La Plata, MD – By all accounts, Akeem Rashad Harrington, 22 of Waldorf, is a nice young man. He comes from a supportive family, something Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West noted is an anomaly in his courtroom.
It is also clear, at least to anyone who has sat in West’s courtroom for any length of time, that home invasions are one thing the judge does not tolerate. He has said many times that a person’s home is sacred and when that sanctity is violated he tends to come down hard on the offender.
That was the case Thursday, March 2 when West sentenced Harrington to 28 years in prison for a home invasion that occurred May 15, 2016.
Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to Threshfield Street in Waldorf around 9:30 p.m. for the report of an assault. Officers discovered what witnesses in the case (held back when Caroline Conway was on trial for murder) revealed, that occupants of a vehicle were driving down the street when their car was no longer able to get between several cars that were parked on either side of the roadway due to a resident hosting a graduation party. The occupants of the car began arguing with some of the party-goers, and an argument followed. The people in the car fled but returned around 11:14 p.m.
According to police reports, the residents asked the remaining guests to come inside fearing something might happen. At least one occupant of the car got out and approached the front doorway, fired three rounds at the house and then kicked in the front door and fired at least one more shot. No one was struck. The suspects fled, but officers were able to quickly identify them as Harrington and a pair of 17-year-old twins Dana Nichole McBeth and Dion Tevon McBeth, both from Waldorf. Both were charged as adults.
Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney John A. Stackhuse asked for an above-guidelines sentence. Harrington’s family pleaded with the judge for leniency, but the judge remained unmoved.
“This is a very terrible case for a lot of reasons,” West said. “Some people are having a party. Some other people are driving down the street and can’t get through. There are 100 ways to solve this. That’s what makes it such a sad case because it’s so ridiculous.
“Mr. Harrington, who everyone in his family says is the first one to say don’t do that, keeping people out of trouble, Mr. Harrington had the power to bail out Mr. McBeth, to say, ‘let’s not do this,’ and let’s remember, Mr. Harrington had the gun,” the judge admonished. “This is a very violent offense and when those occur in someone’s home, that’s a recipe for a DOC [Department of Corrections] type of sentence.”
West started by giving Harrington four years for having production equipment for growing marijuana and another three years for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He tacked on two years for possession of a handgun and by the time he got through all the charges, had tallied 28 years of total consecutive time with an additional 25 years held in abeyance. He gave the defendant credit for 290 days of time served and added five years of supervised probation upon his release.
West told Charles County assistant public defenders Michele Harewood and Gabrielle Green that he would consider a motion for reconsideration of the sentence at some point.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com