Cops & Courts – January 6, 2023

Speeding Stop Leads To Arrest

OCEAN CITY — A Texas man was arrested last week after allegedly fleeing from a traffic stop on Coastal Highway while driving twice the posted speed limit.

Around 11 p.m. last Thursday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer patrolling in the area of 100th Street observed a vehicle traveling on Coastal Highway at an estimated 80 mph, or double the posted speed limit of 40 mph. The officer attempted to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver, later identified as Williams Mejia-Hernandez, 22, of Houston, Texas, did not stop and instead pulled into a hotel parking lot, according to police reports.

The officer observed on security footage Mejia-Hernandez exit the vehicle and run from police into an entrance of the hotel, according to police reports. He was later taken into custody by other officers who had responded. When questioned, Mejia-Hernandez first provided a false name and date of birth, even after being asked by officers to write down his identification information on a notebook.

Mejia-Hernandez reportedly told officers he had not been driving a vehicle and had been in the hotel all night with his girlfriend. Despite video footage of Mejia-Hernandez being viewed on surveillance video leaving the vehicle and running into the hotel, he was released from the scene at that point.

However, OCPD officers continued to investigate and attempted to locate Mejia-Hernandez at the hotel. At different times, Mejia-Hernandez was hiding from police officers in different rooms in the hotel, including behind closed doors, according to police reports. Officers observed him coming out of a room on the fourth floor and attempted to detain him, but he fled from officers again, according to police reports.

Mejia-Hernandez was ultimately taken into custody, but throughout that process, he continued to provide false information about his name and date of birth, according to police reports. Ocean City Communications was able to determine his actual name and date of birth and reported he was wanted on an active felony warrant in Kansas for aggravated battery. He was arrested and charged with resisting arrest, making false statements to officers, obstructing an investigation and other counts along with the felony warrant from Kansas.

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Trespassing, Assault Charges

OCEAN CITY — A Pennsylvania woman was arrested last weekend after allegedly getting bounced from a midtown nightclub before slapping her boyfriend.

Around 1 a.m. on Sunday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to the area of a nightclub on 49th Street for a report of a female yelling in the background of a 911 call. Upon arrival, officers met with a male who advised a female, later identified as Stacy Mahiga, 35, of Chaddwyck, Pa., had assaulted him.

The officer located Mahiga in a parking lot and found her screaming and crying, according to police reports. Mahiga told officers the male had her car keys, but the male told officers if he had the keys, he would gladly turn them over, according to police reports. The male advised officers Mahiga was his girlfriend and that they had both been escorted out of the nightclub because of an altercation that had occurred.

The male advised Mahiga had slapped him in the face outside the nightclub, but he had no visible signs of injury, according to police reports. Meanwhile, Mahiga had been trespassed from the property by security staff in the presence of an OCPD officer. She was advised she was not allowed back on the property and was escorted off the premises by security staff.

OCPD officers reportedly observed Mahiga on the premises screaming and yelling about returning her car keys. She was reportedly warned she had been formally trespassed from the property and that she was not to return for that day, but she refused to comply and was eventually arrested for trespassing. Bar security staff provided video security surveillance footage that showed Mahiga’s assault on the male victim. She was charged with trespassing and second-degree assault.

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Disorderly Conduct Arrest

OCEAN CITY — A Delaware man was arrested last week after allegedly attempting to fight another man outside a midtown nightclub.

Around 1 a.m. last Sunday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a report of a disorderly crowd at a midtown nightclub. Upon arrival, officers observed a fight break out involving multiple people. OCPD officers observed a male later identified as Tavon Guy 26, of Dover, Del., running toward another man in an attempt to assault him, according to police reports.

Bar security intercepted Guy to prevent him from reaching the other man and got him to the ground, according to police reports. A crowd of people had reportedly gathered around the incident outside the nightclub, according to police reports. Guy was ultimately arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and cited with a noise violation for yelling within an audible distance of 50 feet in violation of the town’s noise ordinance.

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Loaded Handgun Bust

OCEAN CITY — A Virginia man was arrested last week following a routine traffic stop after which a loaded handgun was found in his vehicle.

Around 3:30 p.m. last Saturday, an Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officer was patrolling uptown when a vehicle was observed making traffic violations. The vehicle was behind the officer before passing the police vehicle and getting in front of it, according to police reports.

The officer conducted a wanted and registration check of the vehicle and Ocean City Communications was unable to find the Virginia tags on file, according to police reports. The officer drove behind the vehicle and identified the driver as Travonte Kirton, 22, of Suffolk, Va. As the officer was behind Kirton at an intersection, the vehicle was in the crosswalk and preparing to make a U-turn, but backed up toward the officer’s vehicle.

The officer detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to police reports. The officer conducted a traffic stop and a background check revealed the vehicle was not registered. Initially, Kirton challenged the traffic stop and refused to comply but eventually got out as ordered and consented to a search of the vehicle, according to police reports.

During the search, OCPD officers located a semi-automatic 9mm handgun along with baggies and containers of various amounts of marijuana and paraphernalia. Kirton was arrested and charged with possession of a loaded handgun along with multiple traffic violations. The amount of marijuana located in the vehicle did not warrant additional charges for possession, according to police reports.

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Uptown Hotel Disturbance

OCEAN CITY — A local woman was arrested this week after causing a disturbance at an uptown hotel early Monday morning.

Around 3 a.m. on Monday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers responded to a hotel at 112th Street for a reported disorderly female. Officers reportedly observed a female identified as Laura Kenney, 28, of Bishopville, whom they knew from a previous encounter minutes earlier because they had issued her a noise violation warning because she had been yelling at her boyfriend across the parking out, according to police reports.

Kenney reportedly entered the hotel lobby and began screaming at the night auditor, but she was advised she and her boyfriend had been evicted from the hotel and she was not allowed to go back upstairs, according to police reports. OCPD officers approached Kenney in the parking lot and attempted to place her under arrest for disorderly conduct, according to police reports.

Kenney reportedly resisted being placed in handcuffs and tensed her body and twisted her arms when they attempted to detain her. She reportedly made statements such as “I will kill you” during the officers’ attempts to detain her. Once officers had detained Kenney and were attempting to get her into a patrol car, she kicked one officer twice and grabbed another officer’s penis while in handcuffs, according to police reports.

A search of her person revealed an amount of marijuana along with tablets of a known controlled dangerous substance. She was charged with second-degree assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and possession of a controlled dangerous substance.