Metzner said that frustrated him since the city paid to have a bullet-proof shield placed in front of the lobby desk so the sergeant could sit there at night.

A disorderly conduct charge filed against a Washington Township man in August has been withdrawn by Magisterial District Judge Duane Cunningham, Waynesboro police said Friday. James Horace Thrailkill, 77, of 13183 Shawnee Court, was charged with disorderly conduct on Aug. 18, according to a police news release. The charge related to an incident that occurred outside police headquarters that morning, the news release said.

The Hagerstown Police Department accepted four guns Saturday as part of Attorney General Doug Gansler's first statewide Gun Turn-In Day. Patrolman Kevin Brashears said residents turned in two handguns, a rifle and a pellet gun during the event, which was held locally from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hagerstown Police Department. Brashears said the guns would be stored in gun lockers at police headquarters for the time being. The Maryland Attorney General's Office sponsored the event to give people a chance to safely dispose of any unwanted firearms.

A Waynesboro man has been charged with urinating on the borough police station last weekend, the Waynesboro Police Department said. James Horace Thrailkill, 76, of 13183 Shawnee Court, was charged with disorderly conduct, according to a police news release. Police allege an officer caught Thrailkill at about 12:19 p.m. Saturday in an “unmistakable pose” urinating on police headquarters at 57 E. Main St. Officers said Thrailkill was released about an hour after the incident.

A new downtown Hagerstown police substation could open in May or June, City Administrator Bruce Zimmerman said Tuesday. The City Council on Tuesday voted 4-0 to approve a lease for 49-51 N. Potomac St., which is across the street from City Hall. The building, which is vacant, would serve as a home base for the five officers assigned to cover the downtown, Police Chief Arthur Smith has said. The Western Maryland Police Academy, now at police headquarters on Burhans Boulevard, would move into the downtown building.

By DAVE McMILLION Staff Writer A 40-year-old Hagerstown man was charged Saturday with the Thursday robbery of the Hagerstown Trust Co. branch bank at West Side Avenue and Franklin Street, said Hagerstown Police. Arrested was Mervin Edward Brown of 149 N. Potomac St., Room 426, city police said. Police said Brown was brought to police headquarters Saturday for questioning based information received from other sources and photographs obtained from the bank during the robbery, which occurred about 9:21 a.m. Thursday morning.

An 18-year-old Hagerstown woman was in critical condition Monday in a Baltimore-area hospital after she accidentally was shot in the face by her roommate Sunday night, according to a Hagerstown Police Department press release. The detectives investigating the case were not available Monday night, according to an officer who answered the phone at police headquarters. The incident at 530 Washington Ave., Apt. 2B, was reported Sunday at 11:41 p.m., police said. The woman, whose name was not released, initially was taken to Washington County Hospital, police said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Borough Council is taking a serious look at a new police headquarters and renovating the Borough Hall, projects that could take four years and more than $6 million to complete. "We have been struggling with space issues at Borough Hall for several years," Borough Manager Eric Oyer said. "We do not have room to reshuffle the chairs on the Titanic to make it work. " A few years ago, the council authorized a study focused on renovating the town hall, Oyer said.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A barn once used as the stable for the Chambersburg Police Department's mounted patrol has been demolished to make way for something with a bit more horsepower - additional parking for police cruisers. Prior to the economy taking a downturn, the borough had done some preliminary planning for a new police headquarters, but those and other capital projects have been put on hold. Plans to open a police substation at Southgate Mall also dissolved when negotiations with the mall's owner fell through.

A new Hagerstown police substation is planned for the heart of downtown. The City Council on Tuesday endorsed a proposal from Police Chief Arthur Smith to rent space at 51 N. Potomac St., which is across the street from City Hall. The building, which is vacant, would serve as a home base for the five officers assigned to cover the downtown. The Western Maryland Police Academy, now at police headquarters on Burhans Boulevard, also would move into the downtown building, Smith said.

There was drama outside the courthouse Wednesday when plainclothes Hagerstown City Police in unmarked vehicles surrounded a Ford Escape outside the District Court building on East Antietam Street. About 10 minutes before noon police pulled over the Escape and - with guns drawn - took three men and a woman away to police headquarters. Lt. Tom Langston said the incident was related to an investigation into “a recent crime of violence” in the city, but he declined to be more specific.

The Hagerstown Police Department accepted four guns Saturday as part of Attorney General Doug Gansler's first statewide Gun Turn-In Day. Patrolman Kevin Brashears said residents turned in two handguns, a rifle and a pellet gun during the event, which was held locally from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hagerstown Police Department. Brashears said the guns would be stored in gun lockers at police headquarters for the time being. The Maryland Attorney General's Office sponsored the event to give people a chance to safely dispose of any unwanted firearms.

Two teenage boys have been charged in connection with an armed robbery Wednesday afternoon behind the Jonathan Hager House in Hagerstown City Park. The 15-year-old teenagers, whose names were not released, were charged with one count each of armed robbery, robbery, second-degree assault, theft and other related charges, according to a Hagerstown Police Department news release. One of the juveniles was picked up at his home Wednesday night, Lt. Tom Langston said. The second juvenile surrendered at Hagerstown police headquarters Thursday morning.

The GPS feature of a stolen cell phone was used to track down a Hagerstown man who was sentenced Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court to five years in prison for robbery and escape. Kristopher Shawn Lawrence, 26, of 21 Madison Ave., entered an Alford plea for the robbery charge and pleaded guilty to second-degree escape. Judge Daniel P. Dwyer sentenced him to 10 years in prison, suspending five years. An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgment by the defendant that the state has enough evidence to gain a conviction.

A disorderly conduct charge filed against a Washington Township man in August has been withdrawn by Magisterial District Judge Duane Cunningham, Waynesboro police said Friday. James Horace Thrailkill, 77, of 13183 Shawnee Court, was charged with disorderly conduct on Aug. 18, according to a police news release. The charge related to an incident that occurred outside police headquarters that morning, the news release said.

A Waynesboro man has been charged with urinating on the borough police station last weekend, the Waynesboro Police Department said. James Horace Thrailkill, 76, of 13183 Shawnee Court, was charged with disorderly conduct, according to a police news release. Police allege an officer caught Thrailkill at about 12:19 p.m. Saturday in an “unmistakable pose” urinating on police headquarters at 57 E. Main St. Officers said Thrailkill was released about an hour after the incident.

A Washington County Circuit Court jury Thursday acquitted a Hagerstown teenager of second-degree attempted murder, but convicted him of first-degree assault, while a judge sentenced the man he was accused of stabbing to six months in jail for refusing to testify. The jury deliberated less than 30 minutes before finding Maurice D. McMillan guilty of first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. Judge John H. McDowell then sentenced him to nine years in prison. McMillan of 623 N. Locust St. had been charged with stabbing Jarvel Fostion, 20, of Hagerstown during a fight outside McMillan's home on the night of Oct. 9, 2011.

Martinsburg police apprehended a wanted man Wednesday night after respondeding to a report of shots fired in the area of Martin and Church streets. While investigating the 9 p.m. call, an officer spotted a man fitting the description of the shooter coming from an alley and getting into the passenger seat of a vehicle, police said. A traffic stop was made and the man ran, but was apprehended with the help of a Berkeley County Sheriff's Office K-9 team, police said. The man fled again, but was subdued with a stun gun, police said.

Hagerstown police and the Washington County State's Attorney's Office are investigating the circumstances surrounding brain injuries a toddler suffered in March which a report said have left the boy with “no chance of a meaningful recovery.” “It's still technically in the investigative stage,” Assistant State's Attorney Michele Hansen said Wednesday. It had not been determined whether charges would be pursued or an attempt made to get a grand jury indictment, Hansen said.