SNOW HILL – An Ocean City man arrested on burglary charges in January after a brief standoff with resort police in one of the vacant residences he broke into was found guilty this week in Circuit Court and was sentenced to a year in jail.
On Jan. 30, resort police received a call from alert citizens on Robin Drive about a suspicious man believed to have kicked in the door of an unoccupied apartment. Based on the information provided by the witnesses as well as the physical evidence observed by the officers who first arrived on the scene, the OCPD quickly established a perimeter of the location in an effort to contain the suspect believed still inside the unit he had broken into.
At the time, one witness reported as many as eight OCPD cars around the building with officers standing behind them with weapons drawn. OCPD officers utilized a bullhorn to communicate with the suspect, later identified as Edward Lee Robbins, 34, of Ocean City, who initially refused a request from police to surrender.
OCPD K-9 officer Pfc. Kevin Flower and his K-9 dog “Tacko” were also on the scene, and while officers were instructing Robbins to come out of the apartment, Flower and “Tacko” were preparing to enter the unit to apprehend the non-compliant suspect.
When Robbins realized the K-9 unit’s entry was imminent, he immediately surrendered and was taken into custody without incident. Police discovered Robbins is also a registered sex offender living in Ocean City.
The investigation revealed Robbins was seen by an alert citizen kicking in the rear door of the residence at 311 Robin Drive. After Robbins was arrested, OCPD detectives discovered he may be linked to several other recent thefts in Ocean City, particularly thefts from automobiles. OCPD detectives recovered approximately 75 items reported stolen from several previously reported thefts as well as some unreported thefts. The items included tools, CDs, musical equipment, and personal electronics among others.
This week in Circuit Court, Robbins pleaded not guilty to the charges but was found guilty of fourth-degree burglary and was sentenced to one year in the Worcester County Jail.
The other charges including first- and third-degree burglary, theft, rogue and vagabond and malicious destruction of property were not prosecuted.