Trespassing Complaint Leads to Felony Gun Arrest

A trespassing complaint in Frederick County last Monday morning turned into a felony gun arrest of a Thurmont man convicted of a sex offense.

John Ryan Coblentz, 27, was stopped by an officer checking a report of a trespassing hunter on land owned by NVA Properties LLC off Retreat Road in Walkersville.

Coblentz, who had just changed out of camouflage hunting clothes and had camouflage boots and a decoy in the bed of his truck, told the officer that he was scouting turkeys for a friend, not hunting himself. Checking records, the officer learned that Coblentz had a state hunting license and had already reported killing two turkeys this spring season.

While continuing his investigation, the officer saw a 20-guage shotgun with a scope behind the front passenger seat. It was loaded with a 3-inch round of No. 5 shot. After questioning Coblentz, the officer found two 0.243-caliber rifles in the truck.

A criminal records check showed he had been convicted in 2010 of a third-degree sex offense and in 2016 of reckless endangerment.

Coblentz was charged with: being a felon in possession of a rifle, a shotgun and ammunition; two counts of possessing a firearm following a reckless endangerment conviction; two counts of possessing a firearm while under the terms of a court protective order; possession of a loaded weapon in a vehicle; hunting on private land without written permission; and failing to have his hunting license in his possession.

The defendant is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Frederick County District Court May 30.

After participating in a joint sobriety checkpoint Friday night in Montgomery County with allied agencies, an officer on his way home arrested a Hagerstown man on multiple charges.

Emmanuel Gbadyu, 27, was stopped after an officer saw him unsafely backing up on Shady Grove Road. He gave the officer different names, dates of birth and conflicting information about who owned the car. He claimed not to know the person on his identification.

A check of Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration records showed Gbadyu had a Class C Learners Permit. A police records check returned an active warrant for his arrest. He has court cases pending in Montgomery and Washington counties.

Gbadyu was charged with unauthorized use of a dealer plate, identity fraud to avoid prosecution, making a false statement and giving a false name to a police officer, using a learner’s permit without the required supervision, and unsafe backing up.

Continued enforcement at Fishing Creek Bridge in Dorchester County over the weekend resulted in 13 men being charged and 435 fish being seized.

The following men were charged with keeping undersized striped bass, keeping fish over the daily creel limit, fishing in a closed area, and possession of striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m.:

Francisco Merlos Guzman, 40, of Lanham; Jose Francisco Gutierrez, 33, of Annapolis; Jose Aristides Viera, 50, of New Carrollton; Miguel A. Alvarenga, 50, of Hyattsville; Marvin Omar Larios Guerra, 43, of Rockville; Mauro Gerardo Canjura Morales, 53, of Brentwood; Erik M. Guerra, 39, of Silver Spring; Luis A. Gonzalez, 28, of Fort Washington; and Yemi J. Flores Flores, 35, of Annapolis. Also, Jose Contreras, 50, Erick Isai Melendez Romero, 37, Victor Omar Membreno Guerara, 25, and Ramon A. Gonzales, 55, all of Silver Spring.

All the defendants are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court Aug. 16. The maximum penalty on each count is $1,500.