MAN SUBMITS PLEA IN OCTOBER 2025 HIT-AND-RUN

Oldtown resident Braden Powell has entered an Alford plea in Allegany County Circuit Court, in connection to an October hit-and-run incident that severely injured 17-year-old Ryan Dent. Circuit Court Judge Michael Twigg sentenced Powell to two years in jail, but suspended the sentence. He also was ordered to serve two years of supervised probation and two additional years of unsupervised probation. Dent was involved in an initial crash, and was standing beside a vehicle that stopped to render aid, when he was hit. An Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty while maintaining innocence, acknowledging the state has sufficient evidence for a likely conviction.