Anne Arundel County

Man May Have Poked Woman With Syringe Full of Bodily Fluid in Maryland Store: Police

mugshot of Thomas Bryon Stemen
Anne Arundel County Police

Police say they now have more information about what may have been in the syringe with which a man poked a woman in a Maryland grocery store.

Several syringes containing semen were found during the investigation into suspect Thomas Bryon Stemen, the Anne Arundel County Police Department said in an update Friday.

The investigation is ongoing.

The victim is on preventative medications after she was pricked with the syringe on Feb. 18 at a store in the 5500 block of Shady Side Road in Churchton.

Surveillance footage from the store shows a man follow a woman into the store's cart area and bump into her. He appears to have something in his right hand. She jumps and puts her hand to her side. They appear to speak to each other and he looks around.

Stemen, of Churchton, was arrested Tuesday, a week later, after police received a tip. He was charged with assault and reckless endangerment.

Detectives believe there may be additional victims. Anyone who may have had a similar encounter is asked to call police. The investigation is ongoing.

A man pleaded guilty to squirting semen from a bottle onto women in stores in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in 2010.

Update (Feb. 28, 2020, 3:27 p.m. ET): Police initially said the substance in the syringe they believe Stemen used had been confirmed to be semen.

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