Man jailed for throwing large parties during coronavirus pandemic
Shawn Myers argued with police and told more than 50 guests they could stay
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Maryland man has been jailed for one year for throwing two large parties that violated the state’s coronavirus rules.
Police were called to the home of Shawn Marshall Myers in March and found a party with more than 50 guests in full swing, despite Governor Larry Hogan banning large gatherings.
When Myers was told the party violated the state of emergency ban he reportedly argued with officers before he “eventually agreed to disband his party.”
Authorities say that just five days later on 27 March police were again called to the property in Hughesville, Maryland, and found a party with more than 50 people attending.
Maryland offering coronavirus tests to asymptomatic people to support lockdown being lifted
Maryland bar unveils rubber ring tables to ensure social distancing between customers
Coronavirus: Maryland resists pressure to reopen quickly as death toll rises
Coronavirus: Maryland finally details how it will use 500,000 tests shipped from South Korea
“Officers told Myers to disband the party, but again he was argumentative claiming he and his guests had the right to congregate," said prosecutors.
Myers also allegedly told “his guests to stay in defiance of Governor Hogan’s orders” and the police request to shut it down.
"Officers tried to reason with Myers and obtain his cooperation to no avail," said prosecutors and Myers was arrested.
Myers, 42, was convicted of two counts of failure to comply with an emergency order at a bench trial this week, according to the Charles County state’s attorney’s office.
Following his prison sentence Myers will remain on unsupervised probation for three years.
Maryland has seen more than 122,000 residents diagnosed with Covid-19 and at least 3,772 deaths, state figures show.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments