Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with a spate of robberies at two light rail stations in South Baltimore that began in late May, according to police. The victims include one man who was held up for $6.
One of the attacks occurred aboard a rail car, but the others happened at night and after passengers had disembarked at stops in Cherry Hill and on Patapsco Avenue and had walked into residential communities.
Detectives got a break in the case July 19 when a juvenile was arrested after a passenger was followed and robbed at Potee and West Patapsco avenues in Brooklyn. Police said that they used the Foxtrot helicopter to find the youth in Cherry Hill and that he led detectives to other suspects.
"He provided a wealth of information," said Baltimore Police Detective Ryan J. Diener of the Southern District station.
Three youths, including a 14-year-old, were charged as juveniles. Alexander Michael O'Neal, 17, of the 1300 block of W. Lanvale St., was charged as an adult with armed robbery in connection with one attack, and police said they are working on filing additional charges. Police said they believe the group is responsible for nine robberies.
Officials characterized the attacks as rare and said they recognized a potential pattern after the second incident. Police said the youths used different methods — twice using a gun, but other times only saying they had a weapon. Two of the attacks were purse snatchings.
Maryland Transit Authority police said detectives talked with people who lived near the two stops and with passengers in that area, but they did not otherwise alert the public to the robberies. Authorities said one woman allowed undercover detectives to use her front porch for surveillance.
Some light rail riders complained in interviews and on blog postings that they were never told about the attacks and were angry that they were left vulnerable. "I find it very disturbing that the MTA didn't notify the public on this spate of robberies," said Emily Shrift, a daily rider who lives in Annapolis.
Authorities speaking at a Tuesday news conference released few details about the holdups, including the one aboard a rail car. A police charging document filed in connection with O'Neal's arrest provides information on one of the cases.
The unidentified victim had gotten off a northbound light rail train at Patapsco Avenue about 1 a.m. on June 17. He walked to a nearby bus stop just over the line in Baltimore County to wait for a transfer when he told police he heard people talking in some woods near the end of the platform.
He told police that two young men emerged from behind a building, one wearing a black ski mask, the other a blue bandana covering his mouth and nose. One said, "What do ya got in your pockets?" according to the court documents.
The victim answered: "Nothing man, I'm just trying to get home from work," the charging papers say.
Police said the young man wearing the bandana handed the other man a silver revolver — which later turned out to be a pellet gun — and said, "Give me what's in your pockets."
The victim told police the man "never pointed the gun at him, but kept it down by his side and a little behind his thigh." The victim said in the court documents that he handed the man $6.
"Where's the rest, I know you have more than that," the armed man said.
"No, that's all I got," the victim replied before running away and boarding a bus that had pulled up the stop. The victim called police when he arrived home.
Authorities said that the victim picked O'Neal from a photo lineup and that police arrested him on July 21 in Cherry Hill. "During the interview, he admitted to taking part in several robberies," the charging documents state.
Baltimore Sun reporter Michael Dresser contributed to this article.