One person was temporarily trapped in this vehicle after it flipped on Coastal Highway on Memorial Day around 1:30 p.m. The injuries sustained were not believed to be serious. Photo by Jay Bosley
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Oil Trail Leads To Suspect
OCEAN CITY — A Salisbury woman was arrested on hit-and-run and drunk-driving charges last week after allegedly colliding with two motorcycles and another vehicle and leaving the scene on an uptown street.
Around 7:20 p.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a reported hit-and-run collision near 123rd Street and Jamaica Avenue. The investigation revealed three vehicles had been involved in the collision including two Harley Davidson motorcycles and Chevy Silverado.
According to police reports, OCPD officers observed the bumper of a fourth vehicle lying in the roadway near the Chevy with a Maryland license plate still affixed. Officers also observed a trail of oil and other vehicle fluids on the roadway heading north on Jamaica Avenue away from the crash scene.
OCPD officers followed the trail of oil to a residence on 125th Street where they found a light blue Hyundai Sonata with the same license plate number and with its front bumper missing. According to police reports, the driver not on scene. A male witness told police he observed the driver, later identified as Jasmine Moore, 23, of Salisbury, park her damaged vehicle and walk north and also provided a description of Moore.
While the OCPD officer was gathering evidence, the male witness called out “there she is,” and pointed to Moore and identified her as the suspect who had abandoned her damaged vehicle. OCPD officers detained Moore, who said to them, “I know I messed up,” according to police reports. Moore then admitted to driving her car and striking the truck and told police he did not have a license because it had been suspended and revoked.
According to police reports, she admitted to consuming a few alcoholic beverages and smoking marijuana prior to the collision. Moore consented to a battery of field sobriety tests which she did not complete to the officer’s satisfaction.
A background check confirmed her license had been suspended and revoked. At that point, she was arrested on suspicion of DUI and hit-and-run-related charges. A search of the vehicle revealed a half-full can of beer in the console still cold to the touch. OCPD officers also located a black cannister with marijuana residue in the console, a metal grinder in the purse on the passenger seat and glass smoking device on the back seat.
Significant Heroin Bust Uptown
OCEAN CITY — An alleged heroin dealer was arrested on possession with intent to distribute charges last week after being found passed out behind the wheel in the parking lot of a north-end retail store.
Around 7 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer found the vehicle to be in park, but running, with Mark Oxendine, of Willards, in the driver seat.
According to police reports, the officer approached the vehicle and observed Oxendine to be rocking back and forth in his seat and rubbing his face with his hands. When the officer made contact with Oxendine, he reportedly observed a plastic bag containing multiple clear capsules filled with a white powdered substance he recognized from experience as heroin, according to police reports.
Oxendine agreed to speak with the officer on scene and reportedly told the officer the substance in the capsules was heroin, but there were no other narcotics in the vehicle. At that time, the officer reportedly observed the same powdery substance on the front of Oxendine’s shirt. He was placed under arrest for possession of heroin.
According to police reports, a search of the vehicle revealed 47 heroin capsules in the bag first observed by the officer, an unopened package of 10 syringes, a used syringe loaded with a clear liquid in the center console and another package of unused syringes. The officer also located a total of 176 empty capsules that were not yet filled with heroin, another 149 additional capsules of heroin in different bags, a capped syringe filled with suspected heroin in the driver door compartment and another single capsule of heroin on Oxendine’s person.
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Downtown Assault Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested on assault and other charges after allegedly intervening in an argument between three other individuals and shoving a female victim.
Shortly after 2 a.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was on vehicle patrol in the downtown area when he heard a commotion in front of a condominium building on 8th Street. The officer arrived on the scene and observed a suspect later identified as Carter Whitehead, 28, of York Haven, Pa., in a physical altercation with two other male individuals on the front steps of the condo building.
During the altercation, the OCPD officer reportedly observed Whitehead getting pushed against the porch railing, which gave way and broke. The officer approached the scene and separated the combatants, ordering Whitehead to sit down on the curb away from the other two men. By now, nearly a dozen individuals had come out on balconies at an adjacent motel to witness the scene.
While the officer attempted to interview the other two men involved, Whitehead stood up and started yelling at other OCPD officers who had responded to assist, according to police reports. One of the other men told police he had been in a minor verbal argument with the other man and a female on the steps of the condo building when Whitehead allegedly walked up and tried to put himself between the other people involved in the incident.
At one point, Whitehead pushed the female involved in the incident, who was still on scene and crying, according to police reports. The female victim and the other man involved were interviewed and corroborated the story of the incident. At that point, Whitehead was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, disorderly conduct and affray.
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Jail For Stashing Stolen Items
OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City woman, arrested in November on burglary and theft charges after swiping numerous items from in and around her neighbors’ property, pleaded guilty this week and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
Around 7:45 a.m. on Nov. 25, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to the area of South Ocean Drive for a reported theft. The officer met with a female victim who reported she had a large ceramic ashtray on her rear steps and noticed it was missing that morning.
The victim told police she observed Leanne Lapointe, 34, acting furtively about five houses down from her residence. The victim approached Lapointe and asked if she lived at the residence, to which she replied no, but that she was merely “cleaning up the neighborhood.” When the victim asked Lapointe if she had “cleaned up” her ceramic ashtray, Lapointe reportedly told her she did not remember, but if she had, she had likely thrown the ashtray away.
The victim also noted Lapointe had a hand dolly with her with various items strapped to it. At that point, the victim went back to her home and called the police. When OCPD officers arrived, they met with a male witness who reported a suspect matching the description of Lapointe stashing a hand dolly with assorted items strapped to it under his neighbor’s porch. When the male witness questioned Lapointe, she reportedly told him that’s where the hand dolly belonged. When that witness told Lapointe the hand dolly and assorted items did not belong under the porch, she abandoned the hand dolly and left the area on foot.
Another witness came forward and told police she observed Lapointe stash a black bicycle under the rear deck of her residence. Because of prior history with the suspect, OCPD officers went to Lapointe’s residence and learned she had just been released that morning from the Public Safety Building for theft and an outstanding warrant.
According to police reports, Lapointe told officers she came home after being released and when she woke up, she found the black bicycle leaning against her residence and stashed it under the porch where it belonged. Lapointe told police she was cleaning up around the neighborhood and was merely putting things back where they belonged.