A juvenile suspect was taken into custody last week after crashing a stolen vehicle and attempting to flee the scene in Columbia, according to the Howard County Police Department.
On April 9th, police responded to reports of a vehicle collision in a Columbia neighborhood. Upon arriving at the scene, witnesses informed officers that they had observed a male individual running away from the crashed vehicle.
An investigation quickly determined that the vehicle involved had been reported stolen. Police reviewed body camera footage in which witnesses can be seen pointing out the direction the suspect fled.
Utilizing a drone equipped with thermal imaging technology, officers were able to locate and track the suspect’s movement after he had bailed out of the stolen car. The drone guided police to the suspect’s location nearby, where he was apprehended and taken into custody.
The juvenile suspect now faces charges of motor vehicle theft in relation to the incident. Footage captured by the police drone’s thermal camera shows the suspect being surrounded by multiple officers before being arrested.
Authorities have not released the identity of the juvenile due to their age. The investigation into how the vehicle was originally stolen remains ongoing by Howard County Police.