First-Degree Assault Charge In OC Attack
OCEAN CITY — A Bishopville man has been charged with first-degree assault for allegedly beating another man and knocking him unconscious in north Ocean City late last month.
Around 11:50 p.m. on May 20, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a residence on Assawoman Drive to follow up on an assault that had already occurred. The officer met with a male victim who reportedly had a laceration on his forehead, another cut on his elbow and a broken bone in his hand.
The victim reportedly told police around midnight on May 18 he was riding his bike in north Ocean City when he was confronted by Joseph Lantzer, 20, of Bishopville, who was waiting for him. According to police reports, Lantzer walked up to the victim, grabbed his bike and said “we are going to fight. Lantzer reported reared back to throw a punch, but the victim defended himself and struck Lantzer first.
According to police reports, a fight ensued, and another man joined the fray, knocking the victim to the ground. The victim told police Lantzer kicked him repeatedly in the head to the point he lost consciousness and was unable to remember what happened thereafter. The juvenile victim provided police with pictures of himself after the attack. OCPD officers also obtained a seven-second video of the incident during which bystanders repeatedly told Lantzer to let the victim up. At the end of the video, one of the bystanders was heard saying, “Is he dead?” according to police reports.
Based on the victim’s testimony and the evidence, Lantzer has been charged with first- and second-degree assault. At a bail review hearing last Friday, Lantzer was ordered to be held without bond.
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Indecent Exposure Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested for indecent exposure last weekend after allegedly exposing himself to a woman and her daughters from a hotel room window at 4th Street.
Around 3:45 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to the ocean block at 4th Street for a reported indecent exposure incident. The officer met with the female victim who reportedly told police she was leaving the beach with her three juvenile daughters and the girls were changing out of their bathing suits between the victim’s vehicle and another unattended vehicle with the doors open.
The victim was reportedly approached by a couple who told her a man was watching her and her kids from a second-floor unit of the hotel adjacent to where they were parked. The victim looked up and saw a naked man later identified as Michael McKinley, 40, of Mount Wolf, Pa., standing near an open window.
According to police reports, McKinley was pleasuring himself as he watched the victim and her daughters on the street below. OCPD officers arrived and observed McKinley had stopped his behavior and had closed the window to the point only a portion of it was visible from the street.
OCPD officers identified the hotel room number and went to the room and knocked on the door for several minutes. A female occupant opened the door and the officers observed McKinley standing by the window wearing only a towel. McKinley admitted he had been pleasuring himself while sitting on he bed and acknowledged someone may have seen him, but denied masturbating in front of the window.
However, based on the victim’s testimony and the testimony of the couple passing by, OCPD officers determined McKinley had purposely exposed himself to the individuals on the street below. He was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct.
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Barking Up Wrong Tree
OCEAN CITY — A Bel Air, Md. man was arrested last week for harassing a police animal after allegedly barking at a K-9 in a closed police cruiser.
Around 2:25 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was in marked police K-9 vehicle in a parking lot at 68th Street when he was approached by a male identified as Tyler Dameron, 25, of Bel Air, Md., who asked for assistance. According to police reports, Dameron approached the vehicle, knocked on the window and asked the officer if he could give him a ride to where he was staying because he had been walking for a while.
The officer reportedly told Dameron he could not give him a ride because he did not have a free seat open in his vehicle. Dameron became agitated and began raising his voice as he questioned why the officer could not give him a ride. The officer’s K-9 partner began barking because Dameron was reportedly yelling at the officer through the vehicle’s window.
Dameron reportedly told the officer the front seat of his vehicle was open, but the officer explained he had all of his gear on the front seat and there was nowhere else to put it, to which Dameron reportedly said “I don’t give a [expletive deleted], give me a ride,” according to police reports.
At that point, Dameron reportedly moved toward the open rear driver’s side window near the enclosed K-9 kennel. According to police reports, Dameron raised his shoulders, stuck out his chest and moved his face close to the K-9 kennel and barked loudly at the officer’s K-9 partner. The caused the K-9 to lunge toward Dameron and bark.
The officer told Dameron to walk away and ordered him to stop tormenting and harassing his K-9 partner. The officer reportedly told Dameron if he continued, he would be arrested for harassing a police animal. Nonetheless, Dameron allegedly continued to curse and the officer and the police dog, causing the dog to become agitated and bark at the suspect. Dameron was finally arrested and charged with harassing and tormenting a police animal.
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Officer Assaulted On Boardwalk
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania woman was arrested on multiple charges last weekend after allegedly stumbling down the Boardwalk and knocking over police bicycles before assaulting an officer.
Around 6:20 p.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was on bicycle patrol on the Boardwalk when he was approached by a citizen who pointed out a woman later identified as Juliris Morales, 19, of Lancaster, Pa., stumbling on the Boardwalk and running into people. The witness told police he observed Morales throw a punch at a man on the Boardwalk.
The officer approached Morales, who was upset and crying hysterically, according to police reports. When Morales stood up, she fell backward, knocking over two OCPD officer’s bicycles. OCPD officers reportedly carried Morales off the Boardwalk and screamed loudly at them with phrases including “Don’t kill me,” and “I don’t want to die,” and “It’s people like you who kill people like me,” for example.
By now, a large crowd gathered on the Boardwalk at 6th Street to watch the scene unfold. The officer calmed Morales down to the point they had a peaceful conversation using each other’s first names, according to police reports. However, Morales brief period of calm ended when she became hysterical again and accused the officer of being just like a police officer in North Carolina who had killed her brother, according to police reports.
At that point, Morales reportedly reached out toward the officer, striking him in the chin and made a motion as if attempting to choke him. Morales was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, intoxicated endangerment and disorderly conduct.