Three Injured in Berlin Accident
BERLIN — Three people were injured in a vehicle accident on Old Ocean City Boulevard last Friday.
Last Friday, the Berlin Police Department responded to a reported two-vehicle accident on Old Ocean City Blvd. During the course of the investigation, it was learned a red Mercedes driven by Janet Englishmen of Berlin failed to yield the right-of-way while exiting the Berlin Auto Wash. Her vehicle was struck by a white GMC heading eastbound operated by Tanya Whitlock, also of Berlin.
Whitlock and her daughter were transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury by ambulance. Englishmen’s injuries required her to be flown to Shock Trauma via helicopter. The investigation is ongoing.
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Good Samaritan Theft
OCEAN CITY — A Berlin man was arrested on theft charges last weekend after allegedly swiping the purse of a Good Samaritan who was trying to bandage injuries to his hands.
Around 3 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a residence on Sunset Avenue for a reported theft that had already occurred. The OCPD officer arrived on the scene and met with the victim who had encountered the suspect, later identified as Brandon Hodges, 24, of Berlin, who was on Sunset Avenue and was bleeding with deep gashes on both hands. The victim told police she asked Hodges to come up on her porch so that she could get him some bandages and Neosporin for his injuries.
According to police reports, Hodges followed the victim onto her porch and sat in a chair while she went inside to retrieve bandages and medicine. The victim told police she left her purse on the porch when she went inside to retrieve medical supplies. When she returned moments later with bandages and Neosporin, Hodges had disappeared and her purse was missing.
The victim told police her purse contained her cell phone, wallet with identification and numerous bank cards and credit cards, various assorted makeup and her car keys. The total value of the purse and its contents was over $1,000.
The OCPD officer noticed a light on in a different unit of the building and observed Hodges inside in plain view. Hodges was seen sleeping on a beanbag chair with a black jacket and backpack nearby. Also sitting on a chair in the same room was the green purse described by the victim. The victim and others came downstairs and identified Hodges as the suspect and identified the stolen purse. OCPD officers gained consent to enter the unit and arrested Hodges for theft.
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Stumbling In Traffic
OCEAN CITY — A Mechanicsville, Md. man was arrested on intoxicated endangerment charges last weekend after allegedly stumbling while intoxicated into traffic on Baltimore Avenue.
Around 2:30 a.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were patrolling the area of North Division Street and Baltimore Avenue when they heard loud shouting from nearby. The officers then observed a suspect, later identified as Joseph Huffman, 22, of Mechanicsville, stumbling north on Baltimore Avenue near North Division Street.
The officers observed as Huffman lurched off the sidewalk and fell into the travel lanes of Baltimore Avenue and into the path of an oncoming sedan. The sedan slammed on its brakes in order to avoid hitting Huffman. The OCPD officers approached Huffman and got him out of the street and determined he was intoxicated. Huffman was arrested and charged with intoxicated endangerment and a noise violation because the officers heard him shouting from at least 50 feet away.
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Vehicle Break-In Sentence
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania woman, one of two suspects arrested last September after Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were able to connect them to a spree of vehicle break-ins, pleaded guilty last week to theft scheme under 10,000 and was sentenced to jail and ordered to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution to dozens of victims.
From September 9 to September 16, a total of 11 vehicle break-ins had been reported. Surveillance video obtained from the areas where the break-ins occurred helped OCPD detectives identify the suspects as Brandon Riehl, 24, of Narvon, Pa., and Hope Miller, 24, of Denver, Pa. During the break-ins, Riehl and Miller were observed utilizing a mini-van.
A week later, OCPD officers responded to 911 calls reporting additional thefts from vehicles. Responding officers located Riehl, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant from Pennsylvania. An OCPD detective then contacted Miller, who agreed to meet with the detective and drove to Public Safety Building for an interview.
Miller arrived at the Public Safety Building in the same mini-van in which the two suspects had been seen operating during the spree of vehicle break-ins. However, the tags on the mini-van belonged to a different vehicle. A background check revealed the mini-van in which Miller arrived had been reported stolen in Pennsylvania back on September 9.
When questioned, Miller admitted she and Riehl had stolen the mini-van from a family with which they were staying and drove to Ocean City where they committed the series of vehicle break-ins. Miller told police the pair switched the tags because they knew they were “hot.” Miller and Riehl were charged with motor vehicle theft and multiple counts of thefts from vehicles.
Last week, Miller was sentenced to three years in jail with all but nine months suspended. Perhaps more importantly, she was ordered to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution to the roughly 36 victims in the case.
Interim Worcester County State’s Attorney William McDermott on Monday told the Ocean City Mayor and Council about the outcome in the case during his visit the town’s elected officials and praised the diligence by investigators.
“She broke into 36 cars and nearly $8,000 in property was stolen,” he said. “It was very difficult for detectives to investigate each and every one of the 36 cases, but OCPD Detective David Whitmer and Detective Diane Karsnitz tracked down every single one and got restitution for every single witness.”
Rhiel has not yet gone to trial for his alleged role in the vehicle break-in scheme.