30 Years For Crack Conviction

30 Years For Crack Conviction
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BERLIN — A Berlin man with a history of drug dealing convictions throughout the area pleaded guilty last week in Wicomico County Circuit Court to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and was sentenced to 30 years in jail.

Donzel Henry, 47, of Berlin, entered a plea agreement last week resulting in a conviction on one count of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and was sentenced to 30 years under the repeat offender statute. Henry was arrested in April following a traffic stop on Arlington Rd. during which he was found in possession of a dozen small bags of crack cocaine packaged for distribution.

While out on bond for that arrest, Henry was arrested again in Worcester County in August on possession and possession with intent to distribute marijuana charges after police caught him selling weed out of a stolen shopping cart.  

Suspended Sentence For Attack

OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man arrested in July on first-degree assault charges this week after allegedly holding a knife to another man’s neck during a dispute over a pizza parlor coupon pleaded guilty last week to second-degree assault and was sentenced to one year in jail, all of which was then suspended.


Around 3:49 a.m. on July 13, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a reported stabbing at a residence on Philadelphia Ave. The officers met with a victim, who had a deep cut on his right hand. The victim told police he lived in the same building with a man identified as William Whitehurst, 20, of Baltimore. Whitehurst had allegedly requested a Pizza Tugos coupon from the victim, and when the victim refused to give up the coupon, the two men got into a fight.


According to police reports, the fight was broken up and the two men went their separate ways. A short time later, the victim was sitting in a common area in the residence when Whitehurst approached him from the rear. When the victim turned around, Whitehurst allegedly held the blade side of a knife to his neck. Fearing for his life, the victim grabbed the blade to pull it away from his neck and was slashed on the hand. Several witnesses corroborated the story.

Knife Assault Alleged

SALISBURY- A Salisbury man was arrested on first-degree assault and other serious charges last weekend after allegedly brandishing a knife and throwing it at a woman.

Last Saturday, a Wicomico County Sheriff’s deputy responded to a residence on East Rd. in Salisbury for a reported suspect brandishing a knife. The deputy spoke to the victim and her roommate, who reported the suspect, identified as Davon Jones, 25, of Salisbury knocked on their door, and as the victim was turning the doorknob, Jones allegedly pushed the door open and entered the apartment.

Jones allegedly pushed the victim and threw a knife at her, which missed and landed on the floor near her feet. Jones was located later in the evening and was taken into custody without further incident. He has been charged with first- and second-degree assault, burglary, reckless endangerment and carrying or wearing a knife on one’s person.

Two Busted With Pot, Heroin

SALISBURY — Two people were arrested on various drug charges last week after getting caught with heroin and marijuana in the Walmart parking lot in Salisbury.

Around 11:15 a.m. last Sunday, Salisbury Police received a call to respond to the Walmart parking lot on North Salisbury Blvd. for a report of suspects using narcotics. Salisbury Police located the suspect vehicle and questioned its occupants, later identified as Olgierd Urbanski, 33, of Mt. Savage, and Carina Smith, 29, of Ellerlie.

A consensual search of the vehicle turned up a quantity of heroin, marijuana and several items of paraphernalia. Urbanski and Smith were arrested and charged with possession of controlled dangerous substance and paraphernalia.

Axe Handle Assault Forwarded To Circuit

OCEAN CITY — A Crownsville, Md. man arrested in July on first- and second-degree assault charges after allegedly attacking a man with a hard, plastic axe or sledgehammer handle in a downtown parking lot early Saturday morning was arraigned last week and will have his case heard in Circuit Court.


Around 3 a.m. last on July 2, an OCPD officer responded to the municipal parking lot on Worcester Street for a reported assault. Upon arrival, the officer observed a man, later identified as Steven Ray Turek, 49, of Crownsville, holding a yellow, hard plastic axe or sledgehammer handle in his hands. Turek was standing near another man who was bleeding from the right side of his face and his lip along with other injuries. Also present was a female.


The officer separated the two men and talked first to the bleeding individual, who told him he had witnessed Turek and the woman in a heated verbal dispute. When the victim approached the couple in an attempt to defuse the argument, Turek allegedly turned his attention on the Good Samaritan, went to his vehicle nearby and got out the large axe handle.


According to the victim, Turek approached him with the axe handle and swung it wildly at him several times, striking him once in the face. After the victim was struck once, he was able to get a hand on the weapon and the two men wrestled to the ground in a fight over the axe handle. While police were talking to the victim, they were approached by an Ocean City municipal bus driver, who corroborated the victim’s account of the events.


During a subsequent interview with the suspect, Turek admitted he was having an argument with his girlfriend, but when the victim interceded, Turek thought he was trying to fight him and retrieved the weapon. Turek said he never hit the victim with the axe handle because the victim got his hand on the weapon and the two men wrestled on the ground for possession of it.


Nonetheless, based on the account provided by the victim, as well as the bus driver, Turek was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault and carrying a deadly weapon with intent to injure.

Indecent Exposure Alleged

SALISBURY — A Salisbury man was arrested on indecent exposure and other charges this week after allegedly exposing himself to a juvenile girl outside her bedroom window.

Around 9 p.m. on Monday, Salisbury Police responded to a residence on Fitzwater Street for a reported indecent exposure incident. Police met with the juvenile victim and her parents, who told officers a suspect, later identified as James Irving Buie, 50, of Salisbury, was observed by the victim standing outside her bedroom window and exposing himself. Buie, who was known to the victim from the area, was located a short time later and taken into custody without incident. He was charged with indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and contributing to unsafe conditions for a child.

Four Injured in Route 50 Accident

SALISBURY — A total of four people, including two young children, were injured in a three-car accident on Route 50 at Beaglin Park Drive last Friday.

Around 9:15 a.m. last Friday, Salisbury Police responded to the intersection of Route 50 and Beaglin Park Drive for a reported multi-vehicle collision. The investigation revealed a Dodge Dynasty heading east on Route 50 attempted to turn left onto Beaglin Park Drive when it was struck by a Chevy Tahoe. The Chevy Tahoe then spun out of control and collided with a Nissan Quest.

The Dodge Dynasty was driven by a 68-year-old Parsonsburg woman, who was transported to PRMC where she was listed initially in critical condition. The Dodge Dynasty was also occupied by a two-year-old female and a four-year-old female, who were secured in child safety seats in the rear of the vehicle.

The two children were injured, however, and transported to the Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore where they were listed initially in serious condition. The driver of the Tahoe, a 63-year-old Timonium man, was also transported to PRMC with injuries not believed to be life-threatening, while the driver of the third vehicle was not injured.

The names of all involved have not been release pending the outcome of the investigation. Charges are pending, although alcohol was not a factor in the accident.

Alarm Thwarts Break-In

SALISBURY — A Millsboro, Del. man was arrested on burglary charges this week after police found him inside a Salisbury medical office early Monday morning.

Shortly after 5 a.m. on Monday, Salisbury Police responded to the Delmarva Surgery Center on South Salisbury Blvd. for a reported intrusion alarm. Police searched the facility and located a suspect, later identified as James Kenneth Leaman, 53, of Millsboro, walking around inside. Leaman was taken into custody without incident prior to taking any property from the business. He was charged with fourth-degree burglary.

Fine For Double Hit-and-Run

OCEAN CITY — A Baltimore woman arrested in July on numerous charges after running into a town of Ocean City street sweeper and a parked car while allegedly driving drunk pleaded guilty last week in District Court to driving while impaired and was fined $500.

Around 10:40 a.m. on July 11, an OCPD officer was dispatched to the area of 22nd Street and Baltimore Ave. for a reported hit-and-run. The officer met with a town of Ocean City street sweeper driver, who said a black Toyota Camry had backed up into his vehicle causing damage before fleeing the scene. The town employee got the vehicle’s tag number and a description was broadcast.


Police communications responded a vehicle matching the description and tag number had just struck a parked car in the area of 14th Street and left the scene, the second of two hit-and-runs minutes apart. The OCPD officer searched several side streets in the area before locating the suspect vehicle in the parking lot of a motel on 25th Street.


The officer noticed the vehicle had incurred damage consistent with the hit-and-run reports. Inside was a female driver, later identified as Sara Terry, 24, of Baltimore, along with a male passenger. The officer asked Terry for a driver’s license, but she could not produce identification. The officer detected an odor of alcoholic beverage emanating from Terry, who said she had consumed alcohol the night before, but not that day.


Terry was asked to perform field sobriety tests, which she could not complete to the officer’s satisfaction. She also refused to submit to a breath-alcohol test. Terry was arrested and charged with numerous traffic violations from driving under the influence and driving while impaired to fleeing the scene of an accident to reckless driving. A background check revealed Terry’s license had been suspended for over a year. It also revealed she was wanted on a fugitive warrant in Pennsylvania and a bench warrant in Baltimore County.

OCPD Receives Grant

OCEAN CITY — The OCPD this week announced it was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators for its outstanding work in the field of prescription drug abuse enforcement.

For several years, the OCPD Criminal Investigation Division’s narcotics unit has been aggressively pursuing drug diversion, or illegal prescription drug, investigations for fraud, illegal distribution and abuse. As a result, the OCPD has been awarded a total of $32,000 in grants over the past four years from NADDI through funding provided by Purdue Pharma pharmaceuticals in Connecticut. The OCPD’s recent $5,000 grant is the latest in a series of grants provided by NADDI to the department.