An Emmitsburg man faces theft and related charges after being arrested twice in two days on suspicion of stealing from vehicles law enforcement officers parked in front of their homes. Alexander Travis Tannenbaum, 22, was charged in two separate cases with theft, theft scheme, and being rogue and vagabond.
Just after 9 p.m. Tuesday, a Frederick County Sheriff's Office deputy was called to Timbermill Run and Md. 140 in Emmitsburg, where a sheriff's office detective was already detaining Tannenbaum.
According to charging documents filed in Frederick County District Court, a neighbor called the detective and told him someone was trying to open the door of an unmarked patrol car parked in front of his house in the 1400 block of Ramblewood Drive. The detective came out and saw Tannenbaum walk down the street, get into a silver Ford Taurus and drive away.
The detective and the neighbor followed the car and flashed their headlights, and Tannenbaum stopped, the documents state. The detective detained Tannenbaum until the deputy arrived. He told the deputy that a cup holder full of change was missing from his personal car, which was parked in his driveway, the documents state.
Tannenbaum said he had a cup holder full of change in his car, but that he didn't steal it. But after the detective identified it as the one taken from his car, the deputy arrested Tannenbaum. He was released after posting $3,500 bail.
On Wednesday, deputies were called to a nearby street for another report of theft from a vehicle.
The homeowner, an officer in another jurisdiction, said several pieces of department-issued equipment were stolen from his vehicle, including a laptop, a radio, a Taser and badges, along with some personal items.
Investigators immediately identified Tannenbaum as a suspect, and video surveillance from the previous night at the officer's and a neighbor's home showed a man they believed to be Tannenbaum taking the items from the vehicle and placing them in the trunk of a silver Ford Taurus.
Detectives spotted Tannenbaum's car in Thurmont and pulled him over. During a patdown, Tannenbaum was found to be in possession of several stolen credit cards, including one belonging to a sheriff's office recruit who lives in Pennsylvania, the documents state.
Detectives took Tannenbaum and his passenger to the Thurmont Police Department for questioning. According to the documents, when asked about the stolen items, Tannenbaum told detectives his mother had called his girlfriend and another woman and told them to get rid of any incriminating evidence. He wouldn't say where the items were.
Tannenbaum's passenger told detectives Tannenbaum talked about having a Taser and said he would show him how to use it.
Investigators obtained a search warrant for Tannenbaum's apartment and car, and the stolen items were found in his car, according to the documents.
Tannenbaum was being held Thursday afternoon at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center in lieu of $3,750 bail.
Copyright 2011 - The Frederick News-Post, Md.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
