Natural Resources Police recovered the body of a Pasadena man yesterday who drowned in Main Creek near Bodkin Creek after he jumped from his powerboat to go swimming early Sunday.
The body of David A. McPherson, 31, of the 8100 block of Forest Glen Drive was found floating in the creek about 15 yards from Ventnor Marine Service shortly before 11 a.m.
Three friends who were with McPherson on his 20-foot boat told police that he went into the 10-foot-deep water about 3: 30 a.m. and disappeared. None of the friends knew how to operate the boat, which drifted for about a half-hour before reaching a pier off the 1900 block of Goose Neck Road in Pasadena.
County officers, Natural Resources Police, state troopers, EMS/Fire/Rescue workers and the Coast Guard searched the area using boats, divers and helicopters.
Police said alcohol was a factor in the accident, the third drowning in the county in 30 days.
A man armed with a long-barreled handgun robbed a Pasadena gas station Sunday, county police said.
A clerk at Ed's Shell in the 100 block of Mountain Road told police that a man wearing a denim shirt and dark aviation sunglasses walked into the store shortly before 4 p.m., pulled out the weapon and demanded money.
The man took an undisclosed amount of money and fled east, police said.
Bandit on bicycle holds up fast-foot restaurant
A bicycle-riding bandit dressed in blue brandished a gun Sunday and robbed a Pasadena fast-food restaurant at its drive-through window, county police said.
An employee of the McDonald's in the first block of Magothy Beach Road told police that a man knocked on the drive-through window shortly after midnight and announced a robbery.
The man, clad in blue jeans, a blue shirt and a blue baseball cap, pulled out his gun and demanded money. The employee complied, and the gunman rode off on a blue mountain bike with yellow spokes.
A Texan who had withdrawn money from an automated teller machine on Church Circle yesterday was robbed by a muscular man who body-slammed him to the sidewalk, Annapolis police said.
Shannon A. Finch, 19, of Burleson told police that he withdrew money from the machine at the NationsBank branch on the circle about 1: 30 p.m. As he was shoving the money into his pocket, a man grabbed him and wrestled with him.
The man picked Finch up, threw him to the ground, took his money and fled on Duke of Gloucester Street, police said. Finch was treated for minor cuts at Anne Arundel Medical Center.
A Baltimore woman was in critical condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center yesterday after she walked onto Ritchie Highway in Brooklyn Park early Sunday and was struck by two cars, county police said.
Linda Rene Hryckiwskyj, 36, walked onto the northbound lanes of Ritchie Highway near 11th Avenue about 2: 30 a.m. and into the path of a 1985 Cadillac, driven by Jacqueline M. Hart, 24, of Baltimore. The car struck Hryckiwskyj, who was flung onto the windshield and to the pavement, police said.
Hart pulled into a shopping center lot, and her passengers ran to check on Hryckiwskyj. Before they reached her, Hryckiwskyj was struck again by an unidentified car that tried to swerve around her, police said.
Hart left before police and paramedics arrived, but turned herself in at the Northern District police station about 5: 30 a.m., police said.
The state's attorney's office is reviewing the case.
Fire officials arrest man after police douse flames
County police and fire officials exchanged roles Sunday as officers doused flames from a Brooklyn Park home with a garden hose and fire officials arrested the owner, accused of setting the blaze, officials said.
Police were called to quell a domestic disturbance at a home in the 5200 block of Disney Ave. about 8: 30 a.m. When they arrived, homeowner Robert J. Sato Jr., 46, locked himself in the house and told police he was going to kill himself, said EMS/Fire/Rescue spokesman Capt. Allan Graves.
Moments later, the officers noticed smoke coming from a bedroom, Graves said. They kicked in the door and dragged Sato from the house, then used a garden hose to extinguish the flames.
A fire investigator arrested Sato and charged him with arson, malicious burning and reckless endangerment.
Officials estimate the fire caused $1,000 in damage to the house and $4,000 to its contents.
A Severna Park boy was in serious condition yesterday after he drove a go-kart into a tree Sunday and was thrown 15 feet, county police said.
Timothy Justin Shelton, 14, of the 100 block of Barbara Road was trying to turn from the street into his yard about 11: 30 a.m. when he hit the small tree, police said.
He was flown to Johns Hopkins Children's Center, where he was treated for head, neck and chest injuries, police said.
A man with a handgun robbed a Glen Burnie gas station clerk of an undisclosed amount of money Saturday, county police said.
The clerk told police that he was taking out trash from the Mobil gas station in the 7900 block of Crain Highway about 1 a.m. when a man approached him from behind, stuck a black revolver in his back and ordered him to turn around and hand over his wallet.
The clerk complied, and the man ran off with the cash, police said.
County police arrested 13 people on drunken driving charges over the weekend during a sobriety checkpoint in Edgewater.
Officers stopped more than 1,700 motorists along Solomons Island Road near Poplar Point Road between 11 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday.
Pub Date: 7/22/97
