A District Court commissioner initially ordered 35-year-old Waldorf resident Clifton Dewayne Trent Jr. held without bond on three misdemeanor charges after an alleged incident at a Berry Road Wawa. According to a news report, deputies say Trent exposed himself to a customer inside the store and later tried repeatedly to open a woman's parked car.
What the Report Says Happened
According to Southern Maryland News Net, deputies went to the Wawa on Berry Road in Waldorf at about 1:24 a.m. on October 12 after a report that a man was harassing store employees. Employees told deputies Trent had exposed himself inside, the outlet reported.
The outlet reported that Trent exposed himself multiple times to a male customer and directed sexually explicit comments toward him, including a proposition and an invitation to touch him. Trent eventually left the store, according to the report.
Police Response in the Parking Lot
After leaving the store, Trent allegedly approached a woman in her vehicle and asked to sit inside because it was wet outside. He then repeatedly pulled the driver-side door handle, the report says. A woman in a nearby vehicle honked to alert a deputy.
The report says Sgt. Austin arrested Trent after he allegedly turned toward the deputy and pulled his hands away. Officer N. Oliver took custody of Trent, who was transported to the Charles County Detention Center. The outlet reported that Trent continued to refuse correctional officers' instructions after arriving.
Charges and Detention Status
Trent was charged with indecent exposure, resisting arrest and harassment involving a course of conduct, according to the article. Maryland's harassment statute, Criminal Law § 3-803, bars a person from maliciously engaging in a course of conduct that alarms or seriously annoys another person when the person intends to harass and has received a reasonable warning to stop, according to the Maryland General Assembly.
A Separate Appellate Case Involved a Different Setting
A Maryland appellate case concerned an inmate who exposed himself to a correctional officer at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in 2008, according to Maryland Courts. That case arose in a correctional setting, unlike the allegations at the Waldorf Wawa, and is not a ruling on Trent's case or a determination of whether the reported conduct meets the elements of indecent exposure.
A district court commissioner ordered Trent held without bond on October 12, determining there was a reasonable likelihood he posed a danger to alleged victims, others or the community, the report states. A screening questionnaire reportedly noted prior convictions, previous failures to appear, and probation or parole status. The report also notes Trent said he was unemployed with no income and had lived at his Waldorf address for approximately seven years.
Judge Continues Detention at Bail Review
At a bail review hearing the next day, October 13, District Court Judge Elizabeth Theobalds continued Trent's detention without bond, according to the outlet's report. Court-appointed attorney Ada Chan represented Trent remotely during the proceeding, the report states. Records related to the case may be accessible through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search portal, which provides public access to case records subject to the Maryland Rules on Access to Court Records.
