OCEAN CITY — Two men were arrested on strong-armed robbery and assault charges last week after Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were able to identify him as one of the individuals who beat a man in the downtown area for accidentally knocking over a liquor bottle on the sidewalk.
Around 1:37 a.m. last Thursday, OCPD officers responded to a reported fight in progress in the area of 4th Street. Officers met with witnesses who had recovered a set of car keys in a playground nearby that had been stolen from the victim. The witnesses directed officers to the victim across the street. According to police reports, the victim had blood all over his face, arms, legs and clothing and had suffered significant trauma with cuts on his head and face along with swelling.
The victim told police he had been attacked by a group of six to eight males who had followed him and his brother from a market nearby. The victim told police the suspects fled north on Philadelphia Avenue after the vicious beating. The victim told police he and his brother had just left the market and were walking away from the business’s front door when he inadvertently kicked a bottle of vodka on the sidewalk.
The victim told police the large group of suspects became upset and accused them of being “disrespectful” to them, according to police reports.
The victim said one member of the group threw the bottle at him and his brother as they walked away. The victim apologized and said he and his brother didn’t want any trouble. The victim told police the next thing he remembered was being physically attacked in the head and face. During the assault, the victim was struck in the head by a metal Realtor sign from a nearby yard. The victim’s brother was also grabbed and punched, but was able to get away uninjured.
The victim told police the suspects told him to empty his pockets, but he was able to clutch his wallet and cell phone. However, the suspects did take the victim’s car keys, which they threw into a nearby playground when they fled the scene on foot.
OCPD officers located one suspect, later identified as Breon Ayres, 26, of Pocomoke. A short time later, officers located another suspect, identified as Jyeir Carter-Perkins, 23, of Elkton, Md.
The victims were brought to the scene and positively identified Ayres and Carter-Perkins as two of the suspects involved in the attack. Both were arrested and charged with robbery and assault.
