MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — Montgomery County Police made 13 arrests on Monday, all involving stolen cars.
The vehicles recovered were a Nissan Sentra, Honda Accord, and Kia Sedona. On Monday, just before 12:30 p.m., a Montgomery County officer recognized two vehicles that were reported stolen in an armed carjacking, the Nissan Sentra and Honda Accord.
Both cars were located in the Downtown Silver Spring area, near Georgia and Wayne Avenue. The officer was unaccompanied, so they began tailing the Nissan until backup arrived, allowing the Honda to break away.
The driver of the Nissan noticed he was being followed by the officer, which prompted a brief car chase that ended with the Nissan crashing into a tree. During a search of the car, officers claim they recovered two BB guns and a knife. All five occupants of the car were arrested, four of whom were teens.
Remember the second stolen vehicle from earlier, the Honda Accord? That car was spotted just an hour and a half later parked near Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. When officers approached the car, a group of people jumped out, scattering.
Of the group, one 15-year-old girl was arrested. While she remained in police custody, officers initiated a school-wide lockdown to locate the other suspects from inside the Honda. The girl was not charged and was later released to her parents. As for the remaining teens, they were taken into custody but later released to their parents.
In a separate incident, an off-duty Baltimore County police officer found a Kia Sedona with a broken window, parked near Paint Branch High School. When they called 911 to report it, the Emergency Communications Center revealed the Kia had been reported stolen earlier that day.
Montgomery County Police later located the car in Calverton and attempted a traffic stop. However, the 14-year-old behind the wheel had other plans. Mistaking the streets of Calverton for a scene from Fast and Furious, the driver took off. They didn’t make it far before colliding with another car and coming to a stop on Cherry Hill Road.
Similar to the arrests from the Honda carjacking earlier, the occupants of the Kia all fled after the crash. Officers were able to arrest two of the five occupants of the car, the remaining three, got into a gray Infiniti, which later fled the scene.
The Infiniti came back to the area shortly after to drop the three off. During this time there was still a law enforcement presence in the area, allowing officers to easily recognize the three and swiftly arrest them. Since the occupants of the Infiniti helped the three get away earlier, they were also arrested and charged with conspiracy.