Shoes Help Locate Suspect
OCEAN CITY — A Centreville, Md. man faces multiple charges this week after allegedly fleeing from resort police during a routine traffic stop and later being identified by his shoes found on a nearby balcony.
Around 1:40 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on routine patrol observed a white truck pull into the parking lot of a downtown convenience store. A background check revealed the vehicle’s registration had been suspended since November for failing to complete an emissions test.
The officer watched as the driver and the passengers entered and exited the convenience store before getting back in the truck and heading south on Philadelphia Avenue. The OCPD officer followed the truck until it turned into a hotel parking and then activated his vehicles emergency lights.
The officer made contact with the driver, later identified as Tyler Custer, 24, and advised him of the reason for the stop, but Custer allegedly denied the truck’s registration was suspended. When asked for a driver’s license, Custer allegedly told police he had a valid license, but was not carrying it on his person.
Custer then told police his name was Tanner Custer. The OCPD officer did a background check on Tanner Custer with no results. The officer was then able to make the connection through the Department of Motor Vehicles to Tyler Custer, who had the same birth date as the one presented by the individual driving the truck.
While the OCPD officer was doing a background check on Custer, he allegedly fled the scene on foot. He ran north on Philadelphia Avenue and the officer lost sight of him, according to police reports. In the meantime, several other OCPD officers began searching the area for Custer.
Around 2:35 a.m., another OCPD officer located a pair of tennis shoes near a residence on Bayshore Drive that matched the description of the shoes Custer was wearing at the time of the initial stop. A K-9 search of the area found Custer on a third-floor balcony of a residence on Bayshore Drive where the suspect did not belong. Custer was placed under arrest. The background search revealed Custer was wanted on open warrants in Queen Anne’s County. He was also charged locally with fleeing and eluding a traffic stop.
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Answered Door, DUI Charges
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man was arrested on drunk-driving charges last weekend for allegedly crashing his truck into his fiance’s mini-van with a minor passenger on board after she allowed police to enter their residence.
Around 9 p.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to the area of 142nd Street for a reported motor vehicle collision. A witness called 911 and reported a mini-van had been struck and pushed into a front yard. The officer arrived and found the mini-van in the front yard of a residence with glass and other vehicle parts strewn on the ground, but there was no one in the van nor where there any other vehicles around, according to police reports.
The OCPD officer knocked on the door of the residence and was greeted by a woman who told police the van was hers but that she was not aware it had been involved in a collision. While the officer was obtaining registration information from the woman, she reportedly told police her fiancé, later identified as Michael Alampi, 44, of Ocean City, had struck her van with another vehicle.
According to police reports, the female invited the OCPD officer into the residence to speak with Alampi about the collision. The officer met with Alampi and detected signs of intoxication. The officer then walked around the back of the residence and found a white truck with significant damage on the front end.
When asked about the collision, Alampi told police his truck had slid into the back of the van. Alampi told the officer he did not report the collision to the police, but intended to contact his insurance company about it. When the officer asked Alampi to walk outside with him, Alampi exhibited signs of intoxication. He agreed to submit to a battery of field sobriety tests which he did not complete to the officer’s satisfaction.
At that point, Alampi was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. According to police reports, while Alampi was being escorted from the residence, he told the female, “If you would not have answered the door, none of this would have happened,” at which point the female apologized for answering the door.
While being transported to the Public Safety Building, Alampi reportedly told the officer he was going to be “straight up” with him about the crash. He told police he was driving the truck and became distracted by his 11-year-old stepson and when he looked up at the last minute, he struck the back of the van and pushed it into the front yard. Based on the evidence and testimony, Alampi was charged with driving while impaired and numerous traffic violations. A check with police communications revealed his license was suspended and revoked.
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Passed Out At Transit Center
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man was arrested on intoxicated endangerment and littering charges last weekend after allegedly passing out in the street near the south end bus depot.
Around 7:50 p.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to the south-end transit center for a reported disorderly individual. Upon arrival, the officer located an individual identified as Scott Bryant, 61, of Ocean City, lying in the roadway. According to police reports, Bryant showed signs of heavy intoxication including slurred speech and a strong odor of alcohol coming from his person.
The OCPD officer asked Bryant what was going on and why he was lying in the roadway and Bryant allegedly was candid and honest in his answer, according to police reports. Bryant attempted to stand up on multiple occasions, briefly finding his balance long enough to get to his feet, stumble a few steps and collide with the municipally-owned transit center before falling to the ground again.
According to police reports, Bryant got to his feet again and started to gather his belongings, which were strewn in the roadway. He gathered most of his belongings, but left a pair of socks and a few other items in the street. When advised about the items left in the roadway, Bryant reportedly told police “[expletive deleted] those socks.”
Bryan gained his balance again and stumbled across the roadway, crashing into the south-end transit center again. A search of his person revealed he had consumed at least a half a bottle of vodka. He was taken into custody and charged with intoxicated endangerment and littering.
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One Suspect Cleared In Alleged Beat Down
SNOW HILL — A Pocomoke man, charged in connection with a strong-armed robbery in Ocean City in June, had the charges against him dropped last week while his alleged accomplice still awaits trial.
Around 1:37 a.m. last June 14, OCPD officers responded to 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 that was standing upright on the sidewalk.
The victim told police the large group of suspects who had gathered nearby became upset with him and his brother for kicking over the liquor bottle and verbally harassed them and accused them of being “disrespectful” to them, according to police reports.
The victim told police the group began to follow him and his brother and one member of the group threw the glass liquor bottle at them as they walked away. The victim told police the next thing he remembered was being physically attacked by the group of young males.
According to police reports, members of the group struck the victim repeatedly in the head and face. During the assault, the victim was also struck in the head by a metal realtor sign that had been taken by the suspects from a nearby yard. The victim’s brother was also grabbed and punched, but was able to get away and did not suffer any injuries.
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 matching the description provided by the victims in the area of 7th Street 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. Both were arrested and charged with robbery and assault. Last week, Ayres had the charges against him dropped in Circuit Court. Carter-Perkins was scheduled to appear for trial on Wednesday, but his trial was postponed until April.