Motel Melee Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A local man was arrested on multiple charges last week after allegedly fighting with a manager at a downtown motel and destroying motel property.
Around 8:45 p.m. last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was dispatched to a motel at 26th Street for a reported individual refusing to leave. Upon arrival, OCPD officers observed a suspect, later identified as Jamie Zielinski, 40, of Ocean City, arguing with a motel manager. According to police reports, Zielinski was under the influence of drugs and had a physical altercation with the motel manager.
When interviewed, the manager reportedly told police he had received multiple complaints about Zielinski being unconscious in the motel courtyard, according to police reports. The manager reportedly confronted Zielinski in the motel’s mechanics room and a physical altercation ensued. According to police reports, the motel manager was sweating and breathing heavily and was bleeding from his elbow.
Officers inspected the motel’s mechanics room and found it to be in disarray. According to police reports, there were signs knocked over, a power drill was on the floor and there were numerous containers of nails and screws thrown around the floor. The manager was still distraught from the altercation and could provide little other detail about the fight in the motel’s mechanics room, according to police reports.
The manager reportedly told officers when he approached Zielinski in the mechanics room, he grabbed the suspect by the arm in an attempt to escort him from the premises. Zielinski then started punching and kicking the manager and hitting him in any way he could, according to police reports.
Officers interviewed a witness, who told police he observed Zielinski and the motel manager fighting in the courtyard. The witness told police Zielinski was thrown out of the nearby mechanics room and a fight ensued with the manager in the courtyard of the motel, according to police reports.
Zielinski was evaluated by Ocean City EMS and reportedly said he was on Suboxone and did not feel well and wanted to go to the hospital. Zielinski then changed his mind and jumped out of the ambulance, according to police reports. At that time, OCPD officers were just arriving on the scene.
By now, a crowd of around 30 people had gathered to witness the scene, according to police reports. Zielinski walked south on the sidewalk at 26th Street and took a radio he had in his possession and threw it 20 feet into the air, with little regard to where it would come down among the crowd that had gathered, according to police reports. He attempted to catch the radio as it came down, but missed and it smashed in pieces on the ground.
Officers attempted to arrest Zielinski at that point, but he reportedly resisted. Once in handcuffs, Zielinski refused to sit on the curb as ordered. OCPD officers got blood on them during the confrontation and Zielinski told them he was HIV positive and that he hoped he had given them HIV, according to police reports.
Zielinski reportedly continued to yell racially-charged expletives at the crowd and at the officers during the confrontation. He was ultimately charged with second-degree assault, malicious destruction of property, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and other counts.
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Scrapping With Police
OCEAN CITY — A Delaware man was arrested for disorderly conduct and assault last week after allegedly scrapping with police at a downtown bayfront bar.
Around 1:30 a.m. last Thursday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched for a reported disorderly male. Upon arrival, the officers were informed a suspect, later identified as Edwin Mata-Ruiz, 21, of Dagsboro, Del., had assaulted someone inside the bar and staff had escorted them out and he had fought with staffers, according to police reports. When OCPD officers arrived, bar staff was holding Mata-Ruiz down on the ground.
When officers arrived, they reportedly could hear Mata-Ruiz screaming profanities while a crowd gathered around the scene. When OCPD officers attempted to detain Mata-Ruiz and escort him away from the crowd, he reportedly twisted his body violently and resisted. At one point, he shoulder-checked one officer and struck another in the torso. Once officers carried Mata-Ruiz from the property to the parking lot and attempted to calm him down, he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and two counts of second-degree assault on police officers.
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Bounced From Nightclub
OCEAN CITY — A New York man was arrested last weekend after allegedly getting bounced from a midtown nightclub and later scrapping with police officers attempting to detain him.
Around 1:25 a.m. last Saturday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a midtown nightclub for a reported assault. Upon arrival, OCPD officers observed bar staff members escorting a male suspect later identified as Jesse Cusimano, 30, of Staten Island, N.Y., out of the bar and through the gates, according to police reports.
OCPD officers reportedly observed Cusimano punch a bar security staffer in the face with a closed fist. Cusimano attempted a second punch on the bar staffer, but missed, according to police reports. Bar security staff was eventually able to detain Cusimano on the ground. When he refused to leave, OCPD officer advised him he was under arrest, according to police reports.
When OCPD officers attempted to handcuff Cusimano, he reportedly refused to turn over and offer his hands. He reportedly continued to resist as OCPD officers and bar staff attempted to roll him over and get him in handcuffs, according to police reports. By now, a large crowd had gathered and were filming the incident with cell phones, according to police reports.
Cusimano was ultimately subdued after continuing to resist while officers attempted to take him to a transport van. Once at the Public Safety Building, Cusimano continued to resist and allegedly assaulted to public safety aides during the booking process. He was charged with multiple counts of second-degree assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
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Street Sign Swiped
OCEAN CITY — A Hanover, Md. man was arrested for theft and malicious destruction of property last week after allegedly swiping an Ocean City street sign.
Around 3:10 a.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to the area of 85th Street for a reported theft of a town street sign. OCPD officers stopped two individuals, one of whom was identified as Steven Murdoch, 26, of Hanover, Pa. Officers observed Murdoch drop the 83rd Street sign in the grass about 50 feet from where they had been detained, according to police reports.
Murdoch and the other man reportedly told police they had found the sign on the ground and that they had not caused it any damage. OCPD officers inspected the original sign pole at 83rd Street and found the brackets that hold the sign in place to be broken. The pole was leaning toward the curb and there was a small cement wall from which an individual could reach the sign. Murdoch was arrested and charged with theft and malicious destruction of property. The other individual, who was not charged, told OCPD officers 83 was his school bus number and the sign was nostalgic for him, according to police reports.
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More Sign Stealing
OCEAN CITY — A Windsor Mill, Md. man was arrested on theft and other charges last week after allegedly swiping an A-framed sign from a midtown bar.
Last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the area of 41st Street observed an individual later identified as Tyler Jones, 23, of Windsor Mill, Md., walking down the sidewalk carrying an A-framed sign typically used by local businesses. When the officer exited his vehicle, Jones threw the sign in the air and it landed in shrubbery near the sidewalk at 42nd Street and Coastal Highway, according to police reports.
Jones was detained and arrested for littering to start with. OCPD officers determined the sign had been taken from a bar at 54th Street, or 12 blocks away. Jones was also charged with theft and malicious destruction of property because the sign broke when Jones through it in the air and it landed in the shrubbery, according to police reports.
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Assault, Theft Arrest
OCEAN CITY — A New York man was arrested last weekend after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend at a downtown motel and stealing and damaging her property.
Around 5:15 a.m. last Friday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a downtown motel for a reported assault. The officers met with a female victim, who reportedly told police she and her boyfriend, later identified as Christopher Jones, 31, of Flushing, N.Y., had been arguing at a Boardwalk bar and the fight continued when they returned to their motel room.
The victim reportedly told police she did not want to continue fighting and left to walk back to the Boardwalk. The victim told police Jones called her repeatedly and told her he needed to get into their room to get an inhaler for his asthma. The victim said she believed it was a set-up by Jones to get her to return to the unit, but that she didn’t want to leave him stranded without medical assistance, according to police reports.
The victim reportedly returned to the motel room and let Jones in, but he kicked her in the back and forced her out of the door. The victim left the motel area again, but Jones called her and said “Listen to what I’m about to do to your car,” according to police reports.
The victim then reportedly heard a loud bang over the phone. When she returned to the motel, the victim discovered Jones had allegedly kicked and broken the driver’s side mirror, according to police reports. When the victim confronted Jones about the damage to her vehicle, he grabbed four necklaces and ripped them from her neck, breaking each of them, according to police reports.
The victim estimated the value of the four necklaces at over $1,700. She reportedly told police Jones held the broken necklaces and refused to give them back. She told Jones she only cared about one silver necklace that had been given to her by her grandfather, and offered Jones all of the money she had to get it back, according to police reports.
Jones was located in the motel room and was arrested for assault, theft and malicious destruction of property.