Mount Airy Woman Sentenced in Baby Fentanyl Death

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FREDERICK, MD – This morning in Frederick County Circuit Court, Heather Marie Frazier, age 36, of Mount Airy was sentenced by Judge Julie Stevenson Solt to ten (10) years suspend all but five (5) years active incarceration in the Division of Corrections. Frazier entered a guilty plea to the charge of involuntary manslaughter on August 22, 2022. Upon release from prison, Frazier must also complete five (5) years of supervised probation. The State had argued for a top-of-the-guidelines sentence of six years in prison.

 

State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “This is a tragic case where drug addiction has destroyed a precious young life and the parents are faced with the consequences of their reckless actions.”

 

On July 3, 2020, Officers with the Mount Airy Police Department were dispatched to a home on Walden Way in Mount Airy for the report of an infant in cardiac arrest. EMS personnel transported the male nearly 3-month-old infant to Frederick Health Hospital. The infant passed away a short time later. An autopsy performed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death as “Narcotic Fentanyl Intoxication” and the manner of death as homicide.

 

Investigators determined that Heather Frazier and her husband Jeremy Whitney Frazier were living in a basement apartment on Walden Way and had been mixing fentanyl in the same bathroom where they prepared bottles for their infant son. Fentanyl contamination led to the infant’s death.

 

Co-defendant Jeremy Whitney Frazier, age 35, of Mount Airy plead guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter on March 14, 2022. Judge Theresa Adams sentenced the defendant to ten (10) years suspend all but five (5) years active incarceration along with five (5) years of supervised probation upon release.

 

The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Tammy Leache and Lindsey Carpenter.

Heather Marie Frazier

Union Bridge Woman Enters Plea in Vehicular Assault Case

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FREDERICK, MD – This morning in Frederick County Circuit Court, Chelsea Anne Kendall, age 39, of Union Bridge, entered an Alford plea to one count of first-degree assault. An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea in which a defendant does not admit to a criminal act but acknowledges that evidence presented by the prosecution would be likely to persuade a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Judge Kathleen English scheduled sentencing for March 24, 2023. The defendant will undergo a pre-sentence investigation.

On July 13, 2022, investigators with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the area of Black Ankle Road and Unionville Road for the report of a vehicle intentionally striking a pedestrian. Responding deputies discovered a woman lying in the middle of the roadway with visible injuries and a tire mark across her abdomen to her shoulder from being run over. The defendant fled the scene and did not report the incident to police. The victim was flown to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for treatment of life-threatening injuries. Investigators determined that the defendant ran over the victim following a dispute over the victim’s boyfriend. The defendant was located the next day by deputies with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals.

The investigation leading to the arrest and indictment of Kendall was a coordinated effort led by members of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Zachary Sanders. The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Samantha M. Slattery and Catherine B. McDermid.

 

Chelsea Anne Kendall

FREDERICK MAN FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN SEX ABUSE OF A MINOR

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DECEMBER 15, 2022

 

FREDERICK, MD – Late Wednesday evening in Frederick County Circuit Court, a jury returned guilty verdicts for nine (9) counts of Sex Abuse of a Minor following the two-day trial of Celestino Lopez-Aguilar, age 37, of Frederick. Judge Scott Lawrence Rolle ordered that the defendant continue to be held without bond until his sentencing February 14, 2023.

 

 

On December 31, 2020, a then-18-year-old disclosed to her mother that she had been sexually abused by Lopez-Aguilar, who was the former live-in fiancé of her mother. The defendant was seen as a father figure in the household. The victim stated that the abuse began when she was 7-years-old shortly after the defendant moved into the family home in 2008 and lasted until 2016.

 

Following the jury’s sweeping guilty verdicts, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “I am extremely proud of Chief Special Victims Unit prosecutor Tammy Leache’s work on this case. Our staff works tirelessly on behalf of the children of Frederick County to ensure that those who prey on our most innocent victims are brought to justice. We look forward to sentencing and hope that Mr. Lopez- Aguilar has plenty of time to reflect on his actions behind bars.”

 

Celestino Lopez-Aguilar