Carling Sothoron

Prince Frederick, MD – The most recent case against a Baltimore woman arrested by Calvert County authorities this past February following an incident at a construction project staging site has been placed in legal limbo.

During a brief hearing Monday, Nov. 23, District Court Judge Neil Edward Axel granted the state’s request to move the case against Carling Sothoron, 29 to the stet or inactive docket. Sothoron was charged with making a false statement to an officer. That charge stemmed from an incident that occurred Feb. 3 at the staging site for the Dominion Cove point Exportation project. Sothoron and co-defendant Heather Doyle, 31 of Washington, DC were in the process of scaling a crane at the Lusby worksite when they were apprehended by police. Both were charged and later pleaded guilty to charges of trespassing on posted property. Sothoron accepted probation before judgment during an April 20 court hearing presided over by Judge Edward Nunn. She was ordered to pay $300. A stipulation of her probation requires her to stay off of Dominion property for three years and have no contact with company employees.

Sothoron’s attorney, William C. Brennan Jr., declined to speak with The BayNet about the accusation following the Nov. 23 court hearing.

Doyle opted to go to jail for 40 days. She issued several complaints via social media during her incarceration regarding the food at the Calvert County Detention Center, claiming it wasn’t compatible with her vegan diet.

Sothoron and Doyle had intended to hang a banner on the crane they tried to climb Feb. 3. The action was to protest the $3.8 billion construction project at the Dominion Cove Point Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plant. The facility under construction within the boundaries of the 40-year-old gas plant would give Dominion the capability to export natural gas to foreign countries.

A few hours after the April 20 court hearings, a lengthy statement from an organization called Stopping Extraction and Exports Destruction (SEED) was forwarded to media outlets, including The BayNet. The SEED missive identified three Calvert County Sheriff’s Office deputies—Sgt. Vladimir Bortchevsky, Dfc. Robert Brady and Dfc. Stephen Esposito—and labeled their response to the crane incident as “unprofessional, unsafe and violent.”

According to a report posted on SEED Coalition’s website, Sothoron filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office in May. “The sheriff’s office decided to press charges against Sothoron for filing a complaint about the incidents,” the recent SEED report stated.

Doyle also filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office, contending that she was physically assaulted during her arrest. She has also been charged with making a false statement to an officer. According to court documents, the false statement was made April 30. Her case is tentatively scheduled to be heard Jan. 11 in District Court.

The coalition stated that the Calvert County State’s Attorney’s Office and the sheriff’s office “are being pressured by Dominion to pursue these charges.”

Dominion officials have declined to comment on SEED’s statement.

Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com