Towson Crime: Armed Robbery at Trader Joe's
The following information was supplied by the Baltimore County Police Department. In cases where a criminal charge is noted, the information provided does not indicate a conviction.
Downtown Towson
East Joppa Road, unit block. 8:56 p.m. June 7. A man entered the manager's office at Trader Joe's with a six-inch folding knife. He struggled with the manager and removed a case from a drawer. He fled toward a Towson Town Center parking lot with $329.98 in cash.
Bosley Avenue, 400 block. Between 7 p.m. May 28 and 7 p.m. June 7. A door frame was destroyed, but nothing was reported taken.
Drumcastle Apartments
Holly Lane and Walker Avenue. 4:30 p.m., June 9. A man was surrounded by four juveniles, who took his wallet. A second man, who threatened to call police, was punched, but not robbed.
Lake Falls Village
Falls Road, 6000 block. Between 11:45 p.m. June 9 and 7:45 a.m. June 10. The outside part of a lock outside Pepe's was broken off. Entry was not gained.
Lakeview Road, 6000 block. Between noon June 2 and 7 a.m. June 4. An iPod Classic, two pairs of glasses, a golf hat and $20 were reported stolen from an unlocked car in a garage.
Towson
Kenilworth Drive and North Charles Street. 7:02 a.m. June 9. A woman was driving to work when another driver pulled up next to her at the intersection and yelled a racial slur.
Knettishall
Pleasant Plains Road, 8400 block. Between 10 p.m. June 7 and 8:30 a.m. June 8. A burglar entered a yard and stole a purple mountain bike.
Loch Raven Boulevard, 8600 block. 12:45 p.m. June 5. A man with a knife demanded money from the victim. He stole $300 and fled eastbound on Yakona Road.
Fellowship Forest
Fellowship Court, unit block. Between 2 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. June 6. A woman came home to find her bedroom locked, with noises coming from inside. When she gained access to the room, she found laptops (that the burglars had attempted to steal) piled on her bed.
Ruxton
Ruxton Road, 1900 block. 12:45 p.m. June 5. A glass panel in a side door was broken. It's unknown if anything was taken. Police say the incident was similar to several others in Pikesville.
Loch Raven
Glen Keith Boulevard, 1600 block. Between 5 p.m. June 1 and 5 p.m. June 2. An outdoor umbrella base was reported stolen from a fenced-in yard.
K Blue
12:30 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
When are we going to see the PC8 officers walking the streets in Towson proper again with regularity? Enough already. This most recent crime at Trader Joe's is brazen and demonstrates that having a police station 3 blocks away is meaningless if there is no visible presence. The use of speed cameras and the expansion of the speed camera program was touted as a way of freeing up officers for non-traffic related police work, preventive and investigative. Where are they? Does the Chief of Police have any plans to put officers back on the streets in Towson proper? Buy the new recruits and younger officers some decent, comfortable shoes and instruct them on community policing. They are more than capable.
Escariot
12:37 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
You will never see it K Blue. The reason? Towson and baltimore county is hiding from its taxpayers the amount of section 8 renters that have materialized in downtown Towson. Crimes like these have skyrocketed in towson coinciding with the section 8 vouchers and the county and towson police write articles denying that there is an uptake in crime, or the violence and severity of the crimes being commited now.
K Blue
12:43 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
Escariot, if that is the case and the Section 8 renters are actually causing a majority of these crimes, then Towson Circle III and the senior housing developments are destined to fail until and unless the Chief gets serious about visible community policing. This means no more skipping recruit classes. Also, it would be nice if the Towson Business Community could pull their resources together to enhance visible security if the top brass fails to act.
Kate
4:33 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
They're at the 7-11 up the street getting coffee and donuts everyday. And no that is not a stereotype. If you don't believe me, go check it out for yourself. Everyday there are half a dozen police cars there for hours. The officers just hang out there making fun of people that walk in.
Dan
12:47 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
Why would there be Precinct 8 officers walking the streets of Towson...that makes no sense.
K Blue
12:56 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
Dan, so sorry. I meant Precinct 6.
Escariot
2:17 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
K Blue, that is the case. If you look online, you will see over 1,150 ads for rent accepting section 8 vouchers in towson. Also K Blue, i moved to towson 5 years ago from pennsylvania and chose towson because i thought it was one of the best neighborhoods in the country, and i traveled the country as a division I college athlete. This uptake in crime, and the escalating violence caused me to question where this came from recently. Almost every bank in towson has been robbed, and the difference in class of people in downtown towson and towson marketplace has been altered dramatically in such a short period of time. It was when i did the search that it became clear that towson has added numerous section 8 units, and those added directly correspond with the uptake of crime. I think it is a total shame. I no longer recommend either towson, or towson u to people from out of state on the east coast due to this ridiculous situation where section 8 vouchers are going to apartments and houses where rent exceeds 1300.00 per month. Sad but true K Blue.
Needaname
5:03 pm on Monday, June 11, 2012
WOW - robbing Trader Joe's was a brazen move. There is really no way of making a clean get away from that place. I shop there several times a week and so thankful no one was seriously injured.
Kate
4:37 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
It's the bus stop. All they have to do is run for the nearest one and get on before anyone can catch them.
I work with a former police officer. He said when they first started making the bus go from Baltimore City into the richer neighborhoods, crime skyrocketed. It's an easy mode of escape and an easy way to blend in with a crowd.
D Schmid
9:32 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Towson has changed dramatically for the worse. Downtown shops have been vacant for years and you can see many of the buildings are falling into decay. Towson was dangerous at night and now daytime isn't any better. Several weeks ago a couple was robbed at 7:30 p.m. in the Towson Mall garage. You walk by the planters in front of Barnes & Nobles and you'll be hit up for money. It's not unusual to see several people either drinking or sleeping behind the old Burger King at Joppa and Virginia. Sheely Ave. behind the Burger King is littered with broken bottles. Towson has been invaded by the cockroaches that move in whenever we allow decay. Why anyone would want to build a movie theatre there with underground parking is beyond me.
Escariot
10:06 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Thank you David for being honest like I am concerning the way that Towson is fastly becoming a ghetto and hangout for low class people and criminals. It is no coincidence David what you are seeing at Joppa and Virginia avenue and how crimes are commited and people take off on foot from the mall towards that direction, which is also no coincidence houses section 8 units at virginia towers. Once more people like myself move out of towson and take business elsewhere then maybe the police wil get involved and the county will stop dropping section 8 people in middle to upper class neighborhoods.
K Blue
10:29 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
D, I have high hopes for Towson Circle III but in my nonexpert opinion it is all contingent on the quality of and visible emphasis on security there. There has been a lot of movement in the police department which has been well covered in the press. Perhaps, the criminals (whoever they are) are taking advantage of this. Whatever the case, out of sight means out of mind, and until there is a visible police presence in the Towson business district, potential criminals and panhandlers will frequent the area without much reserve. I hope that the County gets a handle on this sooner than later (the silence is deafening), and if there is a reason why the Towson precinct officers are spread too thin, that it is rectified. Otherwise, Towson Circle III will have a hard time attracting and maintaining establishments and customers and the other main street businesses will suffer along with them. Private security is an option, but it should supplement (not replace) a visible police emphasis.
Scott
9:44 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
As a distraction from the overall Towson crime discussion, I would like to make a clarification on another part of this story. The crime listed under "Anneslie", did not, in fact, occur in Anneslie. The Drumcastle Apartments are not part of the Anneslie Community. We are having enough of our own growing issues, and don't need to be "credited" for any others. Thanks.
Tyler Waldman
10:42 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
OK, I'll make the switch. Thanks for the clarification.
Escariot
10:47 am on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Kblue, excellent post. I can tell you that coworkers that live farther out in other counties have stopped going to towson mall, and towson marketplace because of the crime and class of people they encountered. As more people stop doing business in downtown towson because of those reasons, the criminal element will shift to commiting crimes against towson students that do not have a choice concerning where they live and shop due to resources and funds. Maybe that, and businesses leaving and closing will cause towson to alter its present course. As of now, i do not recommend downtown towson as a place to live or to go to school to out of state residents that ask me about where there kids should go to school.
Other Tim
7:35 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
"Kenilworth Drive and North Charles Street. 7:02 a.m. June 9. A woman was driving to work when another driver pulled up next to her at the intersection and yelled a racial slur."
I count 11 incidents reported above. Ten are pretty serious crimes. Yelling a racial slur is pretty stupid, but is it a crime?
Needaname
8:37 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
I believe it would be considered a Hate Crime.
Escariot
9:01 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Not according to Towson police Needaname. Remember the assault at Pizan's pizza? The victims were subjected to racial slurs before being assaulted. In America under the Holder justice department it is only a hate crime if the minority is the victim, not the person that commits the crime.
Other Tim
6:20 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
Needaname: race was never mentioned in the "driver yelled a racial slur" incident.
Please don't tell me you are assuming the yeller was white and the driver was black. Wouldn't that be racism?
D Schmid
5:23 pm on Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Read the article in the Police Fire section:
"Two Baltimore men allegedly tried to kick a street performer off a downtown Towson intersection." I commented in an earlier post on the heavier of the two men who broke the hand of a person who was playing an instrument on York and Pennsylvania Ave. because the musician was "on his corner." He normally partks himself on the big planter outside Barnes & Noble and asks for money or makes rude remarks. I was in the 7-11 on Chesapeake when he was verbally abusive to the man behind the counter. He's not from Towson.
I took photos of a man lying on the ground by the storage locker on Joppa near Virginia. I thought he was dead. Turns out he was just drunk. Back he went to his little family that live behind the old Burger King on Virginia & Joppa. It's not uncommon to see people sitting behind the bushes there either drinking or sleeping it off.
Parkvillehoney
1:17 am on Thursday, June 28, 2012
A landlord told me she would rather rent to Section 8 renters because she can get more from the government. She said she can rent a townhouse for $1500/mo whereas she could only get $1200/mo from a working family. Plus the payment is always on time. I think the majority of Section 8 renters are gaming the system. There are 8 people living in a Section 8 rental on my block. 2 adults work, but the house is registered under a single part time working mother with 3 young kids. Her boyfriend (doesn't work), her mother (with her 2 teenagers) all live with her and her kids. Are they gaming the system? I think so.
Escariot
7:38 am on Thursday, June 28, 2012
Thank you so much for that bit of truth Parkvillehoney. On the McDonough thread Steve is trying to argue that they have not increased the section 8 vouchers in towson while you can go online and do a search of section 8 apartments in towson and there are 1,150 units currently available. As you truthfully stated parkvillehoney, they have 5 bedrooms townhouses listed there for 1500 and up.
Ejay- smooth
9:30 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
As a reformed criminal i can tell you that the reason why I preyed on towson with so much success as well other suburban neighborhoods is because like your comments your ignorance and arrogance makes you blind therefore you cant see the things that are right in your face to busy looking for a stereo type ....your racial undertone screams so loud.