Berlin Man Charged In Choking Incident
OCEAN CITY — A Berlin man was charged with first-degree assault last week after Ocean City police connected him to a choking incident in the resort in early May.
On May 3, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a reported domestic assault involving a choking at a hotel in the area of 12th Street. While the officers were in route, Ocean City Communications advised the suspect, later identified as Craig Powell, 31, of Berlin, had left the area. OCPD officers searched the area for Powell to no avail.
OCPD officers interviewed the female victim, who told police she had been in an argument with Powell and that he had choked her to the point she was afraid she would lose consciousness. OCPD officers noticed redness on the victim’s neck and requested EMS to respond and evaluate her condition.
According to police reports, the victim told officers she had been in an argument with Powell earlier in the day and Powell had told her he was going come looking for her. The victim told police she was sitting in a stairwell at the hotel and was attempting to get a friend to come and get her with a phone she had borrowed from a hotel employee. The victim told police she then heard a noise in the stairwell above her and saw Powell coming down the steps.
The victim said Powell did not say anything, but rather just put his hands around her throat and began choking her, according to police records. The victim told police Powell continued to choke her to the point she could not breathe or speak and was gasping for breath and about to pass out. Powell eventually loosened his grip and asked the victim about the phone. When she told him she borrowed it from a hotel staffer, he did not believe her and started choking her again.
Again, Powell let go just as the victim was about to pass out and she was able to flee the stairwell. According to police reports, she ran into the street toward a man talking on his cell phone and asked if she could borrow the phone to call 911. Powell followed her until she began to give the 911 dispatcher directions to her location, at which point he fled after realizing she had called the police. An extensive search was conducted for Powell, but he was not immediately located. The victim told police she and Powell had been living in the hotel stairwell until they found employment. Based on the evidence and testimony, OCPD officers applied for charges against Powell including first- and second-degree assault and theft less than $100 for leaving the scene with the borrowed phone.
Officer’s Quick Action Saves Victim From Burning Vehicle
The actions of an Ocean Pines police officer may have prevented a tragedy last weekend when a vehicle flipped and caught fire. Submitted Photo
OCEAN PINES — A quick-thinking Ocean Pines police officer last weekend may have saved the life of an elderly woman whose vehicle left the roadway and flipped several times before catching fire.
Around 5:55 p.m. last Sunday, Ocean Pines Police Corporal Ricky Kerrigan responded to a single-vehicle accident on Ocean Parkway near Robin Hood Trail. The investigation revealed a 76-year-old woman was driving the vehicle when it left the roadway, vaulted and rolled over several times before catching on fire.
The victim was trapped in the vehicle when Kerrigan arrived on the scene. Kerrigan used his fire extinguisher to put out the fire, then smashed a part of the window of the victim’s vehicle. Fearing she may be seriously injured, Kerrigan waited for the quick response of the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department and firefighters were able to extract her. The 76-year-old victim was transported to Atlantic General Hospital and was recovering this week. Kerrigan’s quick response in putting out the fire was critical in the rescue of the victim, according to Ocean Pines Police.
Victim Choked Unconscious In Cab
OCEAN CITY — A Columbia, Md. man was charged with multiple counts of assault last weekend after allegedly choking a woman in a taxi to the point she became unconscious and then assaulting the cabbie and later a police officer.
Around 1:45 a.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a reported assault incident in the area of 23rd Street. Upon arrival, officer observed a taxi cab stopped in the bus lane with a female passenger unconscious in the front seat. The taxi driver told police he had picked up the female victim and another man identified as Roberto Brathwaite, 37, of Columbia, Md.
The taxi driver told police he observed Brathwaite choking the victim with his hands around her neck from the rear passenger seat until she passed out. The cabbie said Brathwaite stopped long enough to punch the driver in the arms several times, causing him to pull over in the bus lane. The cab driver said Brathwaite then began choking the victim, who was still unconscious, again until police arrived.
Based on the evidence, Brathwaite was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree assault. While another OCPD officer was on the scene to assist, Brathwaite allegedly tried to bite the officer on his left arm and an additional charge of second-degree assault on a police officer was tacked on.
Boardwalk Fight
OCEAN CITY — A Frederick man was arrested on assault and other charges last weekend after fighting with a juvenile on a crowded Boardwalk on an early June evening.
Around 6:25 p.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on foot patrol in the area of 5th Street and the Boardwalk observed a large crowd surrounding two individuals engaged in a fight. Through the crowd, OCPD officers observed one of the combatants, identified as Elijah Kebbeh-Spencer, 18, of Frederick, throw a punch at the other combatant, a juvenile. The officers ran around the crowd and toward the two suspects, at which point they were on the ground and still willfully engaged in a mutual assault on one another.
OCPD officers ordered the two combatants to stop fighting, but they did not comply with the order and continued to fight. At that point, an OCPD officer tackled the combatant who was closest to him at the time, who was identified as Kebbeh-Spencer. Kebbeh-Spencer was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, affray and disorderly conduct.
Drug, Weapon Bust
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested on multiple drug and weapons charges last weekend after Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer observed him acting suspiciously in a downtown municipal parking lot.
Around 10:30 p.m. last Friday, OCPD detectives working in an undercover narcotics detail were patrolling the municipal parking lot at Worcester Street when they observed an individual later identified as John Kisesewa acting suspiciously. According to police reports, Kisesewa was leaning into the open trunk of a vehicle and doing something under the floorboard in the spare tire well.
According to police reports, Kisesewa was looking around as if to see if he was being watched, which struck the officers as suspicious. The officer observed Kisesewa had a plastic Ziploc bag in his hand. The officers circled around again and observed Kisesewa still leaning into the trunk and looking around as if to see if anybody was watching, according to police reports. When he saw the officers, he shoved the plastic bag and whatever was in it back into the trunk and out of view and continued to appear startled and nervous.
The OCPD officers got out and attempted to speak with Kisesewa, but he immediately started to run away. Officers caught Kisesewa after a brief foot chase. OCPD looked on the ground where Kisesewa had been standing at the vehicle’s trunk and discovered a plastic baggie containing cocaine pressed into a solid piece in an amount greater than what is typically used for personal consumption, according to police reports.
At that point, Kisesewa was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine. A search of the vehicle’s trunk subsequent to the arrest turned up a bag of marijuana in a jacket pocket, again in an amount larger than what is used for personal consumption. Officers also located a digital scale in the jacket pocket along with $658 in cash arranged from the highest to the lowest denominations.
OCPD officers also located a loaded handgun in the spare tire well. The semi-automatic handgun was loaded with seven rounds in the gun including one in the chamber, meaning the gun was loaded and ready to fire.
As an individual under the age of 21, Kisesewa was prohibited from possessing a regulated .32 caliber handgun. After further inspection, it was apparent someone had tried to alter the gun’s serial number. There were deliberate scratches over the serial number on the gun. Kisesewa was ultimately charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana and multiple weapons charges. He was ordered to be held on a $50,000 bond.
90 Days For Graffiti Spree
OCEAN CITY — A Selbyville man arrested in April on multiple counts of malicious destruction of property after allegedly “tagging” with graffiti multiple public and private properties throughout Ocean City pleaded guilty this week and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Around 2 a.m. on April 27, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to North Division Street for a reported malicious destruction of property in progress. Ocean City Communications reported a white male with a Mohawk had been seen “tagging” a green electrical box with graffiti. OCPD officers met with a witness who told police he was returning to his parking spot in a private lot behind the Quiet Storm surf shop at North Division Street when he observed an individual crouched behind a green electrical box.
The victim told police the suspect said to him “I was making sure you guys weren’t the cops. I’m about to do some graffiti.” The witness told police he said to the suspect, “I wouldn’t do it there,” but the suspect said in return, “I’m going to do it anyway.” At that point, the witness decided to contact the police. The witness provided a description of the suspect to police including his distinctive Mohawk haircut. OCPD officers observed a large electrical box tagged with a five-point star, the word “Spaz” and “Art Saves Lives” in black paint.
OCPD officers searched the area for the suspect to no avail. However, Ocean City Communications advised officers they were monitoring the City Watch surveillance cameras and Ocean City Transportation had been advised of the suspect’s description. About a half an hour later, an Ocean City municipal bus driver advised police he had seen an individual matching the suspect’s description walking north on Baltimore Avenue at 14th Street.
OCPD officers responded to the area and located the suspect, identified as Bradley Berterman, 31, of Selbyville, who confessed to the graffiti. The original OCPD officer brought the witness to the scene who positively identified Berteram as the suspect he had seen tagging the electrical box at North Division Street. A search of Berterman revealed three paint markers, two black and one white, in his front pants pocket. Berterman also had black paint on his face and hands, according to police reports.
When questioned further, Berterman told police he was off from his job that day and had purchased some new paint and traveled to Ocean City to “tag it up,” according to police reports. Berterman agreed to show Ocean City Police what other property he had marked with graffiti and he was put in a police cruiser for a tour of his handiwork.
Berterman told police he rode his bicycle from Selbyville to the north-end transit station at 144th Street where he took a bus to the south-end transit station at South Division Street and starting walking toward the Boardwalk. The tour of Berterman’s graffiti spree revealed he tagged the electrical box, a soda vending machine and a city-owned light pole at North Division Street.
Berterman then walked north on the Boardwalk where he tagged several municipal trash cans including two at 4th Street, and one each at Surf Avenue, 9th Street and 10th Street. Ocean City Police followed along Berterman’s graffiti trail and noted each of the locations was marked with the same star, “Spaz” and “Art Saves Lives” markings.
Berterman told police he then left the Boardwalk and walked north on Baltimore Ave., tagging a traffic control signal box and a concrete sign post, again with the same markings. This week, Berterman pleaded guilty to one count of malicious destruction of property over $1,000 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Jail For Kicking In Door
OCEAN CITY — One of two Salisbury men arrested on breaking and entering charges in January after kicking in the front door of a downtown Ocean City store pleaded guilty last week to malicious destruction of property and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
Around 9:50 p.m. on Jan. 29, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to the area of Baltimore Avenue downtown for a reported breaking and entering in progress. An Ocean City municipal bus driver had called into the emergency radio channels reporting she had seen two white males and a female kicking in the front door of the Ocean City Party Market. The bus driver told police the front door of the business was shattered and the two men had walked east on Somerset Street toward the Boardwalk while the female suspect sat on a bus stop at Somerset Street and Baltimore Avenue.
An OCPD officer arrived on the scene and observed three men with clothing matching the description provided by the bus driver walking north on the Boardwalk near Talbot Street. Another OCPD officer brought to the scene the bus driver who positively identified the suspects. The suspects were identified as Shane Kulp, 21, and Jesse Shipley, 21, both of Salisbury.
The witness said she observed Shipley was the suspect who kicked the door to the business several times, while Kulp appeared to be the lookout. The unidentified female was seen with Kulp and Shipley at the time of the break-in, but had left the scene and waited at the bus stop. The third male found walking with Shipley and Kulp had not been seen doing anything illegal.
Both Shipley and Kulp were interviewed by OCPD officers and both denied any wrongdoing, or even knowing what the offices were talking about. However, when OCPD officers interviewed the female suspect, she reportedly told police she had heard Kulp and Shipley talking about going into the closed store and “getting some stuff.” The female told police she crossed the street and then heard the front glass door of the store breaking. About that time, the Ocean City bus driver backed up her vehicle to observe.
Further investigation revealed the intent of Shipley and Kulp was to enter the closed store and steal items. Shipley allegedly kicked in the front door and he and Kulp fled the scene after the vigilant bus driver observed the crime. Last week, Kulp pleaded guilty to malicious destruction of property and was sentenced to 60 days. He was also ordered to pay $200 in restitution to the victim. Shipley’s trial is scheduled for September.