Cops And Courts – November 2, 2018

Cops And Courts – November 2, 2018

Bloody Fight Over Cab Fare

OCEAN CITY — A Lusby, Md. man was arrested on assault charges last week after an alleged fight with his friend in the median of Coastal Highway over cab fare.

Around 2:50 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department officer patrolling in the area of 29th Street was alerted to fight in progress. Upon arrival, the OCPD officer observed a male victim lying on the median strip holding his face. The officer observed the victim’s face was covered in blood with lacerations on his forehead, nose, cheek and chin. There was also a pool of blood about five inches in diameter on the median.

The victim identified the suspect as Bradley Cady, 28, and told police he was staying with Cady at a nearby hotel. The officer went to the hotel and located Cady, who reportedly told police he regretted what he had done. Cady told police he and the victim had shared a cab prior to the incident and that the victim had agreed in advance to pay the cab fare, which came to around $68.

Cady told police an argument ensued over the cab fare and escalated into a fight in the median on the highway. He admitted hitting the victim with a closed fist, but denied ever kicking him. However, the witness who called 911 told police he heard screaming and observed Cady hit the victim multiple times with a closed fist before kicking him while he was on the ground. Cady was ultimately arrested and charged with second-degree assault.

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Drunk, Disorderly Uptown

OCEAN CITY — A local woman was arrested on disorderly conduct and intoxicated endangerment charges last week after allegedly stumbling through multiple north-end stores and falling into some bushes.

Around 6:30 p.m. last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to the area of 120th Street for a report of disorderly individual passed out in the bushes near a convenience store and pharmacy. The complainant told police the suspect, later identified as Mary Mantzouris, 54, of Ocean City, was first spotted in a doughnut shop she repeatedly entered and exited while screaming at the clerk, according to police reports.

The complainant told police Mantzouris then walked north to a convenience store where she stumbled and fell. Mantzouris then fell in the bushes between a different convenience store and a pharmacy. The complainant told police the suspect’s eyes were closed and he head as back as she laid in the bushes, according to police reports.

The complainant told police Mantzouris then entered a convenience store, which is about the time police arrived. OCPD officers observed Mantzouris in the store for about five to 10 minutes while she allegedly yelled expletives at customers and employees, blocked the passage of other customers and even talked to the sandwich she was apparently preparing to buy.

When Mantzouris nearly fell as she tore open the sandwich and began eating it, and employee grabbed her to keep her from falling, according to police reports. At that point, Mantzouris was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and intoxicated endangerment.

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Two Plead Guilty In Downtown Melee

OCEAN CITY — Two of the four people arrested in July following a violent incident pleaded guilty this week for their roles in the fray.

Around 1 a.m. on July 28, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on patrol in the downtown area observed a plastic water bottle fly through the air and hit a moving vehicle in the area of 4th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. The vehicle came to a screeching halt and the two occupants, a female later identified as Hannah Roney, 18, of Millsboro, and a male, later identified as Deontrez Lofland, 22, of Millsboro, got out and confronted two men on the street who had allegedly thrown the bottle.

According to police reports, Roney went to the trunk and retrieved a 31-inch metal softball bat. Roney and Lofland confronted two men on the sidewalk later identified as Justin Gullion, 37, of Ocean City, and Andrew Founds, 33, of Berlin, and the combatants assumed fighting stances. According to police reports, the OCPD officer observed Gullion strike Lofland on the left cheek with a closed fist. Lofland countered by striking Gullion in the face with something in a white plastic bag that turned out to be a 24-ounce can of Twisted Tea.

The OCPD officer then observed Roney, who was a few feet away, raise the softball bat over her head as if she was going to strike Gullion. The officer ordered Roney to drop the bat several times and she complied. With that, the four combatants stopped fighting. The incident created a scene with several onlookers stopping to watch what was going on, according to police reports.

Roney was arrested and charged with first- and second-degree assault, affray, disorderly conduct, possession of a concealed dangerous weapon and possession of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure. When police attempted to arrest Lofland, he resisted and would not allow officers to handcuff him.

After being warned he would be Tased if he did not stop resisting, Lofland reportedly told the officers “you are going to have to Tase me [expletive deleted],” according to police reports.

With that said, the officer activated his conducted electrical weapon and delivered a drive stun to the center of Lofland’s back and he complied. Lofland was ultimately charged with second-degree assault, affray, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest along with a drug charge for an illegal narcotic pill found on his person..

On Monday, Roney pleaded guilty to affray and was placed on probation. Lofland pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and possession of narcotics. Guillion and Founds are scheduled to appear for trial in December.

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Guilty Plea For Assault

OCEAN CITY — A Dundalk woman arrested in August after first passing out in an uptown street and then scrapping with police officers trying to help her pleaded guilty this week and was placed on probation.

Around 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 12, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to the area of 116th Street for an unidentified female passed out in the bus lane along southbound Coastal Highway. OCPD officers met with the doorman of a nearby bar who told police patrons and advised him of the situation. The doorman said when he went to check on the female, later identified as Nickole Frazier, 48, of Dundalk, she became verbally aggressive with him and stumbled down Jamestown Road.

OCPD officers searched the area around Jamestown Rd. and found Frazier between parked cars about 100 yards from Coastal Highway. When Frazier saw police officers, she asked what they wanted and they told her they only wanted to help her get home, according to police reports. After asking her several times what her name was, Frazier reportedly told police her name was “Deedy Nasty Nicky.” She then pulled up the tank top she was wearing and exposed her breasts to the officers.

According to police reports, Frazier continued to be uncooperative and refused to tell the officers where she was staying or how they could help her. At that point, Frazier was released, but OCPD officers followed behind at a close distance to make sure she didn’t harm herself or damage any property.

At one point, Frazier stumbled and fell into a parked vehicle and then onto the ground. She regained her footing and stumbled across Jamestown Road where she swung her purse over her head and smashed it into the hood of a truck, according to police reports. At that point, she was taken into custody.

When OCPD officers attempted to get Frazier into the transport vehicle, she resisted and had to be physically carried into the van. Once in the van, she repeatedly kicked the officers trying to secure her for transport. Once at the Public Safety Building, it took five booking officers to carry her to her cell because of her lack of cooperation and combativeness, according to police reports. She was ultimately charged with intoxicated endangerment and assault along with other counts. This week, Frazier pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and possession of controlled dangerous substance and was placed on probation for one year.

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Probation For Skating

OCEAN CITY — A Delaware man, arrested in September after running from Ocean City police who had stopped him for skateboarding on the Boardwalk, pleaded guilty this week to failure to obey a lawful order and was placed on probation for one year.

Around 8:15 p.m. on Sept. 22, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on patrol on the Boardwalk observed a suspect later identified as Shawn Shannon, 24, of Smyrna, Del., skateboarding at a high rate of speed down the Boardwalk and weaving in and out of pedestrians on a busy Sunfest weekend Friday night in violation of a municipal ordinance. The officer caught up to Shannon at South Division Street and warned him it was illegal to skateboard on the Boardwalk during that hour of the day and on the holiday weekend.

At that point, the officer was only going to give Shannon a cease and desist order and identify him for a skateboarding violation. As the officer was speaking with Shannon, the suspect ran east on South Division Street and flipped the officer his middle finger and continued to run south on the Boardwalk, according to police reports.

At that point, the officer broadcasted a description of Shannon to other OCPD officers and retrieved his police bike to attempt to locate the suspect. The officer noted in his report although he only intended to give Shannon a citation at that point, the suspect’s action led him to believe he could possibly be a wanted individual.

About five minutes later, the officer observed Shannon walking north on the Boardwalk with his mother. As the officer was speaking with Shannon’s mother, another OCPD officer attempted to handcuff Shannon. According to police reports, Shannon resisted arrest and did not allow officers to handcuff him. Shannon was eventually handcuffed after nearly a minute, during which time a large crowd had begun to gather, many of whom were recording the incident with their cell phones.

According to police reports, Shannon yelled at the officers he would have listened to them earlier if “you didn’t come at me with that Trump 101 [expletive deleted].”

Shannon was ultimately arrested and charged with resisting arrest and failure to obey a police officer. Incidentally, he was also issued a municipal citation for skateboarding on the Boardwalk. This week, Shannon pleaded guilty to failure to obey a lawful order and was placed on probation for one year.