Carroll County Crime Roundup

Alleged Home Invasion and Stabbing
At around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 11, State Police were dispatched to the 400 block of London Court in Westminster where a woman reported that a white male attacked her in the shower and stabbed her in the abdomen before fleeing the home. Police were continuing to investigate, Lt. Andrew Winner of the Maryland State Police said Friday.

Courthouse Bomb Threat
At around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, March  14, a bomb threat was called into 911. Both the District Court and Circuit Court in Westminster were evacuated. The threat was found to be a hoax and both courts reopened around 1:30 p.m. On Tuesday, March 15, Serena Jones, 30, of Westminster was arrested and charged with False Statement Destructive Device, according to a State Police news release.

Man Convicted of Sexually Abusing a Toddler
A March 15 Carroll County Times article reported that Ryan Chad Gifford, 24, of the 500 block of Yellow Lily Court, was convicted on March 14 in a hearing in Carroll County Circuit Court of one count of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of first-degree assault. According to the article,  hospital staff reported numerous injuries on a female toddler, including bruising on her face and bruises and cuts on various other parts of her body, as well as a burn on her right foot and back of her left calf. The mother of the toddler told police she'd found Gifford and the girl in the shower at his house and that Gifford was extremely inebriated. Gifford told her the girl had fallen several times in the shower and hit her head. Sentencing is scheduled for June.

Hampstead Man Convicted of Sexually Abusing Young Boys
According to a March 16 article in the Carroll County Times, Daniel Walter Blake, 33, of the 4100 block of Saint Paul Street in Hampstead, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor on Tuesday in Carroll County Circuit Court, a day after his sentencing in a federal child pornography case. According to the article, three boys told investigators that Blake touched them inappropriately and engaged in sexual activity with them over the course of several years. Prosecutors plan to ask for a sentence of 60 years with all but 40 years suspended, to be served simultaneously with his federal sentence.