A 37-year-old Salisbury woman was in jail charged with attempted second-degree murder and related charges after a taxi driver was robbed Dec. 16, according to Salisbury Police.

Meredis Latonya Fluitt was also charged with armed robbery, robbery, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and theft of less than $100, police said.

Police said they responded to the 600 block of East Church Street for a report of an armed robbery of a Bailey’s taxi driver. Officers met with the driver, identified as the victim, Pennell Church.

The investigation revealed he was called to Royal Farms on South Salisbury Boulevard and East Main Street to pick up a fare. A woman got into the cab and asked to go to the 600 block of East. Church Street.

When they arrived, she asked the driver to pull behind a house.

There, the driver said he felt what he described as a knife pressed against the back of his neck by the woman, who was in the back seat, police said.

Police said the suspect said, “Give me all of your money or I will cut your throat.” The driver gave her an undisclosed amount of money, police said.

She got out of the cab and ran away, police said.

A Fruitland Police Department K-9 responded and conducted a track, but was unsuccessful, police said. A witness reported seeing a woman  running and getting into a newer model Ford Explorer.

Police said the description was broadcast to area law enforcement agencies and a short time later, a trooper from the Maryland State Police stopped the vehicle.

Further investigation revealed the suspect was the operator and she was arrested, police said.

The cab driver had minor injuries to his neck and was treated on the scene by emergency personnel, police said.

Man charged with being a habitual beggar

A 28-year-old Delmar man was released on personal recognizance after being charged with failure to obey a lawful order and habitual beggar, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

Nicholas W. Parks was charged Dec. 19 on Route 13 at Northpointe Drive in Salisbury, a deputy said.

He was arrested after deputies, at 2:30 p.m., saw a man standing in the median strip of Route 13 north, near  Northpointe Drive, holding a sign stating Homeless Need Help,, a deputy said.

The deputy said he watched as the man walked into the roadway to collect money from passing motorists, even though he had warned the man the day before to stay away from that location and stop walking into the roadway to collect money.

The deputy said he was familiar with multiple encounters with the man, during which officers had warned him about soliciting in the roadway.

State Police issue fraud, scams warning

Maryland State Police are warning the public to be cautious about scams, which increase during the holiday season.

The warning was issued after troopers responded to the Cherry Way area of Salisbury to investigate a report of suspicious activity involving people saying they were from ADT Security. Police said the complainant said a white man with red hair knocked on the door 7 p.m. trying to sell ADT Security.

Police said the complainant refused to open the door and the man who knocked  became agitated and determined.

The home resident called 911 and the man who knocked left and couldn’t be located, police said.

Police said the name on the business card was Joseph VanArsdale, but person’s whose number was on the card said he did not work for ADT Security.

Police called ADT Corporate Headquarters, and nobody there could verify the person’s employment.

Police said anybody noticing suspicious activity should call 911.

They warned against believing scams such a caller saying a loved one is incarcerated overseas and bail money must be sent or an overdue bill must be paid immediately or the caller will be arrested.

Salisbury Police release shoplifting arrests log

In an effort to reduce shoplifting incidents, Salisbury Police have released the names of those arrested for shoplifting from Dec. 22 to Dec. 28. The following were charged:

Jennifer Lynn Gordy, 28, of Mardela; Marisena Jean, 47, of Salisbury and James Edward Nickoles, 52, of Bishopville.

Those charged from Dec. 15 to Dec. 21 are:

David Clyde Walker, 43, of Delmar; Torrie Keyshanna Dupont, 23, of Salisbury; Kailtin Elizabeth Frantz, 19, of Salisbury; Jacob Lee Miller, 25, of Hebron; Jennifer Lynn Carey, 34, of Salisbury; Tyrone Lamont Handy, 34, of Delmar;  Eric Lee Miles, 46, of Salisbury; Zachary Thomas Gill, 20, of Salisbury; Jo Ann Wall, 43, of Seaford and Jordan Stephan Dupont, 23, of Salisbury.

Man extradited from Delaware on charges

A 43-year-old Delmar man was in jail without bond, charged with failure to appear, according to a Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

David Clyde Walker Jr. was arrested Dec. 19, a deputy said.

A deputy extradited him back to Wicomico County from Delaware where he was being detained as a fugitive from Wicomico County, the deputy said.

Walker was being sought on five circuit court bench warrants and one district court bench warrant, all issued after he failed to appear for cases where he had been charged with burglary, theft and traffic related charges, a deputy said.

Pair accused in Twin Tree Road burglary

Two men were released on personal recognizance after they were charged with attempted fourth-degree burglary following an incident Dec. 20, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

Jesse T. Shipley, 19, of Salisbury and Shane L. Kulp, 19, of Fruitland were arrested in the 600 block of Twin Tree Road in Salisbury after deputies, at 12:49 p.m., responded to a residence there for a reported burglary, a deputy said.

Two men attempted to enter a residence by a rear door but were scared away when they realized someone was inside, the deputy said. A description was provided by those who saw them running away from the area, the deputy said.

The deputy saw two men who matched the description on Woodland Avenue and  both were detained, the deputy said. During  investigation, the resident identified them as the men who tried to enter his residence, the deputy said.

Parsonsburg man held on assault charges

A 30-year-old Parsonsburg man was in jail on $10,000 bond after being charged with second-degree assault, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

James Richard Brittain Jr. was charged Dec. 21 in the 6000 block of Archie Dennis Road in Parsonsburg after a report of a domestic fight, a deputy said.

When deputies arrived, they met with a woman who said she  had been assaulted by her husband after he became enraged because she hid his heroin, the deputy said. The victim said she was hit in the face repeatedly and thrown to the ground,  the  deputy said.

During the investigation the deputy observed signs of injury to the victim, the deputy said.

Man held on million-dollar bond in weapons case

A 31-year-old Salisbury man was held on $50,000 bond, increased to $1 million following a bond review on Dec 24, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

Gualberto Ventura Marroquin-Paxtor was charged with first-degree assault and dangerous weapon after an incident Dec. 23 in the 300 block of Zion Road, a deputy said.

Deputies said they responded to an alcohol-fueled rage against a woman a man lived with. The female victim said she was repeatedly assaulted while being threatened that she and her children would be killed, the deputy said.

Deputies said a man brandished a knife and used the electric cord from a heater to try and strangle the woman. She ran, but he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back into the room where the assault continued, the deputy said.

Two men charged following traffic stop

One man was released on personal recognizance and another held without bail after a drug-related arrest on Dec. 23, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

A deputy said Treyvon L. Bowman, 20, of Ellendale, and  Qualeel Tyshawn Westcott, 19, of Fayetteville, N.C., were arrested. Bowman was charged with possession of controlled dangerous substance and Westcott was charged with fugitive from Delaware, the deputy said.

Bowman was released on personal recognizance and Westcott was held without bail pending extradition back to Delaware, the deputy said.

He said a deputy stopped a car travelling on the Route 13 bypass without its lights on. The deputy said he discovered the operator was wanted through the state of Delaware.

During an encounter with the passenger, the deputy recovered an unlabeled pill bottle that contained what the deputy identified as cocaine, the deputy said. A further search revealed  he also possessed marijuana, the deputy said.

Car crashes into ditch, man is charged

A 50-year-old Salisbury man was held on $50,000 bail charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and driving while revoked, according to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office.

Steven Allan Parsons was arrested after a deputy responded to a reported vehicle in the ditch in the 33000 block of Bob Smith Road, a deputy said.

The deputy met with witnesses who said they saw a man after he reportedly drove into the ditch and that he appeared extremely intoxicated, the deputy said.

The deputy met with the man and observed he could barely stand upright and could not walk in a straight line, the deputy said. The deputy also detected a heavy odor of alcohol, the deputy said. The driver refused sobriety testing and a breath test, the deputy said.

The man’s privilege to drive had been revoked by the state of Maryland, the deputy said.