OCEAN CITY, Md. - Five people were arrested in Ocean City, including four teens, after multiple police agencies responded to stop a car that they say ran from officers. Two handguns were recovered by officers.
Just after 11 p.m. Monday, officers from the Ocean City Police Department tried to stop a car without headlights on near Baltimore Avenue and 17th Street when they said it did not stop. Officers tried to stop it again when it began speeding. Police said they did not chase the vehicle and instead observed it run several red lights before deploying spike strips at 59th Street.
The car continued moving so police drove to the Route 90 bridge to make sure that it would not become disabled on the bridge, as one tire was deflated. Though the bridge is marked with signs that prohibit pedestrians, police said four people got out of the car and threw a bag over the edge into the bay below. A different driver continued on Route 90.
The group of people on the bridge included a 16-year-old and 17-year-old from Lorton, Va., another 17-year-old from Alexandria, Va., and 19-year-old Ibrahim Kanu from Woodbridge, Va. Police said Kanu threw the bag and had a loaded handgun on him when they searched the group.
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police recovered the bag floating beneath the bridge and found it containing another loaded handgun.
Eventually the driver, later identified as 20-year-old Matthewos Mulugeta from Arlington, Va., was found and taken into custody at a gas station on Racetrack Road in Berlin.
All five were arrested and face multiple gun-related charges. The three teens were waived to adult status. Police believe Kanu was the original driver and he faces an additional 35 traffic citations. All are being held at the Ocean City Police Department, waiting to be seen by a Maryland District Court Commissioner.