Reckless Endangerment

Assault and other charges against a Williamsport man found nearly naked and trying to stab himself with a pole last month were forwarded to Washington County Circuit Court following a preliminary hearing Tuesday in county District Court. Michael D. Commer, 43, formerly of 36 E. Church St., is charged with two counts each of first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, and one count each of burglary and malicious destruction of property in the Jan. 8 incident on the 13000 block of St. Paul Road near Clear Spring, according to court records.

A man seeking to have his 2002 arson conviction set aside was in Washington County Circuit Court this week for a post-conviction hearing, even though retrying the case could mean a longer sentence. Donald Lee Edwards Jr., 28, formerly of Hagerstown, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2002 after pleading guilty to second-degree arson and two counts of reckless endangerment. He was in court Tuesday seeking to have the plea set aside because it was not freely and voluntarily entered into, his attorney Melissa McDonnell told Judge Daniel P. Dwyer.

A Hagerstown man charged with being at the scene when a gun was pulled on two men Tuesday night in an alley near Jonathan Street appeared Thursday in Washington County District Court for a bond review hearing. Michael L. Edwards, 18, of 246 N. Mulberry St., is charged with one count each of first-degree assault, conspiracy to commit first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. If convicted on all counts, Edwards faces 65 years in prison. His preliminary hearing was set for Oct. 16 at 1 p.m. Judge Oliver John Cejka Jr. reduced Edwards' bond from $60,000 to $40,000 on Thursday.

A Boonsboro woman is facing child abuse charges after her 8-month-old daughter suffered fractures to both arms and legs, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Stacey Renee Reese, 25, of 7821 Sharpsburg Pike, has been charged with first-degree child abuse resulting in serious physical injury, second-degree child abuse, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, neglect of a minor and reckless endangerment, according to a news release from sheriff's department spokeswoman Carly Hose.

The trial of a man accused of threatening a teenager with a handgun during a party last year ended abruptly Tuesday in Washington County Circuit Court after the teenager and his sister testified neither saw a weapon. "Your day is going to be cut short," Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. told the jury shortly after the prosecution rested its case against Robert Joseph Walker. "I have no alternative but to dismiss the charges. " The state had finished presenting its case when Long granted Assistant Public Defender Charles Bailey's motion for a judgment of acquittal.

A Rohrersville man was being held on $350,000 bond Tuesday, accused of shooting two vehicles with an AK-47 semiautomatic rifle Saturday morning, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Washington County Sheriff's Office. Kirk Ivan Kline, 30, of 20326 Locust Grove Road, is charged in two separate incidents - one at his home and a second outside a house in the 6300 block of Clevelandtown Road in Boonsboro, Washington County District Court records said. Kline is charged with first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, seven counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of malicious destruction of property in the incidents, court records said.

A Washington County Circuit Court jury on Thursday found a Hagerstown man guilty of assault and weapons charges for attacking a man during a 2012 drug deal. Judge Dana Moylan Wright ordered a presentence investigation for Eric Shaquille Baymon, who was found guilty of first- and second-degree assault, use of a handgun in a crime of violence, reckless endangerment and two other gun charges. First-degree assault carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and use of a handgun in a crime of violence has a mandatory minimum sentence of five years, under Maryland law. Baymon, 19, of 42 E. Washington St., was charged in an April 11, 2012, incident near the intersection of Lee and Potomac streets in which he was accused of assaulting Giancarlos Badia, 22, of 272 S. Potomac St., according to Hagerstown police charging documents.

Hagerstown police say four shootings in the city over the past week were retaliatory strikes between the Bloods and Crips street gangs. Lt. Tom Langston said Monday that the first incident occurred at about 7 p.m. April 15 behind a house in the 200 block of North Jonathan Street, where a man he alleged is associated with the Bloods exchanged gunfire with a juvenile associate of the Crips. At first, police believed the adult was the only person who was shot, but an investigation determined that a juvenile also was hit. Langston said both sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.

The unit block of West Antietam Street in Hagerstown could reopen to traffic early next week after it was closed almost two weeks ago to let engineers examine the structural integrity of a building that was gutted by a fire, a city official said. Hagerstown spokeswoman Erin Wolfe said the street is expected to be reopened Monday or Tuesday. “They're in the process of doing the demolition work and stabilizing the remains,” Wolfe said Wednesday. She said workers were in the process of removing the top floor of the building at 19-21-23 W. Antietam St., where a fire was set Feb. 7 by a homeless man who was living in the vacant structure.

Meeting keeps sex offenders off streets during trick-or-treat Man charged with arson threat and reckless endangerment Car lot once managed by Bruchey out of business Lockhouse 49 volunteers prepare for visitors Former middle school teacher pleads not guilty to sex abuse