A Montgomery County grand jury has indicted a county police officer on one count of perjury after questions arose about the accuracy of his testimony in a Feb. 3 drug paraphernalia trial in district court.
Police identified the officer as Colin W. O’Brien and said he has been suspended with pay since June 5. The suspension will continue until the case is completed.
O’Brien is assigned to the 3rd District and has been with the police force since July 2008, according to police.
The perjury charge stems from a Feb. 2014 trial in which a 32-year-old Silver Spring man was found not guilty of one charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. O’Brien is listed as the complainant in the case, according to court records.
The perjury charge is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
County Inmate Files $1 Million Sexual Assault Lawsuit
A Montgomery County inmate has filed a $1 million lawsuit against the county alleging that a guard at the Boyds correctional facility sexually assaulted her last month, according to a report in the Maryland Daily Record.
The report says Chanel Williams, 23, is accusing a corrections officer identified in the complaint as “Sgt. Lawrence” of forcefully kissing her and grabbing her when he came into her cell on July 6.
The newspaper reported that Arthur Wallenstein, the director of the county Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, said the officer in question is being investigated by county police in two other alleged incidents in the past two months, including one other incident reported by Williams.
Williams, a District resident, previously pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit armed robbery. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 20, according to online court records.