On Friday, December 15, 2023, Davarn M. Leach, Jr., age 18, of Baltimore, Maryland, was sentenced to 20 years in the Division of Correction for his conviction on the charge of armed robbery. The Honorable Brian D. Shockley of the Worcester County Circuit Court, who imposed the sentence, suspended all but 12 years and placed Leach on 3 years of supervised probation upon his release.
The charges arose from a call for service made to the Ocean City Police Department on November 18, 2022. Officers were dispatched to Dorchester Street in Ocean City, Maryland where they spoke with the victim who stated he had been standing near his vehicle when he was attacked by a group of three males. One of the males produced a silver semi-automatic handgun, pointed it at the victim’s head and then struck him with it while demanding money, car keys and a cell phone. The suspects then stole the victim’s vehicle and other items and fled the scene. The victim was transported to the hospital where he received treatment for a laceration he sustained as a result of the assault. OCPD officers located the stolen vehicle as it was fleeing out of town on westbound Route 50, and alerted other law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction along that route. The vehicle eventually crashed in Cambridge, Maryland where police identified the passenger, Davarn Leach, as the robbery suspect. Officers located the victim’s car keys and debit card on Leach’s person at the time of his arrest, as well as a silver handgun which had been reported stolen from another vehicle in Ocean City earlier that same day.
Worcester County State’s Attorney Kris Heiser thanked the Ocean City Police Department and Worcester County Sheriff’s Office for their swift actions in response to the initial call for service and eventual traffic stop which resulted in Leach’s arrest and subsequent conviction. Heiser also commended Assistant State’s Attorney Dempsey Stewart who prosecuted the case.
