OCEAN CITY — A Bowie, Md. man was arrested on theft, malicious destruction of property and other charges last weekend after allegedly breaking into and trashing the county-owned liquor store in north Ocean City before being found hiding under a vehicle in the parking lot.
Around 1:15 a.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police responded to the county’s Department of Liquor Control store at the Gold Coast Mall after Ocean City Communications was alerted of a premise alarm at the business. As OCPD officers arrived they observed the suspect, later identified as Gregory Burley, 20, of Bowie, inside the business, but he quickly fled the scene on foot.
Multiple officers arrived to assist in the search for Burley, including Maryland State Police troopers and Worcester County Sheriff’s deputies. Burley was ultimately located hiding under a minivan in the parking lot nearby and he was arrested without incident.
At the business, officers observed multiple broken windows, significant damage to interior walls and damage to an alarm speaker. A shopping cart was found full of various bottles of liquor and several bottles of liquor were broken on the floor in the store.
Burley was charged with two counts of breaking and entering, theft less than $1,000, two counts of malicious destruction of property over $1,000 and making false statements to a police officer.
On Monday, Burley had a bail review hearing and was ordered to be held on a $10,000 bond. A preliminary hearing has been set for Oct. 9.