Stabbing Over Dinner Plans

Stabbing Over Dinner Plans
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Stabbing Over Dinner
Plans

WEST OCEAN CITY – A West
Ocean City woman was arrested on assault and reckless endangerment charges last
weekend after allegedly slashing her live-in girlfriend during an argument over
what he was preparing for dinner.

Around 3:30 p.m. last
Sunday, a Maryland State Police (MSP) trooper went back to the MSP Berlin
barrack to investigate a reported first-degree assault. The trooper met with
the victim who told police he had been stabbed by his live-in girlfriend, later
identified as Zoila Arely Ramirez-Andrade, at the couple’s West Ocean City
residence.

Emergency Services
responded to the Berlin barrack and treated the victim for a two-inch slash on
his forearm. The victim told police he and Ramirez-Andrade were involved in a
verbal argument, which escalated into a physical confrontation over the food
the victim was preparing. MSP troopers responded to the residence on Keyser
Point Rd. and located and arrested Ramirez-Andrade.

According to police
reports, Ramirez-Andrade admitted she stabbed the victim because she was tired
of arguing with him. Ramirez-Andrade was arrested and charged with first- and
second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. She was taken before a District
Court Commissioner and ordered held on a $10,000 bond before being released on
Monday.

Two Stolen Cars In Same
Day

BERLIN – A local man
sought by police for stealing a vehicle in Delaware after a hit-and-run
accident in Berlin on Monday was caught a short time later driving a different
stolen car.

Shortly before 7 p.m. on
Monday, Berlin Police responded to a reported property damage hit-and-run
accident on Branch Street. The investigation revealed a dark-colored Hummer H3
with Delaware tags had struck a wooden fence on Branch Street before fleeing
the area.

Further investigation
revealed the Hummer had been reported stolen earlier in the day from Dover,
Del. and the alleged car thief had been identified as Michael Carey II, 29, of
Berlin. Descriptions of the stolen Hummer and the suspect were then broadcast
to area law enforcement agencies.

About 7:50 p.m. on
Monday, a Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputy on patrol on Seahawk Rd. stopped a
Toyota truck driven by Carey. The investigation revealed the Toyota truck Carey
was driving had been taken from a residence on Fassitt Lane off Route 611
without the owner’s permission.

A short time later, a
Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) officer located the Hummer stolen from
Delaware at a business on Route 611 across from Fassitt Lane. Carey was
arrested and charged with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, failure to stop
at an accident involving property damage and driving on a revoked license. He
was taken before a District Court Commissioner and ordered held on a $25,000
bond.

Two-for-One Arrest After
Stop

OCEAN CITY – A pair of
Eastern Shore residents were arrested on various charges including making a
false statement to police and violating a protective order after a routine
traffic stop in West Ocean City.

Around 6:30 p.m. last
Saturday, a MSP trooper conducted a traffic stop on a Ford Mustang GT for a
traffic violation at Routes 50 and 611. The trooper made contact with the
driver, later identified as Michael Melton, 18, of Easton, and a female
passenger, Elizabeth Marie Taylor, 19, of Sudlersville.

During the course of the
traffic stop, the trooper asked Taylor for identification and she provided the
officer with a false name. A check on the name she provided turned out to have
an active warrant attached to it. When Taylor was informed of the warrant, she
recanted and told police her real name. When Taylor’s real name was run through
the computer, the trooper learned she had placed a protective order against
Melton for a prior assault.

Due to a “no contact”
provision, Melton was arrested for violating a protective order. Meanwhile,
Taylor was also arrested for making a false statement to a police officer and
obstructing and hindering an investigation. Both were taken to the District
Court Commissioner’s Office and later released.

‘Tired Of Walking’

OCEAN CITY – A
Georgetown, Del. man was arrested on theft charges last week after swiping a
bicycle in West Ocean City because he was “tired of walking.”

Around 1:20 p.m. last
Thursday, the MSP received a call about a stolen bicycle. The victim told
police she saw an identified man take the bicycle from her property on Old
Bridge Rd. in West Ocean City without her permission. The victim provided
police with a description of the suspect and the stolen bicycle, which was
broadcast to local law enforcement agencies.

About 15 minutes later,
a Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) officer reported he had located the
possible suspect and the stolen bicycle at St. Louis Ave. and North Division
Street in Ocean City. The officer identified the suspect as Ethan Cord Truitt,
18, of Georgetown, Del.

Meanwhile, the MSP
officer who handled the original complaint heard from a witness who said he saw
the suspect take the bicycle from the victim’s residence and start riding it
down Old Bridge Rd. while carrying a skateboard. The witness told police he called
for the suspect to stop, but the suspect dropped the skateboard and continued
down Old Bridge Rd. on the stolen bicycle.

Shortly after 2 p.m.,
the MSP trooper transported the victim and the witness to the area in Ocean
City where Truitt was being detained and they positively identified the suspect
as the individual who had stolen the bicycle. According to police reports,
Truitt apologized to the victim and told her he stole the bike “because he was
tired of walking.”

The stolen bicycle was
returned to its rightful owner and Truitt was arrested and charged with theft
under $100.

Seatbelt Violation Leads
To Pot

BISHOPVILLE – Two
Pennsylvania men were arrested on marijuana possession charges last weekend
after a routine traffic stop in Bishopville.

Around 4:30 p.m. last
Saturday, a MSP trooper pulled over a vehicle on Route 113 near Route 589 for a
seatbelt violation. When the trooper approached the driver, identified as Korey
Andrew Jeffers, 19, of Collegeville, Pa., an odor of marijuana was detected
from inside the vehicle. A search of the vehicle was conducted and revealed
suspected marijuana in the center console.

In addition, a wooden
box containing a ceramic smoking device with marijuana residue was located in
the vehicle’s trunk. Jeffers and his passenger, identified as Hunter MacBain,
18, also of Collegeville, Pa., were both arrested and charged with possession
of marijuana and paraphernalia.

More Traffic Stop Pot
Arrests

BERLIN – A Chincoteague
man was arrested on marijuana possession charges last week after getting pulled
over for speeding on Route 113 in northern Worcester County.

Around 4:30 p.m. last
Friday, a Maryland State Police trooper pulled over a vehicle on Route 113 near
Peerless Rd. for speeding. Upon making contact with the driver, identified as
Michael Angelo Orlando, 19, of Chincoteague, the trooper detected an odor of
marijuana coming from the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed suspected
marijuana in the passenger area. Orlando was arrested and taken to the MSP Berlin
barrack for processing.

In yet another case of a
traffic stop leading to a marijuana bust, a Brooklyn, N.Y. man was arrested on
possession charges last week after getting pulled over on Route 50 at Golf
Course Rd.

Around 1:38 a.m. last
Saturday, a MSP trooper pulled over a black passenger vehicle on Route 50 near
Golf Course Rd. for a routine traffic violation. Upon making contact with the
driver, identified as Shermel R. Adams, 33, of Brooklyn, N.Y., the trooper
noticed the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A search of the
vehicle was conducted and suspected marijuana was located. Adams was arrested
on a possession charge.

Check Point Nets Arrests

WEST OCEAN CITY – A
sobriety check point operation over last week’s holiday weekend resulted in the
arrests of three individuals from Baltimore on various charges after an
automatic tag reader determined the vehicle’s registration was suspended.

Around 11:45 p.m. last
Friday, a MSP trooper, working a field sobriety checkpoint on Route 50 near Man
O’ War Lane, was alerted by an automatic tag reader that a vehicle approaching
the checkpoint had a suspended registration.

The trooper stepped out
in front of the vehicle and made contact with the three individuals inside. The
trooper detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A
probable cause search was conducted, which revealed an amount of marijuana
inside the vehicle. As a result, the three individuals inside, identified as
Jordan Humphrey, 20, Nicholas Karwacki, 20, and a juvenile, each from
Baltimore, were arrested and charged with possession of a controlled dangerous
substance with intent to deliver, possession of CDS-not marijuana, warrant
service and providing a false or fictitious name to a police officer.

Plea Deal For Pines
Armed Robber

SNOW HILL – An Ocean
Pines man arrested in December on several serious charges after police were
able to identify him as the suspect in an attempted armed robbery at a store in
the community a week earlier pleaded guilty this week in Circuit Court to second-degree
assault and was sentenced to 18 months in jail, most of which was suspended in
favor of a lengthy probation and fine.

Shortly after 8 p.m. on
Dec. 15, 2009, Ocean Pines Police officers and Worcester County Sheriff’s
Deputies responded to the Walgreen’s store on Manklin Creek Rd. in Ocean Pines
for a reported attempted armed robbery. The investigation revealed a suspect
entered the warehouse area of the store and accosted a female employee. The
suspect, armed with a knife, demanded the female employee take him to a cash
register inside the main store. Once inside, the employee was able to flee the
victim, who gave up the effort and fled on foot. Worcester County Sheriff’s
Deputies, including a K-9 unit, conducted an extensive search of the area but
failed to immediately locate the suspect.

However, Worcester
County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) detectives took over the investigation
and were able to identify the suspect as Patrick William Self, 18, of Ocean
Pines. Charges including armed robbery, first- and second-degree assault and
reckless endangerment were filed against Self and he was taken into custody.

This week, Self pleaded
guilty to one count of second-degree assault and was sentenced to 18 months in
jail, all but three months of which were then suspended. Self was also placed
on probation for three years and fined $500.

Charges Dropped In

Cell Phone Attack

SNOW HILL – A Berlin
woman arrested in April on an assault charge after allegedly throwing a cell
phone at a man during a domestic dispute right in front of police officers had
the charges against her dropped last week in District Court.

Around 5:15 a.m. on
April 19, Maryland State Police troopers and Worcester County Sheriff’s
deputies responded to a residence on Route 113 for a 911 call hang-up. While
police were talking to the caller, identified as a Berlin man, the suspect,
identified as Latina Lorrell Foreman, 33, of Berlin, became irate during the
domestic argument, picked up a cell phone and threw it at the victim, striking
him in the head.

According to reports,
Foreman threw the phone at the victim in the presence of police officers. The
victim was not seriously injured and did not require further medical treatment.
Foreman was arrested and charged with second-degree assault. Last week in
District Court, however, the charges against Foreman were dropped.

Murder Trial Moved To
Cecil

SALISBURY – The man
accused of kidnapping and killing an 11-year-old girl in Salisbury in December
has successfully petitioned for a change of venue for his pending murder case
in Wicomico and will have his fate decided in Cecil County.

An administrative
Circuit Court judge last week signed an order to move the murder trial of
Thomas J. Leggs, Jr., 31, of Salisbury to Cecil County after the accused killer
successfully petitioned for a change of venue. Leggs filed for a change of
venue last month citing the unlikelihood of receiving a fair and impartial
trial in Wicomico, a community rocked to its core with the brutal murder of
11-year-old Sara Haley Foxwell in December.

Because Wicomico County
State’s Attorney Davis Ruark filed a formal notice to seek the death penalty in
the case in February, the request for a change of venue is automatically
granted. Leggs was formally indicted by a Wicomico County grand jury on
first-degree murder charges for the death of Foxwell, whose body was found on
Christmas Day after a massive search conducted by law enforcement officials and
thousands of volunteers. Foxwell was first reported missing on December 23, and
Leggs, who knew the child and reportedly had an off and on relationship with
her with whom she lived, was immediately identified as a suspect.

Leggs was a registered
sex offender in both Maryland and Delaware at the time of the murder and the
case sparked a bevy of new legislation in the recently concluded General
Assembly session aimed at tightening the state’s sex offender laws.

Meanwhile, a separate
case against Leggs in Worcester County related to an incident in September in
Ocean City is proceeding on a different path. Leggs, who worked in different
restaurants and bars in Ocean City last summer, was arrested and charged with
burglary and malicious destruction of property after breaking into the
residence of the victim with whom he had become acquainted about 10 days
earlier. The female victim told police she awoke shortly after 4 a.m. to find
Leggs standing next to her bed with his shirt off and his pants down to his
knees. Leggs was scheduled to appear for trial in Worcester County Circuit Court
for that incident on June 10, but his trial here has now been moved to August
2.

Pocomoke Homicide Arrest

POCOMOKE – A Fort
Washington, Md. man is being held without bail in Worcester County Jail after
being charged in the shooting death of a Virginia man in Pocomoke last week.

Around 10:30 p.m. last
Wednesday, the Pocomoke Police Department responded to reports of gunfire in
the area of Laurel Street. Upon arrival, Pocomoke Police discovered the victim,
identified as Reginald Jerome Handy, Jr., of Greenbush, Va., had been shot
several times from behind. Handy was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical
Center in Salisbury where he was pronounced dead.

According to reports, a
witness observed an unknown man approach the area of Laurel Street and Fifth
Street where he exchanged words with Handy. The verbal altercation turned
deadly when the as-yet-unidentified suspect fired a handgun several times at
Handy, striking him in the back.

The Worcester County
Bureau of Investigation arrived on the scene and started to piece together
information on the possible suspect, later identified as Alexander Crippen, 36,
of Fort Washington, Md. Crippen was later located in a motel room in Delaware where
he was staying under a false name. Crippen was taken into custody and charged
with first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter and other charges related to
the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony.

Last Thursday, Crippen
appeared in District Court in Snow Hill for a bail review and was ordered held
without bond. A preliminary hearing has been set for June 22 in Snow Hill.