Random Knife Threat In Neighborhood

OCEAN CITY — A West Virginia man was arrested on first-degree assault and other charges last week after allegedly threatening a victim with a knife during an incident in a downtown neighborhood.

Around 2:35 a.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a residence on Teal Drive for a reported weapons violation. Officers met with a complainant who advised John Ahalt, 37, of Falling Waters, West Va., had threatened her son with a knife.

The female complainant reportedly told police Ahalt, an adult female and three children threw trash at her son, used profanity and taunted him to fight, according to police reports. Ahalt then brandished a knife as she attempted to pull her son back into the house.

Officers located Ahalt near Teal Drive. Officers interviewed the victim, who advised Ahalt had threatened him with a knife and lunged at him with the blade exposed, according to police reports.

An officer located the knife Ahalt had attempted to discard in a nearby construction site. Ahalt was charged with first- and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He was taken before a District Court Commissioner and released on a $10,000 bond.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

Alternative Text

Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.