LEONARDTOWN, Md.– On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at around 5:50 p.m., deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for a reported assault in the 42000 block of Mechanicsville, MD.
When deputies arrived, a male subject matching the description of the suspect provided by dispatchers was in the yard of the reported incident location. Deputies confirmed the identity of the individual as Mark Anthony Cranston Jr., 38, and he was taken into custody without incident.
Deputies located two adult victims, who had fled to a neighboring house, suffering from severe injuries. The female victim has a single wound to her neck consistent with a stabbing. The male victim had approximately seven to eight stab wounds to the neck, left arm, and right shoulder as well as a laceration to the neck and a contusion to his face. A knife with an approximately ten-inch blade was recovered from the scene.
Maryland State Police Aviation transported both victims to area hospitals, where they remain in stable condition.
Preliminary investigation indicates the assault was the result of a domestic-related dispute between the suspect and the victims.
Cranston was transported to the Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Leonardtown and charged with:
- Two counts of attempted first-degree murder
- Two counts of attempted second-degree murder
- Two counts of assault first-degree
- Two counts of assault second-degree
Cranston had been released on his own recognizance on June 3, 2025, from another jurisdiction, where he was awaiting trial on separate assault charges.
The Criminal Investigations Division has assumed responsibility for this investigation. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Benjamin Raley at 301-475-4200, ext. 8076, or via email at Benjamin.Raley@stmaryscountymd.gov.
Why was he out of Jail to begin with?