A late-winter crash on Point Lookout Road did not just leave a pickup truck flipped. Prosecutors say it also exposed an unregistered "ghost gun" and a desperate request from the driver that has now landed him with jail time and years of probation.
Zamahri Lydell Talley, 22, of Prince Frederick, pleaded guilty in St. Mary’s County after investigators and court records said he asked firefighters at the scene to hide a loaded handgun without a serial number that was found after his truck overturned near St. Andrew’s Church Road. A judge handed down a five-year sentence, suspending all but 12 months, and ordered five years of supervised probation. The March wreck kicked off the investigation that led troopers to the weapon.
Plea and sentence in county court
According to circuit court filings, Talley pleaded guilty on June 1 to carrying a loaded handgun in a vehicle. St. Mary’s Circuit Court Judge Amy D. Lorenzini imposed the sentence reflected in the record, with most of the prison time suspended in favor of probation.
The plea deal wrapped up an indictment that had originally included charges for having a firearm without a serial number along with related traffic counts. The case appears on the St. Mary’s Circuit Court calendar and in associated filings, according to Maryland Courts.
Crash, first responders and the recovered weapon
Maryland State Police say a trooper called to the March 13 crash found an empty holster on the front passenger seat of Talley’s truck. A probable-cause search of the vehicle turned up a black Polymer80-style handgun with no serial number, loaded with one 9mm round in the chamber and 10 more in the magazine, according to the agency’s Leonardtown press release. Troopers arrested Talley at the scene and took him to the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
Court records and local reporting indicate Talley asked Leonardtown Volunteer Fire Department personnel to hide the loaded weapon while they were treating people at the scene, as reported by The BayNet.
Charges on the record
Charging documents list counts for possession of a firearm without a serial number, possession of a handgun in a vehicle, carrying a loaded handgun in a vehicle and failure to control vehicle speed to avoid a collision. Under Maryland law, those offenses can bring prison time, fines and probation.
The circuit court docket shows Talley’s June plea and the sentence that followed, according to Maryland Courts. Filings from both the defense and prosecution are part of the public record in St. Mary’s County.
Case status and next steps
Talley was arrested at the crash scene and initially booked into the county detention center. Earlier reporting shows he was released on personal recognizance on March 17, according to The BayNet.
With the guilty plea entered in June, the circuit court docket indicates the case is now resolved under the terms detailed in the filings, leaving Talley to serve his 12-month active term and then navigate five years of supervised probation.
