TEMPLE HILLS, Md. — In the midst of a carjacking epidemic, Prince George's County Police reported Wednesday that most stolen vehicles are recovered in the District of Columbia where the majority of the juvenile suspects being arrested reside.
According to a police response to a series of questions from WUSA9 Wednesday, Prince George's County police said 53 juveniles have been arrested for county carjackings since the beginning of 2023. Thirty-one of those juvenile suspects are residents of the District of Columbia.
By comparison, only 40 adults have been arrested for Prince George's County carjackings since the beginning of the year.
So far in 2023, 198 vehicles have been taken in county carjackings, according to police. Eighty-nine percent of those vehicles have been recovered. Police said by a 2 to 1 majority, most vehicles are found in the District.
The high recovery rate indicates that stolen cars are not being sold or disassembled for parts, according to Prince George's Police.
Instead, the county's carjacking unit reports that many are used by juvenile suspects to commit additional crimes including murder, robbery, and more carjackings.
Under Prince George's County Police Chief Malik Aziz, the county established the Carjacking Interdiction Unit on Sept. 26, 2021.
Since then police say that two squads of 12 investigators are on duty at all times to target carjackers.
Since the Prince George's unit was formed, the rate of solved carjacking cases has increased from 18% to 48%, county police said.
The county suffered through an epidemic of 419 carjackings in 2022.
According to police statistics, 198 cars have been stolen in Prince George's County carjackings so far in 2023.
Monday night, a Prince George's County detective assigned to the Carjacking Interdiction Unit opened fire on an armed carjacker who allegedly was attempting to steal the undercover officer's unmarked vehicle, according to an account from police.
The incident, which was captured on one resident's fuzzy ring camera video, happened near the intersection of Oxon Run Drive and Anvil Lane, where residents told WUSA9 carjacking and auto theft had been out of control.
According to police, the officer spotted two KIA vehicles that were reported stolen nearby.
The officer parked along the curb on Oxon Run Drive after calling for backup and alerting the county's helicopter unit.
While parked, suspects pulled their vehicles up to the officer's car and began approaching with a handgun. The officer fired through his windshield at the armed suspect, police said.
The incident ended after a pursuit that crossed into the District of Columbia, where two suspects including a 16-year-old juvenile were arrested.
An adult suspect, 24-year-old Charles Edward Owens, was charged and a loaded handgun was recovered, according to police.
The incident reveals the dangerous cat and mouse nature of the effort to suppress carjackings in the county, a police spokesperson said.