Assault Charges After Stabbing

OCEAN CITY – A Cambridge woman was arrested and charged with first-degree assault and a slew of other charges last weekend after stabbing another woman in the back during a fight in the downtown area.

Shortly before 2 a.m. last Sunday, OCPD officers were dispatched to a fight in progress in the area of 17th Street and Baltimore Ave. near the Subway restaurant. Upon arrival, the officers observed a female, later identified as Tahya Sharie Jones, 21, of Cambridge, run up to another female, identified as Mischelle Lvai Worsley, and start to swing at her with closed fists in a downward motion.

A group of about 10 people crowded around the area of the fight and was growing all the time, according to police reports. When Jones saw the officers approaching, she ran east on 17th Street and into the parking lot of the Quality Inn, where she was apprehended and taken into custody.

Other officers from back at the scene of the fight contacted the arresting officer and told him Worsley had been stabbed and that the description of the stabber met that of Jones.

The arresting officer went back to the crime scene and inspected Worsley, finding she had a hole cut in the back of her shirt and a cut on the left side of her upper back. The officers had Jones walk around from behind Subway and Worsley identified Jones as her attacker.

Worsley told police Jones pulled a knife from her pocket, came at her, and stabbed her in the back as she attempted to run away. Worsley said the knife had a black handle and that she heard a click just after Jones pulled it out, indicating it was a folding knife.

Meanwhile, another officer guarding Jones noticed her trying to hide something at her feet. The officer then seized what Jones was trying to conceal and found it to be a folding knife with a black handle similar to the weapon described by the victim. Jones was then charged with first- and second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, affray and concealed deadly weapon.

 Coast Guard Helps  Nab Disorderly Swimmer

OCEAN CITY – A Delaware man was arrested on disorderly conduct charges last weekend after launching profanities at passersby on the beach at Talbot Street before fleeing into the ocean to avoid arrest.

Last Friday, Ocean City Police Cpl. Ray Land was on horseback patrol in the downtown area when several teenagers approached the officer and told him a crazy man was yelling profanities at them near the water. The teenagers pointed out a man, later identified as Harry George Grzybowski, 47, of New Castle, Del., and when the officer approached the suspect, he heard him yelling an expletive-laced tirade at people walking by on the beach.

The officer noticed Grzybowski was staggering and appeared to be highly intoxicated, according to police reports on the incident. When the officer asked the suspect to speak with him, Grzybowski fled toward the ocean and swam out approximately 150 feet, all the while continuing to scream obscenities. In the meantime, a crowd of about 15 people streamed down from the Boardwalk to watch the suspect’s actions.

The OCPD officer then contacted the Coast Guard, which responded by boat and forced Grzybowski to the shoreline where he was apprehended as he came out of the water. He was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. A background check revealed Grzybowski was wanted on two active warrants from the state of Delaware.

Car Flips, Hits Billboard, Lands Near House

WEST OCEAN CITY – A spectacular single-vehicle crash last Friday on Route 50 between Berlin and West Ocean City resulted in the driver being extricated from the overturned vehicle before being transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center.

According to reports, the vehicle was traveling westbound on Route 50 when the driver lost control, crossed the median strip and left the ground. The vehicle reportedly then flew end over end before striking a billboard sign along the east side of the highway and coming to rest on its roof just a few feet from a house. The billboard advertising Tony’s Pizza in Ocean City has been there for years and is one of the oldest along the stretch of Route 50.

First arriving units reported the vehicle lying on its roof near the house with one person trapped inside. The victim was extricated from the vehicle and transferred on the ground to a landing site where he was eventually med-evaced to PRMC. The investigation is ongoing and the status of the victim is unknown.

Miraculously, the vehicle left the roadway and flew airborne over the eastbound travel lanes on Route 50 on a busy Friday in August without involving any other vehicles. Traffic was backed up for sometime as emergency workers extracted the victim and cleared the scene.

Knife Threats Over Noise

OCEAN CITY – An Ocean City man, allegedly irate over noise emanating from a neighbor’s apartment, was arrested and charged with concealing a deadly weapon with intent to injure after threatening his next-door neighbors with a knife.

Around 2:19 a.m. on Monday, OCPD officers responded to a residence on St. Louis Ave. downtown for a reported weapons violation. When they arrived, the officers noticed a group of people standing on a porch on the second floor. The group advised the officers the suspect who threatened them with a knife, later identified as Goran Hinic, 22, of Ocean City, was still inside the unit next to theirs and that he was likely still armed with a knife.

The officers knocked on the door and when Hinic answered, they ordered him to the ground at gunpoint. Once safely in custody, the officers brought over one of the victims, Aisling Oonagh Matthews, who identified Hinic as the man who threatened her a short time earlier with a knife.

The officers then went inside the neighboring unit to interview the occupants. One of the occupants told police Hinic walked over to her unit and asked to speak with her outside about the noise. While she was arguing with Hinic about the noise, one of the other occupants told her to watch out because Hinic had a knife.

Matthews then went out to discuss the noise problem with Hinic and the situation escalated into an argument. At one point, Hinic grabbed a chair and threw it off the second-floor balcony. Matthews told police when Hinic threw the chair, she observed a knife in his left hand. He was holding the knife with the blade along his forearm, according to police reports.

Matthews told police Hinic stated to the group, “I was in the military and I will savage all of you.” Matthews also told police Hinic kept passing the knife from one hand to the other, pausing in between to hold it out in a threatening manner. The knife was described as having a black handle with part of the handle broken off.

When the officers questioned Hinic about the incident, he told them he carried a knife for protection. He consented to a search of his apartment and told police the knife was in the top drawer of his nightstand. The officers located the knife with the black handle partially broken off and Hinic was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure.

Suspect Hiding Behind Dryer

BERLIN – A Berlin man wanted for violation of probation on a driving while suspended charge was found this week hiding behind a clothes dryer in his home and taken into custody.

Around 10:30 p.m. last Saturday, a Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputy went to a residence on Middle Street in Berlin in an attempt to locate Brian McNaney, who was wanted for violation of probation on a driving while suspended charge. The deputy was given permission to search the residence and found McNaney hiding behind a clothes dryer. He was taken into custody and held in Worcester County Jail on a $30,000 bond.

Three Years For Crack Bust

SNOW HILL – An Ocean City man arrested in March after being observed making a crack cocaine deal in the downtown area pleaded guilty this week to possession of cocaine and was sentenced to three years in jail.

Dale Brown, 54, of Ocean City, was in Worcester County Circuit Court this week to face various drug charges related to his arrest in March. On March 2, an OCPD detective working a narcotics detail along Philadelphia Ave. observed two suspects in a parked vehicle making a hand-to-hand drug deal with a third suspect outside the vehicle.

The officer knew both the driver and the passenger, later identified as Brown, as known drug dealers in the area. The detective watched as the vehicle rolled into the area and was approached by a third suspect, the buyer. When the deal was completed, the narcotics detective signaled to other officers to arrest all involved.

Brown, as the passenger, was essentially the middleman who passed the suspected crack cocaine from the driver to the buyer and was charged with possession and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. This week in Circuit Court, he was found guilty of possession and sentenced to three years in jail.

Story Changer Gets Jail Time

SNOW HILL – A Nanticoke man arrested in Ocean City in May on drug charges after first denying he had any drugs on his person and later admitting it after a request by police to search his person was found guilty this week in Circuit Court of possession of cocaine and was sentenced to 18 months in jail with all but two months suspended.

On May 16, OCPD Officer Joseph Melena noticed a Pontiac Sunfire near Caroline Street that did not have a license plate on the front of the vehicle. He followed the car as it pulled into the Bridge View Apartments parking lot and performed a routine traffic stop.

According to police records, the driver, later identified as Jason Dante Wallop, 26, of Nanticoke, quickly exited the car but was told to get back in. Melena asked for Wallop’s license, however, Wallop replied he did not have one and that his was suspended. Wallop was then placed under arrest and his passenger, later identified as Joel Lamont Lankford, 35, also from Nanticoke, said his license was suspended as well.

Melena then asked Lankford if he had any guns or drugs on him, to which he replied no. Melena asked if he could perform a search anyway and Lankford complied, stating, “I got drugs on me.” Melena found two bags of crack cocaine in Lankford’s pockets and placed him under arrest as well.

Employee Theft Suspect Sentenced

SNOW HILL – An Eden woman arrested in March after thousands of dollars worth of equipment, power tools and construction material reported missing by her employer were found in and around her trailer in Eden pleaded guilty this week in Circuit Court to theft scheme over $500 and was sentenced to 18 months in jail with all but four months suspended.

Last November, the owner of Piney Island Builders in Berlin received a call from a confidential source an employee, Terri Lee Moss, also known as Terri Lee Barnes, had been stealing construction materials and had some of the material stored in her trailer in Eden, according to police reports. The business owner noticed thousands of dollars of goods missing – from power tools to kitchen fixtures to construction materials – over a one-year period, but had no idea who was taking the goods.

An investigation revealed much of the stolen goods – including a generator worth $1,400 – were pawned at a pawnshop in Salisbury. A check of the pawnshop’s records revealed a pattern of transactions dating back several months, according to police reports. Still more goods were found at Moss’ trailer in Eden.

She was charged with theft over $500, theft under $500 and theft scheme. This week in Circuit Court, Moss entered an Alford Plea to the theft scheme charge. In an Alford Plea, a defendant acknowledges there is enough evidence to prosecute the case but does not admit guilt. Moss was sentenced to 18 months in jail with all but four suspended.

Tearful Guilty Plea For Disorderly Conduct

OCEAN CITY – A Pennsylvania woman tearfully pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in District Court on Monday, with her lawyer explaining that she had “blacked out” during the entire incident.

Bonnie Sue Russell, 47, of East Berlin, Pa., came before the court Monday morning to face pending disorderly conduct charges. On June 26, police responded to reports of domestic assault. Upon arrival, they heard a woman, later identified as Russell, shouting angrily.

The noise was reportedly drawing the attention of 10 to 15 people in the area, causing the police to approach. Russell continued to yell angrily and was uncooperative with the police. Russell’s attorney explained that Russell had blacked out and didn’t remember the incident. He assured the court that Russell had never acted in such a way before and would not be doing so again.

Russell’s attorney also added that Russell had made a tearful apology to the officer that morning and that the entire incident had upset her and resulted in her attending therapy.

Russell’s attorney pointed out that at the time of the incident she was so blacked out that she didn’t know what state she was in, telling police that she was in Ocean City, N.J.

“There’s nothing worse than a drunk woman,” said Judge Daniel Mumford, warning Russell of the dangers of drinking and being out of control.

Russell was sentenced to probation before judgment with one year of unsupervised probation and $357.50 in fines.

Not Guilty Plea Denied

OCEAN CITY – A Gaithersburg man attempted to defend himself in District Court Monday morning, pleading not guilty to charges of possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia, but providing little if no defense for his case.

Christopher George Hackley, 27, of Gaithersburg, Md., came before the court Monday in an attempt to duck the possession of marijuana and paraphernalia charges that he faced from a January arrest. Officer Chris Snyder testified that on Jan. 30, around 7:30 pm, he responded to the Madison Beach Motel. He explained that he had been called there to assist in the search and seizure warrant that had been issued for unit 17.

Upon searching the room, officers not only found Hackley in the room, but also discovered that he had a bench warrant out for his arrest. Snyder explained while performing the search of person, Hackley admitted to having a bowl, a common marijuana-smoking device, in his pocket. Snyder found the bowl and noticed not only the odor of marijuana, but also the burnt marijuana residue inside of the bowl.

Hackley, who had no attorney and had chosen to defend himself, had no questions for Snyder, nor did he himself wish to take the stand. His only defense was that he was sorry and that there was no marijuana in the bowl as Snyder had testified.

“There is marijuana, it was traced,” Judge Daniel Mumford told Hackley, assuring him that the charge for marijuana of possession had merit.

With that stated, Hackley had no further argument for his not guilty plea, resulting in a guilty sentence from Mumford. “It’s clear you’re guilty,” Mumford said, sentencing Hackley to probation before judgment with one year on unsupervised probation and $557.50 in fines.

Biker Faces Possession Charges

OCEAN CITY – A Salisbury man defended himself in District Court Monday, pleading guilty to the pending charges of possession of marijuana.

On May 31, officers stopped Kevin Lugene Anderson, 30, of Salisbury, for riding his bike against traffic between North Division Street and St. Louis Avenue. Anderson admitted to having a blunt in his possession, which later proved to be .3 grams of marijuana. Anderson was then placed under arrest for possession of marijuana.

In his defense Anderson said that he was just out for a bike ride and that he didn’t want to face this kind of trouble again. Judge Daniel Mumford sentenced him to probation before judgment with one year of unsupervised probation and $557.50 in fines.

Farm Fatality

EDEN – An Eden man was discovered dead on his farm Monday night, the victim of an apparent farm accident.

Around 9 p.m. on Monday, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence on Meadow Bridge Rd. near the Worcester-Wicomico County line in reference to a farm accident. Upon their arrival, sheriff’s deputies found William Pennewill, 59, of Eden, deceased on the property.

The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation responded and took over the investigation, which revealed the victim was operating a Bobcat on the farm and was ejected from the equipment and died from injuries suffered during the accident.

OCVFD Calls For Service

OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City Volunteer Fire Department this week posted a report on the number of and nature of the calls for service it received during the month of the July.

The OCVFD responded to 11 structure fires; 56 vehicle accidents; 83 automatic alarms; 13 landing zones; seven electrical hazards; eight smoke investigations; and 72 other calls that didn’t fit neatly into any of the other categories. The total number of alarms the OCVFD has responded to for the year through the end of July is 911.