Attempted Kidnapping
OCEAN CITY – A man is facing serious kidnapping and assault charges after two disturbing encounters with young children in the downtown area.
On Nov. 8, around 3:30 p.m., an Ocean City police officer was dispatched to the 7-Eleven on N. Division Street for “a suspicious male saying he wanted to ‘buy children,’ according to the statement of charges. When police, the man, Claudio Martinez, 43, of Ocean City, was outside the store.
Two individuals were inside the store waiting to speak with officers. The male told police he was in the store with his 4-year-old daughter when Martinez approached and grabbed his daughter’s arm at the cash register, which was directly by the door. The man said he pushed Martinez away because he feared he was going to grab his daughter and exit the store.
The other individual in the store, a woman from Texas, told police she was on the Boardwalk with her 2-year-old daughter when Martinez, who she did not know, began following her. According to the woman, Martinez “physically grabbed and picked up” her daughter, according to police reports. The woman said she left the Boardwalk due to feeling uncomfortable and went into the 7-Eleven on N. Division Street for help because Martinez was following them.
While one officer went outside to address Martinez, another officer had a conversation with the store clerk. After asking Martinez to leave the store, the clerk told police he said, “me buy kids,” according to the statement of charges.
The officer had a conversation with Martinez in Spanish and English. Martinez told police he was only trying to help people but later admitted at first to consuming “five” beers and later said, “twelve.”
Martinez was charged with two second degree assault counts as well as one attempted kidnaping child under 16 charge.
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Weapon, Disorderly Charges
OCEAN CITY – An Eastern Shore man’s aggressive response to police questioning led to multiple charges.
On Nov. 26, around 2 a.m., an Ocean City police officer driving in a marked police cruiser around 34th Street noticed a Dodge Ram making a U-turn without its headlights on. The police officer flashed his headlights to let the driver, Tresvante Bivens, 25, of Princess Anne, know his headlights were not on. Bivens then activated his headlights while the police cruiser followed the vehicle to a convenience store on 26th Street.
A computerized check of the vehicle’s Virginia license plate found the vehicle was registered to Bivens who had failed within 60 days to register the vehicle in Maryland after moving to Princess Anne. The computer check found Bivens was stopped on Oct. 18 by Maryland State Police for failing to apply for vehicle registration with Maryland. After investigating the physical condition of the vehicle, the Ocean City police officer found the truck to be unsafe to operate.
When the officer approached the vehicle, Bivens refused to roll the window down initially. Bivens did eventually cooperate and speak with the officer. While making a call, Bivens complied with the request to provide his license, registration and insurance. Bivens could only provide his license, saying his “registration had been taken away,” according to the statement of charges.
Bivens began speaking on his phone in a loud voice in front of the officer, ignoring requests for the remaining documents. Bivens refused to listen to the officer and was told eventually the truck was going to be towed because it was unregistered vehicle. The officer told Bivens he was free to go after being given multiple citations.
Bivens refused to the leave the scene and instead tried to enter his truck, which was blocked by another officer who had responded. Bivens began yelling and became agitated, repeatedly trying to enter his vehicle and hindering police from further evaluation of the vehicle. Due to his heightened disorderly actions, Bivens was placed under arrest but repeatedly resisted handcuffs. Inside the vehicle police located a large black spring assisted knife in the glove compartment.
Along with numerous traffic violations, Bivens is charged with intentionally resisting arrest, obstructing and hindering an officer, two weapons possession violations, disorderly conduct and a noise violation.