A grand jury indicted a Maryland man accused of repeatedly stealing air conditioning units from a church and an apartment building earlier this year.
The thefts took place in District Heights between April and June, police said.
“This individual really took a very huge toll on the destruction and chaos it brought to our city and our residents,” District Heights Chief of Police Ronald Tarpley said.
Surveillance cameras helped them zero in on a suspect, 31-year-old Joshua Martell Thomas, who lives near the three crime scenes, police said. Those include his neighbor’s house, the First Baptist Church of District Heights and the Woodland Springs Apartments complex.
“We were very distressed at what was going on at our property, and Mr. Thomas seemed to be like a one-man wrecking crew for us,” said Neal Nappi of Niven Property Management Company. “He was costing us a tremendous amount of money.”
Some of the AC units Thomas allegedly stole were worth between $25,000 and $100,000, according to charging documents.
Prince George's County
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Authorities believe Thomas sold copper wire from the AC units.
“We believe that the residents of District Heights and our businesses in District Heights deserve to have him be accountable for his actions,” Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.
District Heights police believe Thomas may have had help from others, and they are continuing to investigate.
The grand jury indicted Thomas on 17 criminal charges, including theft and malicious destruction. He’ll likely appear in court next week for a bond hearing.
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