OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man, arrested in July and charged with first-degree assault after allegedly pulling a knife and threatening a downtown bar owner who refused to allow him to enter the establishment near closing time, pleaded guilty last week to reckless endangerment and was fined $500.
Shortly before 2 a.m. on July 21, 2013, Ocean City Police officers on bike patrol responded to the area of the party block on 17th Street for a report of an individual displaying a knife. When the officers arrived, they observed a man, later identified as Tyler N. Cole, 21, of Natrona Heights, Pa., walking away from the area and were informed by bar staff Cole was the suspect who had pulled out the knife and threatened bar co-owner Ralph DeAngelus. The officers detained Cole and when they asked him if he had any weapons on him, he reportedly responded “I have a knife but I wasn’t trying to harm anybody.”
The officers then interviewed DeAngelus, who told police he refused to allow Cole to enter the nightclub because he appeared to be highly intoxicated. According to police reports, after Cole was denied entry, he became agitated and verbally abusive.
DeAngelus told police Cole then started speaking in a language he did not understand. According to the witness statement, Cole then bent down on one knee and pulled out a knife. DeAngelus told police Cole flipped open the knife blade and “looked as though he was going to charge me.” DeAngelus told police he believed Cole was looking for an opportunity to stab him or another doorman.
After Cole was read his rights, he agreed to speak freely about the incident. Cole told police, “I pulled the knife out to cut a string off of my shirt.” When asked what he used the knife for, Cole reportedly responded “to cut things, but not to harm anyone.”
The arresting officer noted in his report Cole was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and that he was sweating profusely. The OCPD officers reviewed security system footage provided by the nightclub, which corroborated the victim’s account of the incident that Cole opened the knife blade and displayed it as if he intended to use it and his actions “created a substantial risk of serious injury or death to the individuals around him,” according to the police report.
The knife was recovered from Cole’s front pocket during the incident. He was charged with first-degree assault, attempted second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.