Carjackings, Thefts Lead To Arrests Of 13 Teens In Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — Montgomery County police said they made a total of 13 arrests on Monday in connection with stolen or carjacked vehicles in Silver Spring, Bethesda and other parts of the county.

One of the carjackings led to a lockdown of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Monday afternoon.

Among all 13 people arrested on Monday, only one was an adult, who is being held in jail. The other suspects in the carjackings and stolen vehicles were juveniles. They were charged and then released to their parents, police said.

At about 12:30 p.m. on Monday, a police officer identified two vehicles taken in armed carjackings: a Nissan Sentra, and a Honda Accord, in the vicinity of Georgia and Wayne Avenues in downtown Silver Spring. The officer pursued one of the vehicles, while waiting for back-up, police said.

During the pursuit, the carjacked Nissan crashed into a tree at Dennis and Douglas Avenues, just off Georgia Avenue. All five occupants of the car, including 18-year-old Samuel Fikru of Silver Spring, the Nissan's driver, were taken into custody, police said.

Two BB guns and a knife were recovered from the Nissan, police said. Among the four other Nissan occupants were three 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old male.

The Honda Accord, the other vehicle taken in an armed carjacking, was located near Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School around 2 p.m. on Monday. An unknown number of suspects got out of the carjacked vehicle and ran away, police said.

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One of the suspects, a 15-year-old girl, was taken into custody. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School was locked down as police looked for the other suspects.

In a separate incident on Monday, an off-duty Baltimore County police officer called 911 and reported a Kia Sedona with a broken window near Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville.

The Kia had been reported stolen earlier Monday. The occupants, three 16-year-olds, a 17-year-old, and the 14-year-old driver, were later located by Montgomery County Police officers in the Calverton neighborhood.

During an attempted traffic stop, the stolen Kia collided with another vehicle and eventually came to a stop on Cherry Hill Road, police said. All five suspects ran from the Kia, resulting in the apprehension of two. The remaining three got into a gray Infiniti with two other occupants, aged 15 and 16, police said.

Shortly after, the Infiniti returned to the Calverton area, and all five occupants got out of the Infiniti to watch the arrest of the two initial suspects. Recognizing three of the teenagers as the original suspects from the stolen Kia, officers took all five into custody.

Samuel Fikru faces charges of armed carjacking and motor vehicle theft-related charges. He is being held without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.

The juveniles in the Nissan have been charged with auto theft related charges, obstructing and hindering and malicious destruction of property.

The juveniles in the Kia were charged with motor vehicle unlawful taking and related offenses, while the 15 and 16-year-olds in the Infiniti face charges of conspiracy to commit motor vehicle theft, obstructing and hindering, and other conspiracy-related charges.

The 15-year-old girl in the Honda was not charged. She was released to her parents.

All of the juvenile suspects in the incidents who were taken to Montgomery County Police District Stations were later released to their parents, police said.