Fight Stalls Traffic
OCEAN CITY — A Mardela Springs man was arrested on assault and other charges last weekend after allegedly stopping his vehicle and disrupting traffic on the Route 90 Bridge while fighting with his girlfriend.
Around 9:30 p.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to a reported incident on Route 90 within the corporate limits of the resort. An officer had reported a man walking on the bridge near a vehicle that was stopped on the span. The officer made contact with the man walking on the bridge, later identified as Jeremy Branter, 25, of Mardela Springs, who exhibited signs of being intoxicated.
According to police reports, Branter had blood on his hands, arm and clothing and lacerations on his arm near is elbow. A vehicle was stopped on the Route 90 Bridge near Branter and a female was in the driver’s seat crying. According to police reports, the female victim had lacerations and scratches on her legs and appeared to be in distress.
The victim told police she had been in a verbal argument with Branter, who was driving the vehicle. She told police Branter then stopped the vehicle on the bridge, blocking traffic and creating a safety hazard before getting out and starting to walk. The victim told police Brantner then returned and smashed the vehicle’s passenger window with his hand before reaching in and slapping her in the face.
The victim told police she then moved to the driver’s seat to move the vehicle out of the travel lanes and onto the shoulder. The victim said Brantner then returned and smashed the passenger side window with his hand. The OCPD officer observed the shattered window with shards of glass inside the vehicle. The officer also observed two fist-side dents in the metal exterior of the vehicle.
During a subsequent interview, Brantner admitted being upset with the victim, with whom he had been dating for seven years. He also admitted breaking the window. However, he denied assaulting the victim and denied driving the vehicle. He did admit both had been consuming alcoholic beverages.
During the investigation on the narrow shoulder of thebridge, passing motorists had to stop or at least slow down to avoid running into the vehicle or Brantner. Based on the evidence and the victim testimony, Brantner was ultimately charged with second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and malicious destruction of property for breaking the window of the vehicle owned by the victim.
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Officer Assaulted
OCEAN CITY — A local homeless man was arrested on assault, disorderly conduct and other charges last week after raising a ruckus on the crowded south end of the Boardwalk.
Around 5:30 p.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers initiated contact with an individual they had known from previous contacts as Christopher Campbell, 20, of no fixed address, on the Boardwalk near North Division Street. When OCPD officers approached Campbell, he launched into an expletive-laced tirade accusing the officers of harassing him in front of a large crowd on the Boardwalk including many families.
When told by police to keep his voice down because there were families with children on the Boardwalk, the expletive-laced tirades only intensified. According to police reports, he left the Boardwalk and walked down the ramp to North Division Street where he continued to yell at OCPD officers and smashed his guitar on the railing.
Once at the bottom of the ramp, Campbell smashed his guitar again on the ground and yelled an inaudible scream toward the officers. OCPD officers told Campbell he could not act like that in public and began to walk toward the suspect. Campbell fled the officers on foot but was located a short time later near Caroline Street.
One OCPD officer approached Campbell with his Taser drawn. Two other officers grabbed Campbell’s arms to place him under arrest, but he tensed up and resisted. When Campbell was warned he was going to be Tased if he didn’t stop resisting, he reportedly told the officers “don’t Tase me. I have a hear condition,” according to police reports.
OCPD officers were ultimately able to get Campbell on the ground, but he continued to resist and flail his legs and arms. At one point, Campbell kicked his legs and feet in the air and struck one of the OCPD officers in the nose. Campbell was finally restrained and was arrested and charged with assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
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Another Officer Assault
OCEAN CITY — A Lusby, Md. man was arrested on assault and other charges last week after allegedly scrapping with an OCPD officer attempting to break up a fight on the Boardwalk.
Around 12:30 a.m. last Saturday, an OCPD officer responded to the area of Dorchester Street and the Boardwalk for an active fight in progress. When the officer arrived, he observed a large crowd circled on the concrete pad at Dorchester Street and observed another OCPD officer attempting to make an arrest. The officer pushed through crowd and attempted to gain some space between the throng and the other officer attempting to make an arrest.
The officer was successful in getting most of the crowd to move back, but one individual, later identified as Christopher Commodore, 19, of Lusby, would not move back. According to police reports, Commodore told the OCPD officer “[expletive deleted] you, I don’t have to move anywhere.” The OCPD officer then attempted to place Commodore under arrest for interfering with another arrest.
According to police reports, the officer had Commodore back against a wall, but Commodore bolted to his left in an attempt to run. As Commodore ran, he punched the officer in the face with a closed fist. The officer was able to catch Commodore by the waist and successfully got him to the ground. Commodore was charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
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Stolen Truck Detected
OCEAN CITY — A Delaware man along with four juveniles were charged with vehicle theft last week after a license plate reader on the approach to the resort on Route 90 detected the stolen truck.
Around 7:30 p.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were alerted to a stolen vehicle crossing the Route 90 Bridge into the resort by a license plate reader on the span. Ocean City Communications determined the vehicle, a Ford F-150 truck, had been reported stolen from the Wilmington, Del. area.
OCPD officers located the stolen truck heading southbound at 21st Street and followed it as it turned west onto Kingfish Drive. The vehicle attempted to make a U-turn but was blocked by OCPD vehicles. Multiple OCPD officers converged and conducted a high-risk traffic stop on the vehicle and the occupants were ordered out of the truck one at a time.
The rear driver’s side passenger was identified as Rashaad Brown, 18, of Wilmington. Also in the vehicle were four juveniles. All five occupants were detained in handcuffs while police investigated the stolen vehicle. Brown told police he did not know the truck was stolen and that the others were already in the vehicle when he got in at Wilmington.
Brown told police the juvenile driver told him he found the keys of the truck on the floor and that he did not own the vehicle. The investigation revealed the truck was owned by the Enterprise Rental Company and was driven daily by an employee as a company vehicle. The vehicle had been reported stolen sometime between the evening of June 9 and the morning of June 10. Based on the evidence, Brown and each of the four juveniles was arrested and charged with vehicle theft. The truck was valued at nearly $38,000.
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At Least He Was Honest
OCEAN CITY — An Elkton man was arrested on drug and weapons charges last week after allegedly admitting to police he was attempting to sell marijuana.
Around 11 p.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were patrolling in the area of Worcester Street and Baltimore Avenue when they observed a vehicle with an odor of marijuana emanating from it. OCPD officers approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver, identified as Seamus McNicholl, 18, of Elkton.
OCPD officer ordered McNicholl and his passenger out of the vehicle and a subsequent search revealed a backpack with three clear plastic bags of marijuana in it. Inside one of the backpack’s compartments, OCPD officers also located a glass smoking device with marijuana residue in it. The search also revealed a larger plastic back with the picture of a red apple and the words “made in China 2020” written on the front,
The search also revealed a digital scale and another bag of marijuana containing over 10 grams, according to police reports. Between the center console and the driver’s seat, officers located a pellet gun that replicated a Glock 19. OCPD officers also located another jar of marijuana and McNicholl’s wallet containing over $900 in currency.
At that point, McNicholl was arrested for the possession of a replica handgun. A search of McNicholl’s person revealed 10 pills individually wrapped in his pants pocket believed to be ecstasy. Upon questioning, McNicholl told police he had come to Ocean City with the intent to make some money selling marijuana and ecstasy. McNicholl reportedly told police he had not sold any on that day, but his intention was to drive around and ask people if they wanted to buy marijuana and ecstasy.
Based on the evidence collected from McNicholl’s vehicle and person, along with his own admission to selling marijuana and ecstasy out of the vehicle, he was arrested and charged with multiple drug distribution charges and possession of a replica handgun.