Cops And Courts – September 2, 2016

Cops And Courts – September 2, 2016
Social Issues Government

First Broom Handle, Then Knife Threat

OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man was arrested on assault and other charges last week after first hitting another man with a broom handle and then threatening him with a knife during an altercation that allegedly began when the victim refused to sell the suspect his beer.

Around 2:30 a.m. last Thursday, Ocean City police responded to an apartment complex near 15th Street for a reported altercation involving a knife threat. According to police reports, the victim and other individuals were sitting at a picnic table near a canal in a common area of the apartment complex when they were approached by a suspect later identified as Nemanja Rosic, 23, of Ocean City.

Rosic approached the group and demanded the victim sell him his beer, a demand the victim refused. According to witnesses, Rosic then became irate and went to a second-floor apartment and began throwing beer containers at the victim, who was still at the picnic table with friends. The victim then went into a nearby apartment to get away from Rosic, but Rosic allegedly grabbed a broom and followed the victim into the apartment and began striking him with the broom handle.

According to police reports, the victim was able to grab a mop and defend himself from Rosic’s attack with the broom before a full-scale altercation broke out between the two. After a brief fight, Rosic left the apartment and the victim locked the door. According to police reports, Rosic then entered another ground-floor apartment and emerged with a kitchen knife.

Rosic forcefully entered the victim’s apartment and threatened him with the knife. The victim was able to flee the apartment through a back porch entrance and ran down the street. At that point, Rosic exited the apartment and got into a nearby cab that had just dropped other individuals off at the apartment complex. Witnesses described the cab and OCPD officer broadcasted a description of Rosic. A short time later, a cab driver reported dropping off a fare matching Rosic’s description at the 7-Eleven on North Division Street.

OCPD officers responded to the area of the convenience store and found Rosic walking with other individuals near 2nd Street. The victim and other witnesses were brought to the scene and positively identified Rosic as the suspect. Based on the evidence and witness testimony, Rosic was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, burglary and trespassing. He was ordered to be held on a $25,000 bond.

Brawl Draws Crowd

WEST OCEAN CITY — Two local residents were arrested on assault and other charges last week after allegedly getting into a fight at the Park-and-Ride in West Ocean City that drew a large crowd.

Around 7:30 p.m. last Tuesday, a Worcester County Sheriff’s deputy on patrol in the area of the Park-and-Ride facility in West Ocean City was approached by numerous pedestrians who reported a physical fight was taking place between a male and a female in the parking lot. By the time the officer approached the scene, a large crowd had formed at the Park-and-Ride and in front of the Chipotle restaurant on the opposite side of Route 50 as a result of the altercation.

The officer arrived and identified the combatants as Louella Mae Bratten, 33, of Berlin, and Deongalo Snead, 40, of Salisbury. The deputy observed minor signs of injury on both Bratten and Snead and learned they were in a relationship and resided together. Through further investigation, the deputy located and seized a marijuana cigarette from Snead.

Snead and Bratten were placed under arrest and each was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct. Snead was also charged with possession of marijuana-less than 10 grams. Each was later released on a $10,000 unsecured bond with the stipulation that they have no contact with each other.

Hit-And-Run Story Changed Several Times

OCEAN CITY — A Snow Hill woman was arrested after an alleged hit-and-run accident on Coastal Highway last Friday after which she allegedly changed her story multiple times.

Around 3 a.m. last Friday, Ocean City police officers responded to a reported hit-and-run motor vehicle collision at 62nd Street and Coastal Highway. Officers arrived and found the victim’s vehicle with damage and the victim complaining of back pain. The victim described the vehicle that struck hers as a tan Jeep Commander.

An OCPD officer followed a fluid trail leading away from the accident scene and located a tan Jeep Commander at around 85th Street. The officer followed the Jeep as it traveled through the Little Salisbury neighborhood and soon after found it parked in front of a residence on Chesapeake Drive. Through the registration, the officer was able to identify the vehicle’s owner as Billie Ann Bradford, 22, of Snow Hill.

A few minutes later, Bradford came out of a residence on Chesapeake Drive and met with police. Bradford allegedly told police she never drove her vehicle that night. According to police reports, she told officers she had been at a bar with a group of friends and had taken a cab home. She then told police her friend “Brittany” had driven the car home, but could not provide police with any more information about Brittany other than she had the same hairstyle as Bradford.

The officer then observed Bradford text messaging a person named Jordan, and although she had claimed to have been sleeping for four hours, the text messages had been going back and forth almost continually all night, including a recent entry that showed damage to her vehicle caused by the hit-and-run collision taken just before the officers’ arrival based on the timeline of the thread.

According to police reports, Bradford’s story changed multiple times with no explanations and poor excuses. After questioning and changing stories multiple times, Bradford reportedly told officers, “I’m done with this. It’s my fault. I didn’t do it, but I’ll take the blame, just arrest me.”

OCPD officers did just that, arresting Bradford and charging her with failure to stop at a motor vehicle collision, failure to immediately stop at the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failure to stop after an accident involving property damage and other traffic offenses including driving on a suspended license.

Multiple Injuries In Crash

PITTSVILLE — Multiple injuries were reported although none were deemed serious after a three-vehicle accident on Route 50 at Friendship Road in Pittsville last Saturday evening.

Around 8 p.m. last Saturday, Maryland State Police troopers responded to a reported multi-vehicle accident on Route 50 at Friendship Rd. near Pittsville. Also responding were the Pittsville Fire Department along with the Pittsville EMS, which assisted the occupants of the vehicles involved. The Pittsville Fire Department had to extricate on the drivers entrapped in their vehicle.

MSP troopers interviewed one of the drivers, who told police she was traveling west on Route 50 when she observed a 2003 Ford Explorer crossing Route 50 from northbound Friendship Road about 50 feet in front her.

The driver told police she hit her brakes to avoid colliding with the Explorer, which crossed in front of her vehicle and struck a 2004 Nissan in the right lane. As a result of the collision, the Nissan was forced off the roadway and into a ditch along the westbound side of Route 50. After the Explorer collided with the Nissan, it got spun around again and collided with the vehicle that had avoided it seconds earlier.

Once all of the drivers and passengers were out of their respective vehicles, each was transported by ambulance to PRMC for further treatment although there were no serious injuries to either the drivers or the passengers in any of the three vehicles involved.

DUI After Vehicle Leaves Road, Hits Guardrail

BERLIN — A Pittsville woman was charged with drunk driving last weekend after her vehicle left the roadway on Route 50 in Berlin and struck a guardrail.

Around 3 a.m. last Saturday, Maryland State Police troopers responded to the area of Routes 50 and 113 for a reported motor vehicle accident. The investigation revealed a 2015 Kia driven by Jessica Donoway, 23, of Pittsville, was traveling westbound on Route 50 when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a guardrail on the right shoulder.

Upon making contact with Donoway, troopers detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on her breath and person and noticed her eyes were glassy and bloodshot. Based on the evidence, Donoway was administered field sobriety tests which she did pass to the trooper’s satisfaction. She was taken to the MSP Berlin barrack where an intoximeter test resulted in a reading of .16.

Donoway was not injured in the collision. She was issued citations for driving under the influence of alcohol, driving while impaired, driving under the influence per se and negligent driving. The State Highway Administration was notified of the damage to the guardrail.

10-Day Sentence For Assault

OCEAN CITY — A Florida man arrested on assault charges in April after allegedly scrapping with security guards who had observed him attempting to enter parked cars at a mid-town hotel was found guilty of assault last week and was sentenced to 10 days in jail.

Around 12:40 a.m. on April 24, an Ocean City police officer on patrol was dispatched to the Princess Bayside Hotel at 47th Street for a reported disorderly suspect. Upon arrival, the officer observed several security staff from the hotel holding down a suspect, later identified as Michael Fitzgibbon, 32, of Archer, Fla., in the parking lot.

The officer met with one member of the security staff who said he observed Fitzgibbon attempting to enter a parked car in the hotel lot and when the security guard approached Fitzgibbon to tell him to get away from the vehicle, Fitzgibbon allegedly charged at the guard and they both fell to the ground.

Another security guard heard the first security guard yell for help and came to assist. By the time the second guard arrived, Fitzgibbon was back on his feet and squared up as if to fight the security staff again. At that point, he was tackled to the ground again, which is when police arrived.

Fitzgibbon was issued a trespass warning and was escorted off the property with the understanding if he returned, he would be arrested. A short time later, Fitzgibbon returned to the hotel property and was arrested for assault and trespassing. Last week, Fitzgibbon was found guilty of second-degree assault and was sentenced to 10 days in jail.

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.