Easton police say what began as a reported motor vehicle theft on March 7 turned into a harrowing scene on Ocean Gateway, ending with the arrest of 25-year-old Shakur I. Brown of Washington, D.C. Multiple 911 callers reported a person clinging to the hood of a moving vehicle before officers intercepted the car, found the reported victim unharmed in the passenger seat, and took Brown into custody on multiple felony counts. He was later turned over to the Talbot County Detention Center, according to authorities.
According to WMDT, officers were dispatched to the 1000 block of North Washington Street for a reported motor vehicle theft, and while they were on the way, dispatchers began receiving several 911 calls about someone hanging onto the hood of a vehicle traveling west on Ocean Gateway. Dispatchers tracked those calls to the area of East Kennedy Street, where officers spotted the vehicle. Police say the car took off westbound on Ocean Gateway, and the pursuit continued into Queen Anne’s County before law enforcement brought it to a stop and located the victim inside, uninjured, in the passenger seat.
County records list the Talbot County Detention Center, where Brown was booked, at 115 W. Dover Street in Easton, according to Talbot County. The county site provides contact and visitation details for the facility and notes that it holds pretrial detainees for Talbot County.
The Easton Police Department has charged Brown with kidnapping, carjacking, first and second degree assault, reckless endangerment, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, and false imprisonment, WMDT reports. Officials say the 25-year-old was arrested after the multi-jurisdictional stop in Queen Anne’s County. Authorities have not released a suspected motive or additional identifying information about the victim.
What the charges carry
Maryland classifies carjacking as a felony under state law, with penalties of up to 30 years in prison, according to FindLaw. First-degree assault is also a felony, punishable by as much as 25 years behind bars under FindLaw. State regulations and case law treat both kidnapping and carjacking as crimes of violence, which can carry severe penalties and allow for consecutive sentences in related prosecutions, according to state regulatory listings. False imprisonment remains a recognized common law offense in Maryland and can be charged when a person’s liberty is unlawfully restrained.
