Man who Assaulted Anne Arundel County, MD, Firefighter, Cop Charged

A Glen Burnie man who is alleged to have punched a police officer in the arm, struck a firefighter in the testicles and threatened to shoot up a restaurant after being asked to leave the establishment’s property last month is awaiting trial on six charges.

Victor Manuel Bonilla Ponce, 47, faces charges of second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, threatening mass violence and related counts.

If convicted of all six charges, he could face more than 30 years in prison.

According to charging documents, officers from the Anne Arundel County Police Department arrived around 9 p.m. Aug. 14 at El Norteño Grill, a Salvadoran and Mexican restaurant on Crain Highway in Glen Burnie, for reports of an intoxicated man “being disorderly.”

Police said that when officers arrived, the restaurant manager said he wanted the seemingly intoxicated man, Ponce, to leave the property. The manager told police that Ponce said he would come back and shoot up the business if he wasn’t allowed in the restaurant, according to the charging documents.

Police said there were at least 15 people at the restaurant that evening.

According to charging documents, when officers went to speak with Ponce, he was “stumbling” in front of the establishment’s entrance and fell multiple times, “unable to maintain his own balance.”

Police said officers smelled a “heavy odor” of alcohol on Ponce’s breath and, due to his “apparent intoxication level,” the fire department was called to the restaurant.

According to charging documents, Ponce yelled at police and fire department personnel as well as bystanders outside the restaurant. When fire department personnel tried to persuade him to go to the hospital, Ponce “continually denied” them, police said.

Following 15 minutes of negotiations — during which police and fire department personnel told Ponce he would have to either leave the restaurant’s property or go to the hospital — Ponce punched a police officer in the arm and then struck a firefighter in the testicles, charging documents state.

Ponce was then pinned to the wall, placed in handcuffs and taken to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center in Glen Burnie, police said.

Ponce has been held without bail since his arrest. A trial in the Anne Arundel County District Court is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Ponce is being represented by the Office of the Public Defender; however, according to court records, a public defender has not yet been assigned to his case. The Anne Arundel County Office of the Public Defender did not immediately respond to a request for comment.