17-Year-Old Charged in Towson Area Crime Spree: Police

TOWSON, MD — Officials said a teen has been charged in six recent vandalism cases and one burglary in the Towson area thanks in part to help from the community.

Surveillance video from one of the incidents plus input from neighbors and community groups helped investigators identify a 17-year-old boy as a suspect in a crime spree that began the last week of January, police said.

The incidents took place in the Cockeysville and Towson precincts, according to police:

• Graffiti was painted on the side of the Baltimore County Humane Resource Building, 300 block of Allegheny Avenue, Feb. 1.
• The side of a resident's vehicle was graffitied in the 500 block of Woodbine Avenue, Jan. 27.
• A swastika was painted on a resident's driveway in the 600 block of York Road, Jan. 25.
• A swastika and graffiti were painted on a resident's vehicle in 1800 block of Landrake Road, Jan. 25.
• A swastika and graffiti were painted on the sidewalk and in front of the bathrooms at Valley Fields Park South, 8500 block of Wellington Way, Jan. 25.
• A swastika on a dumpster and graffiti on the backboard of a basketball hoop at St. Pius School, 6000 block of York Road, on Jan. 25.

The teen was also charged with second-degree burglary in connection with a break-in at Graul's Wine and Spirits in the 7700 block of Bellona Avenue, where the front window was broken at 12:53 a.m. on Jan. 30, and police said the suspect took one bottle of alcohol.

Diligent responding officers, persevering detectives working the cases and "invaluable support and cooperation of community groups and neighborhood residents" helped lead to what police said was "a successful end to the vandalism of our community buildings and residents' property."

File photo.

See Also: Youth Suspected in Towson Graffiti Case