Two Suspects Sought After Attack On City Bus Driver

Two Suspects Sought After Attack On City Bus Driver
Two

OCEAN CITY — Two suspects are being sought and one was arrested by Ocean City police this week for their involvement in a brutal attack on a municipal bus driver over the weekend.

Around 1 a.m. last Saturday, multiple individuals got into a verbal altercation with a municipal bus driver after passengers were picked up along Baltimore Ave. near Worcester Street. According to knowledgeable sources, the dispute began when the suspects did not have exact change and the bus driver informing them they could not ride without the exact $3 fare per passenger.

A short time later, Ocean City Communications informed OCPD officers in the area an assault had occurred on a municipal bus. OCPD officer arrived on the scene and observed three African-American suspects believed to be involved in the assault running from the bus. Numerous witnesses and bystanders pointed at the three suspects running from the scene, according to police reports.

Ocean City EMS arrived on the scene and began treatment on the injured bus driver, who had cuts on his face and head and a large amount of bleeding. The responding officer reported the injuries sustained by the bus driver were the results of one of the suspects striking the victim with an unidentified weapon. According to police reports, the driver was disoriented and had to be taken by ambulance to AGH and at one point had trouble breathing. The driver was released from the hospital later and is reportedly recovering at home from head injuries.

Meanwhile, the responding OCPD officers observed one of the suspects, later identified as Marquez Quran Ellis, 19, of York, Pa., running through the property of the Atlantic Hotel. Ellis reportedly ran through a narrow passageway and through the property pursued by OCPD officers, who on several occasions ordered him to stop and go to the ground. Ellis failed to comply and sprinted west through the Somerset Street Plaza. The officer observed 40-60 people in and around the Somerset Street Plaza stop and look at Ellis with looks of disgust on their faces, according to police reports. Most in the area stopped and remained motionless and continued to point at the suspect.

OCPD officers at one point observed the two other suspects running with Ellis before splitting up and going in different directions. Ellis continued to run north on Baltimore Ave. with police in pursuit ordering him to stop and get on the ground. At one point, Ellis ran through traffic on Baltimore Ave. and several vehicles pulled over and stopped to avoid hitting him. Finally, in the area of Dorchester Street, Ellis went to his knees and gave up. Ellis was taken into custody and in his possession was found a single dollar bill and a bus ticket believed to have been stolen during the assault on the driver.

Ellis has been charged thus far with disturbing the peace, trespassing and resisting arrest, although further charges could be coming as the investigation continues. Meanwhile, the investigation and the search for the other two suspects are ongoing. The investigation is being handled by a Major Crimes detective in the OCPD’s Criminal Enforcement Division.