Items have been stolen from up to two dozen cars throughout Montgomery County, Md., recently, but one of the victims became one of the investigators early Wednesday, and police said two suspects are with Occupy Baltimore.
Allan Miller was working at a home in the 9600 block of Elrod Road in Kensington installing a home theater system until about 1:30 a.m. When he left, he noticed someone in a 2011 Mercedes with its interior light on. When he got to his van, he realized someone had rifled through it and noticed his iPhone and charger were gone.
“I found a mess and my phone was gone,” Miller said.
So he approached the Mercedes, and the man inside ran.
Miller’s investigation wasn’t over, though. After calling police, he tracked his iPhone with the Find My iPhone app on his iPad.
“I used the iPad and I located my phone,” he said. “Then I called police and they tracked the person down.”
The app directed police to the phone in the 3000 block of Upton Drive, where officers saw two men on foot get into a red Toyota Tundra.
Police stopped the Toyota and learned it had been stolen from a nearby home. In the bushes, they found Miller’s iPhone. And in backpacks, police found items including GPS devices.
Police charged 31-year-old Daniel Covey and 54-year-old Michael Rigby with multiple counts of theft, possession of burglary tools, conspiracy to commit theft and attempted theft related to the Mercedes. Covey also was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, and Rigby was charged with possession of GPS units believed to be stolen.
After their arrests, the men told police they were involved with the Occupy Baltimore movement, Montgomery County police Capt. Paul Starks said.
Police believe they are involved in other thefts.
“At least one of them told police they’d been stealing from vehicles in the area since Sunday,” Starks said.
Covey was held on $15,000 bond, and Rigby was held on $3,500 bond.
