Snow Hill Shooting Probed
SNOW HILL — The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) is investigating a shooting in Snow Hill last weekend that has left a victim in critical condition.
Around 7:10 p.m. last Friday, the Snow Hill Police Department and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call reporting shots fired in the area of West Federal Street and Ross Street in Snow Hill. Upon arrival, officers located a victim lying along the edge of the roadway near the curb.
The victim was identified as Deron Ames, 25, of Snow Hill. Ames was transported by EMS to Peninsula Regional Medical Center where he remained in critical condition this week. The investigation continued this week and WCBI detectives are asking anyone with information to call 410-632-1111 or Lower Shore Crime Solvers at 410-548-1776. Callers may remain anonymous.
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Known Heroin Dealer Busted
OCEAN CITY — A Millsboro, Del. man was arrested on heroin distribution charges last weekend after getting pulled over for allegedly going the wrong way on a one-way street.
Around 2:05 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on patrol in the area of 33rd Street stopped a vehicle for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Upon making contact with the driver, later identified as Delane Jacobs, 30, of Millsboro, the officer detected the strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the passenger compartment. Another OCPD officer arrived to assist and observed a clear, plastic baggie of suspected marijuana in plain view on the passenger seat.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle, OCPD officers found a plastic bag hidden in the fuse box below and to the left of the steering wheel. Inside the bag were at least 100 white wax folded bags bundled together in packs to 10 with rubber bands, according to police reports. On the side of the majority of the white bags was stamped the word “nightmare” in red ink. Inside each of the white folded bags was an off-white powder OCPD officers recognized as heroin.
Another OCPD officer arrived on scene and immediately recognized Jacobs from previous narcotics investigations in Maryland and Delaware. The OCPD officer noted in his report Jacobs is a known drug dealer and has been arrested in the past for numerous drug-related incidents. The officer noted in the report the amount of heroin found in Jacobs’ vehicle was not for personal use. Jacobs was arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin and possession of marijuana.
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Eye Socket Broken In Assault
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man was charged with assault and theft last weekend after allegedly punching his wife and fracturing a bone in her face.
Around 12:05 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to the area of 132nd Street and Sinepuxent Avenue for a reported domestic assault. The officer arrived and found the female victim sitting on the front steps of a residential unit. The victim’s eye was swollen shut and severely bruised, according to police reports.
The victim told police her husband, identified as Jerry Cochran, 55, of Ocean City, had caused the injury to her eye when he allegedly punched her in the face. The victim said Cochran was a habitual PCP user and was crazy when he was using the narcotic. The victim told police she was in a bedroom attempting to sleep when Cochran entered the room and went through her purse.
According to police reports, Cochran found a receipt in the purse with a phone number written on it and accused the victim of cheating on him. The victim told police she attempted to video Cochran’s actions with her phone, but Cochran took the phone and knocked her to the ground. When the victim attempted to defend herself, Cochran allegedly punched her in the eye with a closed fist. The victim was later taken to the hospital and was diagnosed with a contusion and a facial fracture to the orbital bone.
The victim told police Cochran left the scene and took her purse with him, which contained her cell phone, car and house keys, money, credit cards and identification cards. While the OCPD officer was still on the scene, Ocean City Communications alerted the officer Cochran had called and reported his wife was trying to break into his trailer. The OCPD officer knew that was impossible because he was still with the victim at the time the call came in.
The officer advised Ocean City Communications to tell Cochran come to the trailer to speak with him about the alleged “break-in,” but the suspect never showed up. The officer also attempted to contact Cochran several times via phone and also by knocking on his door, but was unable to locate him. Meanwhile, the victim was locked out of her residence with no keys, phone or purse.
Based on the evidence and testimony, the OCPD officer has charged Cochran with second-degree assault and theft. He was later taken into custody and was released on a $10,000 bond after a bail review hearing on Monday.
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Cousins Arrested In Hotel Melee
OCEAN CITY — Two Wicomico County women were arrested on assault and various other charges last weekend after allegedly getting into a fight at a downtown Ocean City hotel.
Around 1:50 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to a hotel at 26th Street and Baltimore Avenue for a reported domestic dispute. Upon arrival, the officer met with one of the combatants later identified as Kenya Ballard, 36, of Hebron, who said she called the police because she wanted to get her personal effects out of her cousin’s room, according to police reports. Ballard was not a registered guest of the hotel, but a room had been rented to her cousin, later identified as Syretta Copeland, 27, of Salisbury.
The OCPD officer accompanied Ballard to her cousin’s room on the second floor and discovered luggage, clothes and other belongings strewn throughout the hallway. Ballard confirmed the belongings were hers. The OCPD officer knocked on the door and Copeland answered, telling police she and Ballard had been staying in the room together, but Ballard had no standing in the room and that she longer wanted her cousin in there.
At that point, Ballard shouted at Copeland and pushed open the door and entered the room, pushing Copeland backward with a violent shoving action, according to police reports. The two cousins then began actively fighting in the hotel room in the presence of the police officer.
When the OCPD officer attempted to break up the fight, Ballard allegedly assaulted the officer, pushing him away and continuing to engage Copeland. Another OCPD officer arrived on the scene and found numerous other hotel guests had emerged from their rooms to see what the commotion was.
When the second office entered the room where the fight continued, Copeland allegedly threw a set of keys at the officer attached to which was a heavy padlock. The officer was able to dodge the keys that were thrown at his head. Ballard was arrested and charged with second-degree assault and burglary for forcibly entering room. Copeland was arrested for assault and disorderly conduct.
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Highway Dasher Arrested
OCEAN CITY — A Mount Airy man was arrested on intoxicated endangerment and other charges last week after allegedly running through traffic on Coastal Highway and causing vehicles to brake or swerve to avoid hitting him.
Around 11:20 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on patrol in the area of 33rd Street observed a disorderly individual later identified as Ryan Thompson, 23, of Mount Airy, Md., walking southbound on the sidewalk. According to police reports, Thompson was stumbling and staggering as he walked down the sidewalk.
As the officer watched, Thompson allegedly stopped in front of a window of a fast-food restaurant and lifted up his shirt and attempted to tie the drawstring on his pants in front of a family eating inside the restaurant. Thompson then ran across Coastal Highway erratically, causing multiple vehicles to hit the brakes or take evasive action to avoid hitting him.
The officer decided to stop Thompson at that point, but before the officer could get to the opposite side of Coastal Highway, Thompson ran back to the other side from east to west. The officer eventually stopped Thompson around 30th Street and determined he was intoxicated, according to police reports.
The officer issued Thompson a citation for walking in the roadway and told him he was free to go. As the officer was about to pull away in his vehicle, Thompson again ran across Coastal Highway, causing vehicles to brake or take action to avoid hitting him. Thompson was stopped again by police and was then charged with intoxicated endangerment and blocking free passage on the roadway.
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Makeshift Weapon Found
OCEAN CITY — A resort homeless man was arrested last week after an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on patrol on the Boardwalk observed him with a bottle of liquor and a makeshift weapon fashioned out of glass in his pocket.
Around 12:50 a.m. last Saturday, an OCPD officer patrolling the Boardwalk in the area of Caroline Street observed a known homeless man identified as Raymond Smith, 62, of no fixed address, sitting on a bench with an open bottle of vodka. As the officer approached, Smith dumped the contents of the liquor bottle out on the ground at his feet without being told to do so.
The OCPD officer observed another man on the bench with Smith throw the empty vodka bottle in the nearby trashcan. The officer retrieved the bottle and determined it had contained alcohol prior to being dumped out. At that point, Smith was placed under arrest for possession of an open container of alcohol.
Smith told police he wanted to go to the hospital and Ocean City EMS were called. However, when paramedics arrived, Smith said he no longer wanted to go to the hospital and instead launched into a spree of expletives and racial slurs at his colleagues attempting to sleep on the Boardwalk benches, according to police reports.
During a search incident to Smith’s arrest, the OCPD officer fold a long glass shard roughly four inches in length with a sharpened point at one end in the suspect’s pocket. The officer noted in the report the glass shard was a makeshift weapon capable of inflicting serious bodily injury. A background check revealed Smith had been arrest 16 times in the last year for various open container and public consumption violations along with three more arrests for open warrants.