Landsman
A message from Captain Jay Landsman, Jr.:
I wanted to bring you up to date on a few cases from around the precinct. Some of you may have seen the news reports on Monday morning regarding a subject who came into Saint Joseph’s Hospital with a gunshot wound. Detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit are investigating this case. It was determined that that the shooting took place in the area of Phelhamwood Road on Sunday night. There are no new developments on this case right now. It does not appear to be a random act.
Detectives from our Investigative Services Team have made one arrest in reference to the street robberies in the Ridgeleigh Community that I emailed everyone about at the end of October. This suspect was developed through an investigation of a package theft from a porch on Kendale Road. This suspect is charged as an adult. Detectives are still trying to identify additional suspects.
Two other cases I wanted to update you on occurred on 11/6. The first was a street robbery that occurred in the area of Arran Road and Overbrook Road. The victims were approached by 5 black males, who appeared to be teenagers. One suspect produced a handgun and another physically assaulted one of the victims and stole their purses. All suspects fled in a silver Chrysler minivan. One of the victims suffered two broken fingers after struggling with the suspects.
While officers were searching the area of the robbery on Overbrook, a second call was dispatched in the Knollwood area. The suspects crashed the Chrysler minivan and carjacked a man in the 7900 block of Knollwood Road as he was leaving his daughter’s off-campus residence. One suspect produced a handgun. The victim struggled with the suspect, and a second suspect approached with a knife. All 5 suspects fled the area in the victim’s 2013 Volkswagon.
The lookout was provided to all surrounding precincts and city police districts. Not long after the lookout was broadcast, we received notification from the Northern District in Baltimore City regarding two arrests. The suspects had continued their crime spree in the city and all 5 suspects fled from the stolen Volkswagon as officers attempted to stop them. Several pieces of stolen property, a mask and a BB gun were recovered. A 14 year old and a 16 year old are currently in custody for these robberies. The 16 year old will be charged as an adult. Both are currently being held in detention facilities in Baltimore City. Detectives from our Investigative Services Team are still attempting to identify the other suspects involved in these robberies.
As always, we are very appreciative of the help we receive from citizens on these difficult cases. We are now in the middle of the busy holiday season, and it is important that neighbors look out for each other.
That being said, I thought it would be a good time to throw out a reminder about some tried and true crime prevention tips. I have put these out before and discussed them at many community meetings, but here they are again:
- Stay aware of your surroundings. Be on the lookout for suspicious subjects and park in well-lit areas.
- Always Lock your vehicle and make sure that it is locked before you walk away from it.
- Remove all vehicle keys from the vehicle (including keys to other vehicles that may be parked near by). We have experienced numerous cases that start out as a theft from vehicle and turn into a theft of a vehicle, because keys were left in the vehicle. Also, the cold weather always brings an increase in “warm-up thefts.” Opportunistic car thieves are looking for the trail of exhaust from the running, unattended vehicle.
- Remove valuables from the vehicle. Laptops, purses, wallets, phones, shopping bags and other valuables should never be left in a vehicle.
- I know they are not as popular as they were several years ago, but an anti-theft device like “The Club” or a similar steering wheel lock is another deterrent for thieves.
- Leaving the porch light on in the front and back of the house is a deterrent for suspects, who want to operate under the cover of darkness.
- Trim branches and hedges away from windows and doorways to eliminate areas where suspects can avoid being seen as they attempt to break in to your house.
- Make sure that your doors have a lock on the handle and a deadbolt lock. If there is a window next to the door handle, the deadbolt should be a double key lock and not a thumb lock on the inside. The key should be hung up inside, where your family can find it easily in the event of an emergency. You can also add an additional sliding latch lock or chain on the inside of your door pretty inexpensively.
- Placing a piece of wood or metal in the track of your sliding glass doors and windows can make entry to your home much more difficult for criminals.
- If you have an attached garage, lock the door to your house, even when the garage door is closed. If a thief gains entry to your garage, you do not want to give them easy access to your house.
Suspects are always looking for the unsuspecting, quick and easy target. BE AWARE and BE VIGILANT! The goal for the police and the community is to frustrate the criminals to the point that they no longer find our area desirable. We can do this through practical preventive measures, preventive patrols and by arresting suspects when these incidents occur. Thank you all for caring so much about your neighborhoods!
Feel free to call, email or stop by if you have additional questions.
-Jay
Captain Jay Landsman, Jr.
Commander
Precinct 6 / Towson
Baltimore County Police Department
115 W. Susquehanna Avenue
Towson, MD 21204
410-887-5507