I write this letter in response to the announcement that Seacrets intends to open a new location on Chincoteague Island. As a Chincoteague home owner and tax payer, who is also a Maryland attorney who has done criminal work in Ocean City, this announcement should raise alarms for all property owners and tax payers on Chincoteague, not just those on the south end.
Seacrets is a hot bed for criminal activity and irresponsible antisocial behavior which will adversely impact the quality of life for all on the Island. I have personal knowledge of the criminal behavior of their intoxicated patrons having been appointed to represent some though the Maryland Office of the Public Defender. Charges have included, assault, malicious destruction of property, controlled dangerous substance violations, public urination, public intoxication, indecent exposure, driving while intoxicated or under the influence, and open container violations. I have viewed videos of how Seacrets’ “Peace Patrol”, or security force, treat and abuse these intoxicated patrons whom their employer created. It is Seacrets’ business model to serve its patrons until they experience extreme intoxication (serving only liquor products that they have distilled themselves thereby doubling their profit margins) and then have its security detail use excessive force to subdue them. These interactions result in police involvement, arrests and prosecutions. I do not wish for my taxes to be increased to pay for more local police, county prosecutors, and possibly the need for a Chincoteague courthouse to subsidize Seacrets’ disgusting business model. (Worcester County use to only have one district court located in Snow Hill but due to increased criminal activity, a second was built in Ocean City.)
My observations are confirmed by others. I know a retired gentleman who supplemented his income by driving a bus in Ocean City. At night this bus is known as the “Drunk Bus”. Three buses are dispatched specifically to Seacrets every night of the summer at closing time as well as police cars in the parking lots. Things that he has observed while picking up intoxicated patrons from Seacrets are women who are so intoxicated that they disrobe and expose themselves on the bus. He has regularly seen patrons so intoxicated that they stagger and have difficulty boarding the bus and vomit on the seats and aisles once on board. He has observed patrons so intoxicated that they urinate on themselves and fights that break out as a result of interactions among these intoxicated individuals. Special buttons have been installed on the buses to directly connect transit employees to the police when riders refuse to exit or are otherwise unruly for the driver to handle. Remember, Chincoteague does not have public transportation so these intoxicated Seacrets’ patrons will literally be “poured” onto our streets to endanger our safety and terrorize our community.
Don’t just trust me and my friend’s observations, google Seacrets Ocean City and read about the man who died after diving into the water at Seacrets because he was so intoxicated. See the infamous picture of BJ and Erika Sifrit taken at Seacrets just days after they murdered and dismembered a vacationing couple. Read about the woman who was violently raped in a parking lot used by Seacrets and sued them because she felt they were responsible for not allowing her to retrieve her purse and hotel key from her friends who were still inside. Because she was intoxicated and left vulnerable by Seacrets’ employees, a perpetrator found her to be an easy target and raped her. Read about how Seacrets moved to dismiss the woman’s law suit claiming they were not responsible for what occurred on their parking lot. Read about how Seacrets recently withdrew a proposal to house employees above their liquor store in Ocean City because they did not want to be responsible for their employees’ illegal activities. Our Island does not need businesses that do not take responsibility for the consequences of their employees’ actions and attracts such an unsavory clientele.
Seacrets operating on Chincoteague is not a done deal. The company will be required to obtain many permits and licenses so there are many things that residents can do.
Stay informed, write letters or send emails, and attend any permit or licensing hearings, whether at the town, county or state level, and let your voice and concerns about this business be heard by public officials.
Contact your elected town council and request that an ordinance be drafted to cap the present size of the Chincoteague Police force, and only increase the size based upon an increase in the number of full time resident of the Island. If irresponsible businesses increase crime on the Island, increase their taxes, not the taxes of law abiding citizens.
Contact your elected town council and request that they draft an ordinance that links the number of nuisance violations that a business entity receives or the number of crimes committed on their property with suspension or revocation of their license to business on the Island.
Contact your elected town council and request re-funding the position of head of a Planning Department so that Chincoteague has a comprehensive plan to limit businesses such as this and keep them away from residential areas.
Contact the town and review the present zoning ordinances for your area of the Island to see if the land use decisions that have been made in the past conform to your desires for the future of our Island. If they don’t, contact your elected town council and advocate for change. I live on the north end of the Island before the high school. Our present zoning laws would have allowed Seacrets to locate diagonally across Main Street from the high school. My prior complaints about this zoning problem remain unheeded.
If locals and “come heres” who love and respect this community work together, we can stop Seacrets from raping our Island. We do not want Chincoteague, a truly family friendly vacation town and gateway to a pristine National Seashore and Wildlife Refuge, to become Ocean City South.
Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Ullmann
If you are interested in this issue and want to help please feel free to contact me at dullmannesq+chincoteaguepropertyowners@gmail.com.