Prince George’s County Police arrested and charged two 17-year-olds with assaulting a county officer who was trying to break up a fight outside of the Quality Inn on Route 1 early Sunday morning, police said.
Mauricio Villanueva, of Hyattsville, and Stephany Rodriguez, of Laurel, were charged with second-degree assault of a police officer. According to county spokesman Cpl. Larry Johnson, about 50 intoxicated attendees of a hotel party were gathered in the parking lot at about 2:30 a.m.
A bystander, who had noticed their disorderly behavior, called police to report the group. As he was calling, police said Villanueva and Rodriguez allegedly threw glass bottles at the man. Although they did not hit the caller, the bottles shattered a hotel window.
When county officers arrived at the scene shortly after, Villanueva and Rodriguez were fighting in the parking lot, Johnson said. As one officer was handcuffing Villanueva, Rodriguez allegedly approached the officer from behind and struck him over the head with her hands.
Other county officers then assisted in successfully handcuffing the two. Johnson could not confirm Rodriguez’s and Villanueva’s affiliations with the university, but the two are not listed in the student directory.
District 1 Commander Hector Velez identified the officer as Ryan Whitlow. Johnson said he was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center for swelling on his forehead and scratches on his right arm; he was treated and released that night.
“The officer was taken to Prince George’s Hospital for a minor checkup,” Velez said. “I don’t think it was a big deal, though. He was fine.”
Quality Inn general manager Anil Vaidya said hotel officials received phone calls from other guests complaining about a party in one of the rooms. Once the room was vacated, hotel officials realized the room had been vandalized. Vaidya said the clean-up costs and damages totaled more than $1,000. The room was not registered to either Villanueva or Rodriguez, Vaidya said, noting guests must be over 18 to rent a room.
Sophomore Spanish major Carlyn Wiedecker said she hadn’t heard about the incident but was surprised when she learned about it.
“Hitting a police officer is pretty ballsy,” she said. “I’m surprised that there were so many drunk, underage kids at a hotel on a Sunday morning, too. I’m shocked.”
According to court documents, Rodriguez has had no previous offenses in the state, and her court date has been set for May 23. Villanueva’s court date was not listed as of last night; his only previous offense in the state was a traffic violation earlier this year.
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