Eight Years For Burglary

Eight Years For Burglary
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SNOW HILL – A Snow Hill man arrested in November after breaking into a neighbor’s house and stealing jewelry and several guns, some of which he allegedly pawned later to purchase crack cocaine, pleaded guilty this month in Worcester County Circuit Court to theft and was sentenced to eight years in jail.

On Nov. 11, 2009, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a residence on Pennewell Rd. in Snow Hill for a reported burglary. The victim told police he and his wife had come home from work and found an inside cat in the driveway and knew something was suspicious. The victims then found a back door to their residence had been kicked in and several items were missing.

Initially, the victims found a children’s wallet on the floor missing the $60 cash that had been in it. Also missing was a child’s piggy bank that contained around $40 in change. The victim then went into a room where he stored firearms and found four guns had been stolen including two .22 caliber rifles, a 30.06 rifle and a double-barrelled shotgun. The victim’s wife went into her room and found her jewelry box, which contained nearly $3,000 in jewelry, was also missing.

Detectives began interviewing neighbors to determine if they saw or heard anything unusual, but the interviews proved fruitless. Detectives then went to the residence of a new couple that had moved into the neighborhood just three weeks earlier.

They interviewed a woman at the residence who said her live-in boyfriend, identified as Kenneth Glenn Evans, 32, of Snow Hill, had gone to Salisbury earlier in the day with a man she knew only as “Al.” The woman said Evans and the other man returned about an hour later and said they would be right back. A short time later, the woman said she saw the two men running along the west side of their trailer to the rear of the residence. According to the witness, Evans was carrying handfuls of jewelry and the other man was carrying weapons when they entered the residence. They then left the residence with the presumably stolen goods and went into the woods behind their trailer.

The female witness said Evans and the other man then told her they were going back to Salisbury. According to the witness, the two men returned about an hours later with crack cocaine. According to police reports, Evans told his live-in girlfriend they had pawned some of the jewelry in Salisbury in order to buy the cocaine.

Burglary, Narcotics Ring

Moving Through Courts

OCEAN CITY – Court cases for the nine suspects arrested in January for a major narcotics distribution and burglary ring throughout the area including Ocean City, West Ocean City and Berlin started making their way through the system.

Four of the suspects including Shawn White, 22, of Berlin, David Lee Powell, 21, of Berlin, Christopher Kreppel, 24, of Ocean City, and Shawna Williams, 19 of Berlin, appeared in District Court last week for preliminary hearings and each has had their cases forwarded to Circuit Court. Williams, charged initially with three counts each of possession and distribution of controlled dangerous substance (CDS), has now been formally charged with 52 total counts from conspiracy to commit burglary and theft to drug distribution.

One of the other suspects, Michael Cooper, 25, of Ocean City, has already reached a plea arrangement, the details of which are not known. The other three suspects are scheduled to appear in District Court in Ocean City on April 26.

The investigation began in November, focusing on the illegal distribution of oxycodone, but Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) detectives soon began to unravel a vast burglary ring involving the same suspects. In early January, an undercover OCPD detective was able to purchase two stolen flat screen televisions and two stolen DVD players from suspects involved in the oxycodone distribution ring. During the ensuing investigation, OCPD patrol officers and detectives were able to connect the suspects to several other burglaries throughout the Ocean City area.

Detectives were able to identify 29 residences that were burglarized. In addition, search and seizure warrants were served at residences in Berlin and West Ocean City, resulting in the recovery of stolen televisions and related evidence. A search of a second West Ocean City residence led to the recovery of additional stolen televisions and a shotgun, which was also possibly stolen. While police have recovered a portion of the stolen property, investigators believe many of the stolen televisions may have been sold or traded for drugs and are still in the community.

OCPD detectives, with the assistance of the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI), the Worcester County Criminal Enforcement Team and Maryland State Police Drug Task Force and the Worcester County STAR team, has been able to seize over $3,000 and recover seven stolen flat screen televisions, numerous personal electronic devices and a shotgun.

Murder Suspect Indicted

SNOW HILL – The Texas man charged with the killing of Christine Marie Sheddy, a Delaware woman missing since November 2007 whose remains were discovered on the grounds of a Snow Hill bed and breakfast in February, was formally indicted last week on first-degree murder and other charges and this week entered a plea of not guilty.

Last week, Justin Michael Hadel, 19, of College Station, Texas, was officially indicted on charges of first-degree murder, and first- and second-degree assault. On Tuesday, what will likely be a protracted trial nudged forward with other formalities. For example, Hadel on Tuesday formally pleaded not guilty to the charges and elected for and demanded a speedy trial. Also on Tuesday, Deputy State’s Attorney Michael Farlow was assigned to prosecute the case while Hadel, for the time being, is being represented by a public defender. In addition, the sealed and secret status of the case was removed on Tuesday, opening some elements of the case file for the first time.

Sheddy, then 27, of Bowers Beach, Del., was last seen on Nov. 13, 2007 in or near a residence at which she was a guest along with her two sons, ages two and four at the time. The couple with whom she was staying left that day to pick up their own children from school, but when they returned, Sheddy was missing. The case was treated as a missing persons case for over two years until county detectives, acting on a tip, uncovered what turned out to be her remains on the grounds of an inn in Snow Hill in February.

Alleged Dealer Not Guilty

OCEAN CITY – The second of two Frankford, Del. residents arrested last November after OCPD narcotics detectives allegedly purchased crack cocaine from them out of a vehicle that also included a two-year-old child had the charges against her dropped last week in District Court.

Around 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2009, the OCPD’s Narcotics Unit officers, with the assistance of patrol personnel, made a traffic stop on a vehicle containing suspected drug dealers. Earlier in the day, the driver of the vehicle, identified as Shanice Eriz Chandler, 24, of Frankford, sold suspected crack cocaine to an undercover OCPD detective.

Another suspect, identified as Sheronda Renee Jennings, 38, also of Frankford, was riding in the passenger seat. Also discovered in the suspect vehicle was the young toddler. Chandler and Jennings were taken into custody without incident and each was charged with possession and distribution of crack cocaine and marijuana.

A family member of Jennings responded to the scene to take custody of Jennings’ 2-year-old child. Last month in Circuit Court, Chandler pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine and was placed on probation for 18 months and was fined $500, about $200 of which was then suspended. Last week, Jennings appeared for her court date and had the charges against her dropped.