Judge W. Louis Hennessy sentenced Shawn Marshall Myers, 42, of Hughesville, to one year in jail on Friday (Sept. 25) for failure to comply with an emergency order. 

Myers threw multiple parties on his property; in some cases, more than 50 attendees were counted by the local law enforcement agency in late March, which was around the time the virus pandemic erupted. 

According to the Charles County Sheriff, the first party was held on Mar. 22, had between 50 to 60 people. 

"Myers was argumentative with officers but eventually agreed to disband his party," according to the State's Attorney.

About one week later, on Mar. 27, officers responded to Myers' home for a second time, finding more than 50 people partying. At that point, he was arrested.

"Officers told Myers to disband the party, but again he was argumentative claiming he and his guests had the right to congregate," the State's Attorney said. "Beyond being argumentative, Myers directed his guests to stay in defiance of Governor Hogan's Orders and the officers' lawful orders to disband the party."

In addition to a jail sentence, Myers was slapped with a $5,000 fine and ordered to serve up to three years of unsupervised probation upon his release.