LA PLATA, MD—On Wednesday, Michael Darrell Dukes, a 22-year-old from Charles County, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the gross negligent manslaughter of Zkiara Kemp, as announced by Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County. The ruling, handed down by Charles County Circuit Court Judge Makeba Gibbs, includes a 10-year sentence with all but the initial 18 months suspended and a subsequent five-year supervised probation period.
The case stems from a tragic incident on July 8, 2022, when the Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to a single vehicle accident on Maryland Point Road in Nanjemoy. According to the investigation, Dukes was driving a black Kia Rio that veered across the center double yellow lines and crashed into a tree before catching fire. While Dukes and another passenger were able to escape the wreckage, Kemp, who was seated in the back and owned the vehicle, tragically did not survive and was declared deceased at the scene.
Investigation details revealed that the accident occurred around 2:18 a.m. when Dukes, under the influence of drugs, lost control of the vehicle as the road curved to the right. The car first struck a mailbox post before colliding with a tree and bursting into flames, resulting in the total destruction of the vehicle and its contents.
Dukes, who pleaded guilty to the charge on February 26, 2024, had been treated for life-threatening injuries following the crash. Both he and the surviving passenger were hospitalized immediately after the accident.
At the sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Caspar emphasized the preventable nature of the tragedy, stating, “This was not an accident. It could have been prevented by him not using drugs.” She highlighted the reckless decision by Dukes to drive under the influence, which she described as the “very definition of excessive harm, not only to kill someone but to rob their mother of burying her child.”
The sentence aims to address the severity of the negligence involved and the irreversible harm caused to Kemp’s family. The community and local authorities hope that this case serves as a stern warning against the dangers of impaired driving.
