Thirteen teens between the ages of 14 and 18 were arrested Monday in Montgomery County, Maryland, and each arrest involves a stolen or carjacked vehicle, according to police.
The flurry of arrests comes at a time when county police leaders are concerned about the rising number of young people involved in violent crime.
“Absolutely, there is a trend involving younger people either in auto thefts or carjackings,” said Shiera Goff, director of media and public information for the Montgomery County Police Department.
Monday’s arrests started around 12:30 p.m., when Montgomery County police said one of their officers in the area of Georgia and Wayne avenues in downtown Silver Spring spotted two vehicles that had been taken in armed carjackings.
The officer started following one of the cars, a Nissan Sentra, while waiting for backup. There was a brief chase, according to police, that ended with the Nissan crashing into a tree near Dennis and Douglas avenues. Three 15-year-old boys, a 16-year-old boy and 18-year-old Samuel Fikru, of Silver Spring, who was driving, were all arrested and charged with auto-theft related offenses.
The other car the officer spotted got away, but was found again around 2 p.m. near Bethesda- Chevy Chase High School. As officers approached the car, a Honda Accord, police said an unknown number of people got out of the carjacked Honda and ran away. One 15-year-old girl was arrested, but was not charged and later released to her parents.
That same day, officers spotted a Kia Sedona in the Calverton neighborhood that had been reported stolen. Police said as officers attempted to make a traffic stop, the Kia collided with another vehicle and came to a stop on Cherry Hill Road. Police said five teens ran from the Kia and two of them were arrested. The other three got into a gray Infiniti with two other teens, according to police.
All five returned to the Calverton area shortly after and got out of the Infiniti to watch the arrest of the two teens who were initially taken into custody, according to police. Officers said they recognized the teens and arrested them.
All seven of those teens are under the age of 18 and are charged with offenses related to stealing a motor vehicle or conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle.
“It is very unique to have 13 arrests in one day related to carjackings and auto theft,” Goff said. “The reason that the number is so high is because the occupants in the vehicles, there were five in one vehicle and five in another.”
Earlier this year, there was a town hall on crime and violence in Germantown, police said they were trying to engage more with teens.
Capt. Marc Erme told WTOP last month he was impressed with the number of young people, including high school students, who turned out for that event and said he’d like to see more, similar forums to continue an open dialogue with young residents.
“So they can speak, you know, openly and freely — whether it’s good or bad, you know, we want to hear their voices,” because he said it could “help us make things better.”
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
