Man Attacks Girl, Then Dog

SALISBURY -- A Salisbury man was arrested on first-degree assault and other serious charges last week after first getting into a physical confrontation with a female acquaintance and later returning with a knife and injuring the victim’s dog.

Shortly after 11 p.m. last Thursday, Salisbury Police responded to a residence at the College Lane Apartments for a reported domestic assault. Officers met with an adult female victim who said she had gotten into a verbal argument with a man she knew, later identified as Stephen Andrew Barry, 26, of Salisbury. During the altercation, Barry allegedly pushed and choked the victim before leaving the scene.

Salisbury Police recorded the victim’s testimony and left. However, about two hours later, at 12:45 a.m., officers learned Barry had returned to the scene with a knife and was injuring the victim’s dog. Salisbury Police went back to the scene and were able to arrest Barry after a brief struggle.

The dog did not require medical attention. Barry was charged with first- and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, animal cruelty and disorderly conduct.

Berlin Teen Arrested On Sex Offense

BERLIN -- A Berlin man was arrested on a sex offense charge last week after allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old girl at a residence on Maple Ave.

Berlin police last week arrested Michael Tyrone Jackson, 18, on a fourth-degree sex offense after an investigation revealed the suspect allegedly had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl at a residence on Maple Ave. Jackson was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was ordered held on a $5,000 bond.

60 Days For Vending Break-In

OCEAN CITY -- An Ocean City man arrested on burglary and other charges in July, after getting caught breaking into a vending machine by an employee of a Boardwalk motel, pleaded guilty last week in District Court to malicious destruction of property and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.

Throughout much of the summer, Ocean City police were pursuing the unidentified suspect or suspects wanted in connection with a string of vending machine break-ins throughout the resort area. On July 18, a maintenance man at the Eden Roc Motel at 20th Street and the Boardwalk, which had been hit several times, decided to conduct his own investigation and observed the two suspects, later identified as Daniel Robert Myers, 33, and David Kyle Edwards, 25, both of Ocean City, allegedly breaking into a vending machine on the motel premises.

The Eden Roc maintenance employee set up surveillance on the balcony of an oceanfront unit and waited for the arrival of the suspects. Several hours went by before the would-be thieves made a return visit to the motel’s vending machines. The employee quietly snuck back into the unit to call police so as not to be detected by Myers and Edwards below.

The employee said his intent was never to catch the burglars, but rather gain some information into their pattern and perhaps get a good description. When he ran down the stairs, the main suspect, Myers, had removed his hooded sweatshirt, revealing his face. When Myers left the immediate area, the employee heard a scooter start up in a nearby parking garage, which is when he first caught a glimpse of Edwards, presumably the lookout during the crime.

By the time the employee reached the street level, around seven to 10 OCPD officers had responded to the area. OCPD officers activated their lights and sirens, but the suspects continued to flee, resulting in a brief chase. The scooter, with Myers driving and Edwards on the back, continued south on Baltimore Ave. and west on 21st Street before turning north on Philadelphia Ave. with several OCPD officers in pursuit.

OCPD officers on foot eventually tackled both Myers and Edwards off of the scooter in order to get it to stop. Once the suspects were detained, a search of Myers turned up a crowbar stuffed in his pants along with $4 in cash. A search of the motor scooter revealed several burglary tools used to pry open vending machines including two screwdrivers and a pair of pliers.

Last week in District Court, Myers pleaded guilty to malicious destruction of property and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. Edwards is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Suspended Sentence For Passed Out Suspect

OCEAN CITY -- A Pennsylvania man, arrested in June on robbery, theft and assault charges after stealing electronics and several other items from a vehicle before passing out in a motel room, pleaded guilty this week in District Court and was sentenced to 18 months in jail, all of which was suspended in favor of probation and fines.

Around 11:30 p.m. on June 23, Ocean City police met with an individual at 21st Street who reported arriving back at his hotel in time to observe a suspect, later identified as James C. Tomsic, 18, of Allentown, Pa. stealing GPS devices, tools and other items from his vehicle. The victim, who was a computer repair technician, told police at first he thought the individual going through his vehicle was a friend looking for certain tools, but when he approached the suspect and placed his hand on his back, the suspect, later identified as Tomsic, spun around and pushed the victim in the chest, knocking him back into the rear of the vehicle.

The victim told police Tomsic had left some of his own property behind in his haste to flee the scene including some cash, a set of brass knuckles and red plastic hotel key with Room 316 marked on it. The officer then went on a systematic search of other hotels on Baltimore Ave. heading north from 21st Street to determine where the red hotel key tag was from.

The search led to the Riviera Motel where a clerk identified the key as belonging to the establishment. Staying in Room 316 were three underage individuals registered in the name of John Davis.

The officer went to Room 316 and observed through an open door an individual, later identified as Tomsic, who matched the description provided by the car break-in victim lying on the floor between two beds. The officer called to Tomsic, who was unresponsive. Tomsic briefly woke up and muttered something about drinking too much before passing out again, according to police reports. When the officer and the employee attempted to prop Tomsic up, a silver-colored GPS device matching a description provided by the theft victim fell out of his pocket.

On a dresser in plain sight were several computer power cords, cell phones, GPS devices belonging to the victim. Tomsic was arrested and charged with robbery, theft, assault, drug charges and weapons charges and other charges. On Wednesday, Tomsic pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and theft under $1,000 and was sentenced to 18 months, all of which was suspended. He was also fined $500 and placed on probation for two years.

Unruly Bar Customer Fights With Officers

SALISBURY -- A Salisbury man was arrested on assault and resisting arrest charges last week after first refusing to leave a bar and later fighting with police attempting to force him to leave.

Around 12:30 a.m. last Thursday, Salisbury Police responded to the Monkey Barrell Bar and Grill for a reported unruly guest refusing to leave. Upon arrival, officers located the suspect, later identified as Kevin Lamont Chandler, 34, of Salisbury, and attempted to take him into custody.

According to police reports, Chandler became combative inside the establishment and struck police officers. He then relocated to the parking lot, where he continued to refuse to comply. After a substantial struggle, Chandler was taken into custody and charged with second-degree assaut, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, failure to obey a lawful order and obstructing and hindering an investigation.

Probation For Party Burglary

OCEAN CITY -- Two men, arrested in June after admitting to a drunken break-in of a neighbor’s residence during a party in May, each pleaded guilty to fourth-degree burglary last week in District Court and were placed on probation for two years.

On May 24, an Ocean City property owner reported a break-in after returning to his secondary residence in the resort. The victim told police he returned to his condo on Bayshore Drive to find bottles of liquor and an expensive bracelet missing from the unit. The victim told police a large bottle of vodka and a bottle of Kahlua were missing from a china cabinet on the first floor and a bracelet valued at $900 was missing from a dish on the coffee table in the living room.

The victim told police a realtor had shown the unit two days earlier and nothing appeared to be amiss at that time. The investigation revealed evidence of a forced entry to the unit, including a damaged sliding door on the third floor and an opened slider on the first floor. About a week later, the primary renter of the unit next door came over to the burglarized unit with three watches and a pair of binoculars.

The neighbor told the victim his brother and his friends had been staying in his unit and entered the victim’s unit and took the property. The neighbor apologized for the actions of his brother and his friend and returned the stolen items. Police questioned the neighbor about the break-in and the neighbor eventually gave investigators the names of the perpetrators. They were identified as Michael Joseph Balch, 20, and Shane Koch, 20, both of Ocean City.

Ocean City detectives questioned Balch and Koch on June 4. Balch allegedly told detectives that a party was held at unit next to the victim’s unit on an unknown date in May and that he and Koch planned to steal the liquor they had seen through a window of the neighboring unit. Balch told police the pair had planned the break-in earlier in the day, but did not carry out their plan until much later when they were intoxicated.

According to Balch’s story, around 8 p.m., Koch jumped over a third-floor railing to gain access to the unit next door. Koch then forced open the sliding door and went down through the unit to let Balch in the sliding door on the first floor. Balch told police he and Koch then stole three bottles of liquor, a couple of watches, a camera and a pair of binoculars. The total estimate of the stolen goods came to around $2,650.

Last week, Balch and Koch each pleaded guilty to fourth-degree burglary and each was placed on probation for two years.

Charges Dropped In Underage Sex Case

OCEAN CITY -- An 18-year-old Pennsylvania man arrested in June on second-degree rape and other offenses after allegedly having consensual sex in a downtown parking garage with a 13-year-old girl who had lied about her age had the charges against him dropped this week in District Court.

Shortly before 11 p.m. on June 24, an OCPD bicycle officer making his normal rounds in the downtown area encountered a couple having sex on the top floor of a motel parking garage. The officer approached the couple with a flashlight and the pair immediately jumped and started getting dressed, according to police reports.


The officer asked the couple for identification and the male suspect was identified as James Phillip Dotzel, 18, of Wapwallopen, Pa. The female suspect presented to the officer a ninth-grade identification card, and when asked her age, she allegedly first told police 15, then 16, then 15 again. When pressed for an accurate answer, the female admitted to police she had just turned 13 in March. At that time, Dotzel became visibly angry, threw his arms in the air and shouted, “you told me you were 16,” according to police reports.


Dotzel told police he met the juvenile at the underage club with two of her friends and they all told him they were 16. In the end, Dotzel, who was very polite and cooperative, according to police reports, was arrested and charged with second-degree rape and a third-degree sex offense. Last week in District Court, Dotzel had the charges against him dropped.