BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — The windows are boarded up now at the Exxon gas station on North Charles Street where a white van backed into them, shattering the glass panels, so burglars could make off with an automated teller machine inside.
It happened just after four o’clock in the morning on Monday, and this time, police watched it unfold.
“Our detectives, because they were in the area, they were on scene,” said Baltimore County Police Det. Trae Corbin. “They were able to apprehend these individuals, and subsequently, four suspects were locked up and charged with Second Degree Burglary.”
If you think police were just lucky to be in the right place at the right time, think again.
This time, they were waiting for it to happen.
While the burglars often used stolen vans to ram storefronts, sometimes leaving them at the scene, it was the lookout car, which would prove to be their undoing.
According to charging documents, surveillance footage from similar burglaries showed a gray Infiniti G37 following the stolen vans as they fled with the machines.
Once it’s plate was tracked down, undercover officers tracked the car’s movements until it met up with a van recently stolen in Baltimore City more than three miles away from the Exxon station and they followed both vehicles there.
It may prove to be the trick to turning the tide on the recent crime wave.
“We are still going to use the same measures that we had in place to apprehend these individuals to do the same,” said Corbin. “We did a great job with our detectives and our specialized units working cooperatively, and also working with Baltimore City, our neighboring jurisdiction, to apprehend these individuals.”
Court records show one of the suspects admitted he had played a role in five or six similar crimes just in the last month.
24-year-old Jaquawon K Matthews, 26-year-old Jermaine K Matthews, 26-year-old Michael A Owens and 21-year-old Keshawna T Williams all face a series of charges including 2nd Degree Burglary.
At this time, Jaquawon Matthews, Jermaine Matthews and Michael Owens are currently being held at the Baltimore County Detention center. Keshawna Williams was released on $10,000 bail.
