A Baltimore public works employee used a city truck to attempt to steal an ATM in Owings Mills during an early morning burglary last week, according to Baltimore County police and a Baltimore city spokesman.
Kirk Parker Jr., 36, is charged with second-degree burglary, theft, malicious destruction of property and two counts of fourth-degree burglary, court records show. He is being held without bond. He does not have an attorney listed in online court records.
James Bentley, a spokesman with the city’s Department of Public Works, confirmed Parker worked at the agency and that “DPW is fully cooperating with the investigation.”
According to Maryland online court records, Parker was convicted of armed robbery in 2014 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, with credit for 15 months he already had served.
Baltimore County police were responding to a report of a burglary in Owings Mills around 3:30 a.m. Dec. 29 when they found a truck in front of an ATM with chains around it, the department said in a Wednesday news release.
Parker ran when he saw police, according to the release, and he was taken into custody after a brief foot chase.
The vehicle involved was a Ford truck registered to the City of Baltimore, police said. The city emblem and front license plate of the vehicle had been taped over. It had been reported stolen in Carroll County, and the Baltimore County police did not say in the release who reported it stolen and when.
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Parker is listed in a city salary database as a licensed commercial driver for Public Works since 2019 with an annual salary of $38,805.
He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 28.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said residents should expect the best from city workers.
“Whoever is committing these types of crimes should be held responsible no matter where they work,” Scott said. “When folks are public servants that comes with a high level of responsibility. We’re going to work with our partners and this gentleman will have his day in court.”