Arundel man charged with attempted murder

Police say he attacked group with his personal watercraft

A Glen Burnie man has been charged with attempted murder after using a Sea Doo personal watercraft to run down people he had fought with on Dobbins Island in the Magothy River on Sunday night, Maryland Natural Resources Police said.

Joseph B. Ireland, 28, faces numerous charges, including: attempted first-degree and second-degree murder, first-degree and second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and several boating violations. He also berated and threatened to fight police officers who arrested him, police said.

Ireland had been arguing with other men on Dobbins Island at about 8 p.m. Sunday when the confrontation turned physical and punches were thrown, according to a statement of probable cause filed by the Natural Resources Police.

He got onto his orange-and-white personal watercraft and drove off before turning around and charging at the group of men, police said.

The personal watercraft struck two men. They were treated for minor injuries, said Capt. Brian Rathgeb, southern region commander for the Natural Resources Police.

Several of the victims then got onto a vessel and followed Ireland, who fled to his parents’ house on Rainbow Drive in Pasadena, police said.

When the Natural Resources Police officer found Ireland, he had bloodshot eyes, smelled like alcohol and had injuries to his face, the statement of probable cause said.

Ireland told the officer that he had been “jumped” and had done nothing wrong. Later, he admitted to drinking six or seven beers that night and to starting the initial fight, according to the statement.

As more police arrived, Ireland’s demeanor varied from paranoia to hysteria, police wrote in the statement of charges. He failed a series of field sobriety tests, police said.

As Ireland was handcuffed, he told a female police officer that she was “hot” and “sexy” and that he wanted to have sex with a police officer, the statement said. He called the officer “baby” and “baby girl” as he was driven to the Anne Arundel County Eastern District Police Station in Pasadena for booking, the statement of probable cause said.

At the station, he became belligerent with male police officers, calling them derogatory names and threatening to beat them up, according to the statement.

When police gave Ireland a breath test for alcohol, more than two hours after the incident, it registered 0.22 percent.

Later, he demanded to use the bathroom and when he came out, he resisted being handcuffed again, police said. He continued to resist officers as they put him in a vehicle to take him to another police station and he threatened to assault them, police said.

Ireland was held without bond on Monday and a bail review is scheduled for Anne Arundel County District Court in Annapolis this morning.

Ireland, who was being held at the Jennifer Road Detention Center in Annapolis, did not have an attorney listed in court records.

Rathgeb said Dobbins Island was busy with people swimming and wading who could have been injured during the incident.

“It’s hot, it’s the summertime, there’s tons of people there,” he said. “It could have gone horribly, horribly wrong.”