Crime & Safety
No Bail For Man Who Jumped Hatem Bridge To Escape Police: Report
An out-of-state man has been charged in a burglary and assault in Havre de Grace and is being held without bail in Harford County.
BEL AIR, MD — The man accused of jumping off the Hatem Bridge after a police chase from Havre de Grace has officially been charged. Immediately after the June 15 incident, police said the man was hospitalized and had not been charged as a result.
Michael Brandon Jones of Philadelphia, 32, was arrested last week while appearing for a separate case in Cecil County court, according to The Aegis. The newspaper said that Jones, who had been seriously injured in his jump from the Hatem Bridge, had only been recently released from the hospital.
Jones was accused of assaulting someone in the 200 block of Seneca Avenue around 7:17 p.m on Friday, June 15, then leading police on a chase to the Hatem Bridge, during which he crashed into multiple vehicles.
Find out what's happening in Havre de Gracefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Police said he hit two other vehicles in the city, then hit a third once he drove onto the Hatem Bridge.
About halfway over the bridge, authorities said he stopped his vehicle, climbed over the bridge's retaining wall and jumped into the Susquehanna River.
Find out what's happening in Havre de Gracefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A Maryland Natural Resources Police officer on patrol posted himself near the Hatem Bridge, where he and a good Samaritan helped rescue the man, according to The Aegis.
Emergency medical personnel took the man to Harford Memorial Hospital, officials reported.
Police said he was later transferred to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.
Jones, of the 2800 block of Venango Street in Philadelphia, has been released from the hospital and charged with multiple traffic offenses as well the following, according to court records:
- Third-degree burglary (felony)
- Second-degree assault (misdemeanor)
- Malicious destruction of property greater than $1,000 (misdemeanor)
- Fourth-degree residential burglary (misdemeanor)
Jones is being held without bail pending a preliminary hearing in Harford County District Court on Aug. 2, court records show.
RELATED: Police Say Hatem Bridge Jumper Hospitalized, Charges Pending
Still image from CHART traffic camera.
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