Numerous Charges For Unruly Suspect
OCEAN CITY — A Berlin man was arrested on numerous charges last weekend after allegedly interfering with police officers attending to an injured woman on the sidewalk in downtown Ocean City.
Around 12:20 a.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer responded to the area of Wicomico Street for a reported injured individual. The officer located a female that had fallen on the sidewalk and suffered a head injury, according to police reports.
A large crowd had gathered in the area surrounding the OCPD officers providing first aid to the victim until the paramedics arrived. One individual, identified as Anthony Nocera, 21, of Berlin, allegedly interfered with the officers as they attempted to help the victim. Nocera allegedly told the officers he worked in an emergency room and that they did not know what they were doing, according to police reports.
The officers reportedly told Nocera he needed to back away, but he allegedly began screaming expletives at them, according to police reports. One of the OCPD officers learned from the victim Nocera had been harassing her. The victim reportedly told police Nocera had been flirting with her all night and would not leave her alone.
According to police reports, Nocera continuously attempted to talk to the victim while she lied injured on the ground. Nocera was told numerous times to step back and stop interfering with the officers attending to the victim. Nocera continued to the point the officers had to stop tending to the injured victim and address his actions in front of the large crowd that had gathered.
The officers reportedly told Nocera to stop screaming at them and ordered him to leave the area. Nocera was told if he did not leave, he would be placed under arrest. Finally, an officer approached Nocera, grabbed his arms and informed him he was under arrest. Nocera reportedly raised his arms as he attempted to get out of the officer’s restraint.
At one point, Nocera pushed the officer attempting to arrest him. When Nocera continued to resist, he was taken to the ground and placed in handcuffs, according to police reports. All in all, he was charged with assault, disorderly conduct, obstructing and hindering, resisting arrest and failure to obey a lawful order.
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Champagne, Tips Swiped From Convenience Store
OCEAN CITY — A Camp Springs, Md. man was arrested on theft charges last week after allegedly swiping a bottle of cheap champagne and tips from a tip jar at a midtown convenience store.
Around 4:40 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a convenience and package goods store at 52nd Street for reported suspicious activity. Ocean City Communications reported a group of six males and females acting suspiciously on the property. Communications also advised the vehicle in which the group arrived at the store was parked at a gas pump with no license plates. According to police reports, the group had been going in and out of the store for about 40 minutes.
The officer arrived and observed a vehicle matching the description at the gas pump. The officer met with store employees, one of whom reported she had called the police because of the group’s suspicious activity and the length of time that had been in the store. The employee said she believed the males and females in the group were working together to distract her and the other two employees.
The employee said she had been working in the sub shop inside the store and had helped the group. Another employee told the officer one member of the group wearing a long trench coat has been hanging around a cooler that contained alcoholic beverages. She said when she looked at the man, others in the group told her “He’s not stealing,” and “You don’t need to watch him,” which she said she thought was unusual.
The employee also said an unknown amount of cash was missing from the tip jar on the counter of the sub shop within the store. Other OCPD officers arrived to assist and saw the suspect vehicle with no tags turn the wrong way on Coastal Highway, according to police reports. The officer pulled over the vehicle and had the occupants get out, which they complied. The officers observed a champagne bottle under the front passenger seat with its contents leaking to the back-passenger seat floor.
The initial officer, meanwhile, watched surveillance footage from inside the store during the timeframe in which the group was inside. The security footage revealed a suspect later identified as Khary Thomas, 23, of Camp Springs, Md., took a bottle of champagne from the cooler inside the store and concealed it either somewhere within his trench coat or in his pants.
The officer noted the champagne bottle found in the vehicle matched the brand of the bottle taken from the store and that it was located in the area where Thomas was seated, according to police reports. Store surveillance footage also revealed Thomas taking an unknown amount of cash from the tip jar on the sub shop counter. The champagne was valued at around $18 and the amount taken from the tip jar was determined to be $10. Thomas was arrested and charged with three counts of theft under $100.
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Wrong Way Driving Leads To Heroin Bust
OCEAN CITY — A Delmar woman was arrested on heroin possession charges after twice being observed driving the wrong way on one-way streets in downtown Ocean City.
Around 12:45 a.m. last Friday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the downtown area reportedly observed a vehicle turn east on 1st Street before heading northbound on Philadelphia Avenue. Both 1st Street and Philadelphia Avenue are one-way streets and the driver went the wrong way on each of them.
The vehicle drove toward the officer’s vehicle before jerking into the southbound shoulder. The officer activated emergency lights, and the driver reportedly waved at the officer as she rode by. The driver, later identified as Cheyanne Flowers, 21, of Delmar, eventually stopped just after passing the OCPD officer, according to police reports.
As the officer turned around, Flowers reportedly got out of her vehicle and yelled something indiscernible to the officer. The officer told Flowers to get back in her vehicle, to which she complied. The officer approached Flowers, who was extremely talkative, saying things such as, “Thank you for stopping me, I was lost,” and “I am just trying to get to Wawa before I run out of gas,” according to police reports.
The officer asked Flowers if she had consumed any alcohol in the past few hours, to which she replied she had not. When asked if she had consumed any substances in the past few hours, Flowers reportedly told the officer she had taken her prescribed dosage of Vicodin about six hours earlier. Flowers reportedly told the officer she had been prescribed Vicodin to ease the pain of her tonsillectomy procedure about a week earlier.
The officer asked Flowers if she knew the time frame from which she was not supposed to drive after taking a powerful medication such as Vicodin, to which she reportedly replied she did not, but that she was “good to drive.” When the officer detected a faint odor of alcohol, Flowers submitted to a battery of field sobriety tests, which she did not complete to the officer’s satisfaction. He breath-alcohol test later revealed the content was well below the legal limit. While searching through Flowers’ wallet incident to the arrest, officers located a small, white paper bag containing suspected heroin.
According to police reports, Flowers told police a friend had given her the heroin earlier to help with her pain. While in the booking facility, a crying Flowers reportedly told officers “I’m an [expletive deleted] pothead.” She was charged with possession of heroin.
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Stolen Vehicle Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A New Jersey man was arrested on motor vehicle theft charges last weekend after Ocean City Police were able to connect him to a vehicle reported stolen in New Jersey.
Around 6:25 p.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to the area of 32nd Street for a reported stolen vehicle. Ocean City Communications provided a description of the vehicle and advised the officers it would likely be in the possession of Tyrone Chambers, 60, of Newark, N.J.
Around 20 minutes later, the officers located the vehicle in a hotel parking lot at 32nd Street and confirmed with the Newark Police Department the vehicle had been reported stolen. The officers confirmed with hotel staff the driver of the stolen vehicle was registered to a room on the ninth floor.
A short time later, the officers located Chambers approaching the vehicle and he was detained. Chambers agreed to speak with the officers and told police he was the owner of the vehicle and it was always in his possession. During a search incident to the arrest, the keys to the vehicle were located in Chambers’ jacket pocket. He was charged with motor vehicle theft.