Assault, Affray Charges
OCEAN CITY — A local man was arrested on assault and other charges last weekend after allegedly scrapping with another man over an unopened beer can at a downtown park.
Around 8:10 p.m. last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling near a convenience store at North Division Street when he observed a male acting strangely. According to police reports, the officer observed the suspect, later identified as David Saylor, 54, of Berlin, yelling something at a father with two young children. The father shielded his children from whatever Saylor was yelling and quickly left the area on foot.
Saylor then approached the officer in the convenience store parking lot and informed him there was a man in the public park across the street sitting on a bench with an unopened can of beer. The officer informed Saylor it was legal to have an unopened can of beer in the park, which caused Saylor to yell “I’m snitching on that black man with the beer,” and “you better do something.”
By now, the man in the park walked over to the convenience store parking lot to see what the fuss was about and Saylor reportedly yelled “See, he has a beer. Take it from him like you did from me,” and “Do something about it.” According to police reports, Saylor then yelled at the man, “You feeling froggy? Then jump,” which are common fighting words, before jumping up in the air and raising his fists to challenge the other man.
According to police reports, the other man wanted nothing to do with Saylor and had a disgusted look on his face. Saylor then started to walk away, but turned quickly back around, yelled “let’s go,” and ripped off his shirt. Saylor put his hands in front of his face with closed fists, bent his knees and took a wide stance with his feet in a fighting position.
At that point, the officer intervened before Saylor hit the other man and arrested him. Saylor was handcuffed and told to sit on the curb, but remained combative. At one point, he turned his body around and kicked the officer in the shin, according to police reports. Saylor was ultimately charged with assault, affray and other counts.
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Suspect Calls 911 On Herself
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania woman was charged with assaulting police officers and disturbing the peace last weekend after she called 911 herself after being asked to leave a downtown restaurant and bar.
Around 8:30 p.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a restaurant and nightclub at 17th Street for a reported disorderly female patron who was refusing to leave the premises. Upon arrival, OCPD officers met with a female identified as Jacqueline Hunter, 57, of Oakdale, Pa., who told police she had called 911 because the restaurant security had told her to leave and she did not know why.
According to police reports, Hunter showed signs of intoxication. The restaurant manager told police Hunter had been asked to leave because of her level of intoxication and that she had been given a trespass warning. When officers asked Hunter for her identification, she became loud and used expletives around families with small children eating at the outside dining area of the restaurant.
When asked to stop using profanity, Hunter did lower her voice, but continued to interject her comments with expletives in earshot of restaurant patrons eating nearby, according to police reports. According to police reports, OCPD officers advised Hunter to leave the area or she would be arrested for trespassing, which only angered her more.
After walking around 10 feet from the restaurant, Hunter turned around and shouted expletives at staffers in front of a large crowd forming around the entrance. At that point, OCPD officers attempted to arrest Hunter for trespassing and disturbing the peace. When the officers approached Hunter to take her into custody, she attempted to slap one of the officers with an open hand, but the officer was able to avoid the slap.
According to police reports, OCPD officers attempted to detain Hunter, but she continued to resist. After several warnings to stop resisting, Hunter had to be taken down to the ground by the officers and urged those in the crowd nearby to record the incident. Once on the ground, Hunter continued to flail her arms and legs, striking OCPD officers in the process. She was ultimately subdued when an OCPD officer was able to successfully apply pressure to a known pressure point on the side of her face.
During the incident, restaurant staffers had to close a large sliding door to prevent the patrons from being disturbed further by Hunter, who was ultimately charged with assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and other counts.
Video Confirms Collision
OCEAN CITY — A Selbyville man was charged with drunk-driving and leaving the scene of an accident last week after allegedly running into the back of a resort restaurant and then telling police someone else had been driving.
Around 1 a.m. last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department officer responded to a restaurant at 33rd Street and Coastal Highway for a reported traffic collision. The investigation revealed a Dodge truck failed to control its speed and collided with the rear of the restaurant. The owner of the vehicle was still on the scene and pointed OCPD officers in the direction of a male suspect later identified as Freddy Wilkerson, 25, of Selbyville, who was walking away from the scene.
The vehicle’s owner told police it was Wilkerson who had been driving the truck that struck the restaurant. However, OCPD officers approached Wilkerson who said he was in the vehicle that struck the restaurant but denied driving, Wilkerson told police he was walking over to another restaurant in the area to see if it was still open.
During the investigation, officers learned the restaurant had surveillance cameras near the rear of the establishment and viewed the footage, which, after an hour of review, was able to determine it was Wilkerson who had been driving the vehicle that struck the restaurant. During the interaction with Wilkerson, OCPD officers detected an odor of alcoholic beverage and the suspect was submitted to a battery of field sobriety tests which he did not complete to the officers’ satisfaction. Ultimately, Wilkerson was charged with hit-and-run, driving while impaired and under the influence and giving a false statement to a police officer.
Month For Resisting Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A man, arrested in July after first allegedly assaulting a woman in a downtown municipal parking lot before scrapping with police attempting to take him into custody, pleaded guilty to resisting arrest last week and was sentenced to 31 days in jail.
Around 9:40 p.m. on July 30, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to a reported domestic assault at the municipal lot on Worcester Street. The complainant told police a male was hitting a female in the parking lot. Upon arrival, the officer observed Thomas Reeder, 20, of no fixed address, holding a purse with a female victim demanding he give it back.
When the officer approached the couple, Reeder told police they were fine and didn’t need any assistance, but the officer told Reeder there had been a call about an assault and that he needed to speak to both of them. Reeder denied assaulting the woman and began to walk away.
The officer ordered Reeder to stop and grabbed him by his tank top, but Reeder took a swing at the officer breaking his grasp. When the officer grabbed Reeder again, he took another swing at him, according to police reports. Another OCPD officer intervened and struggled to gain control of Reeder. Now three officers were trying to detain Reeder and all of them fell on the hood of a vehicle during the struggle.
One officer finally deployed his taser and sent a drive stun into Reeder’s inner thigh. Reeder was finally subdued, but the struggle continued. During the arrest, he reportedly kicked and flailed at the officers to the point a Violent Prisoner Restraint device was applied to Reeder’s feet to get him to stop kicking officers.