Police briefs
Home damaged in fire, firefighters hospitalized
A fire that began on the back deck of a Waldorf home caused severe damage and sent 11 firefighters from Charles and Prince George’s counties to the hospital, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal.
Around 4:50 p.m., first responders arrived at the Chamberlin Court residence for a fire reported by a neighbor, according to the release. The twoalarm blaze was under control within 25 minutes. In that time, it caused an estimated $375,000 in structural damage and $100,000 to the contents of the home. Two adults and a child who live there were not harmed and are receiving aid from the American Red Cross, the fire marshal release says.
On Twitter, county emergency services reported that smoke from the blaze caused impaired visibility conditions on nearby Route 228. County Volunteer Fire Chief Mark Kaufmann said the firefighters were injured while, in the course of trying to control the blaze, a portion of the home’s roof collapsed. In total, 11 of the 76 responding firefighters were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening,
Stephen Eugene Calhoun, 52, was charged by summons with perjury on an affidavit Sept. 27 for allegedly lying on his gun license application in February about previous criminal convictions.
According to the statement of charges, Cpl. Matthew Pitcher of the Maryland State Police interviewed Calhoun at the La Plata barrack April 30 regarding the license application he submitted in February. In reviewing Calhoun’s application, Pitcher wrote, it was found he had allegedly falsely answered questions regarding his past criminal convictions.
Calhoun allegedly answered that he had no convictions for misdemeanors nor crimes of violence on two separate questions. Calhoun was convicted of malicious destruction of property and having a handgun on his person in Anne Arundel County in 1998 and 1999, respectively, along with a 2012 second-degree assault conviction in Charles County.
During the interview with the trooper, Calhoun allegedly said he was taking a firearms safety course at a Waldorf store, and the application was filled out during the class. Calhoun said the course instructor helped him fill out the application as he did not have the laptop required to do it himself, Pitcher wrote. Pitcher walked Calhoun through the application questions during the interview, and Calhoun allegedly the instructor had asked him some of questions.
When Pitcher contacted the instructor by phone May 8, the instructor said he asked each question to Calhoun individually as the man stood over his shoulder. He allegedly confirmed Calhoun answered each question himself. A preliminary district court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4. said not the