SNOW HILL An Ocean City
woman, who pleaded guilty in Octo-
ber to attempted second-degree
murder after a stabbing incident in a
resort residence in May, was sen-
tenced last week to 30 years in jail,
all but 16 years of which was sus-
pended.
Around 3:50 a.m. on May 9,
Ocean City Police and paramedics
responded to a residence on Robin
Drive for a reported stabbing inci-
dent. OCPD officers arrived on the
scene and located a victim who had
obvious injuries to her neck and
shoulders. During the investigation,
police learned the victim, whose
name was not released, had been
in a verbal argument with the sus-
pect, later identified as Sharon Lee
Ward, 47, of Ocean City.
During the argument and ensuing
struggle, Ward attacked the victim
with a kitchen knife, stabbing her
multiple times in
the neck. The vic-
tim was able to flee
the unit, and with
the assistance of
neighbors, was
able to contact
police. The victim
was treated by
Ocean City para-
medics for stab wounds to the neck
and was later transported to PRMC
for treatment. Ward was also treated
at the scene for minor injuries and
was transported to AGH where she
was later released to the OCPD.
The investigation revealed the
victim and Ward were living togeth-
er and that there was a Maryland
Court Final Protective Order on file
prohibiting Ward from having any
contact with the victim. Ocean City
Police recovered the weapon be-
lieved to have been used in the at-
tack at the crime scene.
Ward was arrested and charged
initially with first- and second-degree
assault, use of a weapon with intent to
injure, reckless endangerment and
violation of a protective order. Charg-
es of attempted first-degree murder
and attempted second-degree murder
were later added. In October, Ward
pleaded guilty to attempted second-
degree murder and a pre-sentence in-
vestigation was ordered.
According to the Worcester County
State's Attorney's Office, the maxi-
mum penalty for the second-degree
attempted murder conviction is 30
years. However, the guidelines com-
puted by the state were in a range of
12 to 20 years. Ward's attorneys
claimed the sentencing guidelines
were in the range of nine to 14 years,
which is part of the reason for the pre-
sentence investigation.
Back in court last Friday for sen-
tencing, Ward was sentenced to 30
years in jail with 14 years suspend-
ed, leaving her with a 16-year sen-
tence. Ward must serve at least half
of the sentence before being con-
sidered eligible for parole. She was
also placed on supervised probation
for five years upon her release.
16 Years For
Attempted Murder
January 17, 2014
Page 25
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By SHAWN J. SOPER
NEWS EDITOR
SHARON L. WARD
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