Woman Charged In OC Stabbing

OCEAN
CITY – A Selbyville woman was arrested on first- and second-degree assault
charges after allegedly attempting to stab a couple of strangers on a downtown
street.

Around
3:40 a.m. on Monday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to
an area behind a 28th Street shopping center for a reported assault.
Once on scene, the responding officers found another OCPD officer already
treating a male victim, identified as Thomas A. Clancy, 44, who was losing
consciousness and was unable to communicate with the officers. Near the injured
man was a woman, later identified as Faith Amber MacNichol, 28, of Selbyville,
who was pacing and acting hysterically, although not crying, according to police
reports.

MacNichol
told police Clancy was her husband and told an elaborate story about how he
came to be seriously injured behind the shopping center. She told police she
and Clancy were walking down Baltimore Ave. when they were approached by two
white males and a Hispanic woman. The couple struck up a conversation with the
group before one of the men, whom she knew only as Mike or Mark, guided her
into a nearby motel stairwell and made sexual advances.

MacNichol
told police she got away from the male suspect when a female in the group
punched her in the face for flirting with her boyfriend. Meanwhile, according
to MacNichol, the male who had assaulted her in the stairwell chased down
Clancy and punched him, knocking him to the ground while continuing to assault
him.

OCPD
officer located a pair of individuals a short distance away that matched the
descriptions provided by MacNichol. When questioned, however, the couple told a
completely different version of the story. The couple told police they were
walking down Baltimore Ave. where they were followed by MacNichol and Clancy,
who approached them and asked if they wanted to share marijuana and crack
cocaine in a nearby motel room.

The
couple told police they declined the invitation and kept on walking when Clancy
allegedly put his arm around the female. Clancy’s actions made the female
uncomfortable and she asked her male companion to intercede on her behalf. The
couple told police MacNichol then slapped the man with an open hand, and when
the female began to argue with her about the confrontation, MacNichol allegedly
pulled a sharp knife, or dagger as the couple described it, from her purse and
attempted to stab the female.

When
MacNichol attempted to stab the male with the same weapon, the male knocked her
to the ground and they attempted to get away. When Clancy continued to follow
them, the male punched Clancy one time, nearly knocking him out, which is when
the police arrived.

Meanwhile,
the OCPD officers requested EMS to assist with the nearly unconscious Clancy
and it was determined he needed to be taken to PRMC in Salisbury. MacNichol
said she wanted to ride along in the ambulance, but she had to retrieve her
purse. An OCPD officer who had taken testimony from the other couple arrived on
the scene and told the other OCPD officers the story about the knife attack.

A
search of MacNichol’s purse revealed marijuana and crack cocaine, but no weapon
matching the description provided by the victims. However, a folding knife was
found in MacNichol’s bra during a search. The two victims were brought to the
scene and identified MacNichol as the woman who attacked them. They also
described in separate testimony an exact description of the knife, but the
weapon was never found after a search of the area.

Because
of the credibility of the victims, and the apparent intoxication of MacNichol
and Clancy, the arresting officer charged MacNichol with two counts each of
first- and second-degree assault, dangerous weapon with intent to injure and
various drug charges.