Hit-and-Run Suspect Left Children In Room
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man faces drunk-driving and hit-and-run charges after allegedly colliding with another vehicle while making a beer run and leaving his three young children at a downtown motel.
Around 10:10 p.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to the area of Baltimore Avenue and S. 2nd Street near the Oceanic Motel for a reported hit-and-run collision involving property damage and personal injury. Ocean City Communications had broadcasted a be-on-the-lookout advisory for a Chevy Suburban that had collided with another vehicle and injured its occupants before fleeing the scene.
An OCPD officer at 21st Street and Baltimore Avenue observed the vehicle, initiated a traffic stop and identified the driver as Jesse Culley, 33, of Mechanicsburg, Pa. along with a front seat passenger. According to police reports, both Culley and his passenger admitted the collision had occurred and that Culley left the scene.
Culley reportedly exhibited signs of intoxication and was arrested for driving under the influence and while impaired and numerous other counts related to the hit-and-run collision. According to police reports, during the booking process at the Public Safety Building, Culley was uncooperative and asked a lot of irrelevant questions and refused to answer if he would consent to a breath test. After about 12 minutes, the booking officer deemed the test was a refusal.
According to police reports, Culley continued to be impolite and uncooperative and told police his three children ages nine, 10 and 12, were back at the motel without supervision. Culley refused to tell the officer in which motel room the children were staying, but police went to the motel and with the help of a witness were able to locate the children crying and alone in their room.
OCPD officers interviewed the children, who reportedly told police Culley had left them alone on the Boardwalk while he became intoxicated in a bar. Through the investigation, officers learned Culley had left the children at the motel to go get more beer with a random stranger, which is when the hit-and-run collision occurred. The Department of Social Services is overseeing the welfare of the children.
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Robbery, Assault Suspect Nabbed
OCEAN CITY — A Cambridge man was arrested and charged with assault and robbery on Monday after Ocean City police were able to identify him as the alleged suspect in a June 9 incident.
Isaiah Foster
Around 4 a.m. on June 9, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to the area of 7th Street and Philadelphia Avenue for a reported assault and robbery. The victim, a 21-year-old male, told police he had just been robbed and assaulted.
After an extensive investigation, OCPD officers identified the suspect as Isaiah Foster, 20, of Cambridge, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On Monday, OCPD officers were monitoring a disorderly group at 9th Street and the Boardwalk and observed Foster among them.
As OCPD officers approached Foster, he attempted to run but was quickly taken into custody without incident. He has been charged with robbery, second-degree assault and theft from $100 to $1,500. Foster was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was transferred to the Worcester County Jail where he was being held this week without bond.
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Another Assault Arrest
OCEAN CITY — On June 6, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) on bicycle patrol around 1st Street and the Boardwalk saw a suspect, later identified as Nicholas Burke, 19, of Silver Spring, Md., exposing his buttocks in public. As the officer approached Burke, the suspect began actively engaging in a physical fight with another man.
The officer dismounted and announced to Burke he was a police officer, at which point Burke allegedly turned around and struck the officer in the face with a closed fist. The officer took Burke to the ground, but he was able to roll away and ran toward Philadelphia Avenue. Other officers were able to intercept Burke and he was arrested and charged with assault.
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Downtown Burglary Suspect Flees Police
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested on burglary charges last weekend after allegedly breaking into a downtown residence and then fleeing from police on foot.
Around 1:50 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on bicycle patrol was chasing a theft suspect in the area of 11th Street and the Boardwalk. As the officer turned west from the Boardwalk onto 11th Street, he observed two men running out of the front door of a residence.
Two other men were waving their arms and shouting at the officer, “they robbed us,” and “they just robbed our house,” pointing at the two men running away from the area on foot, according to police reports. The officer gave chase to one of the suspects, later identified as Steven Penn, 24, of York, Pa.
Penn reportedly ran through an alley and doubled back down to 11th Street and Baltimore Avenue. He then ran through several other properties to a hotel parking garage where he attempted to hide from the officer behind cars. According to police reports, the officer could see Penn’s head bobbing up and down as he attempted to hide among the parked cars in the garage.
The officer shouted to Penn to stop, but the suspect continued to run and slipped and fell in the parking lot. He got up again and the officer, now on foot, tackled him in a grassy area near the parking garage, according to police reports. Penn reportedly continued to thrash around and attempt to get away from the officer, who delivered a single closed-hand punch to Penn’s sternum, after which the suspect gave up.
Back at the scene, the residents of the unit told police as they were getting out of an Uber, they saw three men running out of their unit whom they did not know. That occurred just as the OCPD officers were turning off the Boardwalk onto 11th Street. The unit was a summer residence owned by one of the victims’ family. The victim did a cursory search of the residence and told police it did not appear anything had been stolen.
Penn was arrested and charged with burglary and resisting arrest. The other two suspects were not identified. Penn reportedly told police “I just ran because everyone else was running.”
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Dashing In Front Of Vehicles
OCEAN CITY — A Virginia man was arrested last weekend after allegedly dashing out in front of cars on two separate occasions in the downtown area.
Around 9:30 p.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on bike patrol in the area of 3rd Street observed a man sprint across Baltimore Avenue from east to west in front of two vehicles that were forced to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting him. The suspect, later identified as Daniel Lam, 29, of Mineral, Va., reportedly saw the officer and shouted, “You better lock me up. I don’t know where I’m going and I don’t know where I live, so if I get robbed in this alley, you’ll know why,” according to police reports.
Lam than ran across Philadelphia Avenue in front of another vehicle forced to slam on its brakes and engage its horn. OCPD officers were reportedly familiar with Lam from reports of his suspicious behavior earlier in the day. For example, a concerned citizen called police to report Lam had knocked on a stranger’s door and had asked an underage female to drink alcohol with him. In another incident, a witness told police Lam had tapped him on the shoulder, screamed something in gibberish and ran away.
Following those reported incidents, OCPD officers had detained Lam shortly after 9 p.m. last Friday, or about 20 minutes before he allegedly dashed across both Baltimore Avenue and Philadelphia Avenue forcing vehicles to slam on their brakes. At that point, they determined Lam was likely intoxicated, but did not arrest him. Only after he made his mad dash across two major roadways was he arrested for endangering himself and others by running into traffic on two separate occasions.
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‘Bucket’ Drink Leads To Drunk Driving Crash
OCEAN CITY — A Potomac, Md. man was arrested on drunk-driving charges last week after allegedly crossing Coastal Highway and hitting a street sign with his vehicle without any recollection of the incident.
Shortly before 4 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to a reported motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Coastal Highway and Route 90. A witness on the scene told police a vehicle had driven across the highway and had struck a pole and that the driver appeared to be unconscious during the incident.
The OCPD officer located the suspect, Woo Yong Lee, 36, of Potomac, Md., who was already being treated in the back of an ambulance. According to police reports, Lee exhibited signs of intoxication and told the officer he was unaware of what had happened. Lee reportedly told the officer he had been at a midtown restaurant and that had only had one drink. Lee later told police the one drink he had was actually a “bucket” drink, which is the equivalent of multiple alcoholic beverages.
Lee refused treatment from EMS and was administered field sobriety tests, which he did not complete to the officer’s satisfaction. According to police reports, Lee repeatedly asked the officer what had happened and asked if he hit something. His vehicle had front-end damage and there was a pedestrian crossing sign damaged in the roadway.
The investigation revealed Lee allegedly attempted to make a left turn from Coastal Highway onto Route 90 against a red traffic signal and had hit the sign. He was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and driving while impaired.