ELKTON — A man remained jailed on Tuesday after he allegedly pointed a firearm at a visitor outside an Elkton residence over the weekend and threatened to shoot, leading to a police raid in which investigators confiscated more than two and a half ounces of suspect methamphetamine, two loaded handguns and other evidence, according to Cecil County District Court records.
Investigators identified the suspect as 34-year-old Lance Poppiti, whose address is listed in court records as 200 Hollingsworth Manor in Elkton, where the incident leading to his arrest occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Elkton Police Department officers rushed to that residence in the Hollingsworth Manor neighborhood after receiving a report regarding a man — later identified as Poppiti — pulling a gun on his girlfriend’s ex-husband while ordering him to leave the property, police said.
The alleged victim had come to that residence with his 4-year-old daughter, whom he has in common with his ex-wife, and he was there so the youngster could visit with her mother, police added.
Court records allege that the girl was standing beside her father when Poppiti allegedly pointed the handgun at him on the front porch of the residence and that, at one point, the gun muzzle was near the girl’s head when the suspect held the weapon at his side.
A witness told investigators that Poppiti carried a backpack out of the house and went into the backyard after the incident, before officers arrived, police said. In addition, the woman told investigators that she then heard noises coming from under the house, police added.
During a court-approved search of the residence later that day, investigators went into the backyard and noticed a small hole in the skirting around the house, police reported.
Inside the hole, beneath the house, they found a black and white backpack containing a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun that was “fully loaded with a 15-round magazine” and a North American Arms revolver with a .22 caliber bullet in the chamber and five rounds inside the cylinder, according to the charging document.
Investigators later contacted the Maryland State Police Gun Center and learned that Poppiti is prohibited from possessing firearms because of a December 2019 drug conviction, court records show.
Investigators also found six grams of suspect methamphetamine that had been parceled into 12 “trashcan style’ capsules inside that backpack and 36 grams of suspect marijuana, which had been parceled into 11 individual containers, court records allege. There are approximately 28 grams in one ounce.
While searching inside the house, investigators confiscated more suspect methamphetamine, a scale that had white residue on it, various rounds of ammunition, packaging materials and $255 in cash, police reported.
Court records allege that raiding investigators seized a total of 73 grams of suspect methamphetamine, which translates to slightly more than two ounces.
Poppiti is facing 22 criminal charges, including first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled and dangerous substance with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony or a violent crime, court records show.
He remained in the Cecil County Detention Center on no bond Tuesday, one day after his bail review hearing, according to court records, which indicate that Cecil County District Court Judge Clara E. Campbell presided over that proceeding.
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