OCEAN CITY — A Glen Burnie man was charged with first-degree assault last week after twice threatening a man with a knife at a downtown apartment building.
Around 10 p.m. last Monday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to an apartment building on Worcester Street for a reported assault. Ocean City Communications advised the responding officers the suspect, later identified as Raymond North, 36, of Glen Burnie, was wielding a knife. The officers met with the 911 caller on the sidewalk outside the apartments who advised North was in the hallway and attempted to stab her boyfriend.
The complainant told police North was heavily intoxicated, according to police reports. The 911 caller provided police with the access code to the door, and while they were punching in the numbers, North simultaneously opened the door and he was taken into custody, according to police reports. While police were taking North into custody, he reportedly screamed “Help, the police are hurting me,” and “I’m going to kill myself,” according to police reports.
Officers interviewed the male victim, who reportedly told police North first confronted he and his girlfriend on the Boardwalk. The victim went back to the apartment with his girlfriend, and North approached him again with a knife behind his back, according to police reports.
North screamed threats to kill him and his family and approached him with a large knife. North reportedly held the knife up in the air near his shoulder and approached the victim as if he intended to stab him. The victim told police he fled to a bathroom and North chased him with the knife. The victim barricaded himself in the bathroom with the full weight of his body pressed against the door while North attempted to gain entry.
North walked away and the victim came out of the bathroom, but North reportedly grabbed a second knife from the kitchen and attempted to come after the victim again. The victim ran to the bathroom and barricaded himself inside a second time, according to police reports. A witness who was also in the apartment corroborated the victim’s account of the two attempted assaults with knives.
According to police reports, after he was taken into custody, North complained of injuries and told the officers he wanted to go to the hospital. North also said the police had broken his wrist and had beaten him up when he was placed in handcuffs. Ocean City EMS arrived and North told them he had no injuries. He was also charged for making a false report and causing EMS to respond for no legitimate reason.
During a post-arrest interview, North reportedly told police he was in the Aryan Brotherhood and the victim was a member of the Bloods gang. North reportedly told police the victim had thrown up gang signs toward him and it agitated him. North told police he had an argument with the victim, but he had never threatened him. When asked about the knife, North told police he did have a small knife at one point, but he was only using it to cut a tomato.
While being taken into custody, North reportedly launched into a string of expletives as families walked by on the street. He reportedly faked a seizure during the arrest, causing EMS to be called back to the scene a second time. Through the investigation, OCPD officers determined North threatened the victim two separate times with two different knives. North was charged with first-degree assault and numerous other counts. He was ordered to be held without bond.
