Queen Anne’s County man sentenced 16 years for selling heroin to fatal overdose victim
A Queen Anne's County man was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years behind bars for his role in distributing heroin that led to the overdose death of a single mother in a Stevensville Subway restroom last September, according to the Queen Anne's County State's Attorney's Office.
Don Diego Brown, 58, of Ingleside, pled guilty in January to the charge of distribution of heroin. On Tuesday a judge sentenced Brown to serve 16 years for that charge and to serve the balance of time he was on parole for from a 2001 first degree assault conviction, State's Attorney's Office officials said.
At around 11:35 AM on September 14, 2016, officials say employees at the Subway in Stevensville realized one employee who had been working that morning, 27-year-old Crystal Jean Ringgold, was missing. After knocks on the women's restroom door yielded no answer, the employees called 911, police said.
EMS technicians arrived to find Ringgold unresponsive on the bathroom floor, officials said. Responders say they found syringes, baggies of suspected heroin and a spoon with burn marks in her purse at the scene. Officials say an autopsy revealed that Ringgold died of an overdose with no other contributing factors.
According to a joint press release from the Queen Anne's County State's Attorney's Office, the Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Office and the Queen Anne's County Drug Task Force, members with the Drug Task Force started an investigation shortly after Ringgold's death, reviewing her cell phone history and video surveillance footage from the Subway and nearby businesses. Investigators determined that Ringgold was in contact with two individuals to negotiate a drug purchase just hours before her death.
These two contacts were identified as Don Diego Brown and Rachel Maury Bowman, 21, of Church Hill. Investigators say Ringgold attempted to buy heroin from Bowman, an employee at the Shore Stop just across from the Subway, who told Ringgold she didn't have any to sell. Ringgold reportedly walked over to the Shore Stop to meet with Bowman in person, then began texting Brown, whom Ringgold asked to deliver a gram of heroin.
Shortly before 10 AM, investigators say Brown drove to the Subway parking lot. Ringgold reportedly walked outside to meet him, then returned inside and went into the restroom.
Officials from the State's Attorney's Office say Bowman pled guilty in January to possession of suboxone and heroin. She was sentenced to eight years behind bars with all time suspended, being required instead to spend 30 months on supervised probation.
Deputy State's Attorney Christine Dulla Rickard and Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer R. Doud prosecuted the case, officials said.
Ringgold leaves behind an 8-year-old son.
