Alleged Heroin Dealer Busted

Alleged Heroin Dealer Busted
Social Issues Government22

BERLIN — A Berlin man was arrested last week on heroin distribution and other charges after allegedly selling the drug to an undercover officer twice, including once when he was holding an infant.

In July, the Worcester County Criminal Enforcement Team began a heroin distribution investigation and identified Tony Lamont Mills, 32, of Berlin, as a suspect. The investigation revealed Mills was distributing heroin throughout northern Worcester County. As the investigation progressed, an undercover officer was able conduct to hand-to-hand purchases directly from Mills on two separate occasions, including one transaction during which Mills was holding an infant on his chest.

As a result of the investigation, detectives obtained a search and seizure warrant for Mills’ residence on Elizabeth Street in Berlin. Last Friday, the Criminal Enforcement Team, with assistance from the Berlin Police Department SWAT team executed the search warrant on the Berlin residence.

Mills was subsequently apprehended while attempting to hide in a closet. A search revealed 6.8 grams of marijuana and an additional six bags or heroin along with a loaded .32 caliber handgun. The handgun was discovered in the same closet in which Mills attempted to hide. In addition, a total of 28 bags of heroin were discovered during the course of the investigation totaling 2.8 grams.

Mills was prohibited from owning or possessing a handgun as a result of a prior conviction. Additional items of evidentiary value were also seized from the residence. It was also learned Mills was wanted on a parole retake warrant from the Department of Corrections and a violation of probation warrant from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office. The OCPD narcotics unit assisted in the investigation.

Mills was charged with two counts of distribution of heroin, one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin, three counts of possession of heroin, one count of possession of marijuana and multiple counts related to the possession of the firearm. He was taken into custody and is being held on a $55,000 bond.

Citizens, Cops Help
Save Choking Victim

OCEAN CITY — Quick thinking citizens and first responders are being credited this week with assisting a choking victim at the Inlet parking lot last Wednesday afternoon.

A little after 1 p.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police responded to the Inlet parking lot for a reported CPR in progress. The investigation revealed Dove Point, a facility in Salisbury for individuals with disabilities, was hosting a field trip in Ocean City for some of their patients. One of the participants, a 44-year-old male, had just finished eating when a Dove Point staffer noticed he was having trouble breathing.

After noticing the victim was choking, trip chaperones attempted to assist him by performing the Heimlich maneuver, but were unsuccessful. The victim then became unconscious and trip chaperones began CPR. A bystander called 911 and then assisted with chest compressions. When OCPD officers arrived, they assessed the patient and promptly took over CPR until paramedics arrived.

The victim was transported to Atlantic General Hospital and was listed in stable condition as of late last week. The OCPD this week is acknowledging the quick and heroic actions of the private citizens as well as the officers and emergency responders involved.

OCPD Seeks Vending
Machine Thieves

OCEAN CITY — Ocean City Police this week are asking for the public’s help in identifying a pair of suspects wanted in connection with a string of vending machine break-ins in the resort.

Last Tuesday, the two suspects, a white male and a white female, were observed on surveillance video entering the vending machine room at the Hilton Hotel on 32nd Street. The video images show the male suspect entering the vending area with the female suspect acting as a lookout. The male suspect is believed to be the same unidentified perpetrator captured on surveillance video breaking into several vending machines on previous occasions but was never apprehended.

The OCPD this week is asking anyone with information about the suspects or the crimes to contact Detective Carl Perry with the Criminal Investigation Division at 410-520-5439, or email to [email protected]. Those providing any information are not required to leave their name.

Probation, Fine For Shooter

SNOW HILL — An Ocean Pines man arrested in June after police were able to connect him to the shootings of vehicles on Route 90 in May pleaded guilty last week to reckless endangerment and was fined $300 and placed on probation for two years.

Around 6 p.m. on May 2, Maryland State Police troopers responded to two separate cases of windows of vehicles traveling east on Route 90 being shot out with an apparent pellet gun. In both cases, the motorists were traveling east on Route 90 near the Route 589 ramp. In one case, a victim was struck in the shoulder with a projectile after it shattered the front passenger window. However, the victim was not injured in the shooting.

The investigation revealed an unknown suspect was hiding in a wooded area nearby and firing a pellet gun at vehicles as they drove past on eastbound Route 90. According to police reports at the time, it appeared likely the suspect utilized a pathway in the wooded area along Route 90 that backs up to residences in Ocean Pines.

Ocean Pines Police also responded and helped MSP troopers search the pathways and wooded areas near the scene for a suspect or suspects, but the individual or individuals responsible were not found. During the investigation, WCBI detectives were able to identify the suspect as Timothy Xavier Fitzgerald, 18, of Ocean Pines.

When questioned about his involvement, Fitzgerald told police he was responsible for shooting out the vehicle windows with a carbon dioxide-powered BB gun pistol. Fitzgerald was charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property and two counts of reckless endangerment. Last week, Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to the latter and was fined and placed on probation.

Resisting Arrest Nets Jail Time

SNOW HILL — A Bel Air, Md. man arrested in June after allegedly assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest after motorists observed him passed out on the shoulder of Route 113 near Newark pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, all but five days of which were suspended.

On June 8, a Worcester County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to the area of Route 113 and Goody Hill Rd. near Newark for a reported male individual passed out on the shoulder of the highway. When the deputy arrived, he observed several vehicles stopped on the shoulder of the roadway. The deputy attempted to make contact with the individual, later identified as Thomas Honaker, 18, of Bel Air, but the suspect ran from the deputy and attempted to get into the nearby vehicle of a bystander.

When the deputy approached Honaker again, the suspect allegedly began kicking the officer and repeatedly refused to comply with verbal commands. Honaker was eventually subdued and was arrested and charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

Last week, Honaker pleaded guilty to resisting arrest and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, all but five days of which were suspended. He was also placed on probation for three years and fined $200.

Suspended Sentence For Drugs

SNOW HILL — An Ocean City woman arrested last November on drug distribution and possession charges pleaded guilty this week to one count and was sentenced to a year in jail, all of which was suspended in favor of probation.

Last Nov. 4, the Worcester County Criminal Enforcement Team and Ocean City Police executed a search and seizure warrant at a residence on Newport Bay Drive following an ongoing investigation into the illegal distribution of prescription narcotics and Phencyclidine (PCP). During the execution of the warrant, a suspect identified as Robin Dale Smith, 54, was located in the residence and was arrested for distribution of prescription narcotics and PCP.

Once inside the residence, officers located a large amount of prescription narcotic pills, four vials with PCP residue and associated paraphernalia, straws with pill residue used to snort drugs, syringes and other smoking pipes. On Tuesday, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute buprenorphine and was sentenced to a year in jail. The sentence was then suspended and Smith was placed on supervised probation for 18 months.

Armed Robbery At Mall

SALISBURY — A Fruitland man was arrested on armed robbery and other serious charges last week after allegedly pulling a gun on an acquaintance in the parking lot of the Centre at Salisbury.

Around 4 p.m. last Friday, Salisbury Police responded to the parking lot of the Centre at Salisbury for a reported armed robbery. The victim told police he had agreed to meet an associate of his in the parking lot to receive money he had loaned him earlier. The victim got in the suspect’s car, at which point the suspect, later identified as Fulton Eugene Collins III, 25, of Fruitland, displayed a handgun and demanded the victim’s prescription medication.

According to police reports, Collins grabbed the bottle of medicine from the victim after a brief struggle and got out of the vehicle. The victim called police and Collins’ name and a description were broadcast to other officers who began searching the area. A short time later, Salisbury Police located the vehicle and Collins at a convenience store on Priscilla Street and he was taken into custody without further incident.

The victim was not injured in the armed robbery. During the processing of Collins, counterfeit currency was also recovered. Collins was arrested and charged with armed robbery, the use of a handgun in a violent crime, possession and possession with intent to distribute, reckless endangerment and counterfeiting among others.