Police Apprehend Delaware Man Wanted for Attempted Murder

Officers aboard a Maryland Natural Resources Police patrol boat in Ocean City apprehended a Delaware man Saturday night wanted for the attempted murder of two police officers.

Antonio Ambrosino, 18, of Seaford, was wanted after his vehicle struck an Ocean City officer and a Worcester County deputy sheriff attempting to arrest him on drug charges. Ambrosino ran from the scene near the Convention Center and jumped into Isle of Wight Bay to escape. An officer on land patrol used thermal and night vision equipment to locate Ambrosino, about 400 feet from shore and guided a patrol boat to the spot. Trooper 4 arrived and used its spotlight to assist.

Officers approached Ambrosino, who was waist deep in the water, and ordered him to stop walking and raise his hands. The suspect shouted several times that it was cold and he was going to die. Ambrosino was placed in handcuffs and lifted by his arms into the patrol boat.

Ambrosino has been charged with two counts each of attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, attempted manslaughter, first-degree assault and second-degree assault, as well as one count each of reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute and possession of a controlled dangerous substance.

Two Virginia men armed with rifles fitted with noise suppressors were charged Saturday night in Baltimore County with multiple counts of deer poaching.

James Lester Jones, 58, and David Anthony Ekker, 55, both of Chesapeake, each received citations for hunting without a license, hunting in a closed season and possessing a loaded weapon in a vehicle. They received written warnings for hunting deer at night and using a rifle in a shotgun-only county.

Acting on a report of gunshots and flashlights shining in a field, an officer began a search of the area near Seminary Avenue in Lutherville-Timonium shortly after 8 p.m. The officer stopped a van matching the description of the vehicle at the shooting as it came out of a driveway.

Wedged between the van’s front seats were two firearms: a Lancer Systems L15 semi-automatic rifle and a Mag Tactical Systems semi-automatic rifle. Each rifle was loaded and had a round in the chamber and were fitted with suppressors and scopes.

Jones told the officer that he killed a buck and Ekker said he fired at a doe, but missed. They said they were using a flashlight to look for deer, but not to spotlight them.

Both men said they had permission from the landowner to shoot deer as part of a crop damage permit, but could not produce any paperwork. When contacted, the landowner said he once had a crop damage permit, but wasn’t sure if it was valid.

A hearing date has not yet been set in Baltimore County District Court. If found guilty of all charges, each man could be fined up to $1,250.

A Pennsylvania man was criminally charged Tuesday with two counts of animal cruelty for leaving a raccoon in a trap on his rental property in Anne Arundel County, where it died.

Acting on neighborhood complaints, an officer went to a home in Glen Burnie owned by Joe McCollum, 63, of Delta. There, he found a decomposing raccoon inside a humane trap on the front porch. It appeared the animal had been in the trap for several days and struggled to free itself.

The officer noted that the weather in recent days was unseasonably warm and humid, with temperatures in the mid to high-80s.

When contacted, McCollum said he had checked the trap Monday and would be returning in the next several hours to check it again. McCollum said he set the trap to catch a nuisance squirrel and after capturing it, he took it to his farm in Pennsylvania to release it.

When McCollum met the officer at his rental property, the officer showed him the dead raccoon and noted that the state of decomposition indicated that the animal had been in the trap longer than 24 hours. The officer also noted that McCollum did not have permits to trap raccoons or transport squirrels across state lines.

McCollum was issued two criminal citations for animal cruelty, both misdemeanors punishable by 90 days in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. He also received a written warning for transporting the live squirrel across state lines without a permit.

Two Prince George’s County residents were charged with crabbing violations after they were caught by an officer on overnight surveillance in Dorchester County.

Cesar Diego Gonzalez, 38, and Maria Juliana Mencho, 36, both of Hyattsville, were seen crabbing shortly after 2 a.m. near the Ferry Bridge over the Transquaking River. When they were stopped for a traffic violation, they were asked if they had caught any crabs or fish. Their cooler was empty, but officers found 92 undersized crabs and 17 female crabs under the front passenger seat.

Gonzalez and Mencho each received two citations, which carry a total maximum penalty of $2,000. They are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court Nov. 15.

Officers conducting surveillance Saturday evening and overnight in several locations in Dorchester County charged eight men with illegal fishing.

At Ferry Bridge, Cruz A. Medrano Alvarenga, 57, and Arnoldo Larios Soto, 39, and Rene H. Valenzuela, 36, all of Silver Spring, were caught with 10 undersized striped bass and eight over the legal limit. They also were cited for keeping undersized weakfish and possessing spotted sea trout. They each face a maximum fine of $4,000.

During a traffic stop on Route 335, Erick O. Hernandez, 43, of Burtonsville, and Jose Victor Huertes Collado, 31, of Beltsville, were cited for keeping 18 undersized striped bass and exceeding the daily limit. Each man faces a maximum fine of $3,000.

Melvin Jhovany Padilla Cubas, 31, of Hyattsville, and Alberto Ignacio, 52, of Nokesville, Virginia, were intercepted by officers as they brought their paddleboat back to shore near the Ferry Bridge. They received citations for having 15 undersized striped bass, exceeding the daily limit, and keeping fish between midnight and 5 a.m. They each face a maximum fine of $3,500.

At Fishing Creek Bridge, Carlos Antonio Cespedes, 37, of Gaithersburg received a citation for keeping five undersized striped bass. He faces a maximum for of $1,500.

All eight men are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court Dec. 20.