Serious Bicycling Collisions
OCEAN CITY – Two separate bicycling collisions with automobiles resulted in two people being hospitalized in the resort.
On Saturday, June 17 around 6:19 p.m., Ocean City police responded to a motor vehicle collision involving a bicyclist that occurred in the area of 36th Street and Coastal Highway. The bicyclist, an adult female, was flown to R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland. The female has since been released. Members of the Traffic Safety Unit are investigating the cause of the collision. Northbound Coastal Highway at 36th Street was reduced to two lanes of travel for approximately two hours.
On June 19, around 9:30 a.m., a motor vehicle collision involving a bicyclist and an Ocean City municipal bus was reported. The collision occurred in the area of southbound Coastal Highway and Old Landing Road in north Ocean City. The bicyclist, a juvenile male from the Baltimore area, was flown to Johns Hopkins Children’s Center. The juvenile was listed as in critical but stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon. Members of the Traffic Safety Unit are investigating the cause of the collision. Southbound Coastal Highway at Old Landing Road was reduced to two lanes of travel for approximately three hours.
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Drugs, Weapons Found
OCEAN CITY – Two Maryland men were arrested last weekend when a traffic stop in the resort led to drugs and weapons.
Around 8 p.m. on June 17, an Ocean City bike officer initiated a traffic stop after noticing a black Honda Accord being driven by a motorist not wearing a seatbelt. An odor of marijuana led police to remove the driver, Illijah Roberts, 18, of Baltimore, and passenger, later identified as Jaden Harris, 19, of Baltimore, for a search that resulted in drugs and weapons being seized.
Police located in the center console of the vehicle a 9 mm handgun without any serial numbers. The gun had three live rounds in the magazine, according to the police report. Also in the center console was two bags of marijuana. A digital scale was found in the driver’s side door.
Another loaded handgun with 11 rounds in the magazine was located in a red backpack on the passenger side. There were no serial numbers on the gun as well. Police noted in the report handguns without serial numbers, known as “ghost guns,” are often carried by individuals in the drug distribution trade. Inside the bag were also several bags of marijuana, another digital scale and two plastics bags of psilocybin mushrooms, a Schedule I controlled dangerous substance (CDS).
Inside the vehicle’s trunk was another backpack containing multiple plastic bags of mushrooms and a second backpack with three rounds of loose ammunition.
Roberts and Harris each face 11 charges including CDS possession with intent to distribute cannas, CDS possession with intent to distribute not cannabis, firearm/drug trafficking, loaded handgun on person, possession of a firearm without a serial number and possession of a firearm as a minor.
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Serious Assault Charges
OCEAN CITY – A local man faces two counts of first-degree assault for threatening to stab two individuals during an argument.
A 911 hang-up at approximately 2:25 in the morning on June 18 led Ocean City police to a Trimper Avenue apartment. Upon arrival police heard a loud argument from outside. A female occupant of the unit gave police permission to enter the unit, directing officers to a back bedroom where two men were arguing. The female and her boyfriend were reportedly asleep when Yonatan Yoseph, 34, of Ocean City, who police were familiar with from previous encounters, banged on their bedroom door repeatedly. Upset over a crab that had been eaten two weeks before, according to police reports, Yoseph entered the bedroom with a steak knife and was blocking the two individuals from leaving. The male victim told police Yoseph held the tip of the knife at his stomach while continuing the argument. Yoseph eventually threw the knife down the hall once he heard police knocking at the door.
Yoseph complied with police during questioning but told police the argument never got physical and was only verbal over food being stolen regularly.
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Hennessey Bottle Assault
OCEAN CITY – A fight with a juvenile resulted in a Maryland man facing a second-degree assault charge.
On June 13 at 8:25 p.m., Ocean City police responded to 9th Street for a reported fight in progress. A juvenile was quickly apprehended and put in handcuffs to be arrested.
A witness told police two groups were originally joking with each other before four different fights broke out. As the fight ensued, the witness said a man, later identified as Jullian Haddix, 19, of Dundalk, smashed a Hennessey bottle over another individual’s head.
Charges filed against Haddix were second-degree assault, affray and disorderly conduct.
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Fighting, Weapon Charges
OCEAN CITY – Five charges were filed against a Pennsylvania man after a dispute that ultimately resulted in emergency officials having to extinguish a small fire on a roof.
On June 15, around 9 p.m., an Ocean City police on uniform bike patrol responded to a Boardwalk hotel for an assault that had occurred. Police came upon the scene and saw a hotel manager with a disorderly group. The manager told police the group was lighting lanterns and releasing them into the sky. The litter left behind led the manager to address the group and a verbal argument ensued.
The manager reported to police he was grabbed from behind, lifted off the ground and surrounded by the group. The incident ended when the manager said police would be called. The man who grabbed the manager and fled the area was identified as Malik Dyer, 18, of Dallastown, Pa. A description was broadcast for the suspect, and Dyer was located along the bayside with a backpack, which he dropped as soon as he was spotted by police and continuously denied was his during a conversation.
Inside the backpack was a loaded Polymer 80 handgun with no serial number and eight rounds in the magazine.
Dyer was charged with second-degree assault for his handling of the hotel manager, carrying a handgun and a loaded handgun under 21 years of age and possession of a handgun without a required serial number.
Meanwhile, shortly after the initial call, the lanterns set off by the group led to an emergency response by the Ocean City Fire Department to the nearby Hooters Restaurant at 10 p.m. Firefighters arrived at the scene, laddered the building and extinguished a small fire on the roof. Investigators from the Office of the Fire Marshal have determined that the cause of the fire was a sky lantern.
The OCFD is now cautioning citizens against the use of sky lanterns within the city limits. Sky lanterns are airborne paper lanterns typically made from rice paper with a bamboo frame. They contain a waxy combustible fuel cell that, when ignited, heats the air inside the lantern, causing it to ascend. However, these lanterns are known to travel significant distances once released.
Fire Marshal Battalion Chief Joseph Sexauer stresses the potential risks associated with sky lanterns, stating, “Once released, sky lanterns can travel on an uncontrolled flight path, which may lead to unintended property damage and burn injuries.”
Sexauer hopes that this public warning will serve as a means to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. To further reinforce the message, it is important to note that the use of sky lanterns within Ocean City and the State of Maryland is strictly prohibited by adopted Fire Prevention Codes. Violation of this regulation may result in the issuance of civil citations, with penalties of up to $1,000 for each offense.
Residents and visitors are urged to familiarize themselves with the regulations and to refrain from using sky lanterns or any other recreational fire devices that pose a potential risk to public safety. Instead, the Fire Department encourages the community to explore alternative ways to celebrate that do not endanger lives or property.
For additional information regarding sky lanterns or the use of any other recreational fire, contact the Office of the Fire Marshal at 410-289-8780.
Teen Caught With Stolen Bike
OCEAN CITY – A Maryland teen was apprehended after allegedly stealing a beach cruiser.
On June 15, an Ocean City bike officer noticed a male, Jonathan Travis, 18, of Germantown, riding a bike eastbound on the ocean block of Worcester Street. The bicycle was covered with stickers from local businesses. When police questioned Travis, he admitted the bike was not his and he took it from a nearby municipal parking. The man also gave a false name and birth date initially. A search of the man’s wallet confirmed the name and birth date provided were fabricated.
Travis was charged with obstructing and hindering an officer, assuming a false identity and theft of at least $100 but less than $1,500.
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Loaded Gun Recovered
OCEAN CITY – A Pennsylvania man faces handgun charges after a traffic stop last week.
On June 13, around 12:15 p.m., Ocean City police initiated a traffic stop after a 2011 Mazda was observed on Coastal Highway making a lane change that nearly caused a head-on collision. As the police officer was getting out of his patrol car, the driver, Christopher B. Taylor, 25, of Pittsburgh, immediately moved to exit his vehicle. Police advised Taylor to remain inside the car. The motorist immediately informed police he had a gun on the passenger seat and was licensed with a carry permit in Pennsylvania. Another officer arrived on the scene to handle the firearm, identified as a Smith and Wesson M&P 40 Shield with rounds in the magazine but not in the chamber.
Taylor advised police he was unaware “Maryland does not have reciprocity,” when it comes to carrying a gun. Taylor was charged with knowingly transporting a loaded handgun on a public road and knowingly transporting a handgun on a public road.
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Bread, Fireball Stolen
OCEAN CITY – Two individuals were charged for breaking into a hotel bar and stealing bread and a bottle of liquor.
On June 16, around 4:42 in the morning, Ocean City police were dispatched to a mid-town hotel for a premise alarm activation in the bar area. When police reached the bar, officers found a juvenile sporting a T-shirt as a makeshift mask in the closed bar area. The juvenile from Pennsylvania was ordered off the brick wall he was sitting on and another T-shirt-masked individual, Jonah Wuertz, 18, of Royersford, Pa., was seen hiding behind the bar. Wuertz and the juvenile were placed in handcuffs while police investigated the matter. Both individuals admitted they were note hotel guests and were simply being “playful.”
During questioning, Wuertz admitted to taking bread from behind the bar and police noticed a bottle of Fireball liquor had been taken. Wuertz was charged with breaking and entering and theft under $100 for the Fireball liquor and bread.
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Fatal Crash Investigated
POCOMOKE — Maryland State Police are investigating a fatal crash in Worcester County that claimed the life of a 34-year-old man.
The deceased is identified as Alexander Prince, 34, of New Jersey. Prince was operating a white Nissan Rogue at the time of the crash. He was pronounced deceased at the scene by emergency medical service personnel. There were three passengers in the vehicle, all of whom were transported from the scene.
The injured are identified as Vanessa Piquant, 33 and her two children, ages 6 and 8, of New York. All three were transported by ambulance to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional in Salisbury.
Shortly after 12:30 a.m. June 16, Maryland State Police from the Berlin Barrack responded to a single vehicle crash on Route 113 at Betheden Church Road in Pocomoke. The preliminary investigation indicates Prince was traveling southbound on Route 113 when, for reasons unknown at this time, the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.
Deputies from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office responded to provide assistance. Personnel from the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration were also on scene to assist with traffic.
The crash remains under investigation.