Two teens arrested amid carjacking and robbery trend targeting Southeast Baltimore residents
BALTIMORE -- An auto theft initiative conducted by the Baltimore Police on Thursday morning led to the arrest of two teenagers connected to a recent armed carjacking, according to authorities.
Detectives with the Regional Auto Theft Task Force spotted a car that matched the description of a vehicle stolen out of the Southeast District just after 10 a.m.
A 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy face charges after they allegedly bailed out of the stolen car and led detectives on a foot chase near the 3400 block of West Lexington Street, police said.
The older of the two teens was previously arrested for auto theft in August 2023, according to authorities.
The arrests come as police are grappling with an ongoing rash of carjackings and street robberies throughout the city.
Most recently, a string of these crimes happened during the predawn hours in the southeastern part of the city, which includes neighborhoods such as Canton, Highlandtown and Patterson Park.
Victims reported to police the suspects appeared to be juveniles who operated in groups of five to ten.
Several home security cameras captured the robberies and carjackings, which took place between 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. -- a time when many people were headed to work.
In one incident that happened near Patterson Park just before 5 a.m., surveillance camera footage from different angles shows the drivers of two cars parked in the middle of the street a short distance from where a person was near their car.
Seven people were then seen exiting the vehicles, approaching the victim, and surrounding their car.
In another incident on South Robinson Street, surveillance footage shows a person walking to their car around 5:30 a.m. when drivers of three different vehicles pull up and box them in. Then, people jump out of the vehicles and carry out another alleged carjacking.
Roughly 10 minutes later, a second person reported being robbed on the same street.
"Two cars drove up on me, blocked me from leaving, and a bunch of kids jumped out and asked me for basically all my stuff," Nick Knappen said.
Detectives are working to determine whether the suspects are linked to any other recent incidents throughout the city.
"It makes me feel so bad that in an hour and a half, they should have been in school," Knappen said. "I was a coach for many years. It makes me sad to see kids that were the same age as some of my athletes out here doing these crimes when they should be off having fun, doing kid things."
Data from the police department reveals that carjackings are down 24% year-over-year while robberies are up 7% during the same time frame.
Anyone who has information that could aid investigators should contact Southeast District Detectives at 410-396-2422.
Anonymous tipsters can call Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7LOCKUP.
