DELAWARE/MARYLAND - Three people from Dover who stole a car were arrested after a series of attempted traffic stops, the deployment of tire-deflation devices and a multi-agency search in Worcester County.
The Ocean City Police Department said officers first attempted to stop a speeding car on Baltimore Avenue at about 1:15 a.m. May 30. Police say that because the car was going so fast, officers were unable to safely conduct the stop and broadcast a description of the car to nearby law enforcement agencies.
A second stop was attempted on Philadelphia Avenue near 31st Street, but the driver sped away. Police said the car drove north on Coastal Highway speeding and ran multiple red lights. Officers did not pursue the car.
Ocean City officers deployed stop sticks at the intersection of Coastal Highway and Route 90. The car hit the devices, puncturing several tires, but continued west across the Route 90 bridge.
Deputies with the Worcester County Sheriff's Office attempted to stop the car, but the driver continued driving before the car eventually stopped near Worcester Highway in Showell. The car's three occupants then ran away into a nearby wooded area.
A search involving the Worcester County Sheriff's Office, Ocean City Police Department, Berlin Police Department, Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack and Maryland State Police Aviation Command Trooper 4 was launched.
Officers later found the driver, identified as Edward Ray Reedy Jr., 19, of Dover, hiding on a property along Worcester Highway. Investigators determined Reedy had been driving the stolen car.
Officers later found the driver, identified as Edward Ray Reedy Jr., 19, of Dover, hiding on a property along Worcester Highway. Investigators determined Reedy had been driving the stolen car. (OCPD)
Ocean City Police Department K-9 teams, including K-9 Mackenzie and K-9 Finn, assisted in the search. The dogs tracked to a nearby property where officers found a second person, Qristian Gavin Durant, 19, of Dover, hiding beneath a rear deck.
During the investigation, Ocean City officers coordinated with Dover Police Department and learned the car had been stolen from its owner's residence in Dover late on May 29.
The dogs tracked to a nearby property where officers found a second person, Qristian Gavin Durant, 19, of Dover, hiding beneath a rear deck. (OCPD)
Reedy and Durant were charged with theft valued at $1,500 to under $25,000 and obstructing and hindering the investigation.
At about 6:30 a.m., Worcester County Sheriff's Office deputies found the third person, a 17-year-old from Dover, in the area where the car had initially stopped.
The teenager was charged with theft valued at $1,500 to under $25,000. Police also said the teenager was wanted on an outstanding warrant from the Kemper County Sheriff's Office in Mississippi for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon related to a shooting on April 27. The teenager was transported to the Lower Eastern Shore Children's Center pending extradition proceedings.
Durant was held on a $20,000 bond following an appearance before a Maryland District Court commissioner. Reedy was ordered held without bond and also faces multiple traffic-related charges.
