County enforcement staff and volunteers carried out a cleanup of vacant properties in Lexington Park on Oct. 10 and removed seven full trailer loads of trash to the county landfill, St. Mary's County alcohol enforcement staff reported to the Alcohol Beverage Board on Oct. 13.

The enforcement coordinator said the cleanup targeted abandoned properties used for public alcohol consumption and drug use, including a site locally referred to as Lourdes Laundromat near Saint Mary's Square on Green Mills Road. The operation supplied court-ordered workers with safety vests, gloves and water and used a sheriff's office SUV and trailer to haul debris.

“We cleaned up as much as we could with the help that we had, but it's a continuing problem with people drinking in public,” the alcohol enforcement coordinator said. He described the effort as intended to reduce litter caused by public drinking and to make enforcement of violations easier because fresh containers can be linked to recent consumption.

The coordinator reported enforcement activity for September and early October: seven citations in September (four adults, three juveniles) for public consumption or related offenses; a total of nine DUI arrests in the period (seven adults, one juvenile and one driver under 21); and 30 compliance checks with no violations observed. At a sobriety checkpoint on Sept. 29 at Horseshoe Road and Buds Creek Road in Clements, 172 vehicles passed through and officers reported zero impaired drivers.

The cleanup included cooperation with the state attorney’s office, which in some cases requested that eligible offenders perform community service in lieu of fines; the coordinator said the state attorney's office approached the judge, Christy Chester, and the judge approved using court-ordered workers for cleanup. The coordinator also reported recovery of a stolen wallet (reported Sept. 28) and that latent prints are pending; an arrest warrant was active for a suspect identified as Kevin Drew Barnes.

The cleanup also uncovered a gas leak near one of the vacant buildings; Bay District (fire/utility response) secured the scene, the coordinator said. Sergeant Young supplied pizza to workers from his own funds and local businesses and passersby also assisted with the cleanup, the coordinator added.

The coordinator asked for more public reporting of public drinking incidents, saying community reports help enforcement identify fresh containers and link violations to specific individuals.