Thieves target several Howard County auto businesses in growing trend, police say

BALTIMORE - A group of thieves recently targeted several auto businesses in Howard County.

Police say it's part of a trend that's hitting other parts of the region and around the country.

Police say whoever is behind the recent crimes will likely strike again.

Brian Doroudian got an early wake-up call on Dec. 23: finding out a break-in was happening at his business, National Motors, in Ellicott City.

By the time he checked out back, he saw three burglars trying to get away.

"I tried to grab one of them, they ran away, they jumped the fence, and there was a car ready for them," Doroudian said.

Doroudian said the thieves stole 50 car keys, but it's not the only business that got hit that morning.

Thieves made it off with a 2022 Honda Accord from O'Donnell Honda just down the street.

Down about 10 miles in Elkridge, burglars broke into Calton Cars & Auto Parts, making it off with cash and other parts. 

Police said this happened between Dec. 22 to Dec. 25.

Seth Hoffman, a spokesman with Howard County Police, said investigators believe the two dealership break-ins are related. He adds they're trying to see if the one at Calton Cars & Auto Parts is connected, too.

Hoffman also said these kinds of businesses have been particular targets recently.

"A lot of car businesses will have keys that belong to cars on the lot -- whether they're cars to be fixed or cars to be sold -- and [burglars will] target those," he said. "[Sometimes] they'll come back at another time."

While surveillance cameras caught the crimes, Hoffman said the suspects were wearing dark clothing and had their faces covered.

There's a group of them, according to Hoffman, and he believes they will likely try to break in somewhere else soon.

"It's not a kind of one-off type crime," Hoffman said. "So, these people aren't just doing it. It's planned. They know what they're hitting, they know what they're going after."

In the last month, Doroudian said a dozen cars had been stolen from National Motors.

With all of this happening, Doroudian is now hiring off-duty officers to keep an eye on his business. It's another hit on his bottom line, but he said the extra security is worth it.

"It's not easy. Insurance goes up if they don't drop us, [also] my employees feel unsafe," Doroudian said. "Better [to have more security], keep everybody at ease."

WJZ asked people in the area about these recent burglaries. 

Ronnie Rideout, an ex-Baltimore Police officer, said it's been troubling to see the rise in these crimes around our region.

"It's really terrifying. People are afraid to go out, to go to any place, do anything...just walking the streets," Rideout said.

Police have reached out to other auto businesses in the area to go over some precautions and other best practices to try to prevent the next crime.

Hoffman said police have also been doing area checks around these businesses, sometimes in the overnight hours.