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DBLASTMEDIA NEWS
Former Deputy Chief Tired of Dirty Cops
Robert Ploof spent his childhood building Lego police stations and playing cops and robbers with friends. He idolized police officers and dreamed of a career in public safety. Ploof landed a security job on his 18th birthday and began preparing for police entrance exams. Months after taking his first civil service test, Ploof received an excited phone call from his mother. Read more...
Steve Thompson
Convicted Politician Seeking Re-Election in St. Mary's County
Former St. Mary’s County Commissioner John O’Connor is forging ahead with his election campaign while awaiting sentencing for tax evasion. O’Connor pleaded guilty last week to willfully filing false tax returns in 2023 and 2024 with the intent to evade taxes. Read more...
Steve Thompson
State Investigating Police Chief and Contractor
The Maryland State Prosecutor’s Office is investigating John E. O’Connor and former District Heights Police Chief Ronald Tarpley for alleged fraud and bribery offenses. Sources say Tarpley outsourced the police department’s grant management to his longtime friend O’Connor in 2023, an arrangement that abruptly ended in July 2025 when municipal employees discovered invoices with falsified business names and charges for equipment and services that were never delivered. Read more
Steve Thompson
Cop and Handyman Cousin Falsified Repair Bill
Newly obtained dashcam video from District Heights is raising concerns about a local cop and his repairman cousin. Sources tell DBlastMedia that Sergeant Ronald Govan arranged for his cousin Sean Fritz to inspect a police truck's faulty emergency lights. It took Fritz less than five minutes to locate a misconnected wire and restore the lights. Read more...
Steve Thompson
Police Chief Arrested Following Drunk Driving Crash
Maryland State Police arrested District Heights Police Chief Ronald Tarpley for drunk driving after an early morning vehicle crash on Pennsylvania Avenue in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He is scheduled to appear in court on January 5, 2026. Read more...
Steve Thompson
Police Chief Disabled Camera to Frame Whistleblower
The Maryland State Prosecutor's Office has launched a criminal investigation for bribery and theft involving District Heights Police Chief Ronald Tarpley and his longtime friends John E. O'Connor and Matthew Davis. Tarpley fired the deputy chief who uncovered evidence of their criminal misconduct totaling more than $100,000. Read more...
Steve Thompson
City Rehired Officer with Troubling Work History
DBlastMedia began gathering information on PFC Travon Campbell earlier this week after District Heights City Commissioners passed a resolution to expunge his disciplinary record and make him eligible for re-hire. Read more...
Steve Thompson
NEWS ARTICLES
Personal Friendships Catapult Secretary to Assistant Sheriff
Marcus A. Jones worked as a secretary for the City of Seat Pleasant but aspired to become a police officer. In August 2015, Jones was suspended from work after an altercation with another secretary. According to inside sources, Jones repeatedly screamed at a female coworker and slammed office doors as the City Administrator attempted to defuse the situation. Read more...
Former Deputy Chief Tired of Dirty Cops
Robert Ploof spent his childhood building Lego police stations and playing cops and robbers with friends. He idolized police officers and dreamed of a career in public safety. Ploof landed a security job on his 18th birthday and began preparing for police entrance exams. Months after taking his first civil service test, Ploof received an excited phone call from his mother. Read more...
List of Dishonest Prince George's County Cops Released
A partial Brady List of 148 current or former police officers with integrity issues was released by the State's Attorney.
Cop Facing More Charges After Recent Arrest
A Capitol Heights police officer indicted last month by a Harford County grand jury for first-degree assault, second-degree assault, and false imprisonment now faces more charges for allegedly contacting the victim. Read more...
Former St. Mary's County Official Convicted of Fraud
Former St. Mary's County Commissioner John E. O'Connor pleaded guilty this week to willfully filing false tax returns for 2023 and 2024. O'Connor will be sentenced in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court on a later date. Read more...
Police Sergeant Charged with Assault
Forest Heights Police Sergeant Jalen Rasard Cephus is facing first- and second-degree assault charges following an off-duty altercation in Waldorf, Maryland. According to charging documents, Cephus punched and choked his friend's romantic partner during an argument. Read more...
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