High Speed Chase Crash
OCEAN CITY — A Delmar man was being held without bond this week after a high-speed chase in the midtown area resulted in an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) vehicle being struck.
An OCPD vehicle is pictured after it was struck by a vehicle Tuesday morning. Photo by William McQueeney
Shortly before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, a license plate reader (LPR) on eastbound Route 90 alerted to a wanted individual entering Ocean City. A traffic stop was initiated in the area of 94th Street and Coastal Highway. While the initial officer was waiting for additional units to respond, the driver, later identified as Anthony Roper, 39, of Delmar, fled the scene and headed south on Coastal Highway.
The vehicle made a right turn onto 65th Street and collided with an OCPD vehicle driven by a public safety aide. The vehicle continued west on 65th Street before coming to a stop. Roper attempted to flee the scene on foot but was quickly apprehended.
According to a Town of Ocean City public works employee, Roper entered the public works yard followed by numerous OCPD vehicles and ditched the vehicle in the solid waste collection area. The source said the suspect was apprehended behind the bus parking area. Ironically, the town’s Transportation Committee was meeting on Tuesday morning in the same general area where the chase ended.
The public safety aide driving the police vehicle was transported to Atlantic General Hospital for evaluation out of an abundance of caution and was treated for a minor neck injury. Roper was not injured in the collision. The OCPD vehicle was significantly damaged in the collision.
Roper was found to be wanted on several drug and weapons charges stemming from Wicomico County. Ocean City police charged Roper with failure to immediately stop at the scene of an accident involving an injury, reckless driving, attempting to elude uniformed police and numerous other traffic violations. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was transferred to the Worcester County Jail without bond.
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Fake Name Leads To Wanted Man Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A Fruitland man was arrested on outstanding warrants and for providing a false name to police last week after being found sleeping in a vehicle in Ocean City.
Around 12:40 a.m. on Tuesday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling the area of 3rd Street when he observed two individuals sleeping in a vehicle in violation of a town ordinance. The officer shined his flashlight in the vehicle, but the two occupants did not immediately wake up. The officer also noticed a bag of suspect marijuana in the vehicle.
When the officer tapped on the window, the female in the front passenger seat woke up, but the driver, later identified as Tremayne Nelson-Nichols, 24, of Fruitland, did not immediately wake up and was aroused by the female passenger.
The occupants were advised they were in violation of the city ordinance and were asked to step out of the vehicle. Because the amount of marijuana in the vehicle was less than 10 grams, there was no criminal arrest for possession.
The officer collected information for the two occupants and Nelson-Nichols initially identified himself to police as Damont Leion Stevenson. However, while standing behind the suspect, the officer addressed him multiple times as Mr. Stevenson, but Nelson-Nichols did not respond, indicating he was being deceptive about his identity.
Then, the officer called in a background check for Damont Leion Stevenson with negative results. However, the report did come up for a Damont Leon Stevenson and the suspect told police he had misspelled his middle name, lending further evidence he was being deceptive about his identity. The background check revealed there were outstanding warrants for Damont Leon Stevenson in Wicomico County and at that point, the suspect was taken into custody.
Stevenson reportedly told police that must be a mistake, but his father, Damont Stevenson, Sr., had active warrants in North Carolina. Ocean City Communications confirmed there were no warrants for Damont Stevenson, Jr. and the suspect was taken out of handcuffs. However, Ocean City Communications did inform the officer Stevenson was involved in a drug distribution arrest handled by the OCPD officer in June 2017. When asked about that incident, the suspect told the officer he had no recollection of that arrest, which further led the officer to believe the suspect was being deceptive about his identity.
The officer requested Ocean City Communications send him a photo of Damont Stevenson and did not match the suspect he had before him. For one thing, the suspect in the picture identified as Stevenson did not have the same distinctive tattoos as the man standing before the officer. After more investigation, the suspect identified himself as Nelson-Nichols. He told police Stevenson was his first cousin, according to police reports.
Another background check revealed Nelson-Nichols was wanted on multiple outstanding warrants from different agencies ranging from robbery, theft, assault, malicious destruction of property and traffic charges. He was taken into custody on the outstanding warrants and was also charged locally with identification fraud.
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Drugs Found In Vehicle
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City woman was arrested on drug possession charges last week after police observed suspected cocaine and paraphernalia on the seat of her unoccupied vehicle.
Around 4 a.m. last Wednesday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the area of Wicomico Street was conducting checks for individuals sleeping in vehicles when he approached a Kia Soul. On the front seat of the unoccupied vehicle, the officer reportedly observed a flat plastic surface about eight inches in diameter, a rolled up $20 bill, a face-down Maryland ID card and a white powdery residue. Also on the seat was a baggie containing white powder, according to police reports.
The officer parked across the street and waited for the vehicle’s owner to return. A check of the vehicle’s registration revealed it belonged to Rachel Cloud, 24, of Ocean City, and the officer obtained a photo of Cloud from the Motor Vehicle Administration. About two hours later, the officer observed an individual resembling Cloud’s MVA photo approach the vehicle.
Cloud got into the vehicle and put it in reverse and the officer activated his lights and stopped the vehicle. Based on the evidence, Cloud was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine.
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Jail For Courthouse Assault
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City woman, arrested in September after accosting the very person whom had been granted a peace order against her shortly before in the lobby of the District Court building, pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced to 30 days.
Around 1 p.m. on Sept. 5, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was in the District Court building at 65th Street when she was flagged down by one of the court bailiffs in reference to a disorderly female. The officer identified the suspect at Tatiana Foreman, 32, of Ocean City, because she had previously had contact with her earlier that day when she was arrested for theft in a separate incident.
According to police reports, Foreman told the officer at the time of her theft arrest she had a hearing for a peace order later that day in District Court. The court bailiff told the OCPD officer she observed Foreman yelling at a male in the lobby of the court building immediately after the victim had been granted a peace order against her. Foreman was warned she was getting close to violating the peace order and that she would be arrested if she continued to accost the victim.
The officer interviewed the victim who told police Foreman had punched him in the shoulder during their interaction in the court building lobby. The OCPD officer then observed the victim retrieve his court paperwork and leave the lobby, heading to the bus stop at 65th Street. A short time later, Foreman collected her paperwork and headed across the District Court building parking lot toward the bus stop where the victim was still waiting for a bus.
According to police reports, it was obvious to the officer Foreman intended to continue to harass the victim despite his being granted a final peace order just a short time earlier.
The officer observed as Foreman came within two or three feet of the victim and sat next to him at the bus stop. The victim got up and walked away in an apparent attempt to get away from Foreman. At that point, Foreman was arrested for assault and for violating the final peace order issued against her just a short time earlier. Last week, Foreman pleaded guilty to failure to comply with a peace order and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.