OCEAN CITY — Two New Jersey men are being held on armed robbery and false imprisonment charges this week after allegedly participating in an attack and robbery of another man in an Ocean City motel room early last Saturday morning.
Around 6 a.m. last Saturday, Ocean City Police responded to the Howard Johnson Motel on 24th Street for a reported weapons violation. The officers met the male victim in the lobby, who had dried blood around his mouth, a three-inch scratch on his neck with dried blood around it and a laceration with bleeding from his foot. The victim told police he had been jumped by two African-American males and robbed of his money.
One of the suspects allegedly punched the victim in the face three times with a closed fist, while the second grabbed him in a choke hold from behind and forced him to the ground.
One of the suspects allegedly reached in the victim’s pocket and took his wallet containing around $360. The victim told police he was able to briefly push himself up from the ground, but one of the suspects pulled out a switchblade knife and allegedly told the victim, “I will [expletive deleted] kill you.” The victim told police he truly believed he was fighting for his life at that point.
The victim told police he was facing his attackers and walking backward toward a sliding glass door in the rear of the room. Once he reached the sliding glass door, the victim kicked it with his bare foot three times, causing it to shatter and allowing him to escape. The victim said the suspects continued to pursue him until he jumped a fence. Once the victim jumped the fence, the attackers retreated, according to police reports.
OCPD officers observed blood on the ground by the pool and a large amount of broken glass from the rear sliding door. An OCPD officer observed a black wallet at the bottom of the hotel pool and was able to retrieve it. In the wallet was the victim’s driver’s license, but the roughly $300 in cash was missing.
A hotel clerk told police he observed a white SUV, possibly a Tahoe or Escalade, leaving the hotel parking lot around the time the incident occurred. Another hotel worker told police a white Chevy Tahoe with California tags was seen leaving the hotel parking a lot around the same time. The witness was able to provide police with the tag number. OCPD officers put out a broadcast of the vehicle description and tag number to patrol units.
About six hours later, shortly before noon, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies located the suspect vehicle at the outlets in West Ocean City. Inside the vehicle were two African-American males and a white female. The victim was brought by police to West Ocean City and positively identified the two men, Brandon Anderson and David Chandler, 29, of Pennsauken, N.J., as his attackers. The victim told police Anderson was the suspect who had threatened him with a knife, while Chandler had put him in a choke hold and forced him to the ground.
Chandler and Anderson were arrested and charged with armed robbery, second-degree assault, theft under $1,000 and false imprisonment. The vehicle was impounded and a search revealed a black and silver folding knife. Meanwhile, Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies detained the white female, identified as Brittini Pate, 21, of Dover, for an outstanding warrant for failing to appear for trial on an unrelated offense in Wicomico County. While the OCPD arrested and charged Anderson and Chandler, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office took Pate into custody for the warrant.