PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — More young people are being arrested in Prince George's County for carjacking and auto theft cases, new police department data shows.
So far in 2023, Prince George's County's Carjacking Interdiction Unit (CIU) has charged a total of 84 people in connection with carjacking cases, of those, 51 are people under the age of 18, and 33 are adults. Police have seen a spike in auto theft arrests as well, with 248 arrests in total so far this year. That's more than all of last year. Young people accounted for 110 of those arrests, which is more than double the number in all of 2022.
In the last week, CIU charged five suspects in connection with four carjacking cases. Police say three of the suspects are adults and two are juveniles. Both boys were 15 years old.
On May 20, CIU opened an investigation into a carjacking that occurred in the 1400 block of Southview Drive in Oxon Hill. Two days later, detectives spotted the vehicle in the 800 block of Irvingston Street in Oxon Hill. Officers conducted a stop and took two 18-year-old men into custody on theft charges.
The next day, CIU charged 33-year-old Tony Budd of Hyattsville with carjacking. He was taken into custody after he tried to steal a car at a cemetery on Bladensburg Road in Brentwood. He had also unsuccessfully tried to carjack a second car from the same cemetery that same day, police said.
On May 23, detectives were back in Oxon Hill. They charged a 15-year-old D.C. boy with armed carjacking after he was in a car that had been taken at gunpoint in the 1100 block of Kennebec Street.
On May 25, detectives charged a 15-year-old boy from Forestville with armed carjacking and related charges. The teen was driving the car that had been carjacked at gunpoint earlier in the day in the 3500 block of 57th Avenue. The boy led police on a pursuit that ended in D.C.
This most recent data comes as Prince George's County leaders are calling for community help and parental accountability to stop youth crime and violence like carjackings.
In a press conference, Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks said her community was under siege and that she did not feel safe when she goes to the gas station to get gas.
“Our community deserves to live in a place that is safe. We have to ask tough questions. Who is responsible for these children,” Alsobrooks said.