ABERDEEN, Md. — At least ten vehicles---some with bashed in windows and others stolen outright in just six weeks’ time in Aberdeen.
Amy Ortega never realized her Kia Sportage was even missing.
“I got a call from Harford County Sheriff’s that asked me if I knew where my car was and I looked out my front window and it wasn’t there,” said Ortega, “So I told them, ‘No. I don’t know where my car is.’ That’s when they informed me that it had been involved in a high-speed chase in Baltimore County.”
Police believe a social media-driven crime wave tied to Tik Tok targeting easy-to-steal Kia and Hyundai-make vehicles caused the spree in the city.
“Something as simple as a five-dollar screw driver could get someone into a vehicle and they’re driving away with it,” said Aberdeen Police Sgt. Jason Neidig.
Police arrested 19-year-old Paul Lamoon, Junior of Baltimore in connection with four of the stolen cars and another five, which were damaged.
In addition to the alleged ringleader, police also arrested a 16-year-old girl and a boy who is just 14.
Of the four stolen vehicles, two of them had been dumped and set on fire in Baltimore, including Amy Ortega’s.
That’s right.
The suspects eluded police during that high-speed chase and then torched her car an an apparent attempt to destroy the evidence.
“Somebody feels they can just come by for something stupid and do something like this and that’s okay? That’s more of what’s bothering me,” said Ortega, “It’s the mentality of you know, ‘I want to do what I want to do and screw everybody else.’”
As the case unfolded, police also arrested 20-year-old Micah Christy of Edgewood and charged him with witness intimidation for allegedly texting one of the victims and threatening them for simply reporting that their vehicle has been stolen.
