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Maryland Natural Resource Police Blotter
Allegany County — On Friday, May 25, at 8:15 p.m. the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) investigated an ATV accident at Green Ridge State Forest on the off-road vehicle (ORV) trail at East Valley Road. Robert James Ferguson, III, 37, of Sykesville sustained injuries while riding in a group of four when his ATV struck a tree limb, causing the vehicle to rollover. He was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
Ferguson was transported by ambulance to the Oldtown Volunteer Fire Department, where Maryland State Police (MSP) Trooper 5 airlifted him to Cumberland Memorial Hospital. Flintstone and Orleans Volunteer Fire Companies assisted NRP with the incident.
Garrett County – On Saturday, May 26, the Maryland Natural Resources Police investigated a tubing accident that occurred on Deep Creek Lake at 3 p.m. A 17 year-old Crofton girl sustained a laceration to her head after colliding with another 17 year-old boy from Gambrills. The two were being pulled on a tube by a vessel when the tube came in contact with a large wake. The two collided heads as they fell from the tube. The girl was treated and released at Garrett Memorial Hospital.
Garrett County – On Saturday, May 26, at 10:30 p.m. the Maryland Natural Resources Police charged Stefan Paul Fleischmann, 41, of McHenry, with operating a vessel while impaired by alcohol and or drugs in McHenry Cove on Deep Creek Lake. NRP stopped Fleischmann for allegedly operating a vessel without navigational lights. Fleischmann was also operating a vessel from a local marina without permission. Charges are pending on the unauthorized use of a vessel.
Garrett County - The Maryland Natural Resources Police investigated a boating accident that occurred on Sunday, May 27, at 12:05 a.m. near the Glendale Bridge on Deep Creek Lake. Britton Lee Grimes, 32, of Donegal, Pa., was operating a 21-foot Chris Craft when he struck the rocks near the bridge. He and his passenger, Michael Adam Sage, 26, of Mt. Pleasant, Pa. did not sustain injuries. Grimes was charged with negligent operation of a vessel, failure to maintain a proper lookout and operating vessel at an unsafe speed for the conditions.
Washington County – Ryan Wayne Doggett, 22, of Woodlawn, faces drug charges after the Maryland Natural Resources Police entered his campsite in Greenbrier State Park on Friday, May 25, at 11:48 p.m. NRP entered the site to enforce the 11 p.m. quiet hour policy and found a smoking pipe and a small quantity of suspected marijuana in front of Doggett. He faces charges of possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), marijuana, and possession of CDS paraphernalia. Two other occupants of the site, Amanda Lauren Calianno, 19, of Severn, and Katie Samantha Fox, 19, also of Woodlawn, were issued citations for possession of alcoholic beverages by a person less than 21 years of age.
Washington County – Robert Lee Hawkins, 22, Nicole Michelle Pottorff, 19 and a 17 year-old boy, all of Hagerstown, face drug charges after the Maryland Natural Resources Police investigated a suspicious vehicle parked along Cress Pond Road near the Conococheague Creek on Monday, May 28, at 1:15 a.m. Hawkins and Pottorff face charges of possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), marijuana, and possession of CDS paraphernalia. The 17 year-old will be referred to the Department of Juvenile Justice for disposition.
Worcester County – On Saturday, May 26, at 8 p.m., the Maryland Natural Resources Police charged Scott Christopher McLaughlin, 35, of Philadelphia, Pa., with operating a motor vessel while under the influence of alcohol in the Isle of Wight Bay, north of 49th Street in Ocean City.
NRP was in the area after receiving a complaint of a possible intoxicated boater. An officer located the suspect vessel and was subsequently flagged over by McLaughlin who requested assistance because his vessel was drifting towards a nearby rock jetty. After rendering assistance, NRP arrested McLaughlin and transported him to the Ocean City Police Department where he was issued citations for operating a motor vessel while under the influence of alcohol, operating a motor vessel while impaired and operating a motor vessel while impaired by alcohol and or drugs. A court date of July 20 has been scheduled for McLaughlin in Worcester County District Court.
The NRP reminds boaters that the laws pertaining to the operation of a vessel in relation to the legal alcohol content is identical to that of driving a vehicle.
May 31, 2007The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) is the enforcement arm of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). With an authorized strength of 280 officers and a dedicated staff of civilian and volunteer personnel, the NRP 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.
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