Ocean City Police arrested an 18-year-old for throwing full beer cans at officers' heads.
They say that ignorance of the law is no excuse. With hundreds of thousands of local, state, and federal laws on the books, it is next to impossible for the average American to know every single crime.
But certain crimes are just common sense. For example, it’s against the law to throw full beer cans at a police officer’s head.
In early August, Ocean City Police began receiving noise complaints about an out-of-control house party on 2nd Street. When officers arrived at the residence, they noticed dozens of people on the house’s third-floor deck. According to police, the noise could be heard from over a block away.
Police began to climb the steps when they encountered 18-year-old Trevor Lafrance. Instead of accepting the fact that he was busted for drinking underage, Lafrance decided to whip a full beer can at the officers as hard as he could. Police reports indicate that the flying beer can hit a police officer in the arm after only narrowly missing his head.
At this point, the partygoers realized the police had arrived. They all retreated inside the unit and then started slowly trickling outside. That is when police encountered Lafrance for a second time.
Once again, he decided his best course of action was to whip a full beer can at a police officer. The can barely missed, striking another officer in the head instead.
Ultimately, the landlord arrived to try to help police resolve the situation. Police then placed Lafrance under arrest and charged him with two counts of felony first-degree assault. If convicted, each charge can carry up to 25 years in prison.
It is unclear whether these charges will stand. Maryland law defines first-degree assault as causing or attempting to cause serious personal injury to another person. While usually reserved for weapons crimes, it is possible to be charged with first-degree assault without using a firearm. In those cases, prosecutors must prove that the attack carried a substantial risk of death, could have caused prolonged or permanent disfigurement, cor ould have caused a loss of function or impairment of function in a bodily organ or appendage.
These charges will ultimately rest on whether prosecutors agree that a thrown beer can could cause serious personal injury.
