BALTIMORE — An 81-year-old woman was carjacked at a North Baltimore gas station Thursday morning, prompting a Foxtrot search that led to four teens arrested.
"It's kind of sickening, there's an 81-year-old person who was targeted by some young individuals," said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley.
At about 8:37 a.m., a suspect, described as 16 to 20 years old, approached the woman at a gas station on York Road near the Bellona Avenue/Benninghaus Road intersection, said Baltimore police.
He grabbed the keys from her hand, pushed his way inside her sedan, and drove away.
The woman was unharmed.
BPD's helicopter, Foxtrot, helped police track down the vehicle at about 12:45 p.m. It was just a couple blocks away, and police arrested a 15-year-old girl and three 15-year-old boys.
The boys "are not strangers to law enforcement," said police. They have a prior arrest for a handgun violation, burglary, and aggravated assault.
Something the department is putting out at the direction of Commissioner Worley.
"I see the frustration and I'm the commissioner so I'm frustrated but I'm not the one out there arresting these kids, these young people, every day and seeing them right back out and arresting them again," said Worley.
It's the latest incident of teens with prior criminal records being arrested for serious crimes in recent victims - including carjackings of elderly victims.
We caught up with neighbors in the area who say the community has gone down hill.
Adding that they don't feel safe at night walking the community.
"It's difficult for an average person to kind of feel comfortable walking into certain venues, like going to the gas station," said Andre Swift who works in the area.
We asked him if there are typically school-aged kids roaming the area during school hours since all those involved were school-aged and the incident occurred during school hours.
"As far as during the day you usually don't see a lot of kids during school hours and then it depends on where you are cause if it was warmer, you might see a few out kind of ditching school," said Swift.
Despite the three male teens arrested having prior run-ins with police, they were released from DJS.
This is because detention is not allowed for a misdemeanor, the charge currently given to the minors is only possession of a stolen automobile.
"We did catch them, we didn't catch them right away but because there was a time-lapse of when we caught them and when the vehicle was carjacked, it had to be charged as a stolen auto," said Worley.
The charge could be amended to unarmed carjacking if BPD confirms the four teens found with it were the ones who stole it.
That could get them detention, but at a minimum would have electronic monitoring.
The Department of Juvenile Services provided a statement on the process:
"In Baltimore City, when police submit a report and request detention of a child, that report is sent to DJS and the State’s Attorney’s Office at the same time. State’s Attorneys review the police report for legal sufficiency and probable cause and, at their discretion, the State’s Attorney may upgrade or downgrade the charges in the police report provided. During normal business hours it is typical practice that following that review determining the charges, DJS conducts its inquiry and screens for risk related to the updated charges, in the process of determining whether to authorize a child’s release or placement on some form of alternative detention (such as electronic monitoring) or detention pending the next scheduled court hearing."
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