ARLINGTON, Va. — An Arlington County man whose vehicle was stolen after thieves went inside his home to take the keys was surprised to find out his car was connected to a pursuit where three teens were charged with the attempted murder of an officer.
The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said his BMW was stolen out of his driveway in the overnight hours of June 17 after thieves went into his home and took the keys.
Nearly two weeks later he said police found it in Montgomery County, connected to a string of robberies and an attempted murder of an officer that three 16-year-old teens from D.C. are charged with.
“When Thursday’s night news came and we saw the reports, that really brought it home that wow I probably am lucky it was what was it was,” said the man whose car was stolen.
Montgomery County Police said the chain of events started around 1:20 a.m. when police were called to a report of an attempted burglary in the 6000 block of Johnson Drive in Bethesda. Officials said officers spotted a silver BMW SUV in the area suspected of a similar crime from the night before. It was leaving the scene at a high rate of speed. As officers caught up to the SUV, the suspects inside the vehicle opened fire on the officers.
Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said a bullet struck the passenger-side headrest of the police cruiser.
“I know that we’ve been over the past few weeks know that we’ve had a trend and I think there have been more than five, so we know that we kept having these late-night burglaries,” Jones explained.
Jones said the vehicle had been stolen from Arlington.
“The Montgomery County Police are now using it to gain all the evidence they need for their cases. It will then be towed to Arlington and they’ll do a similar I guess evidence collection for the crimes there,” the man whose car was stolen said.
He said police told him they believed his car had been heavily used in many different crimes. In between the time, it was stolen and recovered he said neighbors had spotted suspects driving the car and attempting to get into more homes.
“At first I was like I wish I could have confronted them, now with the seriousness of it I’m glad I didn’t. And I would say be vigilant, lock your doors, lock your cars, be as careful as you can,” the man whose car was stolen said.