At 1:30 a.m. Dec. 15, Charles County Sheriff’s officers responded to Retirement Drive in La Plata for the report of the sound of gunshots.
Sgt. J. M. Harmon discovered a vehicle parked at the end of Vernick Place nearby with four occupants.
As he approached the vehicle, he saw a sawed-off shotgun on the passenger’s side near the center console. The occupants were ordered from the vehicle and officers subsequently recovered the loaded shotgun, two empty cartridges and a partial box of shells.
The driver, Brian Keith Patterson, 17, of La Plata, and the front seat passenger, Mark Allen Nalborczeyk, 18, of Port Tobacco, were arrested for possession of the shotgun.
Patterson resisted arrest and assaulted one of the officers but was eventually subdued.
He was additionally charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
Nalborczeyk initially provided a false name and was also charged with making a false statement to a police officer.
They were being held at the Charles County Detention Center pending appearances before a district court commissioner.
The back seat passenger, a 17-year-old Welcome girl, was charged with being a minor in possession of tobacco and alcohol.
The fourth passenger was not charged with any crime. Officer D. Brady investigated.