Gaithersburg Man Arrested After Hit-And-Run In Stolen Car: Police

GAITHERSBURG, MD — Montgomery County police have arrested a Gaithersburg man accused of stealing a car, crashing it into another vehicle, and fleeing the scene — all in front of an off-duty cop.

Anthony Leonard Jr., 20, was charged with unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, theft ranging from $1,500 to under $25,000, and other theft-related offenses, court records show.

Authorities said the incident happened on Tuesday at about 6:15 p.m. An off-duty cop was driving in his marked police vehicle on Ridge Road in Clarksburg when he saw a Lincoln Continental make a sudden lane change and strike another vehicle.

Police said the officer activated his emergency lights and sirens to assist with the collision, but saw that the Lincoln Continental did not stop. Instead, the striking vehicle accelerated and continued traveling north on Ridge Road. The pursuit ended at the intersection of Apple Orchard Way and Muscadine Drive.

Inside the car was the driver, later identified as Leonard Jr., and two male adult and two female juvenile passengers. They fled from the vehicle but were later apprehended by police, according to authorities.

Police determined that the vehicle had been stolen from a home in Potomac between Sept. 27 and 28. The vehicle was unlocked with the keys inside.

The passengers told police they did not know that the car was stolen and asked Leonard Jr. to stop the car as he fled from the scene. According to authorities, Leonard Jr. admitted instructing the four passengers to get out of the vehicle when he stopped on Apple Orchard Way because it was stolen.

The four passengers were released without charges, police said.

Leonard Jr. was taken to the Central Processing Unit in Rockville and charged with vehicle theft. He has been released on bond.