Drugs, Handgun Possession
OCEAN CITY – A Maryland man is facing drug and weapons charges after an incident in Ocean City.
On May 10 around 11 p.m., Ocean City police officers were dispatched to 21st Street to assist with a traffic stop after a Ford Escape was seen running through a red light with a headlight and other vehicles out. The smell of marijuana was detected as police approached the vehicle. All occupants of the vehicle were asked to exit for a search.
Police found a FNP 40 caliber handgun under the front passenger seat concealed in a black bag. The handgun was loaded with a 14-round magazine with one round inside the chamber. The gun’s serial number was traced, and it was determined it had been stolen from Anne Arundel County.
Also found inside the bag with the gun was a plastic bag with 29 light blue bills identified as oxycodone and a bag with “white-like mushroom substance,” known as psilocybin. Marijuana was also found along with a digital scale.
The vehicle’s driver, Shannon L. Yearby, Jr., 24, of Brooklyn, consented to an interview with police on the scene. He stated he was the owner of the gun as well as the drugs and scale, offering to police, “he intended to sell schedule one and two drugs for a small profit,” according to charging documents. He said the other occupants of the vehicle had nothing to do with the weapon and drugs.
Yearby was charged with possessing a stolen handgun, possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, carrying a handgun, three counts of transporting a loaded gun, possession of CDS (oxycodone), possession of CDS (psilocybin), possession of CDS (oxycodone) with intent to distribute, possession of CDS (psilocybin) with intent to distribute.
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Sex Abuse Sentence
SNOW HILL – A Virginia man was sentenced this month to serve 25 years in the Division of Corrections for his convictions on the charges of sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sex offense.
Wu, 32, of McLean, Va., was sentenced by Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Beau H. Oglesby. Oglesby suspended all but 10 years of the sentence and placed Wu on five years of supervised probation with conditions that he register as a lifetime sex offender and have no unsupervised contact with children. The charges stem from a complaint of sexual abuse, which the victim originally reported to authorities in Montgomery County in January of 2020. Further investigation revealed that the abuse had occurred in multiple jurisdictions, including Ocean City, where the victim disclosed in a forensic interview that her cheerleading coach, Wu, had sexually abused her. The victim was 14 years old at the time.
Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser praised the collaborative efforts of law enforcement and all multi-disciplinary partners at the CRICKET Center who assisted in this investigation and thanked Assistant State’s Attorney Pamela Correa who prosecuted the case. The mission of the CRICKET Center is to create a community response in which abusers are held accountable and children and families experience hope and healing. The multidisciplinary team is made up of law enforcement officers, child protective service personnel, prosecutors, advocates, mental health therapists and medical personnel.
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Breaking And Entering Charges
OCEAN CITY – A home invasion resulted in the arrest of an Ocean City man last week.
On May 9 around 1 a.m., Ocean City police was alerted by a citizen to a home invasion at an apartment building on 68th Street. As police approached the unit in question, a white male was holding down a man, later identified as Alexandr I. Cebotari, 36, of Ocean City, who had allegedly broken into his apartment. The resident said he knew Cebotari but he was not invited into his residence. After a conversation on the porch, the victim told Cebotari he was going to bed, said goodbye and locked the door behind him. After breaking through the door and damaging a deadbolt lock, the resident found Cebotari inside his living room. Another man, who flagged down police, confirmed the story.
Cebotari was charged with two counts of breaking and entering and two counts of malicious destruction.
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Home Invasion Arrest
SNOW HILL – Charges have been filed after an afternoon Snow Hill home invasion on Tuesday.
On May 16, at 4:30 p.m., the Snow Hill Police Department received a 911 call for a reported home invasion on Maple Street in Snow Hill. Information provided by the victim caller indicated that they had heard a knock on their door and observed an adult female and female juvenile attempting to sell cookies to the victim. As the victim had a conversation with the female, they observed a male, enter through the open front door of the home. The male suspect then assaulted the victim and threatened the victim with a hammer. The suspect then fled from the residence after robbing the victim of his wallet,cell phone, and money.
Officers were able to obtain a suspect description from the victim. Law Enforcement then responded to a Ross Street address in Snow Hill and located the suspect, Craig Lamont Jackson, who was identified by the victim as the person who had entered his home and assaulted him.
Jackson was placed under arrest without incident and charged with home invasion, first-, third- and fourth-degree burglary, armed robbery, first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment and theft under $1,500.
Jackson was taken before a judicial officer and held without bond pending a bail review in District Court. The Snow Hill Police Department were assisted by the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, and Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office. The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information on the above referenced case is asked to contact the Snow Hill Police Department at 410-632-2444.
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Major Fatal Accident
GUMBORO – Maryland State Police continue the investigation into an early morning crash last weekend that claimed the life of a Salisbury man and injured 16 others in Wicomico County.
The deceased is identified as Eliassaint Aussideu, 39, of Salisbury. EMS personnel pronounced Aussideu deceased at the scene. He was the operator of a black 2014 Kia Forte involved in the crash. There were no passengers in the Kia Forte.
Maryland State Police Aviation Command transported one patient from the scene to Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is identified as Joseus Gerlie, 34, of Fruitland, Maryland. Gerlie was one of two passengers in a 2012 GMC Acadia operated by Geraldine Phauord, 37, of Salisbury.
The third passenger vehicle involved, a 2000 Chevrolet Express van was operated by Jenise Mondestin, 43, of Salisbury. The van had 12 passengers at the time of the incident.
Fifteen people were treated at the scene by EMS personnel from multiple fire and rescue companies that responded to the scene. All fifteen were transported by ambulance to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional Hospital in Salisbury.
The driver of a 2018 Freightliner tractor trailer involved is identified as Rodney Powell, 61, of Parsonsburg. He was uninjured during the incident.
Shortly before 3:45 a.m. Saturday, troopers responded to a crash involving three passenger vehicles and one tractor trailer at 9049 Gumboro Road in Gumboro. The preliminary investigation by the Maryland State Police Crash Team indi
cates three vehicles were stopped in the travel portion of southbound Route 353 when the crash occurred.
Witnesses told police that the Kia Forte was disabled and attempting a jump start from the GMC Acadia. The Chevrolet Express van had stopped ahead of the two vehicles in the travel portion of the road while they were initiating the jump start.
Investigators believe the tractor trailer, traveling in the southbound lane of Maryland Route 353, struck the rear of the Forte and the passenger side of the Acadia which caused a chain reaction.
A member of the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office was briefed by investigators. Upon completion of the crash investigation, it will be presented to the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office for review.
Police believe the drivers and passengers of all the vehicles involved were inside their respective vehicles when the incident occurred. The Maryland State Police Crash Team continues the investigation.
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Assault Charge Filed
OCEAN CITY – A Maryland man faces assault charges after a domestic incident last weekend
On May 14, Ocean City police responded to a motel for a fight involving teenagers and adults near an arcade inside the building. Police identified a female victim who had abrasions on her neck and arm.
Darien C. Guraleczka, 19, of Belcamp, was identified as the suspect who had caused the injuries to the female victim. In what was believed to a mental crisis the man was having, the female victim approached Guraleczka in an attempt to help him calm down and stop hurting himself. Guraleczka responded by putting her into a “chokehold,” and slamming her to the ground, according to police reports.
Guraleczka was charged with second-degree assault.