MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Between March and April, five burglaries were reported at houses of worship or attached residences across Montgomery County, according to the Montgomery County Police Department.
MCPD made two arrests Tuesday in connection to the investigation. Alex Dumitru, 23, and Natalian Dumitru, 18, were arrested at a Catonsville residence and charged with first-degree burglary-related charges, according to police.
The following houses of worship or attached residences were reportedly broken into between March and April:
- Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in the 15000 block of Good Hope Road
- The Noor Center in the 20500 block of Boland Farm Road
- US Zen Institute in the 19200 block of Liberty Mill Road
- The Wat Thai Washington, D.C. in the 13400 block of Layhill Road
A fifth home was also reportedly burglarized by the brothers.
In court documents, a detective wrote “Several subjects responsible for these burglaries were identified and suspected to be a part of a Romanian Transnational Organized Crime.” However, no details were provided on how MCPD came to this conclusion.
Alex Dumitru’s arrest is related to a March 13 burglary at Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Silver Spring, and Natalian Dumitru is charged with breaking and entering the US Zen Institute, a Buddhist temple, in Germantown on May 9.
They were released on a $10,000 bail.
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