WEST
OCEAN CITY – It was a tough night for two West Ocean City motels last Thursday
when one was the scene of a significant cocaine bust and another was found to
have marijuana growing on the property.
Last
Thursday, a warrant search was conducted at the Rambler Motel in West Ocean
City after a
two-month-long investigation into the distribution of cocaine conducted jointly
by the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Enforcement Team and the Ocean
City Police Department’s narcotics unit. According to a witness, law
enforcement officials armed and in full SWAT-style regalia descended on the
motel during the service of the warrant.
As
a result, Shakiem Williams, 32, of West
Ocean City,
was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine, distribution of cocaine,
conspiracy to distribute cocaine and providing a false name. He was ordered
held on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled for an Aug. 22 preliminary hearing.
Williams is no stranger to the local court system, having served 18 months in
2004 in a case in which he was charged with assault, kidnapping and the use of
a handgun in the commission of a violent crime.
Meanwhile,
on the same night, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Enforcement
Team made another significant drug discovery at the Alamo Motel not far from
the Rambler in West
Ocean City.
The team responded to the Alamo in regards to
an ongoing investigation and discovered a marijuana plant roughly eight feet
tall growing on the rear of the property. No arrests were reported in the case
and the investigation is ongoing.