2 charged with murder after man found dead at St. Mary's County liquor store

ST. MARY'S COUNTY, Md. - Two people have been arrested in the fatal shooting of a man at a St. Mary’s County liquor store, the Sheriff’s Office said.  

Leroy Christopher Neal, 48 and Britny Lee Blankenship, 33 are facing several charges in connection to the Saturday shooting. 

The Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to St. Mary’s Fine Wine & Spirits in Great Mills, Maryland around 12:30 a.m. Saturday where they found 46-year-old Scott Marvin Bernich suffering from a gunshot wound. 

Bernich was taken to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital for immediate care and then flown to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Following an investigation, detectives developed Neal and Blankenship as suspects in the case. 

They were arrested Monday and are both facing several charges including first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence.

The suspects are being held in the St. Mary’s County Detention and Rehabilitation Center pending bond hearings.