Two officials with the Prince George's County Sheriff's Department were recently indicted on conspiracy charges as a result of the theft of more than $20,000 from the Prince George's County Deputy Sheriff's Association, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #112. Wendy Tyler and Captain Nancy Ridgely were the president and first vice president of the union from September 2005 to October 2007. During that time, they are alleged to have embezzled money from the union through overpayment and using a union credit card for personal purchases.

As president of the union, Wendy Tyler was entitled to quarterly checks totaling $10,400; instead, she received 13 checks totaling $22,124. First vice president Ridgely approved and signed all but one of the checks. Tyler is additionally accused of using a union credit card to make over $10,000 in personal, nonunion purchases.

Ridgely's Maryland criminal defense attorney proclaims his client's innocence in the conspiracy case. He told reporters, "My client adamantly denies these allegations and will vigorously contest these charges." Neither Ridgely nor Tyler responded to media requests for comment regarding the indictment.

Prince George's County Sheriff's Department officials clarified that the money allegedly embezzled by Tyler and Ridgely is not government money, but rather union funds.
Tyler and Ridgely have both been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the trial.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal and DUI defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Virginia Criminal Attorney website or Washington DC Criminal Lawyer website.

As part of her plea agreement, a Maryland teenager pled guilty to first degree murder charges in the slaying of a 57-year-old car salesman. As part of her plea in Montgomery County Circuit Court, Emily Geller, 18, could face up to 25 years in prison. Artie Ellis, 16, who was her boyfriend at the time of the murder, was also charged and reached a similar plea agreement. The Maryland criminal attorneys for both defendants state that the teenagers did not mean to kill the man in a robbery that went wrong.

Emily Gellar met the victim, Ali Zare, in May 2009, when he offered to give her a ride. Gellar said that Zare told her he was a car salesman who could get her a good deal on a car. He then paid Gellar to have sex with him in the basement of her home.

Later, Gellar and her boyfriend discussed robbing Zare. They planned for Gellar to lure Zare down a dark path with a promise of more sex for money and then the couple would beat and rob him. According to Gellar, after she convinced Zare to follow her into the woods, Ellis struck him in the head with a shovel, accidentally killing him. According to their Maryland criminal attorneys, Gellar and Ellis each blame the other for hatching the plan.

As part of the plea agreements in the case, prosecutors have agreed to seek a maximum sentence of 25 years as part of a suspended life sentence. Parole for the convicted teenagers must be approved by the governor's office.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal and DUI defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our Virginia Criminal Attorney website.

A 14-year old boy has been charged with first degree murder and first degree rape in the sexual assault and beating death of a teacher at Prince George's County's Cheltenham Youth Facility. Prosecutors have filed a motion to have the boy, who was 13 at the time of the murder, tried as an adult. If convicted as a juvenile, the boy would be held until he reached the age of 21; if convicted as an adult, he would face a sentence of up to life in prison. At a hearing scheduled for August 27, the teenager's Maryland criminal attorneys will discover whether they are defending their client against juvenile or adult charges.

The charges are the result of the death of Hannah Wheeling, 65, a general studies teacher at the Cheltenham Facility. Wheeling's body was found outside Murphy Cottage at the juvenile detention center. The suspect was a resident at Murphy Cottage at the time of the murder. The boys living at the Cottage, which sits outside the fence at Cheltenham, have no known history of mental illness or violent offenses, including sexual assault and murder. Additionally, the residents of Murphy Cottage are never supposed to be out of sight of a Cheltenham Facility staff member. Regardless of these precautions, Wheeling was raped and beaten to death at the facility. Her death has sparked an investigation into security measures and safety at the facility.

This article is presented by Price Benowitz, LLP, a criminal and DUI defense firm serving Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia. For more information, please visit our DC Federal Criminal Lawyer or Virginia Criminal Lawyer websites.