40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies 40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies 40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies
40-Plus Years Behind The Badge: Former Maryland Sheriff Charles Mades Dies Charles Mades spent more than four decades wearing a badge. The longtime Maryland lawman and former Washington County sheriff died on Thursday, Oct. 1, prompting tributes from across the region and an order to lower flags in his honor. Mades served as Washington County sheriff for 20 years, from 1986 through 2006, following a 25-year career with the Maryland State Police. He retired from the state police as a sergeant before beginning the next chapter of a law enforcement career that would span more than four decades. The Washington County Sheriff's Office announced his death on Friday, r…

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Instagram 'Murder For Hire' Ad Led To Targeted Maryland Killing For Cash, Marijuana Instagram 'Murder For Hire' Ad Led To Targeted Maryland Killing For Cash, Marijuana Instagram 'Murder For Hire' Ad Led To Targeted Maryland Killing For Cash, Marijuana
Instagram 'Murder For Hire' Ad Led To Targeted Maryland Killing For Cash, Marijuana "Murder for hire." That's how Baltimore native Deondre Tywon Sharps advertised himself online before carrying out a targeted Maryland murder for the promise of money and marijuana. Sharps, 20, pleaded guilty on Friday, Oct. 2, in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to first-degree murder in the deaths of Keion Damont McKinney and Joshua Ray Holland, both 34. The two men were murdered 15 days apart in June 2024. McKinney was first. Shortly after 7:20 p.m. on June 14, he was outside on Meade Village Circle in Severn when Sharps shot him once in the head. Surveillance video captured Sharps f…
Maryland Man Convicted Of Killing Girlfriend's Father, Trying To Influence Her Testimony Maryland Man Convicted Of Killing Girlfriend's Father, Trying To Influence Her Testimony Maryland Man Convicted Of Killing Girlfriend's Father, Trying To Influence Her Testimony
Maryland Man Convicted Of Killing Girlfriend's Father, Trying To Influence Her Testimony Killing his girlfriend's father wasn't the end of it, prosecutors say. A Maryland jury convicted Corey Conaway this week of first-degree murder in the 2024 shooting death of 67-year-old Perry Comeau, then found him guilty of trying to influence Comeau's daughter before trial. Comeau was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds inside his home on Half Dollar Court in Columbia at around 10:49 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2024. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators quickly zeroed in on Conaway, who was dating Comeau's daughter at the time and had been involved in an earlier conflict with…
Virginia Elementary School Teacher Charged After Alleged Assault Involving Student: Sheriff Virginia Elementary School Teacher Charged After Alleged Assault Involving Student: Sheriff Virginia Elementary School Teacher Charged After Alleged Assault Involving Student: Sheriff
Virginia Elementary School Teacher Charged After Alleged Assault Involving Student: Sheriff A Virginia elementary school teacher is facing a criminal charge over what allegedly happened with a student. Valerie Bowen, 49, of Ashburn, a teacher at Horizon Elementary School in Loudoun County, has been charged with assault and battery following an investigation by the sheriff's office, officials announced on Friday, Oct. 2. The investigation began one day earlier. According to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, the School Resource Officer assigned to Horizon Elementary was notified on Thursday, Oct. 1, about an alleged incident involving Bowen and a student. Investigators have not…
Gary Shifler Dies Days After Being Struck By Driver In Early-Morning Maryland Crash: Police Gary Shifler Dies Days After Being Struck By Driver In Early-Morning Maryland Crash: Police Gary Shifler Dies Days After Being Struck By Driver In Early-Morning Maryland Crash: Police
Gary Shifler Dies Days After Being Struck By Driver In Early-Morning Maryland Crash: Police For two days, Gary Shifler fought to survive. The 60-year-old Clinton man died on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from injuries suffered when he was struck by a driver in Prince George’s County two days earlier, police announced on Friday, Oct. 2. Officers were called to the area of Surratts Road and Lormar Court in Clinton at around 6 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, where they found Shifler in the roadway suffering from serious injuries. He was rushed to an area hospital, where he remained until his death. Investigators say the driver was traveling west on Surratts Road when, for reasons still under inve…

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Virginia Town Opens First Park With Direct Potomac River Access After 20-Year Wait Virginia Town Opens First Park With Direct Potomac River Access After 20-Year Wait Virginia Town Opens First Park With Direct Potomac River Access After 20-Year Wait
Virginia Town Opens First Park With Direct Potomac River Access After 20-Year Wait Leesburg finally has a way to get right to the Potomac. More than 20 years after the Virginia town bought the land, Veterans Park at Ball's Bluff has opened as the first municipal park in Leesburg with direct access to the river. The 86-acre park opened following a ribbon-cutting on Wednesday, Sept. 30, ending a wait that began when the town purchased the property for $2 million in 2001. Getting there took a while. Leesburg held onto the property for more than two decades while officials worked out plans and waited for funding to turn the preserved land into a public park. The first phas…

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Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed
Fake Federal Agents Steal $6.5M In National Fraud; Victims Didn't Know They Were Scammed Two more victims of a nationwide gold scam involving fake federal agents had no idea they had been swindled until troopers contacted them, Pennsylvania State Police announced on Friday, Oct. 2. The scheme has been linked to approximately $6.5 million in losses across the country, with victims identified in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington State, according to police. The releases do not say whether the newly detailed losses are already included in that figure. “There are victims that are completely unaware that they are even victims,” Trooper Lauren Lesher wrote in an email to Daily Vo…

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National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals
National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals Several major restaurant chains are offering special deals on a huge day for taco lovers. National Taco Day in 2026 falls on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The holiday was permanently moved to the first Tuesday of October in 2024 to always line up with "Taco Tuesday." The holiday itself began in San Antonio in the 1960s, according to National Day Calendar. Many companies revived the celebration in 2009. The history of tacos dates back centuries to Indigenous people in ancient Mexico. The first "taco feast" documented by Europeans was hosted by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. The modern word "taco" …

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National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals
National Taco Day 2026: Where To Score Free Tacos, Spicy Deals Several major restaurant chains are offering special deals on a huge day for taco lovers. National Taco Day in 2026 falls on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The holiday was permanently moved to the first Tuesday of October in 2024 to always line up with "Taco Tuesday." The holiday itself began in San Antonio in the 1960s, according to National Day Calendar. Many companies revived the celebration in 2009. The history of tacos dates back centuries to Indigenous people in ancient Mexico. The first "taco feast" documented by Europeans was hosted by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés. The modern word "taco" …

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NFL Owner Hit With Suspension, Hefty Fine After Prostitution Arrest NFL Owner Hit With Suspension, Hefty Fine After Prostitution Arrest NFL Owner Hit With Suspension, Hefty Fine After Prostitution Arrest
NFL Owner Hit With Suspension, Hefty Fine After Prostitution Arrest An NFL owner has been sidelined and handed a hefty fine after a prostitution arrest triggered a league review. The NFL announced Friday, Oct. 2, that San Francisco 49ers principal owner Jed York, 46, received a six-game suspension and a $500,000 fine for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after a prostitution arrest. York’s absence from the team’s first three games counts toward the suspension. He can return following San Francisco’s game against the Washington Commanders on Monday, Oct. 19, according to the league. The punishment follows his August arrest in East Palestine, Oh…