SNOW HILL – An Ocean
City man arrested in November and charged with first-degree assault and other
serious crimes after stabbing his roommate with a steak knife during an
altercation between the two men pleaded guilty this week in Circuit Court to
reckless endangerment and was sentenced to nearly five months in jail.
Dean Waters, 29, of Ocean City,
was in Circuit Court on Monday facing first- and second-degree assault and
other charges stemming from the November 11 incident in downtown Ocean City.
Waters pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and was sentenced to 148 days in
jail with credit given for time already served.
On Nov. 11, OCPD Officer
Chris Snyder was on routine patrol in the south end of town when he yelling and
noticed a crowd of people gathered around a residence on Baltimore Ave. near Dorchester Street. Snyder approached the
scene and was met by Curtis Severe, 47, of Ocean City,
who lived at the address. Severe told Snyder he had just been stabbed by his
roommate.
The officer noticed a
16-inch-long scratch on Severe’s back with a puncture wound at the end. OCPD
officers then spoke with the suspect, Waters, who shared the apartment with
Severe. Waters was still angry and continued to threaten to kill Severe even
after being taken into custody and handcuffed.
Witnesses told police
they saw Waters chasing Severe around the property, threatening to kill him.
The witnesses intervened to prevent the victim from sustaining further injury.
One of the witnesses was able to grab the knife from Waters and threw it aside.
Police recovered the
weapon, a steak knife with a four-inch blade, and it was submitted as evidence.
Waters was charged with first- and second-degree assault, assault with a deadly
weapon and reckless endangerment. Severe was treated at the scene by Ocean City
EMS but refused further medical treatment.
Meanwhile, Severe, who
was the victim of the stabbing, appeared in Circuit Court on Tuesday to face
charges stemming from a bizarre incident in Ocean City last year on the Fourth
of July that started with an alleged break-in at an uptown residence and ended
with a hit-and-run accident during which Severe allegedly fled on foot and
later assaulted a police officer.
In December, Severe had
burglary and other charges related to the theft part of the incident dropped,
and this week, he had the numerous traffic violations associated with the
second part of the incident dropped, although the second-degree assault on an
officer charge remains active. A hearing was held on Wednesday, but no action
in the case was reported.