Charles Co. Suspect Apprehended After Violent Attack on Female Acquaintance and Crashing Vehicle into Marked Patrol Car

Alpert Schreyer Trial Attorneys

Five Maryland locations to serve you. Personal Injury, Criminal Defense, DUI Defense.

Suspect Apprehended After Violent Attack on Female Acquaintance and Crashing Vehicle into Marked Patrol Car: On September 7 at 12:28 p.m., officers responded to a shopping center in the 1100 block of Smallwood Drive in Waldorf for the report of a possible road rage in the parking lot involving a male and a female. Additional calls to 9-1-1 indicated the male was armed with a gun and was pistol-whipping the woman. When the first officer arrived, he located the man and woman at the rear of the center and observed the suspect throw an object into a car. The officer gave verbal commands to the suspect, but he refused to comply, jumped into the car, and attempted to flee. He drove away at a high rate of speed and struck a marked patrol car of a responding officer, totaling the cruiser. The suspect got out of his car and began running toward the victim, who was still in the parking lot. As he was doing so, he ran into a patrol car, striking his leg. The suspect continued running until he reached the woman and grabbed her. Officers were able to apprehend the suspect and subdue him after a struggle. A pellet gun was recovered from the suspect’s vehicle. A preliminary investigation revealed the suspect drove to the woman’s place of employment and shot out the windows of her car with the pellet gun. The woman exited the business and attempted to drive away, but the suspect chased her in his car and eventually blocked her in. He pulled the woman out of the car and began beating her with the gun.


The victim was treated on the scene by Fire / EMS for injuries she sustained during the assault. The officer, who was in the marked police car when the suspect crashed into it, did not seek treatment at the time. The suspect was transported to a nearby hospital after complaining his leg was injured; he was treated and released back to officers. The suspect, Keith DeWayne Nickens, Jr., 20, of Accokeek, was charged with first-degree assault, second-degree assault, obstruction and hindering a police officer, and other related charges. On September 8, a judge ordered Nickens to be held at the Charles County Detention Center without bond. Cpl. B. Saunders is investigating.

Keith Dewayne Nickens, Jr.


CONTACT: Diane Richardson

Media Relations Office

(301) 609-6557 or (240) 682-1658

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) was accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) in 2001 and has since earned the highest rating of Excellence. Established in 1658, the CCSO is one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the United States. For more information, visit www.ccso.us.

Charles County Crime Solvers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest or indictment of a person responsible for a crime in Charles County. All individuals who provide tips through Crime Solvers will remain anonymous. Anyone with information about an unsolved crime or the location of a fugitive may contact Charles County Crime Solvers by calling 1-866-411-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted online at www.charlescountycrimesolvers.com or by using the P3Intel mobile app, which can be found in the Android Store and Apple store by searching P3tips. For more information about the P3 program, click on this link: www.p3intel.com.

Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: https://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at https://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at https://so.md/expungeme.