Police Beat for July 26

Stabbing suspect arrested

Annapolis police officers arrested a man inside a Chestertown hotel early Friday morning in connection with a stabbing in Eastport earlier last week.

Alfred Johnson was charged with first-degree assault after police said he allegedly stabbed a man in the back in the 1000 block of Park Avenue on Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old victim was found lying in the street. He was conscious and talking when paramedics flew him to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Annapolis investigators, with the help of the Kent County Sheriff's Office and Chestertown Police Department, found Johnson at the Driftwood Inn on Washington Avenue in Chestertown.

Johnson is being held at Jennifer Road Detention Center in Parole on $1 million bond, police said.

Nude man arrested

A naked man was charged with burglary and theft early Friday morning after allegedly breaking into a yacht to steal beer and vodka, city police said.

Police were called to a motor yacht at the Annapolis Yacht Basin on Compromise Street shortly before 3 a.m. after people living on the yacht heard noises and found a stranger on their boat.

The man ran off, but the yacht's occupants found a six-pack of Rolling Rock beer from their bar sitting on the dock. A bottle of Ketel One vodka was missing.

As police took reports from the victims, other officers on scene heard a noise coming from bushes at the nearby Annapolis Marriott Waterfront hotel.

They called for the person to come out, and a naked man emerged from the bushes.

Police looked in the bushes and found a pile of soaking wet clothes that matched what the people on the yacht had seen the intruder wearing: a black V-neck short-sleeved shirt, jeans, black socks and shoes.

Daniel Rose of Eldersburg was charged with first-degree, third-degree and fourth-degree burglary and theft of less than $100.

Traffic backs up Route 50

Motorists heading over the Bay Bridge to ocean resorts encountered plenty of traffic headaches on Route 50 yesterday.

At one point in the afternoon, eastbound traffic was backed up 10 miles to the Interstate 97 interchange.

Traffic also was tied up on West Street in Annapolis for part of the afternoon as motorists detoured through the city in an attempt to escape the backup on Route 50.

Sgt. Jonathan Green, a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, said he was not aware of any major incidents or crashes contributing to the delays.

"It looks like just a very busy Saturday on a summer weekend," he said.

Drivers can get Bay Bridge information at www.baybridge.com or by calling 1-877-BAYSPAN (1-877-229-7726).

Jewelry missing

More than $15,000 worth of jewelry was taken from an Annapolis home Friday night, city police said.

A resident of Thompson Street reported that someone ransacked a bedroom and stole the jewelry. Police have no suspects.

NORTH COUNTY

Armed man nabbed

County police are crediting their stepped-up presence at Arundel Mills mall for catching a suspected vandal who they said was carrying drugs and a loaded gun in his backpack.

Security officers at the mall notified police at 11:41 a.m. yesterday that a man was spray painting a car in the parking lot.

Police officers found the damaged 1992 Honda Accord, but didn't see the suspect. An officer on bike patrol later found a man near a mall entrance carrying a backpack and smelling of spray paint.

The man told police the vehicle was his and he indeed spray painted it. As officers questioned the man, they said he told them, "Don't mess with the 804," and, "I should just kill everyone."

Concerned, an officer asked the man if he had any weapons. The man stepped away from the officer and reached into his backpack.

The officer intervened and put the man in handcuffs. A search of the man's backpack turned up a loaded .45-caliber pistol, empty pistol magazines, shotgun shells, marijuana, a digital scale and a "smoking device."

The man told police there also was a shotgun in his car. Officers searched the car and found the loaded gun.

The man was identified as Timothy John Barnes, 21, of no fixed address in Wake, Va. He was charged with possession of a handgun, possession of a concealed deadly weapon, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Bus stop heist

A girl waiting for a bus near the Motor Vehicle Administration headquarters in Glen Burnie was robbed at gunpoint late Tuesday night.

The victim, 17, told police two men approached her at the bus stop on Ritchie Highway around 11:22 p.m.

One of the men pulled a handgun and demanded her money, so she gave up her purse with an undetermined amount of cash in it.

The second man took her cell phone before both assailants ran off toward the Days Inn motel.

Police called in a K-9 unit to assist in the search for the two assailants. Both were described as black men, around 19 or 20 years old, between 5 feet 9 inches and 6 feet tall, and wearing white tank tops and shorts.

The men were not found and an investigation is continuing.

Teens rob boy of bike

County police are looking for three young teenagers who robbed a 9-year-old boy in the Pioneer City neighborhood of Severn on Thursday night.

Officers were called to the 8500 block of Pioneer Drive at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The victim's father told police his son was riding his bike when he was approached by three teens.

One of the assailants punched the boy in the face and knocked him off his bike. The three teens grabbed the bike and took off.

Police were able to get only a vague description of the suspects.

The victim had only minor injuries, police said.

KENT ISLAND

Homes burglarized

Two homes burglarized in Stevensville on July 17 might have been hit by the same culprits, Queen Anne's County Sheriff's Department investigators said.

The two residences, in the 500 and 800 blocks of Buckingham Drive in the Bay City community, were burglarized, apparently some time during the morning.

Owners of the first home called police after they returned home to find a 42-inch television missing. Then they discovered cash, jewelry, tools, golf clubs, numerous PlayStation games and consoles, and three suitcases also missing. The missing items were worth nearly $12,000, the sheriff's office reported.

Police investigators spoke to a witness who saw a tall, thin, white male wearing white shorts pulling suitcases in the home's driveway earlier in the morning. Police believe the burglary occurred between 8 and 9 a.m.

Owners of the second home did not report the burglary until July 18, when one of the residents could not find a gym bag. A further check found cash, watches, an iPod, a gold necklace and a Nintendo console and games missing. The total loss was estimated at $3,300.

Queen Anne's County Sheriff R. Gery Hofmann is asking anyone who has information or who may have seen suspicious activity to call the Criminal Investigation Unit at 410-758-0770.