Botched Renovation Leads To Charges
OCEAN CITY — A Baltimore man was arrested on malicious destruction of property and other charges this week after allegedly damaging a door in a condo he was helping his girlfriend renovate before leaving the scene and slashing her vehicle with a knife.
Around 10:40 p.m. last Sunday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a condo unit at 143rd Street for a reported malicious destruction of property. Upon arrival, OCPD officers met with a female victim who told police her boyfriend, identified as Jeffrey Clary, 46, of Baltimore, had come to Ocean City with her to help renovate her condominium.
According to police reports, the victim told police Clary had been drinking alcohol during the renovation work and became angry when she painted a door on the wrong side. The victim told police Clary struck one of the interior doors with a water bottle twice, creating two holes.
According to police reports, the victim told officers Clary then went out to her truck, took out a knife and began scratching the paint. According to police reports, the scratches on the victim’s pickup truck extended from the front driver’s side wheel well to the passenger side rear taillight. Clary then left the area.
The victim told police Clary was still likely armed with the knife. A search was conducted in the area to no avail. The damage to the condo door was estimated at around $40 while the damage to the truck was estimated at about $1,000.
Shortly after midnight on Monday, OCPD officers were called back to the condo because it was reported Clary was returning to the property. The victim told police she locked the front door and pushed a chair against the knob to keep him from entering the unit. The victim then went out the back of the unit to smoke a cigarette, and when she returned she found Clary sitting on the couch.
The investigation revealed Clary had used the knife to unlock the door. When the victim asked Clary to leave, he complied, according to police reports. OCPD officers found Clary in the condo’s parking lot and he was taken into custody. A search of his person revealed a spring-assisted knife. He was arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property and weapons charges.
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Cocaine Distribution Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A West Ocean City man was arrested and charged with drug distribution last weekend after allegedly being observed by police sharing a bag of powdered cocaine with other individuals near a downtown bar.
Around 1:25 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in an undercover capacity on South Baltimore Avenue when his attention was drawn to a group of individuals who had left the establishment and walked south before stopping in a cutout near its rear entrance.
According to police reports, the officer continued to observe as the four individuals stopped and sat on a set of steps along Baltimore Avenue. As the officer watched from a distance, he reportedly saw Daniel Harrison, Jr., 27, of West Ocean City, remove a clear plastic bag with a white powdered substance from his pants.
According to police reports, Harrison looked both north and south along the sidewalk before retrieving the Baggie in an effort to make sure the group wasn’t observed. Harrison then reportedly pulled from the bag a rolled-up bill and put it to his nose, according to police reports. While the officer watched, Harrison allegedly passed the Baggie and rolled-up bill to three other individuals in the group.
After a second rotation with Harrison and the group appearing to share what was later determined to be powder cocaine, other uniformed officers were requested to detain the suspects. At that point, Harrison was detained and handcuffed. A search of the area revealed a bag of suspected powder cocaine in the area where Harrison and the group had been seated.
Harrison was arrested and charged with possession and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. During a search incident to the arrest, a spring-assisted opening knife was found on his person and additional charges were tacked on.
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Jail For Restaurant Incident
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania woman, charged in September with assaulting police officers and disturbing the peace, pleaded guilty last week to resisting arrest and was sentenced to three months in jail.
Around 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 2, 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, 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, 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.
After several warnings to stop resisting, Hunter had to be taken to the ground by 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. Last week, Hunter pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and was sentenced to three months in jail.
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Guilty Plea For Motel Drugs
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania teen, arrested in June on drug distribution charges after resort police found a large amount of narcotics in his downtown motel, pleaded guilty last week to possession with intent to distribute and now awaits his fate pending a pre-sentence investigation.
On June 5, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a downtown motel room near 1st Street and Baltimore Avenue after staffers had made an interesting discovery. The sole tenant of the room, identified as Justin Culley, 19, of Enola, Pa., had not checked out of the room at the scheduled time.
When motel staff entered the room to clean it and prepare it for another rental, they discovered a large amount of drugs of various types in plain view and immediately called the police. OCPD officers arrived and seized several pounds of marijuana, over 300 prescription pills and large amounts of mushrooms, LSD, MDMA and additional drug paraphernalia in the room.
An OCPD K-9 team scanned Culley’s vehicle and additional mushrooms and over $1,100 in currency was found. Culley eventually returned to the motel hours later and was placed under arrest. He has been charged with three counts of possession of LSD with intent to distribute, possession of over 10 grams of marijuana, two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled dangerous substances and possession of controlled dangerous substances.
Last week, Culley was found guilty of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, mushrooms, LSD and Alprazolam and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 7.