Howard County Man Charged in Speed Camera Van Assault

An Ellicott City man is facing charges after allegedly damaging a speed camera van with what police said appeared to be a BB gun.

Abraham Naveed Quraishi, 20, of the 2700 block of Water Wheel Court in Ellicott City, has been charged with second-degree assault and launching a missile at a vehicle, court records show.

“We want people to know that we take these cases very seriously and will file criminal charges,” Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner said.

Before 10 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, something “consistent with a BB gun” was used to hit a speed camera van near Hollifield Station Elementary School, on Rogers Avenue at Patapsco Valley Drive, police said.

An object smashed the back left rear window of the speed camera van, according to the report from police.

The employee working inside the van, who was not injured, photographed the vehicle passing by at the time, the report said.

Then police found the 2008 Toyota Corolla at Quraishi’s residence, according to the report, which said the car had been cited for multiple speed and red light camera violations.

Quraishi was arrested Jan. 7 and released after posting $5,000 bond, police said.

This is the fourth arrest for destruction of a speed van or speed camera equipment since the speed camera program launched in Howard County three years ago, according to police.

Three times, speed cameras were set ablaze near Glenelg High School—one in 2013 and two in 2014.

• Howard County Speed Camera Torched for Second Time in Two Days
• Glenelg Teen Charged in Speed Camera Fires
• Howard County Speed Camera Torched

In June 2012, an Ellicott City man was accused of shooting marbles at a speed camera in Howard County with a slingshot. “I had already gotten two tickets from these things,” said the man. He was sentenced to one year of probation, 40 hours of community service and $458 in restitution to the speed camera vendor.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the speed camera program,” Chief Gardner said, “but we cannot overlook the significant damage to equipment and potential injury to our van operators.”

Related:

• Ellicott City Speed Camera Vandal Apologizes, Pleads Guilty
• Police Confident in Howard County Speed Cameras Despite Baltimore’s Problems
• Glenelg Teen Charged in Speed Camera Fires

Patch File Photo of speed camera.