NRP Blotter

The Maryland Natural Resources Police issued citations this month for illegal crabbing, alcohol-impaired boating and driving, and responded to the report of a shark bite.

Allegany County ─ A Midland man was charged July 6 with driving under the influence of alcohol and speeding after a traffic stop on Route 36.

An officer saw a vehicle cross the double yellow line and weave from shoulder to shoulder while traveling 85 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Wesley Wilson Wamsley, 19, failed field sobriety tests and recorded a .18 blood alcohol content on a preliminary breathalyzer test. A person who has a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater is assumed to be under the influence of alcohol in Maryland.

Wamsley refused to take a breathalyzer test at the State Police barracks in LaVale.

His trial date has not been set in Cumberland District Court.

Somerset County ─ Officers arrested a man on July 16 for operating a vessel while impaired, drug possession and negligent operation after his vessel struck a dock at Somers Cove Marina in Crisfield.

Barry Chew Jr., 39, of Fruitland, faces maximum fines of $1,500 for the boating violations, and $25,000 and four years in prison for drug possession. He is scheduled to appear in Somerset District Court on Sept. 9.

St. Mary’s County ─ A St. Inigoes man was charged with multiple crabbing violations after officers on saturation patrol stopped a boat without navigational lights at 3:30 a.m. on June 28.

Ronald Francis Welch, 65, had 1 ¼ bushels of hard crabs aboard his 16-foot boat on Smith Creek. He admitted to officers that he caught the crabs with crab pots, an illegal method on that waterway, where the legal starting time is 5:12 a.m.

After sorting and measuring the catch, officers found Welch had 10 undersized hard crabs.

Welch received five citations and four written warnings. If found guilty, he faces a maximum fine of $3,500.

Washington County ─ A Baltimore man was charged July 9 with negligent driving, and possession of marijuana and paraphernalia after a traffic stop on Interstate 68 westbound.

Richard Iammarino, 19, was charged after an officer noticed a vehicle drifting back and forth across the highway. After stopped the car, the officer noticed the strong smell of marijuana and saw a glass bong and two containers of the drug.

Iammarino faces maximum fine of $1,500 and up to 90 days in jail. His court date has not been set.

Washington County ─ Officers evicted campers from Greenbrier State Park after they committed a series of violations over a three-day period during the July 4 holiday.

Maria DeJesus Saucedo Bustos, 49, of Chantilly, Va., was charged with alcohol possession in a non-designated area. If found guilty, she could be fined a maximum of $500 in Washington District Court.

A 16-year-old, also from Chantilly, was charged with disorderly conduct, failure to obey a police officer and driving without a license. If found guilty, he could be fined a maximum of $1,500 and up to seven months in jail.

Worcester County ─ Officers responded to the report of a shark bite on July 6 in Chincoteague Bay off George Island Landing in Stockton.

Kevin Patrick Musgrave, 57, said he and another clammer anchored their vessel off Mills Island about 9 a.m. When he entered the water, Musgrave said something struck his left leg. He got back in the boat and determined the wound was consistent with a shark bite.

Officers concurred and advised Musgrave to seek immediate medical attention.