Man Convicted Of Assault After Flashing Fake Gun At Large H2Oi Crowd

SNOW HILL — A Berlin man, arrested in September for brandishing a replica handgun at a large crowd gathered on the side of Coastal Highway, was found guilty on all charges following a jury trial this week.

It took a Worcester County jury all of about four minutes on Wednesday to find Justin Hess, 31, of Berlin, guilty of all charges including second-degree assault and reckless endangerment for the incident during the unsanctioned H2Oi event in September. The incident was characterized by prosecutors as the “poster child” for the problems associated with this event weekend. The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office was able to get convictions on all but one count on Hess including second-degree assault and reckless endangerment, despite having no named victims or witnesses in what was a somewhat unique case.

According to the facts of the case, just before midnight on Sept. 29, 2017, traffic was bumper-to-bumper on Coastal Highway with hundreds of spectators gathered along the sidewalks to watch the thousands of automobiles in town for the event. Hess stopped his truck in the middle of the crowded Coastal Highway and confronted a crowd along the sidewalk on Trimper Avenue near the convention center.

“He got out of his truck and walked toward the crowd gathered behind the fence and shoved one unidentified man, inciting a fight,” said Interim Worcester County State’s Attorney William McDermott. “When the man whom Hess shoved came around from behind the fence, Hess pulled a handgun from his waistband and brandished it at the crowd.”

More