UPDATE: 10/24.13, 11:15 a.m. — A Bench Warrant for failure to obey a court order was issued on October 23 for John Otha Dickens Jr. The original bond in both cases was revoked. At 5:45pm, the warrant was served by Corporal Corcoran. Dickens is being held without bail at the St. Mary’s County Detention Center. 

 

Update: 10/23/13

On October 21, 2013 detectives with the St. Mary’s County Criminal Investigations Division responded to a residence on Bristol Ave. in Lexington Park, Md. for an officer involved shooting. 

During the subsequent investigation detectives learned John Otha Dickens, Jr. had assaulted the victim on October 20, 2013 and had been arrested by Maryland State Police, charged with Assault 2nd Degree and incarcerated in the Detention Center.  Dickens, Jr. was later released by a District Court Commissioner on a $7,500 bond and ordered to have no contact with the victim.

On October 21, 2013, at 6:30 AM, Dickens, Jr. returned to the residence and again assaulted the victim with a knife, threatened her with a gun and assaulted a 5 year old child with a knife causing a laceration to the child.  Responding deputies entered the residence and heard a female screaming from an upstairs bedroom. Contact was made with Dickens, Jr. who refused deputies orders to cease his assault on the victim and was shot by a deputy. 

Dickens, Jr. was transported to Prince Georges Hospital Center where he was treated for his wounds and later released.  Upon his release Dickens, Jr. was charged with 3 counts of Assault 1st Degree, 3 counts of Assault 2nd Degree and incarcerated in the detention where he again appeared before a District Court Commissioner.  Dickens was again released on a $5,000 bond pending further action by the courts. 

Previous Update:

On Oct. 21 at 6:30am, deputies assigned to the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division responded to a residence for a domestic assault in progress. A female victim fled the residence after she was assaulted with a knife by the suspect, identified as John Otha Dickens Jr., age 24, of Lexington Park. She alleged, to the 9 1 1 operator, Dickens was going to harm another female inside the residence with the knife.

Upon arrival, a witness notified deputies Dickens was armed with a knife and/or a handgun. Deputies heard screams coming from the residence and immediately made entry. Deputies located Dickens in an upstairs bedroom actively assaulting a female victim. The first deputy to enter the room, Corporal J. Kirkner, a 13 year veteran of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, ordered Dickens to stop. Dickens continued to assault the victim. Corporal Kirkner fired two rounds from his agency issued firearm, ending the assault.

Dickens was flown to an area hospital by Maryland State Police helicopter for non-life threatening gunshot wounds. The female victim and the child were treated at Medstar St. Mary’s Hospital for non-life threatening wounds. None of the deputies were injured.

Detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division and the Office of Professional Responsibilities responded to the scene to assume the investigation. Criminal