Hagerstown Police Department

06/05/2026

Scammers are calling people in the area and saying they are Chief Kifer. They then tell the person that their credit card was used to purchase illegal drugs through the mail. The scammer goes on to say that a warrant has been issued for their arrest and police will be on the way to the house unless they make a payment.

The police department will never ask for money. Never give out your personal information over the phone. We ask that you kindly warn your friends and family, particularly the elderly that this is a scam.

05/27/2026

Want to be a part of our Junior Police Academy? This year's JPA will run from August 3 through August 7. Students must be an upcoming 7 or 8th grader. Applications will be at the front desk at HPD and can also be found at Northern Middle, Western Heights and E. Russell Hicks. 7th and 8th grade students that attend school outside the city limits, as well as home schoolers, are welcome to apply. There is no fee associated with the application and are due by June 12th. We will select a maximum of 20 students to take part in a variety of activities to include, mock crime scene processing, courthouse tours, meet the mayor, get an overall view of HPD and much more. The course runs from 8am to 3pm each day.

A special thanks to our School Resource Officers for lining up this much anticipated summer event!

05/26/2026

On 5/25/26 at about 10:00 pm officers responded to the 1000 block of Security Road for a reported gunshot victim. The adult male victim was transported to Meritus Medical Center where he was later pronounced deceased.

This is an active investigation and no further details will be released at this time, including the identity of the victim. Updates will be given as appropriate.

05/08/2026

On 5/7/26 the Hagerstown Police Department received information from Washington County Department of Social Services regarding a substitute school bus attendant inappropriately touching several students on a school bus. HPD’s child crimes detective immediately began an investigation and coordinated with Washington County Public School officials.

In coordination with WCPS, the detective was able to view surveillance footage from inside the bus. The footage revealed that on 5/5/26, the suspect, identified as Michael Sowers (age 71 of Hagerstown), sexually assaulted three students. Two of the victims were male and one was female. They range in age from five to nine years old. The children are all considered special needs.

An arrest warrant was issued on 5/7/26 and Sowers was arrested this morning, 5/8/26 at his home. This is an active and ongoing investigation. We will continue to work with WCPS, reviewing bus routes and surveillance footage. It is possible that there are more victims. If you have any further information, please contact Det. Fleegal at [email protected]

Any questions about Sowers employment should be directed to Washington County Public Schools. Sowers is charged with the following for each victim:

Victim #1
3rd Degree S*x Offense
4th Degree S*x Offense
2nd Degree Assault

Victim #2
3rd Degree S*x Offense
4th Degree S*x Offense
2nd Degree Assault

Victim #3
2nd Degree R**e

05/06/2026

Please help us in welcoming the newest sworn members of HPD! They graduated from the Washington County Police Academy yesterday. After 7 months in the academy, they will start approximately 3 months of field training before they patrol on their own. We wish them all a safe, successful career!

04/22/2026

Update:

This male has been identified and charges are forthcoming.

We are seeking the public's assistance to identify the person in the attached photographs who committed a burglary and stole numerous items. Thank you for your help keeping our community safe!!

04/20/2026

Last week we got to partner with this amazing group and HCC to conduct mock traffic stops. See below for more info!

04/15/2026

We want to clarify the viral video going around about an active shooter at the ice rink in Hagerstown. This video is not from Hagerstown and there is not an active shooter at the ice rink.

04/15/2026

Another example of great work done by our officers and our law enforcement partners!

In the late evening hours of Tuesday, April 14, 2026, the Washington County Narcotics Task Force with the assistance of the Hagerstown Police Department’s Crime Suppression Unit and the Hagerstown Police Department’s K9 unit, conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in the area of West Wilson Boulevard and Summit Avenue related to an ongoing narcotics investigation. Investigators located approximately 173.9 grams of co***ne and 15.9 grams of fentanyl contained in 30 gelatin capsules.

56-year-old – Alexzander Kendricks of Hagerstown, Maryland was arrested and transported to the Washington County Detention Center. He was charged with the following criminal offenses:

DIST/PWID CDS FENTANYL/HEROIN
CDS POSSESS - LG AMT- NOT CANNABIS
CDS: POSS W/I DIST: NARC
CDS: POSS W/I DIST: NARC
CDS: POSSESS-NOT CANNABIS
CDS: POSSESS-NOT CANNABIS

All parties are presumed innocent pending adjudication of their criminal cases.

04/02/2026

HPD K9 team helping out on this one! Good work all around.

The Washington County Narcotics Task Force is proud to acknowledge the Washington County Sheriff's Office, Maryland and Hagerstown Police Department for their continued efforts to pursue criminals engaged in the distribution of illicit narcotics, as well as the possession of fi****ms, here in Washington County, Maryland.

During the morning hours of Wednesday, April 01, 2026, a Deputy assigned to the Midnight Shift of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle leaving Motel 6, located on Massey Boulevard.

During the course of the stop, the Deputy observed activity consistent with drug possession/distribution and requested a K9 team from the Hagerstown Police Department to respond to the scene of the traffic stop. Once the K9 team arrived, the K9 was deployed and alerted to the presence of the odor of illicit narcotics emitting from the vehicle, thus resulting in the Deputies/Officers on-scene conducting a search of the vehicle.

At the conclusion of the vehicle search Law Enforcement recovered a total of two fi****ms, approximately 112 capsules of fentanyl (weighing approximately 47.8 grams), a baggie containing suspected fentanyl (weighing approximately 32.8 grams), approximately 5 grams of co***ne, and nearly $600.00 in US Currency.

Following the search of the vehicle, Investigators with the Washington County Narcotics Task Force responded to assist with the investigation by assisting with evidence processing and authoring search and seizure warrants for two locations.

As a result of this investigation, Tanika Kornegan from Hagerstown, Maryland, and John R. Smith from Hagerstown, Maryland were arrested and charged with various drug and firearm offenses.

Prior to Kornegan being transported to the Washington County Detention Center, an additional baggie containing an excess of fifty capsules of suspected fentanyl was removed from her person.

All parties are presumed innocent pending adjudication of their criminal cases.

If you would like to provide anonymous information to the Washington County Narcotics Task Force, please contact us at 301-223-2632, email us at [email protected], or via the Washington County Sheriff’s Office/Hagerstown Police Department submit a tip links.