Melissa Mae Thompkins, aged 31, of Denton, Maryland, was found guilty of Malicious Destruction of Property after a court trial on May 26, 2021, before the Honorable Frank M. Kratovil, Jr., Judge, in the District Court of Maryland for Queen Anne’s County. Thompkins was sentenced to sixty days to serve, with fifty days suspended and ten days in the local detention center along with thirty six months of supervised probation, a mental health evaluation and other conditions after having been found guilty of experiencing a fit of road rage and throwing an unknown object out of her vehicle window and striking another occupied vehicle on Rt 50 in Queenstown back on February 20, 2021. The object Thompkins threw out of her passenger window struck the other vehicle and caused a dent to the driver’s side door. The damages to the victim’s vehicle were covered by Thompkins’ insurance company.

The case was prosecuted by Lance G. Richardson, State’s Attorney for Queen Anne’s County. The driver of the damaged vehicle was able to get a cell phone photo of Thompkins license plate, along with a vehicle description and a description of a white female driver with short dark hair. Maryland State Police tracked Ms. Thompkins down to question her about the incident. Thompkins stated that she threw a cigarette at the other vehicle to “free her hand to enable her to give a middle finger gesture at the other driver.” The judge rejected this theory and ultimately found Thompkins guilty based on both the victim and his wife’s testimony describing Thompkins arm motion after she threw the object causing a loud thud against their vehicle. Richardson commented that “Road Rage incidents will not be tolerated in Queen Anne’s County. They often carry deadly consequences and they are extremely dangerous to all motorists.” State’s Attorney Richardson agreed that a period of incarceration was warranted for Ms. Thompkins’ irresponsible and criminal actions.