OCEAN CITY — A Worcester County Circuit Court jury wasted little time deliberating on Wednesday, returning guilty verdicts on all charges against a notorious resort area arsonist in last summer’s West Ocean City blaze.
Around 1:50 a.m. on June 22, 2021, the fire was reported on Harbor Road in West Ocean City adjacent to the commercial harbor. Fire companies from around the area responded to fight the blaze, which destroyed a home and a boathouse and damaged three other homes. Two firefighters were injured while battling the blaze.
Shortly after the fire, the Worcester County Fire Marshal’s Office concluded the cause was arson and an investigation was initiated. Last November, a warrant was issued for John Edward Cropper, 57, of West Ocean City, who was identified as the suspect and is well-known by many locals in the area for purposely setting fires over the last several decades.
A Worcester County grand jury indicted Cropper on two counts of first-degree arson, one count of second-degree arson, three counts of malicious destruction of property and two counts of reckless endangerment. Following a three-day jury trial in Worcester County Circuit Court this week, a trial presided over by Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Beau Oglesby, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all counts after deliberating for about an hour.
Worcester County Fire Marshal Matt Owens thanked the tireless efforts of internal and allied investigators that spent hundreds of hours bringing the case to trial including the Fire Marshal’s Office, the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation, the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office K-9 division, the Ocean City Police Department Forensic Investigation Unit and the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office, which all played a significant role in the successful adjudication in the case against Cropper. A pre-sentence investigation and psychological evaluation of Cropper was ordered before sentencing.