Baltimore juveniles arrested at least 11 times in January for carjackings, other crimes

By Maggie Ybarra

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — A 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy are facing charges for allegedly breaking into several vehicles in the Canton area on Monday night. They are two of nearly a dozen juveniles arrested for committing crimes in Baltimore in January.

The two boys were believed to be working with one other person, also a male, in the 2100 block of Aliceanna Street, a waterfront block that straddles the border between Baltimore’s Canton and Fells Point neighborhoods that night, according to the Baltimore Police Department.

Officers on patrol in the area received reports around 9 p.m. that three males dressed in dark clothing were using flashlights to break into vehicles.

They drove over to the harborside area, but the trio reportedly ran from the officers before they could get out of their patrol cars, according to authorities.

The officers chased the boys and were able to catch two of them. The third person was able to escape, and their identity is still not known, police said.

After detaining the boys, officers allegedly found a replica pistol in a cross-body bag that one of the boys had been carrying.

Police said the boys were taken to the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center to be charged.

They announced the arrests of the boys on X, the social media site formally known as Twitter, on Wednesday.

The arrests follow similar reports of young people committing crimes across the city.

In January alone, police announced that they had arrested a 12-year-old boy and 10 teenagers for allegedly participating in a myriad of crimes spanning from carjackings to robberies.

On Jan. 24, officers apprehended a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy for allegedly using a gun to take a vehicle from a woman as she tried to park it in the 3500 block of Shannon Drive.

On Jan. 16, a 15-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy, and a 17-year-old girl were arrested after a shoplifting attempt went awry in the 900 block of North Caroline Street.

The trio of teens had reportedly tried to steal from a business. When employees confronted them, they allegedly began threatening staff and assaulting them.

During the confrontation, at least one of the teenagers grabbed lighter fluid and sprayed it around the store—even into the eye of a store employee—before leaving the premises, according to authorities.

Prior to that, on Jan. 12, four 15-year-old boys were arrested for allegedly committing an armed carjacking near the intersection of Greenmount Avenue and 25th Street.

Police said they were able to track down the teens using the department’s helicopter, which is colloquially known as Foxtrot.

Foxtrot worked alongside officers from different police districts and members of the SWAT team to find the teens, according to authorities.

They tried to run from the carjacked vehicle in the 1600 block of Northgate Road, but didn’t get far, police said. Officers reportedly recovered a gun during that incident.

Maryland leaders have been trying to improve the juvenile justice system in Maryland to address what lawmakers describe as “concerning breakdowns” in the system.

Those breakdowns became a point of contention for Baltimore City lawmakers after a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy allegedly assaulted a woman near the intersection of East Lombard Street and South Patterson Park Avenue on Nov. 1, 2023.

The boys were taken to the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center, but they did not remain in the custody of officials, lawmakers said.

They were returned to their parents that evening. The officers involved with the arrest filed a police report with the Department of Juvenile Services the next day, they said.

“These two young people committed violent offenses,” city lawmakers said in a letter to the Department of Juvenile Services Secretary Vincent Schiraldi and Baltimore Police Chief Richard Worley. “Existing law is clear: they should have been detained and assessed in our juvenile system; they should not have found themselves at home several hours after committing a violent robbery and assault.”

The lawmakers said they had grown increasingly concerned about “a pattern of seeing young folks not being held fully accountable,” Baltimore City Councilman Zeke Cohen said.

This week, Gov. Wes Moore and legislative leaders revealed a plan for improving the system.

They have drawn up legislation that decreases the timeline that Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services timeline has for making intake decisions. It would increase the possible length of probation for juveniles and allow the court to extend probation for multiple unexcused absences from a rehabilitation program.

“I’m talking about accountability both for those who commit a crime and also accountability for those who are taking care of our young people,” Moore said.

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