Ex-Lowe's Worker Gets 40-Year Term for Fatal Forklift Killing at Home Depot

Charles County Circuit Court Judge William R. Greer Jr. imposed a 40-year prison term on Bryce Caleb Timothy Brown on March 2, 2026 after a jury found him guilty on December 16, 2025 of second-degree murder and related counts in the July 2, 2023 killing of 73-year-old Gloristine Pinkney. Brown was 22 at sentencing.

Prosecutors secured the conviction after a seven-day jury trial that produced guilty verdicts on second-degree murder, fourth-degree burglary, two theft counts and property destruction charges. SMNewsNet identified the theft counts by dollar ranges as theft of $25,000 to under $100,000 and theft of $1,500 to under $25,000; the court record includes burglary and property destruction among the counts.

State’s evidence traces the violence to a midnight burglary at the Lowe’s at 2525 Crain Highway in Waldorf. Deputies responded at 12:40 a.m. after Brown allegedly bashed open steel storage doors on the southern end, stole a Yale forklift valued at about $20,000, damaged rear gates and a roll-up door, and drove the forklift through a north-end chain link double gate. Surveillance footage captured a Black male wearing only shorts or underwear operating the forklift at the Lowe’s location.

Prosecutors say Brown drove the stolen forklift about half a mile to the Home Depot parking lot on the 12000 block of Jefferson Farm Place, struck a parked 2019 Lincoln MKZ belonging to Gloristine Pinkney while she was asleep, and then chased her when she exited the vehicle. First responders found Pinkney pinned beneath the forklift and declared her dead at the scene. Brown left in Pinkney’s vehicle, used her credit card to buy gas, traveled to Washington, D.C., and Virginia, and later returned to his Waldorf home where he was arrested.

At sentencing Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathan Beattie urged a stiffer term, asking for 50 years and calling the killing “a tragic loss of life in the most horrendous way possible.” Judge Greer addressed both family and mental health issues in handing down the 40-year sentence, saying, “This is a terrible situation; it affects your family and Ms. Pinkney’s family. Your family will get to see you and talk to you, but Ms. Pinkney’s family will not. It’s sad all the way around.” The judge added, “It’s clear there was a mental health issue, but it’s not clear that what happened was a result of that. I can’t overlook how horrendous that action was.”

Charles County State’s Attorney Tony Covington announced the sentence, and court filings show Brown will be subject to five years of supervised probation upon eventual release; SMNewsNet reports that a probation violation could expose Brown to an additional 18 years in custody. April Watson, Pinkney’s youngest daughter, attended the hearing and brought a framed photo of her mother to the Charles County Circuit Courthouse in La Plata. With the 40-year term imposed March 2, 2026, the case moves from trial verdict to long-term incarceration and supervised release under county court orders.