Maryland State Police - SEARCH CONTINUES

Edwin L. Fletcher

Maryland State Police Press Release
03/27/2014

SEARCH CONTINUES FOR SALISBURY SUSPECT IN ASSAULT ON POLICE

(SALISBURY, MD) – A combined police search effort is continuing in Wicomico County and throughout the Lower Shore area for a felony drug fugitive who used his pickup truck last night to assault police who were trying to arrest him.

The fugitive is identified as Edwin L. Fletcher, 31, whose last known address was in the 27000-block of Riverside Drive Extended, Salisbury, Md. He is described as an African American male, 6”2”, 160 lbs. Fletcher was already wanted on a warrant for a felony drug charge. Additional charges are pending in connection with his assault on police that occurred last night.

State, county and city police continued the search for Fletcher throughout the night. The search is being coordinated by the Maryland State Apprehension Team, a combined unit of police investigators skilled in locating fugitives. While the search is continuing in the Wicomico County area, police have notified law enforcement throughout the region to be on the lookout for Fletcher.
The Maryland state trooper and Wicomico County sheriff’s deputy injured during the attempted arrest of Fletcher last night were both treated and released from the hospital overnight. They will be on leave while recovering from their injuries.

Shortly after 8:00 p.m. yesterday, a combined state, county and city team of police officers was searching for Fletcher in an attempt to serve the arrest warrant for the felony drug charge. Fletcher was observed in a parking lot off of Market Street in Salisbury in a rented Dodge Ram pickup.

When police converged on Fletcher’s vehicle, identifying themselves and ordering him to surrender, he rammed a state trooper’s vehicle head on and then drove up onto the car. In fear for the life of the trooper, police on the arrest team fired at the suspect, but there is still no indication the suspect was struck. The suspect fled the area in his truck, but the vehicle was found abandoned a short time later.

The investigation, led by the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit, is continuing. Assistance is being provided by the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office, the Salisbury Police Department, the Maryland State Apprehension Team, and Maryland State Police from the Salisbury Barrack, Criminal Enforcement Division, and the Forensic Sciences Division.