Maryland Natural Resources Police Charge 7 with Underage Drinking and Arrest 1 for Driving Under the Influence

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GARRETT COUNTY— Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged seven individuals with underage possession of alcohol and arrested another for driving under the influence of alcohol on June 11 during two unrelated incidents in Garrett County.

In the first incident, an NRP officer on patrol in the area of Lost Land in the Potomac Garrett State Forest observed a large group of people congregated in the group camp area. One individual was spotted driving off on an ATV. The officer checked the group and charged Robert Sypolt, 20, of Oakland and Josh Beckman, 20, of Mt. Lake Park each with person under 21 in possession of alcohol. The individual that drove off on the ATV returned the camp area while the officer issued Sypolt and Beckman their citations. Brandon A. Dewitt, 19, of Swanton approached the officer and said he had eaten some mushrooms and wasn’t feeling well. Dewitt was transported by Southern Garrett ambulance to Garrett Memorial Hospital for observation and released. Upon release, NRP arrested and charged Dewitt with driving under the influence.

In a separate incident, NRP officers charged five individuals with underage possession of alcohol on Deep Creek Lake during a saturation patrol. Officers stopped a vessel for negligent operation and during their investigation charged Daniel Lloyd, 20, of Arnold, Pa.; Jennifer Lorence, 20, of Morgantown, W.Va.; Tyneisha Harris, 18, of Aliquippa, Pa.; Ashley Wood, 19, of Shaker Heights, Ohio; and Stacie Pollock, 19, of Kennett Square, Pa. with persons under 21 in possession of alcohol.

The Maryland Natural Resources Police is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 285 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the Natural Resources Police provide a variety of services in addition to conservation and boating law enforcement duties throughout the State of Maryland. These services include homeland security, search and rescue, emergency medical services, education, information and communications services on a round the clock basis. NRP is the only police force aside from the Maryland State Police that has statewide jurisdiction.

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June 20, 2005

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 446,000 acres of public lands and 18,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 11 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov