Man, 41, is jailed for a year after hosting two huge parties in Maryland despite COVID-19 orders

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Man, 41, is jailed for a year after hosting two huge parties in Maryland despite COVID-19 orders

Shawn Marshall Myers (pictured in mugshot) was convicted of two counts of Failure to Comply with an Emergency Order

A Maryland man was sentenced to one in year jail for throwing two large parties that violated the state’s COVID-19 gathering orders, prosecutors said.

Shawn Marshall Myers, of Hughesville, was convicted of two counts of Failure to Comply with an Emergency Order on Friday, according to a statement from the Charles County State’s Attorney Office.

Myers will serve his prison sentence at the Charles County Detention Center and, upon his release, will be on unsupervised probation for three years. 

He was initially charged after deputies responded to his home on two separate occasions in March.

On March 22, multiple officers dispatched to his home due to reports of a large party that violated Gov. Larry Hogan’s previous State of Emergency and Large Gathering Order.  

Authorities found around 50 people at that 42-year-old’s residence. Officers said Myers was initially argumentative, but eventually agreed to disband the party.

Hogan’s Large Gathering Order prohibited large groups of more than 50 people gathering amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (pictured)  previously implemented a Large Gathering Order in March to curb the spread of COVID-19

At that time, stay-at-home orders had just begun for many states following the arrival of COVID-19 in January and the subsequent infections.

‘A person who knowingly and willfully violates this Order is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding $5,000 or both,’ the order stated.  

Just five days later, officers were forced to return to Myers’ home after he hosted another party that exceeded 50 people.

‘Officers told Myers to disband the party, but again he was argumentative claiming he and his guests had the right to congregate,’ the statement read.

‘Beyond being argumentative, Myers directed his guests to stay in defiance of Governor Hogan’s Orders and the officers’ lawful orders to disband the party.’

Authorities said Myers was taken into custody after he refused to cooperate. 

Myers (left and right) was taken into custody after throwing a second large gathering on March 27, in which he allegedly told his attendees to ignore the state’s COVID-19 rules

Hogan addressed Myers’ arrest on Twitter and lambasted the man for ignoring social distancing protocols that month.

He wrote: ‘A Charles County man has been arrested after repeatedly violating the executive order banning large gatherings and hosting a bonfire party with 60 guests. 

‘I cannot begin to express my disgust towards such irresponsible, reckless behavior.

‘Let me repeat: if you are engaged in this kind of activity, you are breaking the law, and you are endangering the lives of your fellow Marylanders.

‘State and local authorities will continue to take aggressive enforcement action as we work to prevent the spread of #Covid19.’

Hogan called Myers’ behavior ‘irresponsible’ and ‘reckless’ on Twitter after the 41-year-old was arrested 

Hogan: ‘Let me repeat: if you are engaged in this kind of activity, you are breaking the law, and you are endangering the lives of your fellow Marylanders’

At the time, just 10 Marylanders have died of coronavirus and more than 1,200 have be infected by the disease thus far.  As of Sunday, 3,925 residents had died and more than 123,000 people have been infected.

Earlier this month, a number of local counties were approved for Phase 3 of the state’s Roadmap to Recovery.

This allowed some residents to attend movie theaters, view concerts outdoors and reopened larger religious services for in-person operations.

The United States has recorded more than seven million cases and 203,000 deaths. 

Source: Daily Mail |NewsColony

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