Officer Assaulted On Boardwalk
OCEAN CITY — A Bowie, Md. man was arrested on assault charges last weekend after allegedly charging at a police officer and striking him twice in the face with a closed fist during an incident on the Boardwalk.
Around 8:25 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer on bike patrol on the Boardwalk was assisting other OCPD officers with an arrest. While the officer was assisting his colleagues, a suspect identified as Mike Zeledon, 29, of Bowie, Md., emerged from a large crowd, ran toward the officer and struck him on the left side of his face twice with a closed fist, according to police reports.
Zeledon struck the officer twice, once in the left jaw and once in the left eye. The officer was able to push Zeledon back and away from him. Once there was some distance between Zeledon, the officer who had been punched twice in the face along with a public safety aide (PSA) ran toward Zeledon and tackled him to the ground.
Zeledon was taken into custody and charged with two counts of second-degree assault. Once Zeledon was in custody, the officer looked around and observed roughly 200 people gathered around the arrest scene, many of whom had been recording the incident on their cell phones. The officer later viewed the incident through the City Watch surveillance system, which revealed numerous individuals jumping up and down on Boardwalk benches and recording the incident until Zeledon was taken into custody. The City Watch footage also reportedly showed numerous people running away from the incident in fear including a woman with a stroller who was nearly swooped up in the incident, according to police reports.
After clearing the scene, the officer allegedly struck by Zeledon began feeling pain on the left side of his face and his left eye began twitching, according to police reports. The officer’s glasses were also knocked off his face during the assault. As a result of injuries sustained in the alleged assault, the officer went to the hospital to seek medical treatment.
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Dine And Dasher Assaults Cops
OCEAN CITY — A Delaware man was arrested on multiple charges last weekend after allegedly first skipping out on a bar tab and then scrapping with numerous police officers attempting to arrest and detain him.
Around 10:30 p.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were patrolling the area of 28th Street when they were waved over by an employee of a nearby bar and restaurant. The employee advised police a suspect, later identified as Harry Marker III, 32, of Wilmington, Del., sitting at a picnic table nearby had been a patron at his establishment and had walked out on a $36 bar tab.
The bar employee told police he followed Marker to the area of a nearby sub shop and waited for the police to arrive. The employee told police Marker allegedly argued about the bill and eventually, the credit card he gave the employee had been declined. The employee was still in possession of Marker’s credit card when police arrived.
OCPD officers approached Marker and observed abrasions on his right hand and right knee. When the officers asked Marker if he needed medical attention, he replied with an expletive. According to police reports, Marker was highly intoxicated and asked the officers if their body cameras were on. When the officers replied no, Marker reportedly told them, “Get a [expletive deleted] body camera on and come back to me.” By now, other OCPD officers arrived on the scene because the incident was getting tense and rapidly evolving, according to police reports.
The initial officer attempted to get Marker back into a seated position, but the suspect swatted the officer’s arm away. The officer then drew his Taser and activated it, pointing it at Marker’s midsection and telling him at that point he was under arrest. Marker allegedly continued to scuffle with other officers and launched into an expletive-laced tirade as a crowd of onlookers gathered.
Marker was repeatedly banging his head back and forth while in handcuffs and seated on a bench. Five OCPD officers carried a still-resisting Marker to the transport van and he was ultimately placed in a violent person restraint device. During the attempt to get Marker in the transport van, multiple OCPD officers were either kicked or head-butted by the suspect, according to police reports.
At the Public Safety Building, Marker continued his alleged assault on police and correctional officers attempting to get him into a cell, slapping one officer and pushing another. All in all, Marker was charged with multiple counts of assault on law enforcement officers, resisting arrest and theft.
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Counterfeit Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A Salisbury man was arrested on theft and counterfeit charges last week after allegedly passing a phony $100 bill at a downtown arcade.
Around 3:30 p.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers met with the representative of a downtown Boardwalk arcade about a male suspect passing counterfeit currency. During the interview, the arcade manager pointed out the suspect, later identified as Earl Freeman, 52, who was coming out of a public bathroom on the south end of the Boardwalk.
OCPD officers reportedly approached Freeman and advised him of what the arcade representative had told them, to which Freeman replied, “I don’t want to go to jail.” When asked why he said that, Freeman allegedly told police he was in possession of a counterfeit $100 bill. Freeman then presented a blueish-green $100 bill stamped with bright pink and white markings that looked like foreign lettering.
According to police reports, Freeman told the officers he got confused and exchanged the phony $100 bill at the money exchange kiosk in the arcade. Freeman said he knew the $100 bill was fake and exchanged it the arcade kiosk. Video surveillance footage showed Freeman allegedly exchange the fake $100 bill from the kiosk attendant and received four $20 bills and four $5 bills back.
The kiosk attendant checked the $100 bill with a money marker used for that purpose and determined it was counterfeit. However, Freeman had already walked away from the area and was located by police a short time later coming out of the public bathroom. Freeman was arrested and charged with theft and issuing counterfeit currency.
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Inappropriate Touching Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A Beltsville, Md. man was arrested on assault and sex offense charges last weekend after allegedly touching women inappropriately on the Boardwalk.
Around 2:30 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was on mounted patrol on the Boardwalk in the area of 4th Street when he observed Richard Alarcon, 24. Other evening shift officers had shown the mounted officer a picture of Alarcon earlier and advised he had reportedly been touching women’s buttocks inappropriately on the Boardwalk.
The officer continued patrolling north on the Boardwalk with Alarcon still walking behind him about a block away before the officer stopped in the area of 7th Street. According to police reports, the officer watched as Alarcon walked closely by two women on the Boardwalk.
As the group passed the mounted officer, one of the women who was talking on her cell phone said aloud Alarcon had reportedly touched her buttocks. The victim confirmed to police Alarcon had just touched her inappropriately as they neared the mounted officer’s position on the Boardwalk.
The victim was visibly upset and told the officer she wanted to press charges against Alarcon. When asked why he had touched the victim, Alarcon reportedly told her he had done it because he thought she was cute. Alarcon was arrested and charged with second-degree assault. When Alarcon was being prepared for transport to the Public Safety Building, he reportedly spit in the direction of two OCPD officers, but hit neither, and additional charges were tacked on.
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Chair Toss Leads To Eviction
OCEAN CITY — Two Pennsylvania men were arrested on various charges last week after allegedly throwing a lounge chair into a motel pool before getting evicted and refusing to leave without a refund.
Around 8 p.m. on Monday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was on bike patrol in the downtown area when he was dispatched to a motel on 8th Street to assist with an eviction. The officer met with the motel security manager, who told police two men identified as Jordan Engle, 20, of Liverpool, Pa., and Jordan Frey, 21, of Newport, Pa., had been observed throwing a large, wooden lounge chair into the pool. The force of the throw caused damage to the lounge chair when it hit the concrete bottom of the pool, according to police reports.
The officer and the security manager then went to the room on the second floor where Engle and Frey were staying and told the two suspects to leave immediately. Engle and Frey reportedly packed their belongings and began to leave, but the two men stopped in the lobby and said they were not leaving until they got a refund, according to police reports.
The officer advised the two men about innkeeper laws, civil court processes and the process for contacting the motel management about getting a refund, but they remained adamant they were not leaving until they got their money back, according to police reports.
Engle and Frey were reportedly intoxicated and when they refused to leave, they were ultimately arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct and trespassing. Frey was also charged with indecent exposure because he was allegedly observed urinating onto the public street from the motel balcony.
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Indecent Exposure Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A Berlin man was arrested last weekend after allegedly damaging a vehicle in a downtown municipal parking lot and being found with his shorts down around his ankles.
Around 3:15 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the downtown area observed a male lying on the ground at the municipal parking lot on Worcester Street. The officer approached the man, later identified as Duwayne Pillsbury, 51, who appeared to be extremely intoxicated, according to police reports.
In addition, Pillsbury’s shorts were down around his ankles, exposing his genitalia and he was unable to stand on his own. The officer observed the suspect had lacerations and abrasions on his knees and elbows along with wet and dried blood, which appeared to come from the cuts and abrasions he had sustained.
According to police reports, Pillsbury was lying next to a Ford F-150 truck, which had numerous hand and fingerprint smudge marks on the exterior paint and the rear passenger window. The officer also observed wet and dried blood on the exterior of the truck Pillsbury was lying next to. In additions, the officer observed a fresh scratch in the paint on the rear passenger door roughly 12 to 16 inches long.
Based on the officer’s observations of the suspect and the damage to the truck, it was determined Pillsbury was a danger to himself, others and private property and he was arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property and indecent exposure.