Bel Air Man Charged In Vehicle Thefts From Rec Sports Groups: Sheriff

BEL AIR, MD — A Bel Air man was charged in four thefts of utility vehicles owned by recreational organizations in Harford County, officials said Tuesday.

Adam Patrick O’Brien, 22, of the 1000 block of Shaffner Drive in Bel Air, was charged earlier this year in the theft of a John Deere Gator from the Hickory Fountain Green baseball program. The equipment was stolen from Schucks Regional Park in the 300 block of Schucks Road between the night of June 4, 2021, and the morning of June 6, 2021, officials said.

O’Brien was also charged in the theft of a Kubota side by side tractor from the Bel Air Terps, which happened between July 15 and July 20, 2021, from Tucker Field in the 600 block of East West Highway near Hickory.

An arrest warrant was first issued for O'Brien in the February in connection with the June and July thefts, and he posted bond, officials said.

“As the investigation progressed, other thefts of a similar nature were reported to deputies,” the Harford County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement, in which they outlined the two other crimes:

• A John Deere Gator TX owned by the Hickory Fountain Green Recreation Council was stolen between March 15 and May 15, 2020, from Hickory Park in the 2300 block of Ady Road, where someone cut the locks off a storage shed.
• A John Deere Gator was stolen from the Hickory Fountain Green Recreation Council between May 21 and May 23, 2021, from Hickory Park in the 2300 block of Ady Road in Forest Hill.

Investigators determined the thefts were connected, and they charged O'Brien in the two thefts above on April 22.

He has been charged with multiple counts of malicious destruction of property, burglary and theft.

"In most of these incidents, the sheds where utility vehicles were stored were properly secured with a lock," officials reported. "To date, only one of the stolen utility vehicles has been recovered. At this time, it appears the vehicles were stolen for personal use and were subsequently disposed of through unknown means."

Following each of his arrests, O’Brien was transported to the Harford County Detention Center, after which he was released on bail.

Detectives say they are still searching for the three utility vehicles that have not been recovered yet. Anyone with information can call the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 410-836-5442.