A man has been arrested and charged with stealing a forklift from Lowe’s in Waldorf, Maryland, and then running over and killing a woman in a Home Depot parking lot about a half-mile away.
The Charles County Sheriff’s Office has charged Bryce Caleb Timothy Brown, 20, of Waldorf, with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, assault, theft and other related charges.
The woman who was killed was identified by deputies as Gloristine Pinkney, 73, of Waldorf.
The sheriff’s office said the bizarre series of events began with a call about a burglary in process at the Lowe’s in the 2500 block of Crain Highway at 12:40 a.m. on Sunday.
In a news release, the sheriff’s office said Brown broke into the Lowe’s, stole a forklift and then rammed it through the rear gates of the store. A sheriff’s office spokeswoman confirmed Brown was an employee of the Lowe’s.
Authorities said Brown then left the Lowe’s on the forklift and entered the parking lot of a Home Depot on Jefferson Farm Place about a half-mile away from the Lowe’s.
Once there, he rammed the forklift into a vehicle that was parked in the parking lot with a woman sleeping inside. The Charles County Sheriff’s Office said that Brown did not know the woman, and it was not immediately clear why she was sleeping in her car at that time.
When the woman got out after the forklift struck her car, Brown followed her with the forklift as she was running away and ran her over, killing her.
Brown then stole the woman’s car and fled the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officers who were investigating the scene found the woman under the forklift and pronounced her dead.
Pinkney’s car was found at Brown’s house, and he was arrested on Sunday evening. Brown is currently being held at the Charles County Detention Center without bond.
WTOP’s Jack Moore contributed to this report.
