Suspects Just Can't Help Themselves

In a Series of Recent Cases, Unwise Moves Spur Arrest

Sometimes the war on crime, as illustrated by a series of recent arrests by State Police troopers in Southern Maryland, is not much of a battle.

In Calvert County, a woman accused of attaching stolen license plates to her car drove into the back of a trooper's cruiser at a red light.

In St. Mary's County, occupants in three vehicles who allegedly were carrying drugs attracted troopers' attention by not wearing their seat belts.

And in Charles County, more details emerged about a trio transporting a trunk filled with 29 stolen guns. Simply by chance, a trooper drove up behind them. Their response: Swerve suddenly to the left, turn across a lane of traffic and nearly hit another car.

"We get a lot of dumb criminals who keep us in business," said Sgt. Al Paton, a State Police trooper in Calvert.

To be sure, records of the incidents show troopers making a series of smart moves to take advantage of suspects' blunders. They turned traffic stops into investigations, sometimes without letting the drivers know their suspicions. The incidents also caused at least some of the troopers to do what their jobs often prompt them to do: scratch their heads in wonder.

"You're just never surprised at what people do out there," said 1st Sgt. Ronald Best, with the State Police barracks in La Plata.

He said people driving with contraband can get themselves into the same mind-set as children who have done something wrong. They become overly nervous about looking like they're overly nervous. And that causes them to lose focus.

In the most recent incident, Trooper Jeffrey Linger was patrolling Route 5 in Mechanicsville in St. Mary's on Wednesday. He saw a young man driving a Monte Carlo without wearing his seat belt. Linger pulled him over and noted a strong smell of marijuana when he approached the car. He found a bag of marijuana inside a cigarette box on the back seat. Authorities didn't release the driver's name because he was only 17 but said he was eventually released to the custody of a relative.

On Tuesday, also in Mechanicsville, Linger saw a passenger in a Ford F-150 pickup who wasn't wearing a seat belt. Linger stopped the truck. When a bag that authorities say contained cocaine turned up in a cup holder, the officer arrested the driver, William A. Carter Jr., 40, of Chesapeake Beach and a passenger, Andre L. Walker, 37, of Bowie. Both were charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia.

Why would anyone with drugs not wear a seat belt?

"There really is no way for me to answer that," Cpl. Roger Redmond, another trooper, said.