OCEAN CITY — An Ellicott City, Md. man is being held without bond this week following a downtown stabbing incident early Sunday morning that sent a male victim to Shock Trauma in critical condition.
Around 4:15 a.m. last Sunday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to the area of 8th Street for a reported stabbing. Officers reportedly located a male victim, who was suffering from a stab wound to the abdomen. Ocean City EMS treated the victim at the scene and he was ultimately transported by Maryland State Police Trooper 4 helicopter to Shock Trauma in Baltimore. According to police reports, after emergency surgery, the victim was listed in critical condition.
OCPD detectives responded to the scene and observed blood in the roadway at 8th Street. The blood trail went from the roadway to the steps of a nearby apartment building at 8th Street, which is where OCPD officers located the victim, according to police reports.
An OCPD detective interviewed a witness, who told police he did not observe the stabbing, but saw the aftermath. The witness told police he saw the suspect, later identified as Henry James Trotier, 21, of Ellicott City, Md., standing in the roadway holding a knife, according to police reports. The witness provided a description of Trotier, according to police reports.
The witness also told police the victim had told him he had been stabbed and that he saw the victim bleeding from the abdomen. The witness reportedly told police a group of people chased Trotier north on St. Louis Avenue, but lost sight of the suspect in the area of 14th Street. The witness told police Trotier had been hanging out with a group of girls who were staying in the apartment building.
Detectives interviewed a second witness, who reportedly told police he had observed the stabbing incident. The witness told police Trotier had been in an argument with the victim, which turned into a physical altercation in the street. The witness said both men fell to the street, and moments later, the victim told the witness he had been stabbed, according to police reports.
The witness described the weapon as a push dagger, or a knife that is held between an individual’s fingers while making a closed fist, according to police reports. The witness told police a group of people had chased Trotier and her observed Trotier jump into the bed of a pick-up truck, according to police reports.
OCPD detectives interviewed another witness, who said he was driving in his pick-up truck on St. Louis Avenue around 4:15 a.m. when an individual matching the description of Trotier, jumped into the bed of his truck. The witness told police Trotier advised him a group of about six people were chasing him and that they were going to kill him, according to police reports.
The witness reportedly told police he drove for a few blocks to get away from the group that was chasing Trotier. The witness told police he pulled over and Trotier got out of the bed of the truck and jumped into the truck’s cab. The witness told police Trotier advised him he had got into a fight and had stabbed another individual, according to police reports. The witness reportedly told police Trotier showed him the knife with which he stabbed the victim, a push dagger-style knife that matched the description provided by another witness.
The witness reportedly told police he dropped Trotier off at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and 9th Street, which was the last location the witness had seen the suspect, according to police reports. OCPD detectives met with the management of a hotel at 9th Street, who advised Trotier was staying in a room on the second floor that was registered in the name of another individual, according to police reports.
OCPD detectives went to the room and the door was answered by the individual in whose name the room had been rented. An OCPD officer observed Trotier inside. The officer pulled his firearm from its holster, pointed it at Trotier and ordered him to put his hands in the air. OCPD officers also observed Trotier sitting on one of the beds in the room with a knife sitting next to him, according to police reports. OCPD officers observed blood on the sheets of the same bed the knife was on, and also observed blood on Trotier’s arms and shoes as well, according to police reports.
OCPD officers ordered Trotier to come to the door and he complied with the orders and was handcuffed. He refused to make any statements to officers about the incident, according to police reports. Later on Sunday, a search and seizure warrant was executed on the hotel room where Trotier had been apprehended. Detectives seized multiple knives, including the push dagger-style knife believed to be the weapon used in the assault.
Trotier has been charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and the use of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure. Following a bail review hearing on Monday, Trotier was ordered to be held without bond.
