OC Man Arrested For Assault On Officers
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man had to be physically restrained following a fight on the Boardwalk last weekend after head-butting one Ocean City police officer and spitting blood on and threatening to kill several others.
Around 12:20 a.m. last Saturday, OCPD officers responded to a reported fight in the area of 1st Street and the Boardwalk. Officers arrived on the scene and observed two men actively fighting. Once the fight was stopped, OCPD officers questioned one of the combatants identified as Thomas Clark II, 24, of Ocean City. According to police reports, Clark refused to sit down on a bench at the officers’ request and told police he did not do anything wrong.
Clark then lit into an expletive-laced tirade and said the other combatant had hit him first and that he was a U.S. Marine and was only defending himself. When asked what he did in the Marines, Clark reportedly said “What the [expletive deleted] does that matter? I [expletive deleted] killed people.” Clark also told police he had shot someone in the face in North Carolina who had attempted to assault him with a knife.
According to police reports, Clark told police if they attempted to arrest him, he was “going to kick all of their [expletives deleted]” and that “he would kill them.” OCPD officers then attempted to take Clark into custody for disorderly conduct and handcuffed him behind his back, but Clark continued to resist. He attempted to stand up, but when an officer put his hand on Clark’s chest to try to sit him back down on a bench, Clark attempted to bite the officer. Clark then head-butted the officer, causing a laceration and bruising above his eye.
Clark continued to be aggressive and uncooperative even after he was handcuffed and taken to the Public Safety Building for processing. He continued to attempt to bite arresting officers and spit on one officer’s face and uniform. At police headquarters, Clark continued to be combative and spit in the faces of two public safety aides with blood saliva. Clark was ultimately charged with five counts of assault on law enforcement officers.
Suspect Ran Over Bike, Almost Ran Over Cop
OCEAN CITY — A Washington, D.C. man was arrested on assault and malicious destruction of property charges last weekend after allegedly attempting to run over an OCPD officer with his vehicle and driving over an OCPD bicycle.
Around 9:40 p.m. last Saturday, an OCPD officer on bicycle patrol in the area of the Worcester Street municipal lot detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from a parked vehicle. When the officer made contact with the vehicle’s driver, identified as Michael Bunn, 33, of Washington, D.C., the suspect rolled down the window and the odor intensified, according to police reports.
The officer ordered Bunn to turn off the vehicle and Bunn complied, but when the officer asked the suspect to get out of the vehicle, he allegedly restarted it and drove over the officer’s police-issued mountain bike. The officer hung on to the vehicle, attempting to open to door handle to gain access to Bunn, but the door was locked. Bunn then pulled out of the parking lot and headed south on Philadelphia Avenue.
Another OCPD officer observed the vehicle matching the description stopped at the traffic light at South Division Street and Baltimore Ave. The officer parked his bicycle near the front of the vehicle and ordered Bunn not to move and turn off the car. The officer walked toward the front of the vehicle and allegedly observed Bunn turn the wheel toward him and accelerate. The officer had to put his hands on the hood of the vehicle and push himself away from in front of the vehicle as it accelerated.
According to police reports, Bunn then accelerated through the red light at South Division Street heading north on Baltimore Avenue. He was eventually stopped by blocked traffic a few blocks later and was taken into custody. A search of the vehicle revealed a spring-assisted opening knife. Bunn was charged with second-degree assault, malicious destruction of property and possession of an assisted opening knife.
Sister Sentenced In Pocomoke Homicide
SNOW HILL — The second of two sisters charged in the stabbing death of a local man outside a Pocomoke convenience store last October was sentenced this week to 10 years for second-degree assault and five years for accessory after the fact, netting eight years total for her role in the homicide.
Shortly after 1 p.m. last Oct. 26, Pocomoke Police responded to a 911 call reporting a domestic dispute at a gas pump outside the Duck Inn convenience store. Arriving officers found the victim, identified as Derrick Collick, 25, of Pocomoke, with a stab wound to his upper body. Collick was transported to PRMC in Salisbury with an apparent stab wound and later succumbed to his injuries.
Witnesses were able to provide police with information about the suspects involved in the incident and the vehicle they were driving, touching off a manhunt throughout the afternoon and into the evening across the Lower Shore.
The suspects were identified by witnesses as Kaniesha Johnson, 22, of Pocomoke, and her sister, Latoya Johnson, 30, of Salisbury. That evening, Kaniesha Johnson was located at a residence on South East Railroad Ave. in Hebron and was taken into custody without incident by the Maryland State Apprehension Team. Latoya Johnson was located at her residence in Salisbury on Monday evening and was taken into custody without incident.
In March, Kaniesha Johnson pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and second-degree assault. She was later sentenced to life in prison with all but 30 years suspended. Latoya Johnson in March pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and second-degree assault and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered. Back in court last week, Latoya Johnson was sentenced to 10 years with all but eight suspended for the second-degree assault conviction, and five years, all of which was suspended, for the accessory after the fact conviction, netting a total of eight years.
Suspended Sentence For Heroin Possession
SNOW HILL — An Ocean City man arrested on drug charges in December after Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) stopped his vehicle after observing him allegedly spotlighting deer along a rural road in Worcester County pleaded guilty this week to possession and was sentenced to one year, all of which was then suspended.
Shortly before 8 p.m. last December 24, an NRP officer on patrol near Sims Road in Worcester observed a blue pick-up truck behaving in a suspicious manner, including shining a light into a farm field, an illegal activity known as spotlighting. When the officer stopped the vehicle, he observed the driver, later identified as Josh Brandon Marlowe, 51, of Ocean City, attempting to discard a hypodermic needle.
Officers detained Marlowe and an unidentified passenger and during a subsequent search discovered 14 bags of heroin as well as an additional hypodermic needle. For his part, Marlowe said this week the heroin was not his and that it belonged to the unnamed passenger, who gave it to Marlowe when the NRP officer pulled over the truck. Marlowe said the passenger had an outstanding warrant and was concerned about getting caught with heroin and therefore handed it to him.
Nonetheless, Marlowe was charged with possession of heroin and paraphernalia. This week, Marlowe pleaded guilty to possession of CDS, not marijuana, and was sentenced to one year, all of which was then suspended.
30 Days For Biting Cop
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man arrested in March on assault charges after allegedly first slamming a door on an officer and later biting him during booking following a domestic dispute
Around 1:30 a.m. on March 3, an OCPD officer responded to a residence on Judlee Avenue for a reported domestic incident. The officer arrived and met with a witness, who told police her roommate, later identified as Matthew Justice, 26, of Ocean City, had attempted to kick in the door to a room in which she was hiding. OCPD officers had responded to the same residence for a complaint about an hour earlier.
The victim told police Justice had left the area on foot and the responding officer drove over to the 7-Eleven store nearby and observed Justice inside. The officer recognized Justice from a mug shot on his computer because Justice had previous run-ins with law enforcement. Justice came out of the store and approached the officer and allegedly asked if he was there for the “domestic.”
The officer asked Justice to sit on the curb, which he did, but he continued to make furtive movements as if he was going to run, according to police reports. At that point, Justice was handcuffed, but he allegedly went into a profanity-laced tirade in a loud voice to all in the area to hear, directing threats against police officers. At one point, he threatened to have the officer fired and that he knew powerful people.
Despite the tirade, the officers determined Justice had committed no crime at the scene and he was released. According to police reports, he told the officer to “mark the time” because he was “going to get me.” Justice was allowed to leave for the time being and sprinted back to his apartment on Judlee Ave. and the police followed to investigate the original domestic complaint.
Three OCPD officers responded to the residence on Judlee Avenue and after investigating the domestic incident began to leave. The original officer at the 7-11 incident was the last in the line of officers to leave the residence, and when he got to the doorway, Justice allegedly pulled the door back and slammed it on the officer who was still inside the door frame. The door hit the officer in the back and on his finger, forcing him into the back of the officer in front of him. The officer determined Justice intentionally slammed the door on him and arrested the suspect.
Justice was transported to the Public Safety Building for processing, and when the officer came around the transport vehicle to unbuckle the suspect, Justice allegedly bit the officer intentionally. The officer noted in his report Justice opened his mouth wide and intentionally bit him on the arm, although he was wearing a heavy coat and multiple layers, so the suspect’s teeth did not penetrate his skin.
The officers moved his arm away, but Justice again lunged at him with his mouth open and attempted to bit him again. The rest of the booking process went on without further incident. It was later determined Justice was on probation for disarming a law enforcement officer in a different incident. Last week, Justice pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.