A Maryland probation agent who authorities say was killed by a client during a home visit had earlier reported to his agency that the man — a convicted sex offender — no longer wanted to cooperate with the probation process, according to police radio traffic on the night the agent was found dead.
Maryland
Md. probation agent reportedly raised concerns before he was killed
The concerns, as captured by the public-safety-scanner archiving service openmhz.com, are consistent with other worries raised by probation employees about the client, Emanuel Sewell, of Chevy Chase, according officials at the union for the agents.
Sewell had been under their supervision since 2021 after serving 25 years in prison for sex assault and other crimes.
The slain agent, Davis Martinez, 33, had gone to see him for a routine home visit on May 31. Martinez was stabbed repeatedly in his head and face before his body was wrapped in plastic bags and stuffed under a bed, police say. Sewell, 54, was captured a day later in West Virginia and has been charged with murder.
His attorneys have declined to comment about the case.
The tragic death — and what safety procedures had been in place — are the source of growing controversy between front-line probation workers and their management at Maryland’s Division of Parole and Probation, which is part of the state’s Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
Union official Stuart Katzenberg said members “raised multiple concerns about Sewell” before Martinez’s killing.
He spoke Tuesday several hours after more than 50 members of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) rallied in Catonsville to call for enhanced safety procedures.
Among the union’s demands: safer staffing levels that would allow agents to conduct visits in pairs — not alone, as Martinez had.
The union also called for “a third-party investigation into the problems that led to the killing of Agent Davis Martinez.”
Officials at the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services declined to comment Tuesday on the specific police radio traffic that cited Martinez’s concerns. But a spokesman there said that in the wake of Martinez’s death, the department is committed to fixing any safety deficiencies.
“The department has taken immediate and decisive action to reassess and enhance our current policies and practices,” the spokesman said. “This reassessment includes examining equipment and policies that affect every element of work done by Parole and Probation employees.”
Among the areas of focus are home visits and whether high-risk clients should be visited alone by agents.
The department earlier had announced a management shake-up in the parole and probation division and said it is continuing to investigate events around Martinez’s death.
Sewell’s criminal record goes back to at least the mid-1990s. In 1997, he pleaded guilty to first-degree sex offense amid accusations that he climbed through the ground-floor apartment window of a man he didn’t know and raped him at knifepoint.
After his release from prison in 2021, his status as a convicted sex offender made him subject to monthly home visits by probation agents. An agent who had this responsibility earlier this year grew concerned about going inside his home, according to Rayneika Robinson, president of the Parole and Probation employees’ AFSCME local.
“Agent Martinez came across the case because one of his co-workers didn’t want [it]. She felt unsafe,” Robinson said in an interview. “He didn’t want his co-worker to go out feeling unsafe. So he went ahead and stepped up and went to the home for her.”
Robinson said the case was officially transferred to Martinez on May 7.
It wasn’t immediately clear how much agency managers knew about the switch or the reason it was made.
Martinez went to Sewell’s apartment for a home visit on May 31. Based on a witness statement to police detailed in court charging papers, he appeared to have gotten there around 9 a.m. He wore a bulletproof vest but was not armed with a handgun. Probation agents are not armed, according to their union.
Court records do not say when Martinez was attacked. A witness indicated that Sewell left his apartment about 2 p.m., charging documents say.
Shortly before 6 p.m., Montgomery County Police received a request to go to Sewell’s apartment and check on the agent’s welfare. As they tried to piece together what was going on — looking for the agent’s car, trying to reach him on his phone, growing more concerned — an officer came on the radio and told his colleagues what he had learned about information reported into the Parole and Probation’s system:
“There’s an entry in the P and P system where this agent who’s missing had a phone call with this client and the client said he didn’t want to be harassed any longer by Parole and Probation, and he was not going to cooperate,” the officer said, according to openmhz.com. “That phone call took place on May 7th of this year.”
Officers eventually forced their way inside. Scanner recordings report that they found blood on the floor, discovered Martinez’s body and requested homicide detectives come to the scene.
Union workers rallied at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in Catonsville about continued change they want to see after the killing of a parole agent. Under criticism last week, state leaders announced they named three interim leaders, including one to lead the parole and probation division, though it did not make clear what had become of those in the jobs previously.
Baltimore may be under an extreme heat alert, but residents can dream about autumn, as tickets are now on sale for the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show returning to the Maryland State Fairgrounds in October.
This three-day celebration of home and garden takes place from Friday, Oct. 16 through Sunday, Oct. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Expect hundreds of exhibitors, local makers, home improvement experts, family-friendly experiences and celebrity guests. The show offers everyone the chance to explore the very latest in home improvement, landscaping, outdoor living and decor, the chance to take part in hands-on experiences, and do some holiday shopping all under one roof.
This year’s show will have more than 300 exhibitors, including more than 100 crafters from around Maryland in the Makers Market. There will be unique exhibits, stage presentations and a special appearance by Chase Morrill, Ashley Morrill-Eldridge and Ryan Eldridge from Magnolia Network’s hit series “Maine Cabin Masters.” The three will have two Main Stage appearances, one on Friday, Oct. 16 at 4 p.m. and the second on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 12 p.m.
“As temperatures start to drop and the holiday season comes into view, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show is a place to gather ideas, meet local experts and get inspired before the busy season begins,” said Dave Paul, show manager, in a statement. “Whether attendees are planning a home project, looking for outdoor living ideas or getting a head start on holiday shopping, the show brings together resources and experiences for every kind of homeowner, maker and DIY enthusiast.”
In addition to the Makers Market and stars of “Maine Cabin Masters”, the Maryland Fall Home & Garden + Craft Show will have a petting zoo, a Kids Market where attendees can shop from local children, and much more.
Tickets are available online and at the door. Prices are as follows:
Online:
- Adults: $8
- Senior Citizens (60+): $6
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- 4-Pack Online: $30 for four tickets, valid for one admission each and one day only
At the door:
- Adults: $10
- Senior Citizens (60+): $8
- Children (ages 6-12): $4
- Friday & Saturday: $4 after 4 p.m. at the door only
Special Offers:
- Active and retired military personnel, veterans, firefighters and police officers receive free admission all weekend, along with one guest, with valid ID at the box office.
- Attendees who show a CharmPass app, Light RailLink ticket or eligible transit pass at the box office receive free admission any day of the show. One admission is available per pass.
The Maryland State Fairgrounds is located at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium.
Related
Maryland
Maryland police arrest alleged bank robber wielding stolen cat: ‘Tried to use her as an accessory’
Law enforcement agencies are accustomed to dealing with cat burglars – but now a Maryland police department is saying it grappled with a cat-wielding bank robber.
The Prince George’s county police department said its officers arrested a man suspected of stealing a cat and then taking the animal with him to a PNC bank branch in the local community of Beltsville to rob the establishment on Monday morning.
“The cat was returned” after the suspect was arrested, the police department said in a statement to the Guardian on Tuesday. The agency said no injuries were reported, and it declined to name the suspect or release additional details, saying the case – bound for a spot in the annals of bizarre reported US crimes – remained under investigation.
Nonetheless, a social media post from rescue shelter Beltsville Community Cats provided more information.
A Beltsville Community Cats Facebook page post on Monday identified the cat at the center of the alleged botched caper as Magnolia, a three-and-a-half-month-old tuxedo kitten. The shelter recounted how the suspect first snatched Magnolia from her “adoption habitat” at Beltsville’s Pet Supplies Plus store, took her across the parking lot to a PNC branch, and “tried to use her as an accessory in [an] attempted robbery”.
“He asked the bank manager to hold the kitten while he wrote a note, then handed the note to a teller demanding all the cash,” the post continued. “Thankfully, the robbery was unsuccessful, the suspect was arrested, and Magnolia was found safe and sound in the bank manager’s office, where the two had bonded over their shared ordeal.”
Pet Supplies Plus store employees told the NBC affiliate in nearby Washington DC that Magnolia’s cat napper had come in daily for about two weeks and focused on the kitten each time.
Finally, on Monday, he managed to use a key to open a cat adoption area and whisked Magnolia away, store employees said to the outlet, WRC.
Store manager Aaron Kurkowski told WRC that Magnolia’s thief “came in and saw none of my team was nearby the front – and he just went right to her and ran right on out”.
According to WRC, Stephanie Stullich of Beltsville Community Cats then received a call from a pet store employee who alerted her to Magnolia’s plight.
That prompted Stullich to run over to the store, where she said to WRC that she “immediately saw all of these police cars and … thought, ‘Wow, that’s a heck of a response for a stolen cat’.”
“But then I realized they all were going down to the bank,” Stullich recalled to WRC. “They came back out a few minutes later and said, ‘Yes, there is a cat inside the bank.’”
Two days before her catnapping, Magnolia was the subject of a Beltsville Community Cats Facebook post inviting people to see her at Pet Supplies Plus and consider adopting her.
Magnolia as of Monday was still waiting to be adopted, Beltsville Community Cats said in its post detailing the bank robbery.
The non-profit organization offered members of the public the opportunity to apply to adopt Magnolia by emailing rescue@beltsvillecats.net.
Beltsville Community Cats’ post also joked that Magnolia’s “brief ‘life of crime’ is behind her” – except for undoubtedly “stealing” hearts, treats, toys and cuddles wherever her forever home may be.
Why a fire blanket is a must-have for every kitchen
Learn how a fire blanket can smother flames safely and protect your home from grease fires.
A dog jumping onto a kitchen counter accidentally turned on a toaster and ignited nearby combustibles, sparking a fire that killed three pets inside a Belcamp, Maryland, home, according to multiple reports, citing local fire officials.
The blaze broke out July 10 while the unidentified family was away, prompting neighbors to rescue two dogs before fire crews arrived, WBAL‑TV and Fox 45 reported.
The Abingdon Fire Company responded at 5:35 p.m. ET to the home and brought the fire under control in about 20 minutes, according to the fire station’s Facebook post. There were no human injuries, but investigators reported extensive fire, soot, smoke and water damage throughout the single‑family home, Fox 45 reported.
Ring home security video captured the moments before the fire. Investigators said the footage showed one of the family’s dogs climbing onto the counter and pawing at items near the toaster, helping deputy state fire marshals determine the fire’s point of origin and ultimately rule its cause as accidental.
Three pets – a dog named Dakota and two unidentified cats – died in the blaze, according to Fox 45. Two other dogs, Bo and Addie, were rescued by neighbors. The family’s bearded dragon survived after spending 24 hours in critical care, officials said.
Neighbors rescue two dogs from burning home
Fire officials said Bo was the dog seen on video inadvertently turning on the toaster. The appliance ignited nearby materials, allowing the fire to spread rapidly through the kitchen before crews arrived.
Neighbors who saw smoke coming from the home reached Bo and Addie before conditions worsened.
Officials detail damage to home
Officials estimated the home sustained about $150,000 in structural damage and roughly $50,000 in damage to its contents, though some assessments place the total loss closer to $200,000, Fox 45 reported. Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to neighboring properties, but the interior of the home was heavily damaged.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT
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