SALISBURY- Local law enforcement officials across the Lower Shore late this week continued to search for the suspect wanted in connection with a home invasion in Salisbury last week that left one dead and another victim injured with new information released on a connection to a stolen truck.
Around 1 a.m. last Wednesday, Maryland State Police troopers and Salisbury Police responded to a residence on Pemberton Drive for a reported home invasion. Officers arrived and found one victim who had been assaulted with a blunt object. MSP troopers and Salisbury Police officers continued to search the residence and found a second victim, later identified as Donald G. Mariner, 72, of Salisbury, seriously injured.
Once on the scene, emergency medical personnel attempted to treat both victims. Mariner was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel, while the second victim was transported to PRMC for further treatment. The second victim has not been identified out of concerns for his safety. He is being treated at PRMC for treatment of serious injuries sustained during the home invasion. The deceased victim’s remains have been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.
The suspect is described as an African-American male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans at the time of the home invasion. Investigators are continuing to develop leads, but as of late Thursday there were no new breaks in the case. The Maryland State Police Homicide Unit has taken the lead in the investigation. Crime scene technicians from the Maryland State Police Crime Lab have been collecting items of evidentiary value.
During the initial stages of the investigation, police learned the Mariner’s Ford F-150 pickup truck had been stolen from the residence. The truck was found abandoned on West Main Street near the VFW about two miles from the location of the crime. Anyone who may have seen the black Ford F-150 in the area of Pemberton Drive or West Main Street is urged to call police.
Members of the MSP Salisbury and Berlin Barrack Criminal Investigation Divisions, the Wicomico Sheriff’s Department, the Wicomico Bureau of Investigations and the Salisbury Police Department are assisting in the investigation. Investigators are asking anyone with information concerning the home invasion or the suspect to contact the MSP Salisbury Barrack at (410) 749-3101, or Crime Solvers of the Lower Eastern Shore at (410) 548-1776. Crime Solvers is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the suspect. Callers can provide information anonymously.