Cops & Courts – September 27, 2019

Cops & Courts – September 27, 2019

‘I’m Just Looking For My Car’

OCEAN CITY — A New York man was arrested last weekend after allegedly bumbling down Coastal Highway while looking for his car, causing a vehicle to brake suddenly to avoid hitting him.

Just before midnight last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in the area of 42nd Street when he observed a suspect later identified as John Turnbull, 53, of Port Crane, N.Y., walking south in a lane on Coastal Highway with heavy traffic. The officer initiated a stop and spoke with Turnbull, who reportedly told police “I’m just trying to find my car.”

The officer advised Turnbull it was not safe to walk in the highway to which he replied, “I work for the Broom County Sheriff’s Office, I’m on your side,” and “I’m just looking for my car, I don’t know where it is,” according to police reports.

Two OCPD officers walked Turnbull to a condo parking lot in the area. Turnbull told police he was staying at a hotel on 22nd Street and that he had let some friends whom he had just met that take his vehicle, which was why he was now looking for it. The officers told Turnbull, who reportedly exhibited signs of intoxication, that he could continue to look for his car, but he had to stay on the sidewalk. When Turnbull told police he understood, he was allowed to leave.

As soon as Turnbull was allowed to leave the parking lot, he looked right at the officers and walked straight across the highway in front of them, according to police reports. A Dodge pick-up truck had to apply its brakes and come to a complete stop in order to avoid hitting Turnbull, according to police reports.

As officers watched, Turnbull continued to walk roughly 30 feet in the left turn lane while the truck remained stopped waiting for him to cross. At that point, Turnbull was arrested for disorderly conduct and intoxicated endangerment.

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Rough Trip Across Highway

OCEAN CITY — A Hagerstown, Md. man was arrested on various charges last weekend after being found passed out before stumbling across Coastal Highway and exposing himself to police.

Around 1:55 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in the area of 92nd Street when he was flagged down by an individual trying to get the officer’s attention. The officer pulled over and learned from the witness a suspect, later identified as Randy Saylor-Ryan, 30, of Hagerstown, was sleeping in the grass in front of a nearby bank.

The officer responded and found Saylor-Ryan sleeping in the grass with his sunglasses on his face. The officer awakened Saylor-Ryan and attempted to find out where he was staying.

After several failed attempts, the officer was able to determine Saylor-Ryan was staying at hotel across the street. The officer instructed Saylor-Ryan to cross the street when appropriate in the marked crosswalk. According to police reports, Saylor-Ryan crossed Coastal Highway in traffic, causing vehicles to slow down to avoid hitting him and blowing their horns.

Once safely on the opposite side of the street, Saylor-Ryan got tangled up in a tree as part of the hotel landscaping and fell down. When he got to his feet again, he crossed the street to a neighboring condo parking garage. According to police reports, Saylor-Ryan pulled his pants down to his ankles and began urinating in plain view of police officers. He was arrested and charged with intoxicated endangerment, disorderly conduct and indecent exposure.

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Water Bottle Incident Results In Arrest

OCEAN CITY — A West Virginia man was arrested on theft and malicious destruction of property charges last week after allegedly swiping a case of bottled water from a north-end convenience store and throwing bottles around the parking lot.

Around 2:45 a.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a convenience store at 94th Street for a reported theft and malicious destruction of property incident. Ocean City Communications advised a suspect had knocked over a large display of bottled water and thrown bottles around the parking lot.

An OCPD officer first on the scene was advised the suspect had left the area on foot and was possible heading toward a condominium building next door. The officer responded to the neighboring condo building and found two men in the parking lot including Micah Skubon, 25, of Charlestown, West Va. The officer interviewed Skubon and the other man, who reportedly told police they had been in their condo and had just come down to the parking lot.

Meanwhile, other OCPD officers sent the responding officer pictures of the suspect from the convenience store incident caught on surveillance and it matched Skubon’s description. The video surveillance showed Skubon allegedly knocking over a stack of cases of bottled water. The video also showed Skubon allegedly take a case from the stack and throw some bottles from it into the parking lot.

Store staffers recovered the remains of the case along with the bottles thrown into the parking lot. The total value of bottled water that was deemed unsellable was around $100. Skubon was arrested and charged with theft and malicious destruction of property. While in custody, Skubon reportedly told police if he had taken or thrown the bottles of water, he didn’t remember.

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Guilty Plea for Fireworks Thrown at First-Responders

OCEAN CITY — One of two Delaware men, arrested in June after allegedly throwing explosives in the direction of Ocean City EMTs working on an assault victim, was found guilty this week while the second suspect had his trial postponed.

Around 12:20 a.m. on June 29, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on patrol in the area of 45th Street reportedly observed a back-seat passenger in a vehicle throw fireworks out of vehicle. At the time, the officer was on the sidewalk assisting in the investigation of an assault at 45th Street moments earlier. The officer was assisting in the investigation when the fireworks exploded.

According to police reports, the fireworks were thrown about five feet away from an Ocean City ambulance, which was on the scene treating a patient involved in the assault. An Ocean City EMT working on the patient had to stop treating the patient because of the distraction.

OCPD officers approached a suspect, identified as Kyle Moore, 23, of Frankford, Del., in the rear passenger seat and observed a package of red firecrackers on the seat next to him. Moore was also holding a lighter at the time OCPD officers approached the vehicle.

Another man identified as Guy Burton, 18, of Millsboro, Del., was seated in front passenger seat. According to police reports, Moore told officers it was Burton who had thrown the fireworks at Ocean City EMTs, despite the firecrackers being found on the seat next to him and with him holding the lighter.

Each of the suspects was arrested on various charges. This week, Burton pleaded guilty to obstructing firefighters, while Moore’s trial was postponed until Oct. 16.

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Probation For Fighting

OCEAN CITY — A Silver Spring, Md. couple, arrested in August on various charges after an alleged fight spilled over from the sidewalk into the bus lane, causing a vehicle to swerve to avoid hitting them, each pleaded guilty this week to disorderly conduct and each was placed on probation.

Around 1:10 a.m. on Aug. 11, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was driving south on Philadelphia Avenue near 21st Street and observed a couple, later identified as Diane Aguilar, 22, and Alfredo Diaz, 23, both of Silver Spring, arguing on the public sidewalk. The officer parked his vehicle on 21st Street and reported the argument could be heard at least 50 feet away in violation of the town’s noise ordinance.

As the officer approached the couple, they reportedly started pushing each other in the bus lane. At least one motorist had to quickly change lanes to avoid hitting Aguilar and Diaz, according to police reports. The couple then stumbled into a fence at a nearby restaurant overflow parking lot.

OCPD officers ordered Aguilar and Diaz to stop fighting and to sit on the sidewalk. However, they initially ignored the orders and attempted to walk away from police. OCPD officers detained the couple, who reportedly told police they were “play fighting” and that they didn’t think they had done anything wrong.

According to police reports, both suspects displayed signs of intoxication. The OCPD officer warned the couple to keep their voices down and stop shoving each other and disturbing the public. The officer then allowed the couple to leave.

However, as soon as the officer left the immediate area, Aguilar and Diaz reportedly started arguing and shoving each other again. According to police reports, a passing motorist called to the officer “Can you please do something about them before they hurt somebody else?”

This time, the officer arrested Aguilar and Diaz and charged them with disorderly conduct, intoxicated endangerment, failure to obey a lawful order, causing a disturbance in public while intoxicated and a noise violation. This week, Aguilar and Diaz each pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and each was placed on probation for one year.

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Boardwalk Ruckus Probation

OCEAN CITY — A Philadelphia man, arrested in August on disorderly conduct and other charges after causing a scene on the Boardwalk, pleaded guilty this week and was placed on probation for one year.

Around 6 p.m. on Aug. 10, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling the Boardwalk and observed Darrell Andrews, 39, being disorderly. According to police reports, Andrews walked past the officer with an abnormal gait and yelled in a loud voice “hey man, don’t worry about me.”

The officer wasn’t sure if Andrews was impaired by alcohol or suffering a medical emergency, so he approached and asked Andrews if he was okay. Andrews became agitated and began shouting, “there are 15,000 people out here on this Boardwalk, so why the [expletive deleted] are you bothering me,” according to police reports.

The officer was approached by a female companion of Andrews and told her the situation and that he had to calm down. Andrews then walked south away from the officer, but continued to yell loud profanities and insults at the OCPD as he walked away. He was ultimately arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing and hindering. This week, he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was placed on probation for one year.