LA PLATA, Md. — Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, Charles County Circuit Court Judge Makeba Gibbs sentenced Richard William Ellis, 48, of Newburg, to 5 years in prison with all but 142 days suspended for 19 counts of Second-Degree Assault. Ellis had already served 142 days in custody prior to sentencing and received credit for time served. As a part of his sentence, Ellis is currently on supervised probation for five years and was ordered to remove all firearms from his residence.
On April 3, 2025, Ellis pleaded guilty to the aforementioned charges.
On September 23, 2024, officers interviewed several juvenile victims who reported that an individual, identified as Ellis, pulled out a handgun and pointed it toward the rear of the school bus.
An investigation revealed that the incident occurred on September 20, 2024, as a school bus transporting students from Piccowaxen Middle School was dropping off a juvenile relative of Ellis near Waverly Point Road in Newburg. At drop-off, another student on the bus made an insulting remark toward Ellis’ relative.
In response, Ellis pointed a handgun toward the bus and began walking toward the bus in an aggressive manner. The bus, which was fully occupied at the time of the incident, was able to leave the area safely, and no physical injuries were reported. Officers responded to Ellis’ house and recovered a handgun that fit the description that the victims provided.
On December 23, 2024, Ellis was apprehended.
During sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Charmayne Clark, asking for a higher sentence, stated that Ellis “terrorized a bus full of children.”
Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse furthered that “He is the adult and to do that to a bunch of kids on a bus – it is so wrong. That was a really bad thing to do.”
