Four teens have been charged in connection with an armed carjacking in downtown Bethesda last week, according to Montgomery County police. Police say a tracking device in the car was useful in finding it.
Herbert Randall, 18, along with girls ages 15 and 16 and a 17-year-old boy have been charged with stealing the keys to a red 2022 Hyundai Elantra on June 10, police said in a press release. Police did not list hometowns for any of the victims.
Officers were called to the St. Elmo parking garage just before 11 p.m. that night for a report of an armed carjacking, police said. Detectives determined during the investigation that the victims were walking to their Hyundai when they saw the four teens nearby. One of the teens approached a victim and demanded the keys before taking out a handgun and pointing it at the victim’s chest, police said.
The victim gave the carjacker the keys and the four teens drove away in the Hyundai on Cordell Avenue toward Wisconsin Avenue, police said.
Police said officers were able to locate the Hyundai using a tracking device inside the vehicle. On June 11, detectives found the car and arrested Randall and the 15- and 16-year-old girls. The three suspects told police in an interview that they committed the carjacking.
The fourth suspect, the 17-year-old, was later arrested on a warrant. Randall, the 17-year-old and the 16-year-old have all been charged as adults, police said. The 15-year-old was charged as a juvenile and later released to her parent. All of the suspects have been charged with armed carjacking and handgun-related charges.
County police recently launched an auto theft initiative program, which includes having police install a free Tile device to help officers track stolen vehicles. As of last week, police had installed 54 devices and there were 45 appointments booked.
Lauren Ivey, a police spokeswoman, told Bethesda Beat on Thursday that the tracking device on the vehicle involved in this case was not a Tile device installed by the county.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@bethesdda-remix.newspackstaging.com