First-Degree Assault Charge
OCEAN CITY — A Big Pool, Md. man was arrested on first-degree assault charges last weekend after allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face with a closed fist and later fleeing from police attempting to detain him.
Last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the downtown area responded to a alert to be on the lookout for a vehicle that had left the scene of an assault that had occurred outside a bar on Wicomico Street. The officer located a vehicle matching the description at a red light at 1st Street and Philadelphia Avenue.
The officer approached the vehicle and attempted to make contact with the driver, later identified as Rodney Wolfe, 47, of Big Pool, Md. The officer reportedly advised Wolfe to pull into a parking lot, but when the light turned green, he reportedly sped off and fled from the officers on the scene.
According to police reports, Wolfe drove at an excessive rate of speed through restaurant parking lots and other private property lots with several pedestrians in the area. According to police reports, Wolfe then parked his vehicle on 5th Street and fled on foot. After about 20 minutes, Wolfe was located hiding in the bushes on Edgewater Avenue between 5th and 6th streets.
OCPD officers met with multiple witnesses who reported they observed Wolfe strike a female victim who was in the vehicle with him twice in the head with a closed fist. The witnesses each told police Wolfe hit the victim so hard that her head hit the passenger side window both times, according to police reports.
Next, OCPD officers interviewed the victim, who reportedly told police she was staying with Wolfe for the weekend in Ocean City. The victim told police Wolfe had punched her so hard that she didn’t remember much after he hit her and did not know how she ended up on 5th Street.
The victim told police the side of her face was sore and the officers observed redness and swelling on the side of her face, according to police reports. Wolfe was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
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Tirade Leads To Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A Millsboro, Del. woman was arrested on a slew of charges last weekend after getting kicked out of a downtown bar.
Around 12:50 a.m. last Saturday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were patrolling near a crowded bar at 17th Street with a line of about 20 to 30 people waiting to get in. An OCPD officer observed an emergency exit door and a bar security staffer who was standing with a suspect, later identified as Isabella Porro, 21, of Millsboro. According to police reports, the security staffer flashed his flashlight multiple times to get the officer’s attention.
OCPD officers learned Porro had been annoying other patrons by attempting to climb on the bar. She was reportedly asked to leave multiple times but refused to do so. When Porro reportedly refused to leave the establishment, the management enlisted to OCPD’s help to get her to comply.
Porro reportedly walked over to the area where OCPD officers were standing and screamed “[expletive deleted] the police” multiple times and yelled she was expressing her Constitutional rights. Porro then allegedly ran across the street to a pharmacy parking lot, nearly getting hit by a vehicle in the process. She reportedly continued to scream expletives directed at the police from a distance of at least 150 feet away.
According to police reports, Porro ran back across Coastal Highway in a crosswalk but against a red pedestrian signal and returned to the emergency door of the bar where she had been given a trespassing warning by the management. At that point, OCPD officers attempted to arrest Porro for trespassing, disorderly conduct and noise violations.
An OCPD officer grabbed one of Porro’s wrists and placed a handcuff on it, but she twisted and turned and pulled away from the officer, questioning why she was being arrested and screaming she had not been read her Miranda rights. She was eventually subdued, but continued to scream at police about her rights and the legality of the arrest, according to police reports.
Porro’s second tirade lasted about eight minutes on a crowded public street, attracting the attention of numerous citizens in the area, according to police reports.
Porro allegedly refused to cooperate and had to be physically carried to the prisoner transport van by two officers, all the while continuing her tirade against the officers. According to police reports, as she continued to scream, saliva flew from her mouth, striking the officers.
Porro suddenly pushed back against the officer attempting to load her in the transport van and was warned she would also be charged with assault. She also used her free leg to kick another officer, according to police reports. Porro was first transported to Atlantic General Hospital and during the transport she was uncooperative with EMS staff and screamed expletives at them.
Once at AGH, Porro was reportedly uncooperative with hospital staff and refused to provide her name and other information. A nurse told OCPD officers Porro was spitting blood and using foul language. She was ultimately transported back to the Public Safety Building in Ocean City for processing.
All in all, she was charged with assault, trespassing, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstructing and hindering, disturbing the peace, noise violations and a handful of citations related to running across the roadway.
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Downtown Domestic Assault
OCEAN CITY — A Hurlock, Md. woman was arrested on assault and disorderly conduct last week after allegedly punching her boyfriend at a downtown pizza parlor during an argument over alleged cheating.
Around 10 p.m. last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a downtown pizza parlor on Baltimore Avenue for a reported domestic assault that had just occurred. The officer met with a witness who said he observed a female he knew as Stephany Anderson, 24, of Hurlock, screaming at another man with whom the witness was familiar over alleged cheating, according to police reports.
The witness told police when the man attempted to walk past Anderson, she struck him five times in the face with a closed fist. The witness reportedly told police he felt the need to intervene and separate Anderson and the victim. The witness reportedly told police his main concern initially was that Anderson is pregnant.
OCPD officers interviewed the victim, who told police a similar version of the incident. OCPD officers observed swelling and redness, along with a small laceration, on the left side of the victim’s face. When interviewed, Anderson reportedly told police the couple was having relationship issues and he wanted to address them.
Anderson reportedly told police the victim was being overly aggressive while yelling at her, which is why she struck him. The investigation determined Anderson was the primary aggressor and she was arrested and charged with assault and disorderly conduct.
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License Plate Reader Detects Stolen Vehicle
OCEAN CITY — A Baltimore woman was arrested on motor vehicle theft and other charges last weekend after a license plate reader on the Route 50 bridge alerted police to the stolen car.
Last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in the downtown area and monitoring the license plate reader (LPR) on the Route 50 Bridge when it alerted on a reported stolen vehicle. A check of the vehicle’s registration confirmed it had been reported stolen in Greenville, N.C. and that it belonged to a vehicle rental company.
OCPD officers monitored the vehicle as it entered Ocean City, first at North Division Street and soon thereafter at 5th Street and Baltimore Avenue. OCPD officers followed the vehicle and conducted a high-risk traffic stop in the area of 21st Street. According to police reports, the vehicle’s rear bumper on the left side was pulled away from the fender.
OCPD officers ordered the front seat passenger, identified as Sierra Shadle, 21, of Baltimore, to get out slowly and walk backward toward them. OCPD officers reportedly detected the odor of raw marijuana coming from the vehicle and conducted a search. On the floor in front of the front passenger seat was located a black purse. Inside the purse officer found a blue and black spring-assisted, switchblade-style knife.
OCPD officers interviewed Shadle, who reportedly told police her friend had rented the vehicle for her for one week for $250. Shadle told police she thought the price was cheap and asked her friend if it had been stolen, according to police reports. The friend reportedly told Shadle the vehicle had not been stolen and Shadle asked her if she could purchase it, according to police reports.
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Indecent Exposure On Beach
OCEAN CITY — A Joppa, Md. man was arrested on indecent exposure and other charges last weekend after allegedly urinating on the beach and exposing himself to others at a beachfront bar.
Around 2 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in the area of 39th Street when he was waved down by a private citizen asking for assistance. The citizen was reportedly sweaty and out of breath and said he worked security at a nearby beachfront bar.
The witness told police he had been following a man who had allegedly urinated on the beach and exposed his private parts to others on the beach at the bar. The witness reportedly told police the suspect, later identified as Derek Staines, 21, of Joppa, Md. was urinating on the sand near a beach equipment rental box. The security staffer told Staines to stop, but Staines reportedly kept on urinating and turned to face the security staffer and others with his penis and genitals fully exposed.
The witness said Staines fled on foot northbound toward a nearby condo building. The witness followed Staines to the condo building parking lot, where he encountered the OCPD officer and asked for assistance. The OCPD officer located Staines on the fourth floor of the condo building and the witness was brought up to positively identify him. At that point, Staines was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and trespassing.
While OCPD officers were leading Staines down from the fourth floor of the condo building, he reportedly became disorderly and yelled expletives and vulgar expressions in front of a crowd of people who had come out of their units to watch the scene unfold and additional disorderly conduct charges were tacked on.