Sergeant in Anne Arundel sheriff ’s office arrested

Accused of assault, robbery in domestic violence cases

A sergeant in the Anne Arundel County Sheriff ’s Office was arrested Friday on assault and robbery charges in two domestic violence cases involving another employee of the agency.

The sheriff ’s office said in a news release they suspended Matthew Beall’s police powers without pay pending the results of an internal investigation. Beall, 39, was released early Friday after being arrested around1 a.m..

Anne Arundel County police charged Beall with second-degree assault following an incident that took place near midnight on July 11 at Marley Station Mall, where a 911 caller reported seeing a man appear to hit a woman in the parking lot in front of the Gold’s Gym, police wrote in charging papers. The caller said he saw the man slam the woman to the ground, police wrote.

Beall said he was going to the gym, and had been there for about 20 minutes, but denied that he had been there with a woman, according to the charging papers. Police let Beall leave because he didn’t match the description the caller had given, but later requested an arrest warrant after an officer spoke with a female sheriff’s office employee, who said Beall had assaulted her at the gym.

The woman said she had been arguing with Beall over the phone and met with him at the parking lot due to his “propensity to violence lately,” police wrote.

She told police that Beall yelled at her, repeatedly threw his keys at her, and slammed her to the ground that night, charging papers say.

Anne Arundel police also filed robbery and assault charges against Beall in connection with an incident in June, when the same woman told officers she met with an “extremely intoxicated” Beall at a clubhouse. She said Beall banged on her car, reached inside the vehicle and dumped out the contents of her purse, then slapped her and grabbed her ankle, police said.

Anne Arundel police obtained a warrant for Beall’s arrest and notified the sheriff ’s office Thursday night before arresting Beall early Friday morning. Sheriff ’s office staff traveled with the police to suspend him, also stripping him of his weapons, agency vehicle and ID cards, Anne Arundel Sheriff Jim Fredericks said.

Col. Francis Tewey, Fredericks’ second-in-command, said the agency had not heard about the allegations until Thursday evening.

Fredericks said in a statement the sheriff ’s office will “continue to work with the police department and other entities to provide any necessary services for all involved” throughout the case.

Beall did not have an attorney listed in court records on Friday and did not have a court date scheduled yet. He told a court commissioner he makes a salary of $80,000 at the sheriff’s office and has worked there for nine years.