OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested on assault and malicious destruction of property charges last weekend after allegedly fighting with several individuals in a condo where the group was staying and punching a hole in a bedroom wall and damaging a bathroom door.
Just before midnight on Saturday, Ocean City Police responded to a unit at the Marylander condominium on 127th Street for a reported assault and malicious destruction of property that had just occurred. The investigation revealed a suspect, identified as John Paciolla, 24, of Ambler, Pa., had assaulted a female and male in the condo and had punched a hole in a bedroom wall and kicked open a bathroom door.
One witness said he was sharing the condo with five other people for the weekend when Paciolla went into a bedroom with his girlfriend and shut the door, according to police reports. The witness told police he then heard punching sounds coming from the bedroom and asked Paciolla to open the door. The witness told police he observed Paciolla punch a hole in the wall and ordered Paciolla to leave the residence.
According to police reports, Paciolla began to leave the unit, but then became aggressive and started fighting with the male witness in the hallway. The witness told police Paciolla swung at him multiple times, but did not land any punches. Another witness told police he observed Paciolla kick the bathroom door during the incident. Paciolla and his girlfriend refused to tell police their versions of the story, only that “nothing happened,” according to police reports.
Paciolla was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree assault and two counts of malicious destruction of property. According to police reports, Paciolla said, “I’ll pay for whatever, that’s not a problem.”
False Fire Alarm
OCEAN CITY — A Crownsville, Md. man was arrested on malicious destruction of property and causing a false alarm charges last weekend after allegedly destroying two fire alarms at a midtown Ocean City condominium.
Just after midnight last Friday, Ocean City Police responded to the Maresol condominium building to assist the Ocean City Fire Department with a fire alarm activation. The Ocean City Fire Department arrived on the scene and determined the fire alarm had been activated maliciously. The investigation revealed a fire alarm pull-down station outside a unit on the second floor had been partially ripped out of the wall. At another fire alarm pull down station on the third floor, the lid to the pull down station was completely off on lying on the ground.
An OCPD officer on the scene was approached by a witness, who told police he had seen a male suspect later identified as Ryan Wuthrich, 26, of Crownsville, Md., pull the fire alarm on the second floor. When the witness confronted Wuthrich, the suspect took off running down the stairs, according to the witness. The witness was able to provide a description of the suspect, who was a white male, roughly 5’9” and around 190 pounds, wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and dark sunglasses.
The suspect’s description was broadcast over the radio to other officers in the area. Around that time, an OCPD officer was approached by another witness who said he had been outside a nearby restaurant smoking a cigarette when he observed a suspect matching Wuthrich trying to get into cars along 56th Street. The witness said he observed Wuthrich hit the windows of approximately six or seven vehicles with his elbow.
A short time later, OCPD officers located Wuthrich in the parking lot of a store on 57th Street. The original witness was brought to the scene and identified Wuthrich as the suspect he had seen pulling the fire alarm at the Maresol condominium.
Based on the evidence and testimony, Wuthrich was arrested and charged with making a false report of a fire and malicious destruction of property.
Jail Time For DUI Rollover
OCEAN CITY — A Parkville, Md. man arrested in July on drunk-driving charges after striking parked cars and then rolling his vehicle onto its roof in the area of 21st Street pleaded guilty this week to driving while impaired and was sentenced to 10 days in jail.
Around 1:15 a.m. on July 5, Ocean City Police responded to the area of 21st Street and Baltimore Ave. for a reported motor vehicle collision. The investigation revealed a vehicle struck two parked cars along Baltimore Ave. before hitting a curb and rolling onto its roof on the median strip.
The driver, identified as Raymond S. Dashiell, 21, of Parkville, was later arrested after failing to complete a series of field sobriety tests. Dashiell has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and reckless driving. This week, Dashiell pleaded guilty to driving while impaired and was sentenced to 60 days, all but 10 of which were then suspended. He was also fined $500.
Guilty Pleas In Graffiti Spree
OCEAN CITY — The second of two Montgomery County men charged in June with malicious destruction of property for an April 19 graffiti spree in downtown Ocean City during which several businesses, signs and vehicles were “tagged” was found guilty this week on 19 counts, but sentencing was deferred to a later date.
The Ocean City Criminal Investigation Division charged the two Montgomery County men, identified as Raul A. Vasquez, Jr., 20, of Silver Spring, and Jose A. Zavala, 20, of Chevy Chase, for the graffiti spree sometime in the early morning hours on April 19 from 16th Street to 20th Street. OCPD officers first discovered graffiti in the area of 17th Street and Philadelphia Ave. around 5 a.m. on April 19.
After a canvas of the area, officers located approximately 45 graffiti taggings affecting multiple businesses and citizens. The spray paint spree included restaurant walls, shopping center windows, motel windows and walls and multiple vehicles. With the assistance from area businesses, OCPD officers were quickly able to determine that suspects from outside the area were responsible for the vandalism.
During the investigation, OCPD detectives were closely with police in Montgomery County after areas in that county experienced a similar rash of graffiti. The investigation was able to link Vasquez and Zavala with graffiti sprees in both Ocean City and Montgomery County.
On Tuesday, Vasquez pleaded guilty to 19 counts of malicious destruction of property, but the case was held sub curia, a legal term essentially meaning there are some procedural items to clear up before he is sentenced. In August, Zavala was found guilty on 10 counts of malicious destruction of property for his role in the graffiti spree and sentencing was deferred until a hearing on November 3. No sentencing date has yet been set for Vasquez.
Assault Conviction
SNOW HILL — One of two brothers arrested in May 2014 for beating a friend and stealing his property in downtown Ocean City was found guilty last week in Worcester County Circuit Court of second-degree assault and was sentenced to four years in jail.
Around 3:20 a.m. on May 25, 2014, Ocean City Police responded to a reported fight in progress in the area of 8th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. Upon arrival, OCPD officers met with the victim of an assault who had been beaten. The victim told police the suspects, who were his friends, assaulted him and stole numerous items from his pockets.
OCPD officers on the scene realized they had seen a suspect matching the description provided by the victim getting into a nearby cab. Through an investigation, the officers were able to locate and arrest one of the suspects, identified as Damon Middleton, 21, of Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, other officers were assisted by witnesses in locating the other suspect, later identified as Charles A. Middleton, 24, of New York, N.Y. Charles Middleton was eventually located and arrested in a nearby vehicle attempting to hide from police.
Items stolen from the victim were located and returned. Ocean City Police charged by Damon and Charles Middleton with multiple assault and theft counts. Damon Middleton was also charged with possession of an assisted opening knife.
Last week in Circuit Court, Charles Middleton was found guilty of second degree assault for his role in the beat down and robbery and was sentenced to four years jail. Charles Middleton was also fined $500. Damon Middleton was found guilty of possession of a spring-assisted knife and was sentenced to six months and was also fined $500.
Heroin Dealers Found Guilty
SALISBURY — A Wicomico County Circuit Court jury this week returned guilty verdicts across the board for Salisbury women arrested in June and charged with transporting a significant amount of heroin across state lines in Maryland.
On Monday, Jacqueline N. Sheppard, 40, of Salisbury, was found guilty of several counts including possession of a large amount of heroin, importation of heroin into the state of Maryland, possession with intent to distribute heroin, drug trafficking and multiple weapons charges. Sheppard will be sentenced as a repeat offender, although a sentencing date has not yet been set.
The charges against Sheppard arose from a traffic stop on June 9 by the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force and several assisting law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement officers followed a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta occupied by two individuals as it traveled from Delaware into the state of Maryland.
Once in Wicomico County, officers conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle and were able to identify Sheppard as the driver. Based on statements made at the traffic stop and a positive K-9 alert on the vehicle, a search was conducted on the 2014 Volkswagen Jetta.
The search resulted in the recovery of 201 grams of heroin and a P-380 semi-automatic handgun with a magazine containing two rounds of live ammunition. Officers located the 209 grams of heroin in a shoe box on the front passenger floor board. The handgun was located in the center console next to Sheppard’s purse.
A subsequent search and seizure warrant was executed on Sheppard’s home in Salisbury. Upon execution of the warrant, members of the task force located a “Central Machinery” kilogram press with trace amounts of heroin, a digital scale with trace amounts of heroin, paraphernalia and a rifle with a magazine and 10 live rounds of ammunition. The kilogram press was located in a detached garage located behind the home. The rifle was located in the master bedroom under the bed.
Sheppard has prior convictions on her record, which prohibited her from possessing a handgun or rifle on June 9. The facts at trial revealed Sheppard and another individual had traveled to New Jersey to buy the heroin. The jury was able to conclude that based on the quantity and packaging of the heroin, when combined with the handgun, scale, kilogram press and paraphernalia, that Sheppard possessed the heroin for distribution. Sheppard awaits sentencing as a subsequent offender as Sheppard was convicted in 2001 in two separate cases of possession of a narcotic.