SHADY SIDE, Md. – Maryland police revealed Friday that a woman who was poked earlier this month during a strange encounter was actually attacked by a man wielding a syringe full of semen.
In a press release, Anne Arundel County Police Department said the suspect, identified as Thomas Bryon Stemen, 51, attacked a woman at a grocery store on February 18 with the syringe and body fluid. As a result, he’s been charged with first and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, WBAL reported.
Police were called to a parking lot on 5570 Shady Side Rd. in Churton at around 7 p.m. over reports that an adult female had been assaulted and poked by what appeared to be a syringe.
The suspect, later identified as Stemen, can be seen in video surveillance following the woman as she returns her shopping cart and then stabbing her with an object as he bumps into her.
The startled woman looks back as Stemen appears to act confused while still hovering around her, Fox News reported.
The victim, identified by WBAL as Katie Peters, told the station that she initially thought she had been burned by a cigarette. She said she confronted Stemen who reportedly asked her, “It felt like a bee sting didn’t it?”’
Stemen was arrested on Tuesday but at that point police still couldn’t confirm what Peters had been stabbed with.
According to police, they received an anonymous tip that led them to Stemen and the recovery of the syringe full of substance from the driver’s side door of his vehicle.
On Friday the Anne Arundel County Police Department learned that the substance in the syringe was semen.
A judge ordered Stemen held without bail on first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment charges.
Detectives believe there may be additional victims who have yet to report similar incidents. This investigation is active and additional charges may be applicable. Anyone with any information is asked to call Southern District at 410-222-1960 or the tip line 410-222-4700.
