Liquor Thefts From Gaithersburg Warehouse An Inside Job: Police

GAITHERSBURG, MD — A Gaithersburg man who works for the Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control has been arrested on charges that he helped steal and sell alcohol from a county warehouse, police say. The two men charged in the scheme are Jean Auguste, 27, of Lanham, and Montgomery County – Department of Liquor Control employee Kelvin Eugene Snowden Jr., 31, of Gaithersburg. Montgomery County Police say they stole $21,769 worth of alcohol from box trucks parked at the Department of Liquor Control warehouse on Edison Park Drive in Gaithersburg.

Liquor control employees first reported to police that alcohol was stolen from the department's trucks on Feb. 14 and Feb. 24. Detectives determined that a suspect entered the facility grounds by climbing over the lot’s perimeter fence when the warehouse was closed and the gates were locked. The suspect broke the security seal on multiple trucks, entered the cargo areas, and stole boxes of alcohol. Video surveillance recorded the break-in and thefts.

Six more thefts occurred at the storage facility on April 23, April 30, May 7, May 16, May 26, and May 28. During the May 28 theft, security workers saw the suspect on video surveillance and immediately called police. An officer, who had been briefed by detectives about the thefts, responded to the call and spotted a Chevrolet Suburban parked in the far corner of the adjacent Lakelands Park Middle School basketball court.

When the officer talked with the Suburban’s driver, who was identified as Auguste, he saw multiple boxes of alcohol in the vehicle, which police determined were stolen from the liquor department. Auguste was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree burglary and theft. He was taken to the Central Processing Unit and released on bond.

Detectives developed Snowden as the suspect who was unlawfully entering the liquor department lot, stealing alcohol from trucks, and selling the alcohol on at least one occasion (May 28) to Auguste. Snowden was arrested Wednesday on a Montgomery County warrant, charging him with theft offenses and malicious destruction of property. He was taken to the Central Processing Unit. Bond information is not available at this time.

»Photos of Jean Auguste of Lanham and Kelvin Eugene Snowden Jr. of Gaithersburg, courtesy of Montgomery County Police