HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Howard County police have charged a man with committing 23 commercial burglaries in the county since November 2019.
Markus Swinson, 35, of Conquest Way in Odenton, was arrested in April and initially charged with six commercial burglaries.
After the arrest, police continued the investigation and identified Swinson as the suspect in 17 additional burglaries. In total, Swinson has now been charged in Howard County warrants with 91 counts of burglary, theft, theft scheme, destruction of property, and rogue and vagabond.
After his initial arrest in the first six cases, Swinson was released from the Howard County Detention Center on $25,000 bond, but was arrested by another jurisdiction, where he is being held on no bond.
If he is scheduled for release, he will be immediately served with the additional charges in Howard County and taken into custody.
In the 23 Howard County cases, which spanned from the Route 1 corridor to the western end of the county, police believe Swinson was targeting businesses to steal construction and landscaping tools.
Altogether, tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment was stolen. Detectives developed Swinson as a suspect after a burglary at Lenny’s Towing in Elkridge March 26 in which various tools were stolen.
The tools were found for sale online and were linked back to Swinson.
He is charged in the following commercial burglaries:
- Nov. 5, 2019, Dayton: Absolute Landscape & Turf, Bowen’s Bus Service, ASC Heating & Air
- Nov. 16, 2019, Jessup: First Impression Hardscapes, Forest Valley Tree & Turf, U.S. Pools
- Jan. 2, Jessup: BrightView Landscaping
- Jan. 10, Hanover: Environmental Maintenance Services
- Jan. 11, Elkridge: Barrett & Sons, W.F. Wilson & Sons
- Jan. 31, Laurel: LandCare, Romano Concrete Construction
- Feb. 6, Clarksville: construction site
- Feb. 7-10, Dayton: Absolute Landscape & Turf
- Feb. 8, Glenwood: Cattail Creek Country Club
- Feb. 15, Laurel: construction site
- Feb. 18, Jessup: Heil Plumbing
- Feb. 25, Sykesville: New Direction Utilities, Garrett Barrel and Drum, Jeffrey K Rogers, Inc., Constant Trucking
- March 26, Elkridge: Lenny’s Towing, construction site
