OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man, arrested in May after threatening to kill his girlfriend and everyone in a downtown apartment they shared, was sentenced this week to three years in prison with all but nine months suspended.
On Tuesday, Elijah Tonnie, 33, of Ocean City entered an Alford plea to reckless endangerment for the incident last May. In an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges the state has enough evidence to prosecute the case. As a result of the plea agreement, the first-degree assault and false imprisonment charges against Tonnie were not prosecuted.
Shortly after midnight on May 7, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a residence on Philadelphia Avenue for a report of a man with a knife threatening to kill everyone in the unit. Upon arrival, OCPD officers met a female witness who reportedly said her roommate told her to call the police because her boyfriend, later identified as Tonnie, threatened her with a knife.
OCPD officers found Tonnie outside the unit talking to another female witness and took him into custody. OCPD officers interviewed the alleged victim, who told police Tonnie had awakened her to confront her about calls she had made to another male, according to police reports. The victim reportedly told police Tonnie was angry and while he was yelling at her, he moved a tote container in front of her bedroom door and placed another box on top of it to block the door and keep her from leaving.
The victim reportedly told police after Tonnie blocked the door, he threatened to kill her, saying “You know how this is going to end,” according to police reports. Tonnie reportedly told the victim he was going to kill her and then himself. When the victim told Tonnie he was going to go to jail, he allegedly grabbed a folding knife off the nightstand, held it toward her in an aggressive manner and told the victim if she called the police he was going to kill her, according to police reports. The victim told police Tonnie said if she called the police, he was going to stab her to death, according to police reports.
The victim began to call out of her window for her roommates outside to call the police. Tonnie reportedly told the victim if anyone called the police, he was going to kill everyone in the unit. Tonnie ultimately removed the barricade from the door and the victim was able to escape to her roommate’s room. Meanwhile, a different roommate walked Tonnie outside on the porch to talk to him, which is when the police arrived.
