WALDORF, Md. — Charles County Sheriff’s officers arrested a 72-year-old man on November 14 after he allegedly fired shots at another person’s feet during an argument near a bus stop on Smallwood Drive, according to charging documents filed in Charles County District Court.
The incident unfolded around 8:49 p.m. in the 300 block of Smallwood Drive, close to a 7-Eleven convenience store and a VanGo public bus stop frequented by commuters heading toward the Waldorf Park & Ride. Officers responded to reports of a shooting and learned from the unidentified victim that he had been engaged in a verbal dispute with Robert Lee Baskett of Brandywine when Baskett pulled out a firearm and discharged it twice toward the ground near the victim’s feet. The victim sustained no injuries, but the shots created an immediate public safety risk in the busy evening area.
Baskett, described by witnesses as an older Black male wearing a gray hoodie, dark winter pants, a black coat and a black hat, boarded VanGo bus 71717 immediately after the shooting and fled the scene. Charles County Communications relayed the bus details to pursuing officers, who intercepted the vehicle at the Smallwood Park & Ride on Old Washington Road. The bus driver informed deputies that Baskett had transferred to another route, bus T2201, after mentioning gunpowder on his hands and admitting he had “discharged my gun.”
Officers located bus T2201 upon its return to the park and ride, where the driver identified Baskett. Deputies took him into custody without resistance and searched a bag in his possession, recovering the firearm used in the incident. Baskett faces felony charges of first-degree assault and reckless endangerment, both stemming from the use of the weapon in a manner that endangered the victim and bystanders.
At his initial appearance on November 15 before a district court commissioner, Baskett waived his right to counsel for the hearing and was ordered held without bond. The commissioner cited a reasonable likelihood that Baskett posed a danger to the victim, other individuals or the broader community, given the circumstances of the shooting in a public transit hub.
A bail review followed on November 17 before Judge Kenneth A. Talley, who authorized Baskett’s release from the Charles County Detention Center on November 18 under private home detention with electronic monitoring. Court records indicate Baskett is currently unemployed and lives alone, though filings list a Waldorf address despite his Brandywine residence. He remains under supervision pending further proceedings.
Under Maryland Criminal Law, first-degree assault involves intentionally causing or attempting serious physical injury, or committing an assault with a firearm such as a handgun, rifle or regulated firearm. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. Reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, applies when someone engages in conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury to another, including discharging a firearm in a way that heightens such dangers; it is punishable by up to five years incarceration and a $5,000 fine.
