First-Degree Assault Charge For Knife Threat
OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania woman was arrested on first-degree assault and other charges last week after allegedly holding a knife to her boyfriend’s throat as he slept in a midtown resort hotel room.
Last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a hotel at 45th Street for a reported cutting incident. Dispatchers advised the responding officers a woman had called her brother in Pennsylvania and told him that her boyfriend had cut her with a knife while in one of the hotel’s rooms, according to police reports.
The OCPD officers responded and met with the hotel’s night auditor, who reportedly said she had been notified of the alleged cutting incident via telephone and called police. The OCPD officers went to the unit on the second floor and could reportedly hear a woman’s voice in a loud tone from within, according to police reports.
The officers knocked on the door and it was answered by the female occupant later identified as Jessica Claar, 39, of Bedford, Pa. Claar reportedly told the officers she was okay and showed them a small cut roughly two inches long on her left hand. Claar reportedly identified the male occupant of the room as “Josh,” but that he had left the room and she did not know where he went.
During a protective sweep of the hotel room, OCPD officers located the male suspect sitting on the toilet in the bathroom. Uncertain of just what had happened, OCPD officers detained the male suspect in handcuffs at that point. However, according to police reports, Claar refused medical attention and told the officers “arrest me, this is all my fault.”
During a subsequent interview, Claar reportedly told police she and the male had been dating for 11 years and that they reside together in Pennsylvania. Claar reportedly told police she and the male had been consuming alcohol throughout the day before they got into a verbal argument.
When the male directed some of his tirade at Claar’s three nieces, who were not in Ocean City at the time, she told the male she would not stand for anyone talking badly about her family. Claar reportedly told police the argument ended, and she laid down on the bed and remained quiet until the male victim fell asleep on the other bed in the room.
According to police reports, Claar told the officers she then picked up one of the male’s cooking knives and walked over to him as he slept. Claar reportedly told police she stood over the victim while holding the knife in her hand and woke him up. Claar reportedly told police when the victim woke up, he struggled with her over the knife, which is when she sustained the cut on her thumb.
Claar reportedly said over and over the incident was her fault and held out her hands and urged the officers to arrest her. OCPD officers interviewed the male victim, who reportedly told them he didn’t remember much about the events leading up to the incident. The victim said Claar shocked him and he awakened to find her standing over him while holding a large kitchen knife to his throat, according to police reports.
The victim did have a scar on his throat, but reportedly told police it was from a surgical procedure he had years earlier. At that point, Claar was arrested and charged with first-degree assault and other counts. During a search of the hotel room, officers located a kitchen knife with an eight-inch blade and a black handle in a cooler near the unit’s front door.
Claar was held initially without bond, but following a bail review hearing, she was released on a $25,000 bond. A preliminary hearing has been set for Jan. 11.
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Va. Suspect Extradited
SNOW HILL — A Virginia man is being held without bond this week after being extradited to Worcester County on attempted murder charges following an alleged shooting incident last month.
Around 4:20 p.m. on Dec. 16, Pocomoke Police responded to a KFC-Taco Bell restaurant on Newtowne Blvd. for a reported shooting that occurred in the parking lot. Officers arrived and located a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg. The victim was transported to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional for treatment of injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) was brought in to assume the investigations. WCBI detectives later learned an argument ensued in the drive-through at the restaurant’s parking lot when the victim and the suspect encountered each other.
The suspect was identified as Thomas Fulmer, Jr., 28, of Chincoteague. Fulmer has been charged in connection with the crime. Fulmer was later located and taken into custody in Virginia, where he was held pending extradition to Maryland. Fulmer was extradited to Worcester County and was ordered to be held without bond this week.
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Probation For Indecent Exposure
OCEAN CITY — A Salisbury man, arrested in August on multiple counts of indecent exposure after flashing resort police officers on two separate occasions and later urinating and defecating in his holding cell, pleaded guilty last week and was placed on probation.
Around 4:10 a.m. last Aug. 12, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to the area of 6th Street and St. Louis Avenue for a welfare check on a male acting strangely. An OCPD female public safety aide (PSA) sitting stationary in a marked police vehicle at 3rd Street and St. Louis Avenue had observed the suspect, later identified as Fietroy Satoute, 21, of Salisbury, walking north on the sidewalk wearing only a T-shirt, socks and sandals.
When Satoute walked passed the PSA, he allegedly lifted his shirt, exposed his genitals and continued to walk north on the sidewalk. When the OCPD officer arrived, he observed Satoute walking north on the sidewalk at 6th Street. When the officer asked Satoute if he was wearing any undergarments under the T-shirt, he reportedly said “nope,” and lifted his shirt and exposed his genitals to the officer.
At that point, Satoute was arrested for indecent exposure. While Satoute was in a holding cell at the Public Safety Building, he reportedly urinated all over the walls, requiring booking personnel to use extra precautions when interacting with him. A short time later, Satoute allegedly defecated all over the floor of his cell and kicked it out into the hallway through the crack under the door. Last week, he pleaded guilty to one count of indecent exposure and was placed on probation for one year.