State's attorney to drop charges against woman whose cell phone was snatched

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

By JOHN WHARTON

Staff writer

St. Mary's County's top prosecutor said Tuesday that he will dismiss the charges against a Lexington Park woman whose cell phone was snatched by a lawman as she recorded his actions.

Yvonne Nicole Shaw, 27, said this week that a St. Mary's sheriff's deputy followed her into a friend's home to arrest her on a felony charge from the incident.

Shaw awaits a preliminary inquiry in court this week on the charge of unlawful interception of communication. She said Monday she is scheduled to meet next week with State's Attorney Richard Fritz, who indicated Tuesday that the charges will be dropped.

"I'm not proceeding forward on that," Fritz said.

St. Mary's sheriff's Cpl. Patrick Handy remains on full active duty, the county sheriff said this week, as an internal-affairs investigation of the June 12 incident continues. The sheriff said all of his officers might receive additional training on the issue of how to conduct themselves in a similar situation.

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