By The Dispatch Staff
Originally published May 11, 2007

OCEAN CITY – Three out of the four locals, ranging in age from 20 to 23, arrested on drug charges back in February after neighbors called police to complain of loud music coming from a nearby house each faced trial Monday in different forms.

According to court records, it was around 4:20 a.m. on Feb. 23 when OCPD Officer Kelley was dispatched to the area of Sunset Drive to assist Officer Perry with a disorderly house call. After speaking with the complainants, officers approached the noisy house nearby on Bayshore Drive and were met by a female, identified as Nikki Busch, 23, of Ocean City, at the back door.

Kelley was permitted to enter the house and in doing so, noticed a male, later identified as Curtis James Adkins, 21, of Ocean City, coming out of a bedroom that still had two other males inside listening to music. According to court documents, the two other males were later identified as Jeremy Robert Markel, 23, of Ocean Pines, and Jeremiah Solon Presby, 20, of Snow Hill. Kelley noted that the room was full of a thick, white smoke, which he believed to smell like marijuana.

Since Busch’s name was on the lease, she gave Kelley permission to search the rest of the rooms for any other occupants. During his search of the bedroom, Kelley saw a marijuana joint near where Markel and Presby were seated as well as multiple baggies of marijuana. A digital scale as well as a glass, smoking device were found, too.

All four subjects were then placed under arrest for possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia.

On Monday, the first to go on trial before Judge Daniel R. Mumford was Presby, who plead guilty to possession of marijuana. Since it was his first offense, Mumford fined him $300 and placed him on one year of unsupervised probation.

Next on trial was Markel who plead not guilty to both possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Although Markel said the marijuana and paraphernalia was not his and that he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Kelley’s testimony of how he found a marijuana joint sitting between where him and Presby were found when he entered sealed his fate. He was then placed on one year of unsupervised probation and fined a total of $600 for both charges.

Last to appear before Mumford was Adkins who refused to go to trial before the judge and instead opted to take advantage of his right to a jury trial at a later date.

Pricey Consequences For Liquor Thief

OCEAN CITY – A female who was the driver in a Laurel couple’s scheme to rob liquor stores in order to purchase illegal drugs with the money made from the stolen goods plead guilty to theft Monday morning following her arrest in November.

According to court documents, resort police arrested Kristina Margaret Jones, 19, and James Truman Fowler Jr., 29, back on Nov. 8 for theft over $500, theft scheme over $500, theft under $100 and theft under $500 when surveillance footage showed the couple stealing items from stores throughout the area.

According to police records, Jones would accompany Fowler into liquor stores, steal merchandise and drive him from the scene, a routine they reportedly used on numerous occasions throughout the state.

The scheme ended when Jones and Fowler struck Late Nite Inc. and Liquid Assets, two local establishments that sell alcohol.

The discovery was made after OCPD officers initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle driven by Jones. During the stop, police located 26 individual bottles of liquor, including a bottle of Krug champagne valued at more than $605 and other bottles of pricey alcohol. Also in the vehicle were 44 packs of razorblades. After his arrest, Fowler reportedly told police the couple stole alcohol from stores throughout the state in exchange for crack cocaine. Jones said Fowler paid her to drive him to various locations to steal alcohol and local surveillance cameras caught the two in the act.

On Monday, Judge Daniel R. Mumford ordered Jones to pay $780.92 in restitution for the items stolen. He also fined her an additional $500, placed her on two years of supervised probation and ordered her to serve 40 hours of community service for her involvement in the thefts.

Lewes Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Charge

OCEAN CITY – A Lewes, Del., man who was arrested back on Jan. 20 after resort officers approached his vehicle that was playing its music much too loud and later discovered him to be in possession of marijuana was in District Court Monday morning to plead guilty to a possession of marijuana charge.

According to police reports, it was approximately 2 a.m. when OCPD Officer Shawn Beach was on uniformed foot patrol near Seacrets at 49th Street when he heard the bass of a car stereo coming from a Volkswagon Golf parked along a public street over 100 feet away.

Beach approached the car and identified the driver as David Andrew Tucker, 23. After speaking with Tucker for a moment, Beach noticed traces of what looked to be marijuana in an astray. After further examination, Beach determined that it was in fact marijuana and placed Tucker under arrest.

A search of Tucker’s vehicle was then conducted where officers found a bag in the back containing drug paraphernalia, a digital scale and a Tupperware container. According to police reports, the container held two large bags of marijuana totaling 47.8 grams along with $370 in cash. The amount of the contents in the container along with the scale lead officers to believe Tucker had intent to distribute. He was charged with possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana and possession of CDS paraphernalia.

At court, Tucker said the marijuana was for personal use and that the scale was bought so he wouldn’t be cheated out of the drug when he bought it, not to weigh it out for distribution.

Since this was his first offense, Judge Daniel R. Mumford reluctantly sentenced Tucker to one year of unsupervised probation and fined him $300.

Drug Distribution Arrest

OCEAN CITY – A month-long investigation conducted by the OCPD Narcotics Unit ended Wednesday evening with the arrest of an Ocean City woman.

According to a press release, officers had been investigating Kathy C. Matthews, 35, regarding drug distribution. In the past, undercover narcotics officers were able to purchase powder cocaine from her on two separate occasions.

It was on May 2 when a third deal to purchase more of the illegal substance was slated to take place. Meeting up on 10th Street and the Boardwalk, the press release goes on to say how Matthews met up with an undercover officer once again and sold five pieces of folded paper, each containing $20 worth of crack cocaine.

Following the transaction, Matthews was then arrested and officers were able to seize more crack cocaine, powder cocaine, marijuana, 18 prescription pills and $137.

She is being charged with three counts of distribution of cocaine, three counts of possession of cocaine, four counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, specifically Methadose, Ambien, Endocet and Valium. Matthews is being held on $250,000 bond.

Diners Run Out On Bill, Into Another Vehicle

OCEAN CITY – After only paying for part of their bill at a local restaurant, a couple who dined and dashed soon found their night to be a costly one after all when they ran a red light and struck another car after fleeing from the restaurant, only to flee from the scene of the accident as well.

According to police records, it was almost 8 p.m. last Friday when OCPD Officer Pamela DeGiovanni responded to the area of 70th Street in regards to a report of a property damage accident. It was reported that the driver and passenger of the car at fault had fled the scene.

Upon arrival, DeGiovanni observed the car cars involved in the accident, a silver Mercedes occupied by a Delaware couple and a silver Toyota that was occupied by two individuals who fled and would later be identified as Karen Lynn Price, 24, of West Chantilly, Va., and John Duvall Canova, 27, of Elkridge, Md.

The Delaware couple stated they were driving northbound on Coastal Highway when they entered the turn lane for 70th Street. According to police records, after getting the green arrow to make the left turn, they did so, only to be struck by the silver Toyota that failed stop.

A nearby witness verified the Delaware couple’s story and said he saw the front passenger, Canova, immediately exit the vehicle and run west on 70th Street. He then stated he saw the driver, Price, exit the vehicle and walk southwest into a nearby Dough Roller parking lot at 69th Street where another witness followed her and returned her to the scene.

DeGiovanni then spoke with Price and asked her for her license. After telling the officer she didn’t have one because it was suspended, she was placed under arrest for driving on a suspended license and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.’

According to police records, a search incident to arrest of the vehicle turned up a partially burnt marijuana cigarette in the ashtray of the vehicle as well as a digital scale in the glove compartment.

It was then that Velenovsky approached DeGiovanni again and told her he was the manager of the Bonfire restaurant and that Price and Canova had fled the establishment after leaving $59 for a $122.92 check. He then went outside and watched them flee from the area in a vehicle from 71st Street and witnessed the accident take place.

Approximately an hour later, officers were able to find Canova, or Jason Crestfield as Price had told police, in the area of 3000 Baltimore Avenue. He was then placed under arrest as well and charged with numerous offenses ranging from possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia to possession of burglary tools and credit card theft.

Food Stolen From Mexican Restaurant

OCEAN CITY- Resort police are urging local businesses to be on the lookout for food stolen from a north-end Ocean City restaurant last weekend.

Ocean City Police are investigating the theft of over $800 worth of food from an outdoor refrigerator at Tequila Mockingbird last Sunday morning. The restaurant owner told police someone had broken into the outside refrigerator and stolen several cases of food including five cases of Metompkin Bay crabmeat with 12 cans in each case, two cases of chicken breasts and one case of pork loin.

Police are asking area restaurants and other businesses in the food industry to be on the lookout for the items being offered for sale. Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to call the OCPD criminal investigation division at (410) 723-6604.

Runaway Found in Pennsylvania

OCEAN CITY – A teenage runaway from Pennsylvania thought to be in Ocean City last week was found on Tuesday in York, Pa.

Resort police last week broadcast the description and initiated a search for Candace Faircloth, 17, of Littlestown, Pa., who was believed to have come to the Ocean City area. The Littlestown police listed Faircloth as a runaway on April 27 and alerted resort police she was believed to be heading this way.

However, she was found on Tuesday morning in York, Pa. unharmed and staying with an unidentified male. She was taken into custody around 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning by York police.

Afraid of Cops

OCEAN CITY – A Parsonsburg, Md. man last week jumped out of a moving car and attempted to flee from Maryland State Police on foot along Sunset Ave. in West Ocean City before being arrested for drugs.

On May 1, a Maryland State Police trooper was on normal patrol on Sunset Ave. when he witnessed a Black Kia accelerate in front of him and turn into a parking lot. Before the vehicle came to a stop, a passenger, later identified as Michael Francis Cornwell, 21, of Parsonsburg, jumped out and attempted to flee on foot, but he was quickly apprehended. When asked why he was attempting to run, Cornwell told police “he was afraid of police.”

While talking with Cornwell, the officer noticed an unusual bulge in the watch pocket of his jeans. A consent pat-down revealed a small, clear baggie containing a white powder. Cornwell than told police the substance was Darvocet and was not prescribed to him. He was taken into custody, charged with possession and later released.

Child Support Scofflaw Arrested After Chase

BERLIN – A Laurel, Del. man was arrested this week on a bench warrant for not paying child support after leading Maryland State Police troopers on a brief foot chase.

On Monday, a Maryland State Police trooper initiated a traffic stop on a 1999 Chrysler along Route 113 near Germantown Rd. for routine traffic violations. The trooper approaching the vehicle noticed several indications of criminal behavior and requested the assistance of the Berlin Police K-9 unit. Upon the arrival of the K-9 unit, the passenger of the vehicle, later identified as Darrell Edward Harris, 24, of Laurel, was asked to get out of the car.

It turned out the suspect had given the trooper a false name, and when the officer correctly identified the suspect as Harris, the suspect took off on foot across Route 113. Troopers chased him through a field and into the Reedy Cover Apartments, where he was taken into custody. It was then learned Harris had fled because he had a bench warrant sworn out on him for failure to pay child support

Plea  In ‘Emergency’ Breakfast Case

SNOW HILL – A local woman arrested in January for allegedly becoming hostile and assaulting a resort police officer who did not immediately respond to her “emergency” pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct this week in Circuit Court and was placed on probation and fined $200.

On Jan. 15, OCPD Officer Tarek Dagstani was dispatched to the beach at 59^th Street after receiving a call about a person wrapped in a blanket that had been there for quite awhile, according to witnesses. As the officer approached 59^th Street, he noticed an SUV in the southbound turn lane with its driver frantically waving her arms, honking the horn and yelling. Thinking the driver might have information regarding the person on the beach, the officer waited for the SUV to approach him on 59^th Street.

The driver, later identified as Norma Ruth Flicop, 46, of Ocean City, began yelling hysterically that she was locked out of her house and that her daughter had not had her breakfast, according to police reports.

The officer noticed the daughter in the passenger seat and, after determining there was no real emergency, dismissed Flicop and went on to investigate the body on the beach. However, Flicop followed the officer to the beach in her vehicle and continued to blow her horn, not intermittently, but constantly, in an effort to get the officer’s full attention. Dagstani then approached Flicop, who had exited her car and continued to verbally attack the officer, yelling “you [expletive deleted], someone needs to teach you how to do your [expletive deleted] job.”

Flicop then got back in her car when the officer told her he was placing her under arrest for disorderly conduct. When Dagstani attempted to get Flicop out of the SUV, she refused to let go of the steering wheel, despite pleas from her daughter to cooperate. Finally, with a threat of pepper spray, Flicop gave in and got out of the vehicle. The verbal assaults continued and when another officer responded to assist, Flicop struck him in the stomach with her knee.

Flicop was eventually subdued and charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and second-degree assault on the assisting officer. This week in Circuit Court, she entered an Alford Plea to the disorderly conduct charge and was placed on probation and fined $200.

NYE Bottle Basher Sentenced

SNOW HILL – A Baltimore man arrested in January for bashing another man over the head with a beer bottle in an uptown bar in the wee hours of the morning on New Year’s Eve was found guilty this week of second-degree assault and was sentenced to 18 months in jail, all of which was suspended but 30 days.

Around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, an OCPD officer responded to a north Ocean City establishment for a reported assault. Upon arrival, the officer observed a man exiting the bar through the front door bleeding from the head and neck. The investigation revealed the victim had been dancing with a female on the dance floor of the bar when he was struck on the left side of his forehead with a beer bottle.

The victim identified the suspect as Roger Adams Steger, Jr., 26, of Baltimore. Witnesses inside the bar also identified Steger as the man who smashed the victim with the beer bottle. The victim was eventually taken to Atlantic General Hospital where he was treated and released. Meanwhile, Steger, Jr. was arrested and charged with second-degree assault.

This week in Circuit Court, Steger, Jr. was found guilty of second-degree assault and was sentenced to 18 months in jail. All but 30 days of the sentence was suspended, which Steger, Jr. will serve on consecutive weekends beginning today. He was also forced to pay over $1,700 in restitution to the victim

Prescription Fraud

BERLIN – A Willards man was arrested last week in a Berlin pharmacy after it was revealed he forged a prescription for the painkiller Oxycotin.

On May 2, Berlin Police Department officers responded to the Rite Aid pharmacy on Old Ocean City Blvd. for a suspected prescription fraud investigation. The officers learned Thomas McNish, 24, of Willards, had presented a forged prescription for Oxycotin.

When McNish arrived to pick up his prescription, he was arrested and charged with possession of a forged prescription, obtaining a drug by fraud, uttering a forged prescription and forgery. He was taken into custody and released on a $15,000 unsecured bond.

Public Safety Day Postponed

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