One Injured In Fiery Crash
BERLIN — One person was injured in a fiery three-vehicle crash involving a combine farm vehicle on westbound Route 50 near Route 90 last week.
Around 9:45 p.m. last Thursday, Maryland State Police troopers responded to a reported vehicle collision on westbound Route 50 near Route 90. The investigation revealed a 2001 combine farm vehicle was traveling westbound on Route 50 at a slow rate of speed, half in the shoulder and half in the right lane.
A 2008 Dodge truck struck the rear of the combine and caught on fire. As a result, the combine swerved into the right lane, striking a 2000 GMC truck. The driver and sole occupant of the Dodge was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center with unknown injuries. The drivers of the other two vehicles involved were not injured. Route 50 westbound was closed while the accident scene was cleared and traffic was detoured around Route 346 in Berlin.
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The Devil Made Him Do It
OCEAN CITY — A Berlin man was arrested on intoxicated endangerment and other charges last weekend after allegedly dashing in and out of traffic on Coastal Highway on a busy Saturday night while dressed in a devil costume.
Around 11:30 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on vehicle patrol in the area of 49th Street observed people nearby chasing an individual dressed in a red suit with his face painted red and horns on his head through the parking lot toward a package goods store. An employee of the package goods store told police the suspect, later identified as Edward Ulrich II, 36, of Berlin, entered the store wearing the red suit and horns on his head and attempted to purchase liquor, but was denied.
The store employee said Ulrich then picked up a chair from inside the store and threw it into the parking lot, according to police reports. The OCPD officer observed Ulrich, still wearing his devil costume, walking south on the west side of Coastal Highway. The officer followed Ulrich first in a police vehicle and then on foot in an attempt to talk to the suspect, but initial attempts to stop him were ignored, according to police reports.
The officer made contact with Ulrich sitting on a bus stop at 41st Street. However, Ulrich began to run south along the sidewalk on the west side of Coastal Highway before dashing across the eight lanes of the roadway to the east side, causing numerous vehicles to hit their brakes and slow down to avoid hitting him. According to police reports, Ulrich dashed back and forth across Coastal Highway a total of four times as OCPD officers attempted to detain him, each time causing traffic to stop to avoid hitting him.
When he was ultimately detained, Ulrich was charged with intoxicated endangerment along with numerous pedestrian-related counts. A search of his person incident to the arrest revealed a small amount of marijuana and an additional citation was issued.
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Busted For Urinating
OCEAN CITY — A Salisbury man was arrested on intoxicated endangerment charges last weekend after allegedly urinating on the Boardwalk and in front of a beachfront hotel.
Around 3:45 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in the downtown area when he observed a suspect, later identified as Johnny Price, 34, of Salisbury, lying face down on top of the fountain wall at the entrance part at North Division Street. The officer noted in his report Price had an abrasion on his face. The officer was able to get Price down from the wall after he nearly fell into the fountain and transported him to his residence on 14th Street to prevent him from further harming himself or others or property.
About 30 minutes later, the same officer was patrolling in the area of 13th Street and observed Price stumble onto the Boardwalk, remove his penis and urinate all over the Boardwalk in front of the Beach Plaza Hotel. According to police reports, Price continued to urinate for about a full minute while walking north on the Boardwalk in front of the hotel. Price was intoxicated and yelled a stream of obscenities at police after he was detained. He was ultimately arrested for intoxicated endangerment because police were certain if they released him he would only continue the behavior.
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Passed Out Suspect Found With Cocaine
OCEAN CITY — A Dunkirk, Md. man was arrested on cocaine possession charges last weekend after resort police found him lying across a north-end sidewalk.
Around 2 a.m. last Saturday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were checking on the welfare of a man, later identified as Travis Atwell, 28, of Dunkirk, who was lying across the sidewalk along Georgia Avenue in north Ocean City. OCPD officers attempted to wake Atwell from their vehicle to no avail. In order to make sure Atwell was not a victim of a crime or was having a medical emergency, an OCPD officer got out of his vehicle and approached the suspect.
The officer was able to awaken Atwell, who showed signs of being highly intoxicated, according to police reports. The officer asked Atwell for permission to search him for weapons or other contraband and the suspect assented. During the search, an OCPD officer found on Atwell’s person a cylindrical container resembling a prescription pill bottle with a white, powdery substance inside the officer recognized as powder cocaine.
Also located in the same pocket was a tightly-rolled $5 bill which the officer recognized as paraphernalia used for snorting powder cocaine. Based on the evidence, Atwell was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine and paraphernalia.
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Collaborative Effort Nabs Thief
OCEAN CITY — A collaborative law enforcement effort last week resulted in the arrest in Ocean City of a man wanted in neighboring Fenwick Island for allegedly breaking into vehicles.
Last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to the area of 146th Street to assist with a reported burglary and theft suspect. Fenwick Island Police had just reported a burglary and trespass incident and were looking for a suspect in the area. The suspect was wanted in connection with a spree of vehicle break-ins.
Around 9:30 a.m., an OCPD officer observed the suspect later identified as William Kuta, 47, of no fixed address, behind a bank between 143rd and 144th streets. As the OCPD officer approached, Kuta fled toward 144th Street, but was met there by Fenwick Island Police. As the Fenwick Police officers were detaining Kuta, the OCPD officer observed a shiny pink knife clipped to his belt, which had been previously concealed by the suspect’s shirt.
The OCPD officer arrested Kuta for carrying a concealed, spring-assisted knife in violation of Ocean City’s weapons ordinance. A search of Kuta revealed several pills including Diazapam, oxycodone, hydrocodone and amphetamines. Also located in Kuta’s backpack was a crack cocaine smoking pipe with cocaine residue.
The OCPD officer took the backpack to the Criminal Investigation Division’s office to determine if any of the contents had been reported stolen. Inside the backpack was a gold and silver watch with an inscription indicating it was a retirement gift to the recipient and it had been reported stolen from a vehicle in Fenwick Island. All in all, Kuta was charged with theft, burglary, controlled dangerous substances and weapons charges.
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Six-Day Jail Sentence
OCEAN CITY — A Bridgeville man, arrested in July on multiple charges after stumbling down the crowded Boardwalk and hiding from police with the help of a store employee, pleaded guilty last week to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to a year in jail with all but six days suspended.
Around 7:40 p.m. on July 13, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer began following Gilberto Villalobos, 26, of Bridgeville, who was allegedly stumbling down the Boardwalk and bumping into people in the area of 1st Street. The officer was approached by a private citizen who reported Villalobos was allegedly highly intoxicated and had been bumping into people including families with small children.
The OCPD officer observed Villalobos swaying from side to side as he walked down the Boardwalk before he stopped to talk to an employee of the Cool Topics store. As the officer watched, Villalobos allegedly raised his middle finger toward several citizens as they walked past the store. According to police reports, the officer watched as Villalobos entered the store and attempted to hide behind some clothing.
In the meantime, the officer was approached by another citizen who reported Villalobos had grabbed his arm and touched his 5-year-old son while stumbling down the Boardwalk. The OCPD officer then observed Villalobos talking to a female store employee and both went inside the store. The officer waited awhile for Villalobos to come back out, but the suspect never did come back out.
The officer then entered the store and told the female employee he had seen Villalobos enter the store and did not come out. That triggered a dialogue with the store employee that suggested she was attempting to hide him. According to police reports, the employee said he had not seen him, but the officer reiterated he had seen Villalobos enter the store and not come out. The store employee told police “A lot of people come into my store.”
When the officer continued to look around the store, the employee reportedly told police “I do not want you guys in my store,” and “You don’t have permission to be in here. Do I need to call someone?”
The officer then exited the store and waited for backup. Another OCPD officer contacted the store’s owner, who was at another property, and the store owner was cooperative and gave police permission to search his store at 1st Street including a back room. The OCPD officers checked the back room directly behind where the store employee was standing and found Villalobos crouched down on the floor behind a red curtain.
At that point, Villalobos was arrested for disorderly conduct, but not before launching into an expletive-laced tirade at police in front of several people on the crowded Boardwalk. While Villalobos was being loaded into a transport vehicle for processing, he allegedly bit one of the OCPD officers on the arm and assault charges were tacked on. The store employee, Mahir Kelifa, 27, of Newark, Delaware, was also charged with obstructing and hindering and making a false statement to police.
Last week, Villalobos pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced to one year in jail with all but six days suspended. Meanwhile, Kelifa last month pleaded guilty to providing a false statement to a police officer.
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Prostitution Sting Probation
OCEAN CITY — Two of the 12 arrestees in a weekend-long prostitution sting operation in Ocean City in September appeared in court this week and each was found guilty and placed on probation.
The Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) and its allied law enforcement agencies conducted a major prostitution sting targeting “johns” over Bike Week weekend in September resulting in 12 arrests. The suspects were lured into the sting by responding to fictitious Internet postings in sites like craigslist and Backpage, for example, which advertised the exchange of sexual favors for money. For example, one of the false investigatory accounts was entitled “Bike Week Beth,” while a different posting was advertised as “Bike Week Beauty.”
In each case, the suspect would respond to an offer on the Internet sites for various sexual favors in exchange for money. OCPD detectives and their allied partners would then exchange e-mails and text messages with the suspects, setting up times and locations for meetings and arranging the costs for the various services. Two of the arrestees, Mark Defrank, 46, of Kennett Square, Pa., and Matthew Killam, 48, of Salisbury, were each found guilty this week and each was placed on probation for one year. The other defendants have not yet appeared for trial.