(PRINCESS ANNE, MD) – A driver who refused to stop for police took his life and a Maryland state trooper was injured after his car was rammed by that driver during a pursuit last night in Somerset County.
The driver is identified as Alvin D. Melvin, 45, of the 12000-block of Somerset Avenue, Princess Anne, Md. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.
The injured trooper is identified as Trooper First Class D. Tebbins, a K-9 trooper assigned to the Princess Anne Barrack. TFC Tebbins was transported to the Peninsula Regional Medical Center where he was treated and later released. His dog was taken to an emergency veterinarian center as a precaution, where he was treated and released.
At about 8:30 p.m. yesterday, a Maryland state trooper assigned to the Princess Anne Barrack was patrolling in an unmarked patrol car on West Post Office Road near Beechwood Street in Princess Anne, when he saw a 1998 Ford car in which the passenger was not wearing a seat belt. The trooper activated his emergency equipment and attempted to stop the car but the driver, later identified as Melvin, refused to stop and accelerated away.
A pursuit began which traveled through Princess Anne. TFC Tebbins was in the area and joined the pursuit, as did two patrol cars from the Princess Anne Police Department. The pursuit continued onto northbound Rt. 13 and TFC Tebbins, who was driving a marked patrol car, assumed the lead car position among the pursuing police officers.
TFC Tebbins was traveling in the fast lane of Rt. 13 and Melvin was in the slow lane when the trooper attempted to pull alongside Melvin’s car. The investigation indicates Melvin then swerved his car into the patrol car, causing TFC Tebbins to lose control. The patrol car traveled into the median, struck several trees, overturned and immediately caught fire. A Princess Anne police officer immediately stopped and assisted TFC Tebbins and his dog out of the burning patrol car.
After ramming the police car, Melvin apparently lost control of his car and crashed into a ditch on the slow shoulder of Rt. 13, south of Loretto Road. A trooper and Princess Anne officers stopped behind the car and implemented felony stop procedures, which include staying at their cars while giving verbal commands to the occupants of the suspect vehicle.
The passenger immediately got out of the car and complied with police directions. The driver, Melvin, failed to exit the car and did not comply with directions from police. While they continued to give commands to the driver, police heard what sounded like a gunshot from Melvin’s vehicle. Police could then see Melvin no longer appeared to be moving.
Police approached the car and saw Melvin had sustained what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. A .40 caliber pistol was in his lap. Emergency care was provided and EMS units were summoned. Melvin was pronounced dead at the scene.
The car Melvin was driving is registered to his wife. A search of the vehicle will be conducted after a search warrant is obtained. The gun he had is not reported stolen and investigators are researching its origin.
The passenger in Melvin’s car is a 16-year-old male from the county. He was not charged and was released to the custody of his parents.
A motive for Melvin’s actions is not known at this time. The investigation by the State Police Princess Anne Barrack Criminal Investigation Section is continuing. A member of the Somerset County State’s Attorney’s Office responded to the scene and has been kept updated on the investigation.
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29 comments:
So this guy is dead and the trooper was injured over a passenger not wearing a seat belt?
What else will this police state bring?
WHY all this for someone not wearing a seat belt. I guess things are s-l-o-w in Somerset county.
This chase should have been cancelled by the on-duty supervisor soon after it began. You don't put the innocent motoring public in jeopardy over a minor traffic offense such as failing to wear a seat belt. The decision to pursue or not pursue is determined by what is known at that moment, not would could be.
To the two commentors above. So if someone is breaking the law the cops should just ignore it? Did you ever ask yourself why the car didn't just pull over. He would have probably just gotten a warning. Did you also notice that the passenger was not an adult? Usually if someone doesn't pull over there is a some reason. You just don't run from the police because you don't want a ticket.
Not wearing a seat belt is against the law. Why do you fools get on here and always blame LE when a people violate the laws. Mr Melvin could have prevented this whole tragedy by stopping his car.
Why didn't Mr Melvin pull over, and why did Mr Melvin choose to ram the police car and why did Mr Melvin choose to put a gun to his head and pull the trigger - all in front of a 16 year old youth?
Yes lets cancel the pursuit, oh wait... They just kidnapped your daughter and the description had not been relayerd yet.. So she is in the trunk and we could have saved her, but IDIOTS like you dont want cops chasing violators.
LIBERAL Jerks
9:11 Breaking the law?
Seatbelt "violation"??
One dead one injured? a $50,000 dollar car gone??
And you think the police are right??
Nanny state mercenaries in action.
This is the deceased fault and no one elses.
To 8:49, 8:59, 9:09, 9:32
Did it ever cross your mind about the 16 yr old MALE in his car???? First and foremost, what was the man's intention with that CHILD? Obviously, Mr. Melvin's intentions were not lawful. Otherwise, he would not have run from the police. Instead of blaming the cops, maybe a 16 yr old was just saved from a pedophile. While I very well could be wrong, but that was my first assumption when I read this story!!!!!!!
This is now what the county has become. Its illeagal so thye feel they are justified. well I for one dont think so. all these new LAWS just give the police one more reason to stop harass you for simle infractions. Why dont you all communist anti freedom types just dry up and blow away,,
You people who are here bashing the police actions, fail to realize that the suspect is the one who escalated the incident. He is the one who failed to stop and he is the one who drove into the police car operated by a trooper who is lucky to be alive.
I think in most cases, the police are overzealous, but this case I am a defender of the police. I know Trooper Tebbins and he is quite competent and I am happy to hear he was not seriously hurt.
10:15 you see how the MSM works??. You are assuming, we are all assuming the cops were in the right??..I for one do not condone support or think the NEW world order we are stuck in right now gives a rats ass about us. You will comply! cower! and beg for any freedom we once had..Seats belts are safe but the insurnace industry got this law passed. Now the police abuse it and use it for a reson to stop you,,Its the same with smokering laws. First it was about your health, so what are the reason now?, Outdoor bans are just a to further erode our freedom. you cannot smoke a leagal? product Why because it reduces our power and increase the power of this tyranny and corrupt evil government
Oh but he was a pediphile, a druggie, a runner from the law, fugitive..You know I get so sick and tired of this BS..its for the kids, keeps crimminals off the street I say NO it does not..even if it gets one bonehead off the street. It does not mean that 99% of the inocents get violated..
Maryland sucks, and Marylanders are stupid.... I cant believe how stupid you all have become...
No police officer made the guy run from the police...no officer forced him to turn into a state trooper and potentially kill the trooper...no officer put a gun to the guys head and forced him to pull the trigger! He made those decisions on his own and no one is to blame but him. Plain and simple be accountable for your own actions in life and stop trying to blame everyone else for bad decisions made.
anon 917 said it best... you don't just run because your getting a ticket. It could have been alot worse what if he was running b/c he had kidnapped a child.. Tons of what ifs and no one on here can judge. Nothing has changed in police pursuits in 50 years you run from police then the police chase you.. nothing new nothing to do with a police state etc etc,. common sense run and be chased
What next? A cop spots someone eating Faux Gras, or a big gulp soda? and chases them doqwn for that?
Or heaven forbid, someone is texting while driving. Lets chase him down with light sirens at 100 mph to issue the ticket!
my God, you IDIOTS really reading what you write? No wonder Obama won, and Ireton won the election. Man if I could go back 50 years I would make sure you idiots were never born.
You tie the hands of cops then cry when they dont do their job... I hope one day you are in a position that you wish you had not tied their hands...
IDIOT LIBERALS! Im sick of you all..
Anonymous said...
9:11 Breaking the law?
Seatbelt "violation"??
One dead one injured? a $50,000 dollar car gone??
And you think the police are right??
Nanny state mercenaries in action.
July 9, 2012 9:32 AM
To the liberal morons post on this site, please obey the law and you may never have to worry about getting pulled over or even arrested again.
Anonymous said...
July 9, 2012 10:45 AM
Yes, he is all that and more. Looks to me like you are the BONEHEAD!!!
Maryland Judiciary Case Search Results
Last Name: MELVIN | First Name: ALVIN
31 items found, displaying 1 to 25.[First/Prev] 1, 2 [Next/Last]
RIP Shorty. Good fellow. Worked at Golden Corral for awhile. This guy had a brother that was ambushed and killed on Jersey Road a few years back. He also lost his sister and nephew in a tragic car accident. His life had been turbulent to say the least. Perhaps he didn't handle the situation as he should have but a cop looking for a minor violation (seat belt) to have his k9 rummage through his car isn't honorable either.
well once again i see the mindless have nothing better to do . First of all it wasnt a high speed chase as i dont believe 80mph was reached by either the msp troppers or the person they were attempting to pull over. Had he pulled over on mainstreet in princess anne near were the chase began this incident may have been avoided.The state trooper nearly followed him onto rt13n and when the k9 unit attempted to get in front of him the driver swerved to wreck him and nearly killed him. The driver of the car brought this whole sad incident upon himself.He had a long track record mostly on the wrong side.Im guessing after he wrecked the tropper watched the car explode into flames as it flipped over he thought he killed the trooper and figured his only way out was to take his life. The STATE TROOPERS did the job they are paid to do enforce and uphold state laws.Its not their fault this person broke it and ran.He attempted to murder a trooper and probably took his own life thinking he had succeeded. I am happy to say he didnt.Feel better Trooper Tebbins and thank you for your service to the state of maryland and i hope your k9 dog ozzie is doing well god bless!
It's amazing to me that no one has mentioned the fact that this man had a LOADED GUN in his possession. That in itself is suspicious. Lord only knows what his intentions were. Thankfully no one else was injured.
7:59 PM
Sounds like you were one of the morons chasing him.
What would constitute a high speed chase in your mind?
That officer must have x-ray vision to determine the passenger was not wearing a seat belt and 830 at night.
If he wanted to take his own life I'm curious to know why he didn't get out of the car and have a shoot out.
Or maybe he figured they were not very good shots and would either miss or just wound him.
We probably will never know.
Just like we will never know if the police report was totally factual and truthful.
Wouldn't be the first time cops lied on a report now would it?
Oh well, at least the cop wasn't killed. Then we would have had 3 months of tv coverage like Plank got. For that I am grateful.
It's amazing to me that no one has mentioned the fact that this man had a LOADED GUN in his possession. That in itself is suspicious.
Why is that suspicious? A lot of people carry loaded weapons, FOR PROTECTION.
Even people with a criminal past need protection. But for the ones with a felony conviction, they are not allowed to own a gun.
Sometimes they still do and if they get caught, another charge is added to their record.
In some cases that is justified, but certainly not all. These one size fits all laws are just a weak attempt to show the voters they are doing something about crime.
They may make some people feel good but it really does nothing in the way of reducing crime.
If one of those is caught with a gun that's not supposed to have one, what do you think he will do? Give up peacefully and do 5 years in prison or try to kill the cop?
Doesn't sound pretty but that's the reality of it.
first of all it was quite light out at 820pm that evening especially with no trees in the area the chase began. second most police and trooper cars are equipped with cameras that dont lie. as he was a career criminal i doubt the gun in his possesion was legal and at the end of the day justice was served.again itts a shame mostly mindless morons bother to chime in.
Outstanding Job Troopers! Glad you made it home alive. One less Adam Henry in this world. Wish a lot more criminals would shot themselves!
10:15....he was not a pedophile he was a great father,husband,son,uncle and brother so before you go making assumptions about people especialy when they are dead make sure you know the facts
wow next your gonna tell me he was a model citizen....he was a career criminal who took his life after he tried to kill another human being who was just doing his sworn job at the time. He did this with an innocent bystander as a pasenger in his car...look at his legal page how many duis? wasnt his first time fleeing the police...He was not a great man buut a coward who took his life after trying too take someone elses and he failed lke most everything else he did in his life good ridence to bad rubbish
itts a shame mostly mindless morons bother to chime in.
July 10, 2012 5:56 AM
It's ok, we don't mind. You can talk as much as you like. You have an opinion just like everyone else, even if it is wrong.
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