Two Females Sentenced In Attack On Family

OCEAN CITY — Two Port Deposit, Md. women were found guilty of assault this week for their roles in an attack on a vacationing family in August and each was sentenced to three months in jail.

Around 3:15 a.m. last Aug. 9, several Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a reported assault involving a family on a balcony of a residence on 5th Street. The investigation revealed a female victim was on her balcony at 5th Street when she observed two female suspects walking down the opposite side of the street.

The female victim watched as one of the individuals, later identified as Hayley Blakeley, 18, of Port Deposit, Md., wiped her hands on a beach towel hanging over a first-floor balcony on the opposite side of the street and then threw the towel over her shoulder and walked away. The female called down to Blakeley and told her not to take the towel, touching off a verbal altercation between the two along with another suspect identified as Marissa Digia, 20, of Port Deposit.

According to police reports, Blakeley and Digia then crossed the street and ran up the stairs to the balcony where the witness was watching and began punching and kicking the victim, knocking her to the ground and pulling her hair. According to witness testimony, the victim’s husband and their two children ages 14 and 16 came out to the balcony when they heard the fight in progress.

According to police reports, Blakeley and Digia then began assaulting the initial victim’s husband by kicking and biting him. The OCPD officers noted in the report the male victim had bruising and fresh bite wounds on his forearm.

Blakeley and Digia also assaulted the juvenile victims who had come out on the balcony during the fight. According to police reports, the 14-year-old female suspect was knocked to the ground, while the 16-year-old male victim was bitten in the torso, leaving deep bruises.

When OCPD officers arrived on the scene, the suspects had fled on foot. A short time later, Blakeley and Digia were located and taken into custody.

Last week, Digia was found guilty of two counts of second-degree assault and was sentenced to six months in jail with all but three months suspended. Blakeley pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault and was also sentenced to six months with all but three months suspended. Both suspects were ordered to pay $435 in restitution to the victims.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.