Cops & Courts – October 9, 2020

Cops & Courts – October 9, 2020

Intoxicated Endangerment, Burglary Charges Filed

OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested on burglary and intoxicated endangerment charges last weekend after allegedly following a “beautiful girl” from a midtown bar and ending up in the wrong unit.

Around 2 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched a residence on 59th Street for a reported burglary in progress. While approaching the address, Ocean City Communications advised the suspect was fighting with one of the victims inside the unit.

According to police reports, the officer approached the front door and could hear screaming inside the unit. The officer entered the unit and observed a male who pointed toward the kitchen and reportedly said, “Thank God, He’s right here.” The officer walked to the kitchen and observed a suspect later identified as Justin Souders, 27, of Easton, Pa.

The officer placed Souders in handcuffs and walked him outside to prevent any further altercation with the occupants. According to police reports, Souders told the officer he had been drinking at a midtown bar with five of his friends when he left the group to follow a “beautiful girl” to 59th Street. He told police he and his friends were staying on 56th Street, although he could not provide an address or a description of the place in which he was staying.

According to police reports, Souders exhibited signs of heavy intoxication. Another OCPD officer interviewed the two occupants of the unit, a male and a female who told police she had recently purchased the unit. The occupants said they went out to a different midtown bar earlier the evening before and that they had never met Souders before. The occupants advised police they closed the door when they left, but did not lock it to make sure they did not lock themselves out.

The occupants said when they returned to the unit, they found Souders inside and immediately called police. Souders was arrested and charged with fourth-degree burglary and intoxicated endangerment.

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Wrong Turn Then Drug Arrest

OCEAN CITY — A local man was arrested on drug possession charges this week after allegedly going the wrong way on a one-way street.

Around 1 a.m. on Monday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling in the downtown area when he observed a vehicle turn east on 33rd Street at Philadelphia Avenue on a portion of the roadway that is one-way west. The officer initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, identified as Kody Klick, 29, of Berlin.

According to police reports, the officer approached the vehicle and detected the distinct odor of marijuana emanating from inside.

The OCPD officer reportedly asked Klick how much marijuana was in the vehicle and told police it was a small amount and placed a black box on the dashboard. A probable cause search revealed a plastic bag of suspected marijuana in the box along with a cut clear straw with a powdery white residue in it. The officer also located three other cut portions of a clear straw with a powdery residue on them in the center console.

On the front passenger seat, OCPD officers located a canvas bag, the contents of which included more cut plastic straws with a powdery white substance believed to be cocaine. In the bag was reportedly a cigar box with a piece of foil folded up. Inside the foil was a piece of paper with an intricate design on it.

The paper was pre-cut with perforations, according to police reports. The perforations created roughly 59 sections, or pieces, of the paper. The paper was suspected to have been dipped in LSD, according to police reports. Also in the canvas bag was a scale with a white powdery residue on it believed to be cocaine. Klick reportedly told police the cut plastic straw in the black box belonged to a friend of his who used it to snort cocaine.

Klick was placed under arrest at that point. During booking, officers located a small piece of foil folded up in Klick’s wallet. Inside the foil were two of the perforated pieces of paper suspected to have been dipped in LSD with the same intricate design as the paper found in his vehicle.

During questioning, the officer told Klick he had located the scale to which Klick reportedly responded, “Well, there was nothing in there that could be scaled out,” indicating he knew about the perforated paper with suspected LSD on it. When asked about the LSD, Klick reportedly told the officer the paper was already “dipped.

According to police reports, Klick told the officer all of the perforate paper was his and there was nothing he intended to sell. He reportedly told police, “It is all for personal use,” and “I can use a good bit of it myself if I desire.” Klick was charged with possession of cocaine and possession of LSD.

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Another Wrong Way Drug Arrest

OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania woman was charged with driving while impaired and various drug possession charges last weekend after allegedly driving the wrong way on Philadelphia Avenue for three blocks.

Around 1 a.m. last Sunday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the downtown area observed a vehicle allegedly travel northbound for three blocks from 30th Street to 33rd Street in the southbound lanes of Philadelphia Avenue. The officer stopped the vehicle and identified the driver as Judith Schuebel, 54, of Coopersburg, Pa. When asked if she had been consuming alcohol, Schuebel reportedly responded she had a few beverages earlier at a downtown bar.

Schuebel was asked to complete a battery of field sobriety tests which she did not complete to the officer’s satisfaction and she placed under arrest on suspicion of driving while impaired. Schuebel asked officers to retrieve her purse, and a search of the purse revealed two pills in a plastic baggie identified as amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, both schedule II controlled dangerous substances. Neither of the pills were in their original containers, nor could Schuebel provide evidence they were prescribed to her, according to police reports.

At the booking facility, two more loose pills were discovered in her purse identified as amphetamine and alprazolam. While the officer was explaining the booking process, Schuebel reportedly said spontaneously she had taken two oxycodone pills on the afternoon prior to getting pulled over for going the wrong way on Philadelphia Avenue.

During booking, Schuebel’s alcohol breath test resulted in a .00 reading. Based on her admission to taking oxy pills along with the evidence found in her purse, Schuebel was charged with driving while impaired, various drug possession charges and traffic violations.

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Passed Out In Wrong Room

OCEAN CITY — A New Jersey man was charged with burglary last weekend after allegedly entering the wrong motel room and passing out on a couch.

Around 3:30 a.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a motel at 29th Street for a reported trespasser. The officer met with a couple who reported they had left the motel room earlier in the day and had locked the front door, although they were not certain the first-floor sliding door was locked.

The victims reportedly told police they returned to the room, opened the door with the key card and observed an unknown male suspect inside sleeping on the couch. The OCPD officer obtained the key card to the couple’s room and entered to find the suspect, later identified as Clayton Sullivan, 24, of Cape May, N.J., still sleeping on the couch.

According to police reports, Sullivan was extremely intoxicated. He reportedly told police he was supposed to be staying in either room 208 or 308 with friends, but ended up in room 108. The officer observed the sliding door was unlocked, but closed. The officer also observed there was a fence blocking off the unit from the public sidewalk.

The victims reported no property was missing. Sullivan was arrested and charged with fourth-degree burglary and trespassing.

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Glass Bottle Thrower Guilty

OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania man was arrested in July after throwing glass liquor bottles at vehicles on the street below his residence was found guilty of malicious destruction of property scheme last week and awaits his fate pending a sentencing hearing in December.

Around 11:40 a.m. on July 24, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to the area of 24th Street for reported cases of malicious destruction of property. On arrival, the officer observed broken glass all along the street and on top of numerous vehicles parked along the street. Amid the broken glass were multiple Twisted Tea labels and liquor bottle labels, according to police reports.

The officer met with one victim, who reportedly told police he vehicle had been hit with glass bottles sometime between midnight and 8 a.m. The officer observed multiple broken glass bottle surrounding the victim’s vehicle along with a dent and scratches on the vehicle’s doors. The victim estimated the damage at $2,000.

The officer met with another victim whose vehicle was surrounded by broken glass. The victim’s vehicle had a dent in the roof and dents and scratches on the side. She also estimated the damage at around $2,000. Yet another victim’s vehicle was surrounded by broken glass on the street and its roof was nearly covered with broke glass entirely. There were scratches and dents in the vehicle’s roof. A fourth victim reported a similar situation with cracks in the rear window and a dent and scratches in the trunk. That victim estimated her damage at around $2,500.

Witnesses on the scene reported they heard a suspect later identified as Quinlin Murphy, 23, of Lake Ariel, Pa., and another man yelling “hit that car,” and “hit the cars” as they threw glass bottles at the vehicles on the street below from a fourth-floor balcony. Another witness reportedly told police her neighbors in the unit next to hers had been throwing beer cans and vehicles and pedestrians in the street the night before. She also told police Murphy and the other occupant of the room had multiple bottles of liquor and Twisted Tea.

OCPD officers went to the fourth-floor unit and located Murphy. According to police reports, Murphy told the officers he had been the one throwing glass bottles at vehicles and that he continued to throw bottles at vehicles throughout the night. Sentencing has been set for Dec. 23.