On July 6th a call from an observant citizen led to officers interrupting an overnight theft from vehicle crime spree and arresting a 17 year old suspect.
On July 6th at 4:08 a.m. officers responded to the area of Cedar Park Road and Fisk Circle in the Admiral Heights community for a report of a suspicious person inside a vehicle, possibly being sick. The observant caller reported the man was last seen walking on Cedar Park Road towards Halsey Road. Officers responded and located a man in the passenger side of a parked vehicle in the 1700 block of Cedar Park Road. The man fled on foot, dropped a backpack, and took off his shirt. Officers located the shirtless suspect at West Street and Admiral Drive. He was identified as a 17 year old from Glen Burnie.
Officers checked the area and discovered numerous vehicles with their interior lights activated, some of which appeared to have been ransacked. Between Admiral Heights and Germantown Homewood communities at least 32 vehicles were entered. None of the vehicles showed signs of forced entry and most owners reported that they left their vehicles unlocked.
The backpack dropped by the fleeing suspect was stolen from a vehicle on Ridgewood Street. Other suspected stolen property was recovered inside the backpack. The 17 year old was charged with 5 counts of theft from vehicle and 26 counts of rogue and vagabond. He was released to a guardian.
Thefts from vehicles are up 78% over the same time period as last year. In 90% of the thefts the vehicles are either unlocked or there are no signs of forced entry. We have made several arrests before this most recent arrest. For example, Daven Lewis, 26, of Annapolis has been arrested four times since June 1st for thefts from vehicles and Jeremy Cox, 32, of Annapolis has been arrested twice since June 1st for thefts from vehicle. Officers have been conducting patrols in the areas that have experienced the most thefts. Some patrols are made in unmarked cars. Admiral Heights, in particular, has seen an increase in thefts since June 1st. The Annapolis Police Department sent out theft from vehicle prevention messages on Facebook and Nextdoor on June 9, 27, and 29. Officers and civilian employees went door to door in Admiral Heights on June 29 distributing written information about preventing thefts from vehicles. One victim who reported items stolen from his vehicle during this crime spree said that he had seen a notification online about thefts from vehicles in Annapolis, but admitted that his vehicle’s doors were probably left unlocked when the theft occurred. To keep communities informed we include thefts from vehicles on our daily police report which you can receive by email, link to from our Facebook and Twitter accounts and read on the city’s website. You can also view recent crime on our community crime map and sign up for alerts based on an address in the city. All this information and more tips for preventing thefts from vehicles can be found on our website www.annapolis.gov/police.
Please LOCK IT, TAKE IT, and HIDE IT every time you leave your vehicle.
Lock your vehicle every time you leave it, even if you are just running inside for a few minutes. Make sure you close every window and the sunroof.
Take all your valuable items out of the vehicle when you park it. This includes the keys to your vehicle or home.
Hide any items that you can’t take with you. Put the items in your trunk or out of view. Do this before you reach your destination in case someone is watching you hide your items when you leave your vehicle.
Most of these thefts are occurring during the hours of darkness. Help your neighborhood remain well-lit by turning on exterior lights around your home. This makes it easier for you, your neighbors, and the police to see if a thief is checking vehicles. If you see someone checking vehicle door handles or believe they might be looking into parked vehicles please call us immediately at 410-268-4141 or 9-1-1 in an emergency.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact our detectives at 410-260-3439. You can also call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP and submit an anonymous tip. If your tip leads to an arrest or indictment you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.
