(Journal News) A man wearing body armor and armed with an AR-15 training rifle, two knives and several unloaded magazines was arrested today after he was seen running in the area of Bulldog Boulevard, police said.
At about 7:17 a.m., the Martinsburg Police Department received several calls in regards to an individual running and carrying a rifle near the area of Bulldog Boulevard and Raleigh Street in Martinsburg. Officers responded to the scene and located the man, later identified as 23-year-old William Evertt Alemar, of South Raleigh Street, near the intersection of Silver Lane and Raleigh Street. When Patrolman M. Jones, Patrolman C.M. Richmond and Patrolman First Class E. Herb encountered the individual, he was dressed in full military desert camouflage and a ballistic vest and with what appeared to be an assault rifle across his chest, police said.
All three officers engaged Alemar at gunpoint and ordered him to his knees to be taken into custody.
“The subject was then ordered to lie prone on the ground and the officers secured his weapon an AR-15(M-4) training rifle. The suspect also had two knives and several unloaded magazines, (and) his ballistic vest also contained ceramic panels to make it more bullet resistant,” a police news release said.
Alemar was handcuffed and brought to the Martinsburg Police Department. He said he was out running and jogging with his gear on, police said.
All of his accoutrements and camouflage were photographed upon his person and seized as potential evidence.
The suspect was also charged with being a person prohibited from committing a violent crime while wearing body armor. This was due to the suspect wearing a ballistic vest with ceramic insert panels, police said.
Martinsburg Police Detectives obtained two warrants for his arrest from Berkeley County Magistrate Sandra Miller and he was later arraigned on the charges. As of Monday afternoon, Alemar was being held at Eastern Regional Jail on $50,000 bail.
Police also executed a search warrant at Alemar’s apartment, located at 1013 S. Raleigh St. in Martinsburg. The department utilized a Loudoun County, Va., explosive detection K-9 due to concerns regarding the possibility of explosives. No explosives were located, but more military equipment and a pistol were located and seized as evidence, police said.
Detective Lt. G.B. Swartwood said Monday afternoon that police are still investigating Alemar’s motives. While he was in the area of both Martinsburg High School and South Middle School when he was stopped by police, Swartwood said detectives hadn’t concluded whether the incident was related to the schools or not.
“He was in that area but we haven’t concluded that. It’s still under investigation,” Swartwood said.
The Martinsburg Police Department was assisted by the West Virginia State Police, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Martinsburg Fire Department and the Berkeley County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in their investigation.