OCEAN CITY — Six Washington, D.C. area residents were arrested on first-degree assault and other serious charges early Monday morning after a verbal altercation downtown turned physical and resulted in at least one victim being “pistol whipped” and robbed at gunpoint.
Around 2:40 a.m. on Monday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to the area of 2nd Street and St. Louis Avenue for a reported assault. The investigation revealed two groups of people had been involved in a verbal altercation that escalated into a physical altercation. Members of one group assaulted a victim and stole their cell phone, while another victim was struck in the head with a handgun.
The assaulting group then left the area in a vehicle. Through the investigation, OCPD officers were able to locate the vehicle and it was stopped on Route 50 near the Wal-Mart shopping complex. During a search of the vehicle, officers located the stolen cell phone and a 9mm handgun.
Five individuals were arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, having a handgun in a vehicle and the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony. Among those arrested were Monae Harrington, 20, of Waldorf; Novio Smallwood, 16, of Capitol Heights; Jayvonta Thomas, 22, of Hyattsville; Tijay Thomas, 19, of Hyattsville; Joquan Vinson, 16, of Capitol Heights; and Quincy Whitman, 22, of Suitland.
Each was transferred to the Worcester County Jail and held without bond. More details will be provided as they become available.
Last weekend the OCPD partnered with a number of law enforcement agencies to step up patrols and visibility as a result of a College Beach Weekend event that has caused trouble in Ocean City and other resort destinations in recent years.
