VEHICLE IDENTIFIED ALONG WITH TWO SUSPECTS IN CARROLL COUNTY HIT AND RUN FATAL

(Westminster, MD) – State Police investigators from the Westminster Barracks and the Maryland State Police Crash Team have located the vehicle and two possible suspects involved in a hit and run fatal which occurred early Sunday morning in the 2000-block of Littlestown Pike.

Investigators received an anonymous tip which led them to an address in Keymar, Maryland where the suspected vehicle was being stored. Upon arrival, state police investigators located a forest green 1998 Saturn. The vehicle was towed to the Westminster Barracks for processing by the Maryland State Police Crash Team and by crime scene technicians from the Forensic Sciences Division.

State police located the owner of the vehicle and an additional person at undisclosed locations. They were taken to the Westminster Barracks for questioning and later released without being charged. The completed investigation will be presented to the Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office for further review.

The deceased is identified as James O. Robinette Jr., 40, of the 2000-block of Littlestown Pike, Westminster, Maryland. He was pronounced dead at the scene, which is near the home where he lived with a relative.

The preliminary investigation indicates the crash occurred on Sunday, June 20, 2010 at approximately 3:30 a.m. State Police began the investigation after receiving a phone call from a jogger just before 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 21, 2010. He discovered damaged car parts along Rt. 97 and then the victim’s body on the other side of the guardrail.

Anyone with further information about the suspect vehicle and/or driver is urged to contact Maryland State Police at the Westminster Barracks at 410-386-3000, ext. 0. Calls may be kept confidential.