OCEAN CITY — A Delmar man, arrested in November after a high-speed chase in the midtown area resulted in a collision with an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) vehicle, pleaded guilty to various charges this week and was sentenced to six months in jail.
Shortly before 9 a.m. on Nov. 13, 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, presumably because Roper believed it was the access to Route 90 and a route out of Ocean City, 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.
The public safety aide 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. It was also learned Roper was wanted in a very lengthy DEA case involving weapons and drugs.
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 has been held without bond since the collision on November 13.
On Wednesday, Roper appeared in District Court to face 22 total counts related to the incident. He pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident involving bodily injury, attempting to elude police and attempting to elude police by fleeing on foot. He was sentenced to six months for the three guilty pleas. The disposition of his DEA case and related cases in Wicomico aren’t known.
