Cambridge teen charged in fatal june shooting of 45-year-old man

CAMBRIDGE, Md. — An 18-year-old Cambridge man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the June 25 shooting death of Steven Lee Dennis, authorities announced Wednesday.

Cambridge Police responded to the area of the West Side Bypass and Route 343 around 8:37 p.m. on June 25, where they found Dennis, 45, lying in the roadway with a single gunshot wound to the chest. CPR was administered by a civilian, an off-duty officer, and responding officers, but Dennis was pronounced dead at the scene by Dorchester County EMS.

Investigators identified Damarion Tyron Sampson as a suspect after a passenger vehicle was observed leaving the area of the shooting. A search and seizure warrant was obtained for Sampson’s residence on Richardson Drive, where police located a handgun and the suspected getaway vehicle.

Sampson was initially arrested without incident on June 27 on an unrelated armed robbery warrant. He was held without bond at the Dorchester County Detention Center.

On Tuesday, detectives formally charged Sampson with multiple counts related to Dennis’s death, including first- and second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and firearm use in a violent felony.

Cambridge Police said the investigation was led by its Criminal Investigation Division, with assistance from the department’s Special Tactical Response Team and the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office.

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