OCEAN CITY — A Damascus, Md. man was arrested and charged with first-degree assault and other serious charges after choking, biting and hitting family members and a security guard in the public areas of a north-end condominium.
Around 7 p.m. on the Fourth of July, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a condominium at 115th Street for a reported assault in progress. An OCPD officer arrived on the scene and met with a security officer who was holding a bag of ice on his swelling face. The security guard told police he had been advised by tenants there was an unruly guest in the pool area of the condominium.
The security guard went to the pool area and found may of the guests were disgusted and leaving the pool because of the yelling and obscene language of the suspect, later identified as Quinlan Marler, 23. The security guard determined in which unit Marler was staying and located the suspect to discuss the disorderly behavior. The security guard told police Marler started yelling at him and got in his face and threatened to kill him. Marler then punched the guard in the face and wrestled him to the ground, putting the security guard in a choke hold before the guard was able to escape. Marler then fled the area on foot.
OCPD officers and condo security were actively looking for Marler when they received numerous calls from tenants that a suspect matching his description was involved in a fight of some sort in a different area of the property. OCPD officers responded to that area and found Marler being held down on the ground by other citizens and security staff.
Marler was handcuffed and taken to a different area away from the public to determine what was going on and avoid additional confrontations. According to police reports, dozens of residents on balconies and in the pool and tennis court areas clapped and cheered as Marler was being taken away.
OCPD officers then spoke with Marler’s brother, who informed police Marler was intoxicated and had been assaulting other members of the family. The brother told police Marler had taken his mother’s cell phone and when he confronted Marler about it, Marler ran away. The brother told police he was able to tackle Marler, which attracted the attention of large groups of visitors and residents at the condo.
While Marler’s brother was holding him on the ground, his mother attempted to get her phone but he refused to give it back. According to police reports, Marler bit down on his mother’s thumb and would not release it. When the brother tried to reach in Marler’s mouth to get him to stop biting their mother’s thumb, Marler bit down on his brother’s fingers and would not let go.
When Marler’s cousin attempted to intercede, he allegedly stopped biting his mother’s and brother’s fingers and assaulted her instead, knocking her to the ground and placing his hands around her throat while choking her. Marler only stopped choking his cousin when his brother interceded and held him down until police arrived.
In summary, Marler allegedly punched and choked the condo security guard, bit his mother’s thumb to the point it was bleeding profusely and needed EMS attention, bit his brother’s fingers when his brother attempted to stop his assault on their mother, and then turned his attention to his female cousin, whom he knocked to the ground and choked to the point she was afraid she would lose consciousness, all in the presence of dozens of condo residents and visitors attempting to enjoy a Fourth of July evening.
Marler was charged with one count of first-degree assault, four counts of second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. He had a bail review hearing on Thursday and was being held in the Worcester County Jail pending a preliminary hearing.
