Natural Resources Police Arrest Two Men Following Brief Chase

Rescue Two Canoeists on Chester River; Cite Three for Striped Bass Violations

A Maryland Natural Resources Police officer on patrol Wednesday evening arrested two men for possession of heroin during a traffic stop on Route 24 in Harford County.

Joseph Francis Vanderwiele, 29, of Abingdon, was driving down the shoulder of the road around a traffic jam when he passed the patrol vehicle. After briefly pulling over for the officer, Vanderwiele drove away and continued down the road for about a mile before stopping. The vehicle was unregistered and had invalid temporary Delaware tags.

Passenger Kevin Tyler Brooks, 24, of Bel Air, had a container of heroin on him and a search of the vehicle by the officer and Harford County deputy sheriffs turned up drug paraphernalia.

Both men were charged with possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Vanderwiele also was charged with reckless and negligent driving, attempting to elude a police officer, driving off the roadway to pass a vehicle, failing to stop at a red light and operating an unregistered vehicle.

They were held in the Harford County Detention Center Wednesday evening pending a hearing before a court commissioner.

Two officers and an agency cadet rescued a man and a boy after their canoe capsized on the Chester River near Jackson Creek.

The Oct. 15 accident began shortly before 2:30 p.m., when the police dispatch center received a call about people in the water, screaming for help. Officers launched a patrol boat from Kent Narrows and reached the overturned boat within minutes. They pulled aboard Nestor Aparicio, 55, of Grasonville, who said his grandson had been fishing with him. The officers and cadet quickly found the 12-year-old boy treading in open water and rescued him.

Queen Anne’s County first responders met the returning patrol boat and took the two people to the Queen Anne’s Emergency Center, where they were treated and released. Grasonville Volunteer Fire Boat 2 retrieved the canoe and brought it to shore.

Neither Aparicio nor the boy were wearing a life jacket and the canoe did not have the required sound-producing device to use in an emergency.

Three Montgomery County men were charged Tuesday night with illegally catching striped bass by an officer on surveillance at Fishing Creek Bridge in Dorchester County.

Deivin Jose Hernandez Perez, 25, of Silver Spring, and Carlos Antonio Cespedes, 37, of Gaithersburg, were each charged with keeping eight undersized striped bass, exceeding the daily limit and keeping striped bass between midnight and 5 a.m. Perez also was charged with fishing without a license. William Edgardo Reyes, 19, of Silver Spring was charged with keeping one undersized striped bass. Their cooler was hidden at the base of the bridge.

All three men are scheduled to appear in Dorchester County District Court Dec. 20. Each violation carries a maximum fine of $1,500.