OCEAN CITY — A Berlin man was arrested on multiple counts of first-degree assault last weekend after allegedly threatening two other individuals with a knife.
Around 5:25 a.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a residence at 120th Street for an active assault with a knife. The officer responded to the scene and met with a male victim who told police he, a woman and a male suspect, later identified as William Berges, 19, of Berlin, had been drinking in a hot tub when Berges and the female got into an argument that carried over to the residence.
The witness told police Berges allegedly smacked the female victim across the face, knocking her to the ground. According to police reports, when the witness attempted to come to the aid of the female victim, Berges grabbed him and said, “You’re my bro, don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you,” according to police reports.
The witness told the investigating officer he helped the female victim up from the ground and sat down with her on the couch, holding her in his arms, according to police reports. The female victim told Berges he was crazy, to which Berges responded, “You want to see crazy? I’ll show you crazy,” according to police reports.
Berges allegedly then picked up a knife from the kitchen, stood over the witness and the female victim, and cut himself across the throat, throwing a small amount of blood across the wall behind them, according to police reports.
The witness told police Berges then began chasing them across the living room with the knife in his hand screaming, “I’ve killed before. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill myself. I don’t [expletive deleted] care,” according to police reports.
The witness told police he and the female victim then ran out of the apartment, but Berges gave chase, waving the knife at them and slashing toward them, according to police reports. The witness told police Berges continued to chase them around the parking lot until they got an opening to run back into the apartment. Once inside the apartment, the witness and victim locked themselves inside and called the police. The witness told police, “I was in fear for my life” and “I thought I was going to die,” according to police reports.
The female victim complained of an injury to her right wrist from Berges knocking her down and was taken to Atlantic General Hospital for evaluation. Other OCPD officers arrived on scene and located Berges nearby and he was taken into custody without further incident. Berges was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault. He was ordered to be held without bond at bail review.
