FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 26, 2022

 

FREDERICK, MD – The Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office has been awarded a grant of $100,000 exclusively to fund treatment services for Youth with Problematic Sexual Behaviors (YPSB).   This Grant comes from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention and is the first step in a larger program envisioned by the State’s Attorney’s Office to provide evidence-based rehabilitative services to youth without the need of prosecution.

Problematic Sexual Behaviors are a set of child-initiated behaviors that are developmentally inappropriate and potentially harmful to themselves or others. Obtaining treatment services for YPSB is vital in addressing the root causes of this behavior and educating youth as to what healthy sexual interactions look like and what is inappropriate.  In the last ten years, State’s Attorney’s Offices across the State have seen a rapid increase in the number of sexual offenses committed by youth and have recognized the lack of therapeutic providers specifically trained to help these youth.

This program will provide youth in Frederick County, Maryland with evidence-based intensive early intervention treatment. Research has demonstrated that sexual recidivism decreases substantially when effective treatment is provided. The program’s mission is to divert these youths from the juvenile justice system by providing evaluative and treatment services, regardless of a delinquency finding, and minimizes the likelihood that a youth will recidivate and/or become involved with the juvenile justice system.  The State’s Attorney’s Office will chair a task force of community partners who will work together to facilitate training for Maryland providers that will improve PSB treatment options for Frederick County Youth.

FREDERICK, MD – This afternoon in Frederick County Circuit Court, Nazir Rashad Wells, age 20, of  Frederick was sentenced to a combined twenty-five years with all but fifteen years suspended on two counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault stemming from three separate incidents. Following his release from the Division of Corrections, Wells must complete five years of supervised probation.

 

INCIDENT #1

On March 24, 2021, detectives responded to an apartment in the 600 Block of West Patrick Street in Frederick for the report of a domestic incident with a firearm discharge. Officers determined that there were several bullet holes stemming from a single gunshot inside the building. During the investigation, detectives learned from Wells’ girlfriend that the defendant had strangled her two days prior.

INCIDENT #2

On April 27, 2021, Officers with the Frederick Police Department were called to a park located near Taney Ave. and Wilson Place in Frederick for the report of a firearms discharge. Witnesses saw a driver enter the neighborhood and exit a black Mazda to talk to a subject. The driver had a bag with him. They then heard multiple gunshots and witnessed masked subjects flee the area. Investigators were able to determine that Wells had fired the shots at an individual whose vehicle was struck multiple times.

INCIDENT #3

On June 30, 2021, Deputies with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office were called to the area of Wade Ct. and Kirkland Dr. for a firearms discharge.  The victim, who is the same victim as the April 27^th  incident, contacted deputies at a nearby Wawa where deputies were able to identify multiple bullet holes in his vehicle.  The investigation again revealed that Wells had fired the shots.  Deputies with the Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Frederick Police Department were able to locate Wells the following day and take him into custody after a brief foot chase.  A handgun was located in the bushes in the area where Wells had fled.

 

The State was represented by Assistant State’s Attorney Kyle Kane and Chief Assistant State’s Attorney Brett Engler.

 

This investigation was a coordinated effort between the Frederick Police Department, Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, and the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office under the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network (MCIN).  The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services provides grant funding and strategic support to MCIN member sites to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations through inter-agency collaboration and data sharing to make Maryland safer.

 

The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services funded this project under sub award number, MCIN-2022-0014. All points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of any Maryland State office or agency.”

 

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FREDERICK, MD – After closings delivered this morning by State’s Attorney Charlie Smith in Frederick County Circuit Court, a jury deliberated into the afternoon before returning guilty verdicts for Second-Degree Murder, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence, and Possession of a Regulated Firearm-Under age 21 in the trial of Darin Tyler Robey, age 21, of Frederick. The defendant was twenty-years-old at the time of the incident. Judge Scott Rolle scheduled sentencing for October 4, 2022 at 9:00 am.  Yesterday, Assistant State’s Attorney Ricky Lewis successfully argued that self defense was not generated by Robey’s testimony, and therefore Judge Rolle ruled it would not be considered by the jury.

 

Following the verdict, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “I take comfort in knowing the family will receive justice for the murder of Jaion.  At sentencing, I will be asking for substantial incarceration for Robey for this truly senseless murder.”  Robey faces up to 65 years in prison on all counts.

 

On December 26, 2021 at approximately 7:12 pm, officers with the Frederick Police Department were dispatched to the Burger King located at 101 Routzahn Way in Frederick for the report of a shooting. Responding officers found the victim, identified as 21 year-old Jaion Antonio Penamon laying on the floor near the restaurant’s inner door unresponsive. He was pronounced dead on the scene by medical personnel.

 

Investigators learned the defendant, Darin Robey, went to the Burger King that evening to confront his girlfriend about an affair she was having with a co-worker. Robey came to the restaurant carrying a loaded handgun in his jacket pocket. Robey began to argue with the girlfriend. Penamon noticed the argument from outside, and came inside to confront Robey.  An argument ensued and Penamon asked Robey to take it outside. Witnesses then saw Robey pull a handgun from his jacket pocket and shoot Penamon twice in the chest.  Robey fled after the murder, but was later apprehended by police.

 

The State was represented by State’s Attorney Charlie Smith and Assistant State’s Attorney Ricky Lewis.

 

Darin Tyler Robey

FREDERICK, MD – Late this afternoon in Frederick County Circuit Court, Jason Michael Colley, age 42, of Monrovia entered an Alford plea to two counts of 1^st degree assault. An Alford plea is a type of guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence but admits that the prosecution’s evidence would likely result in a guilty verdict if brought to trial. The State argued that the court sentence the defendant to a term in the Division of Corrections within the sentencing guidelines of eight to eighteen years based on the two counts, followed by five years of supervised probation. The defense argued for a term of home detention. Judge Julia A. Martz-Fisher sentenced Colley to a combined fifty years suspending all but eight years to be served on private home detention. The defendant was also ordered to serve five years of supervised probation with additional terms that he not engage in physical punishment of children. The plea agreement comes following four days of jury selection for what was slated to be a lengthy trial.

 

In response to the plea, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith commented, “the death of this child is certainly a tragedy and is also certainly a crime. Maryland state guidelines are in place to ensure consistency in sentencing. We strongly believe a guidelines prison sentence was warranted, but the judge believed differently.”

 

On September 19, 2017, Troopers with the Maryland State Police responded to the 12000 block of Fingerboard Road in Monrovia for the report of a sick or injured subject. The call came in as 6-month-old female infant that was having seizures and not breathing. The 911 caller was the defendant, Jason Colley. The infant was transported to Shady Grove Hospital in Montgomery County. The infant was later flown to Children’s Hospital in the District of Columbia where she later passed away.

 

Over the course of a lengthy investigation, detectives determined that the infant’s traumatic brain injury could not have been caused by an accident or illness, but by an intentional act.

 

 

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