OCEAN CITY – A
Frederick, Md. man was arrested on first-degree assault and other serious
charges last week after first dragging his girlfriend with his car with her
hand locked in the door and later lying to police about his identity when he
attempted to pick her up from the hospital.
Shortly after 7 p.m.
last Friday, the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) responded to an area near
the Islander Motel on Philadelphia Ave. to assist with a reported EMS call.
Once on the scene, the officers learned the female victim had possibly been the
victim of a domestic assault and had been transported to Atlantic General
Hospital with serious injuries including a broken right hand and abrasions
along her right leg from her hip to her feet.
The victim told police
she and her boyfriend, identified as Myron C. Hammond, 25, had left a nightclub
in their vehicle when an argument ensued.
The victim told police
when the vehicle stopped and the door was open, Hammond pushed her out and she
landed on the ground. Two times, the victim attempted to get back in the
vehicle unsuccessfully. According to police, the second time Hammond pushed the
victim out of the vehicle, he put the car in reverse and floored it, causing
the car door to slam on the victim’s hand. With the victim’s hand trapped in
the locked door, Hammond allegedly continued in reverse, dragging her along the
pavement.
The victim told the
investigating officer a friend named “Jeremiah” was coming to the hospital to
pick her up. The OCPD officer later met with Jeremiah at the hospital and asked
him if was a friend of the victim’s. When Jeremiah was asked if he knew
Hammond, he allegedly said “Yeah, I know him. We’re not close, but I know him.”
The officer continued to
question Jeremiah, who provided a name and date of birth, but did not have a
photo ID on his person. In the meantime, OCPD communications forwarded a
picture of Hammond to the officer, who noted a stark resemblance between the suspect
and “Jeremiah.”
The officer showed
Jeremiah the picture of Hammond and asked “who is this?” according to police
reports, to which Jeremiah confirmed it was him. “That’s not Myron, that’s me,”
he said, according to police reports. When Hammond’s Motor Vehicle
Administration (MVA) information was pulled up on the computer, the OCPD
officer knew “Jeremiah” was indeed Hammond, although Hammond and the victim
attempted to continue the charade. Hammond was placed under arrest after his
identity was confirmed.