Frederick County department head pays restitution for vandalizing subordinate's car
Oct. 13—A Frederick County department director on Wednesday paid $4,935 in restitution to a former subordinate whose car he was accused of vandalizing. The payment was part of an agreement reached in Frederick County District Court.
Gary Hessong, director of the county's Department of Permits and Inspections, was criminally charged with misdemeanor malicious destruction of property after allegedly vandalizing his former employee's truck as it sat parked in the Church Street Parking Garage in Frederick on April 5.
The incident occurred one day after James "Bob" Ensor, the truck's owner, announced that he would be taking a new job within the county's Division of Public Works and provided his three weeks of notice.
Ensor, 60, said he thought Hessong, 57, may have damaged his truck, a red 2016 Ford F-350, to retaliate for his decision to leave the department.
The court case was placed on an inactive docket and will remain there for up to three years, Lindsay Barnhart, community and diversion coordinator for the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office, wrote in an email to the News-Post.
The conditions that lawyers for Hessong and Ensor agreed to will apply as long as the case is on the inactive docket, Barnhart wrote.
As part of the agreement, Hessong may not contact Ensor and must obey all laws, Barnhart wrote.
Hessong could not be reached for comment by phone or email on Wednesday.
His lawyer, Alan Winik, declined to comment when the News-Post called his office.
Hessong has worked for the Frederick County government since 2003.
Asked whether the court case would affect Hessong's employment with the county, County Executive Jan Gardner wrote in an email response that "we don't comment on personnel matters."
Hessong was seen on video behind Ensor's truck at the same time the vehicle is thought to have been damaged. Frederick police on July 27 charged Hessong with misdemeanor malicious destruction of property for damages totaling less than $1,000, court documents show.
Ensor, though, said he paid $4,935 to repair his truck and requested in July that Hessong reimburse him that amount, which didn't happen until Wednesday.
"I sure wish I got it [directly] from him," Ensor said of the restitution check, adding that he would have framed it if his former boss handed it to him.
Ensor paid $2,400 for a patch job and new paint, $406 to replace chrome rocker panels, $1,700 for a rental car for 11 days (including $324 for insurance) and $402 for a transfer pump for fuel off-loading after his truck bed was removed to complete the repairs, four different receipts from June show.
Ensor said in a phone interview with the News-Post that he is considering a civil case against Hessong, too. Ensor had to take time off work to get his car repaired and missed a planned vacation to be around for the scheduled trial date on Wednesday.
Follow Jack Hogan on Twitter: @jckhogan
