Group Of Four Charged In Labor Day Grocery Store Heist

LUSBY, Md. – A group consisting of two men and two women are facing charges for allegedly stealing around $500 worth of groceries from a Weis in Lusby, Maryland.

The incident took place on September 4, 2023 at around 3:30 PM when Deputy Ryan Jones of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call reporting a theft on Village Center Drive.

According to courtroom filings, the suspects fled the scene in a black Silverado full of items that had not been paid for.

Jones pursued the vehicle onto Gunsmoke Trail and Rawhide Road, where it would eventually slow to a stop. One of the men, 56-year-old Benjamin Andrew Havenner, took off into the woods and jumped into a pond, kicking off a nearly two-hour long manhunt. The other three suspects were detained.

The manhunt for Havenner ended around 5:35 PM when deputies located him “inside of a truck parked on Cove Point Road with a knife to his neck saying that he was going to kill himself.”

Negotiators were able to convince Havenner to surrender at around 7:00 PM and he was taken into custody. It was also discovered that Havenner was also wanted in Charles County for failing to appear in court for charges related to another theft attempt.

Havenner was submitted to a CalvertHealth clinic for an evaluation. He has been charged with misdemeanor theft, failure to obey a lawful order, and resisting arrest.

Two other passengers, Kelly Nicole Savoy-Greene, 39, from Waldorf, Maryland, and Katelyn Brittany Pearson, 31, of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, are also facing misdemeanor theft charges.

The fourth passenger, Patrick G. Freeman Jr., 35, of Lusby, Maryland, is being charged with both misdemeanor theft and possession of drugs after suboxone was discovered on him. As the driver, he is also being charged with speeding and failing to stop for traffic signals.

Camera footage depicting the theft was obtained by Deputy Tanner Zinn.