Anne Arundel County Police have charged two men with stealing 17,000 pounds of batteries from vehicles and selling them at scrap yards.
Officers say a marked increase in the theft of automotive batteries in the northern district led to the establishment of a task force to reduce the crime.
Police say surveillance led to the arrests of two men last week. Forty-six-year-old Terry Lee Speece Jr. of Glen Burnie and 35-year-old Ted Swauger of Severn have been charged in the thefts.
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