Three men charged with thefts from vehicles at park

Two juvenile suspects also accused

Three Waldorf men were released from custody Thursday morning after their arrest on theft charges from a police investigation the day before in St. Mary’s of reports of items being stolen from vehicles in a park.

St. Mary’s sheriff’s deputies also filed rogue and vagabond charges and misdemeanor drug charges against the suspects, identified in court papers as Jelonnie Dujuan Johnson, 19, Christian Jamal White, 20, and Damon L. Pleasant, 18. Court papers state that a 17-year-old boy also was identified as a suspect by the law officers who encountered him as they arrived late Wednesday afternoon at Myrtle Point Park in California.

A witness told police that he saw people “selling suspect[ed] marijuana to high school students on the beach,” court papers state, and that the same people “were all pulling on car handles, entering unlocked cars and stealing items from unlocked vehicles. The witness stated they pulled on every car door handle throughout the parking lot, at least 100 cars.”

Sheriff’s Sgt. Clayton Safford tackled the fleeing juvenile suspect as White was detained by Trooper Mark Evans of the Maryland State Police, court papers state, and sheriff’s deputy Vincent Pontorno later located Pleasant and Johnson, looking in the windows of a sport-utility vehicle at the park. An additional 17-year-old boy, who court papers allege had accompanied the other suspects, later was located by police at Elms Beach Park south of Lexington Park, according to a statement of probable cause filed by sheriff’s Cpl. James Stone.

“The people that cooperate and report crime is still the biggest asset in this community,” sheriff’s Capt. Steven Hall said on Thursday. “Our officers being out there, and that timely response, is critical.”

Johnson, White and Pleasant are accused in charging papers of stealing items including three cellphones, a gold watch, a wallet and a pair of shoes. Charging papers allege the three men went into four vehicles, and they also were charged with the possession of marijuana and the possession of drug paraphernalia.