Man Charged In Girlfriend's Death Was Earlier Arrested For Assault

LANDOVER, MD — A Landover man charged July 6 with murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend had been arrested and released less than a month earlier on charges he assaulted her, a report said.

Harry Lindsey, 32, is accused of shooting his girlfriend, 29-year-old Sharita Cristwell of Bladensburg during an argument on July 5 at an apartment in the 700 block of Stretford Way in the Landover area. Cristwell was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Prince George's County police.

After the shooting, police said Lindsey fled the scene. The department’s Fugitive Unit located and arrested Lindsey Sunday morning in Capitol Heights.

Lindsey and Cristwell had two children together, her mother, Gereese McCotter, told WTOP.

“This feeling, this pain that I have, it will never go away,” McCotter said. “And my grandkids, they cry every day.”

On June 16, Lindsey was charged with first- and second-degree assault after he strangled Cristwell, County Executive Aisha Braveboy said during a news conference on Tuesday. Prosecutors sought to have Lindsey held without bond, but he was released days after his arrest on the assault charges.

“Anyone who strangles you intends to kill you. Make no mistake,” Braveboy said, according to WTOP. “Strangulation is the type of offense that requires our judicial system to ensure that our victims are protected.”

Lindsey has been charged with first- and second-degree murder. He’s in the custody of the Department of Corrections on no-bond status.

If anyone has information relevant to this investigation and would like to speak to a detective, they can call 301-516-2512, contact Crime Solvers online at www.pgcrimesolvers.com, the “P3 Tips” mobile app (search “P3 Tips” in the Apple Store or Google Play to download the app onto a mobile device), or call 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

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