Today, the Baltimore Police Department announced the arrest of 14 individuals responsible for several carjackings and stolen autos, mostly targeting residents in the Northwest District. Detectives closed 10 carjacking and stolen auto incidents, with eight of them occurring in the Northwest District and one each in the Southeast and Southwest Districts.

Nearly all the victims in the Northwest District were members of the Jewish community, and Baltimore Shomrim were on many of these scenes assisting Baltimore Police.

“These acts of violent crime are unacceptable and will not be tolerated by our communities or members of this department. Our officers are determined in apprehending these violent offenders and working with our partners in the criminal justice system to ensure the certainty of consequences for these types of violent acts to better protect our communities,” said Commissioner Michael Harrison.

In October, the department sent out a Public Safety Alert after detectives noticed several distinct similarities used in multiple robbery and carjacking incidents. Officers were able to gather information from witnesses and tips in apprehending those responsible for these violent incidents.

“I want to thank the men and women of the Baltimore Police Department for their incredible police work and quick apprehension of these violent offenders,” said Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. “I also want to thank the members of our community who stepped up to say ‘enough is enough’ and assisted our detectives by providing valuable information in these cases. This is how we will reduce violent crime in our city by rebuilding the critical trust between the community and the police. That is how we make Baltimore safe for all.”

Detectives are still working to close several other investigations and are looking at the connectivity of these suspects to several other incidents.

“We will no longer accept that our residents should have to deal with acts of violence towards them or anyone in their neighborhoods,” said City Council President and Mayor-elect Brandon M. Scott. “Moving forward, we will take a targeted approach to hold those continuously terrorizing our communities accountable, work to build and strengthen relationships with our partners across the public safety spectrum, and develop systems to ensure accountability, rehabilitation, and opportunity for all.”

Two of the suspects have been charges as an adults, while 12 of the suspects have were charged as juveniles and have since been released.

“I have called on our state leaders to introduce legislation at the next session to create a database where victims, witnesses and communities effected by crime can track cases and see all information surrounding a particular case and any prior incidents by the same suspect with the exception of the juveniles name and contact information,” said Public Safety Council Chair Isaac “Yitzy” Schleifer. “This will establish transparency and accountability for cases in the juvenile system.”

Schleifer told YWN that he commends Baltimore Shomrim for their invaluable assistance  in multiple arrests.

The Baltimore Police Department has stepped up patrol in the neighborhoods most affected by this recent string of incidents and have added additional resources from our Mobile Metro Unit and Regional Auto Theft Task Force.

Anyone that has information related to a carjacking can call Citywide Robbery at 410-366-6341. Those who wish to remain anonymous can utilize the Metro Crime Stoppers tip line, at 1-866-7LOCKUP. You can also submit an online text tip to Metro Crime Stoppers at http://metrocrimestoppers.org/.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)