Teen released on ankle monitor as Baltimore City leaders hold juvenile crime town hall

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Baltimore police have arrested a 16-year-old they say is responsible for a string of commercial burglaries that targeted four businesses and involved stolen cars and other property in November of 2025, including a break-in at A&B Auto Body in southeast Baltimore.

One of the incidents involved a crash into a garage door at the body shop. The owner, Sam Faroze, said he reviewed surveillance video after the break-in.

“They’re going back towards the body shop and trying to see if there are any keys in there,” he said.

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Based on what he saw in the footage, the owner said he believed the suspects were young.

“Just by looking at the video footage and also, looking at their…body size, you know, trying to hear their conversation and stuff…I would say about 80, 90% I’m pretty sure they’re juveniles,” Faroze said.

Police said the teen arrested in connection with the A&B Auto Body break-in and the other incidents was released on an ankle monitor. The owner said the shop suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.

Police also said the teen had previously been arrested for auto theft before the break-ins.

“No other state or city you will see kids, teenagers, juveniles breaking into big businesses or even doing stuff like this,” the owner said.

Maybe…the laws need to be changed.”

The arrest came the same day Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates and Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) Secretary Betsy Fox Tolentino held a town hall addressing juvenile crime.

“The children are acting out because they’re not supervised, and the supervision starts in the home,” a resident said during Wednesday’s town hall.

“Everyone that’s here tonight has the power…to change Baltimore kids and crime,” another resident added.

Tolentino said more work is needed.

“Is the work done? Absolutely not. Not until all of the community feels safe and we see a reduction in victimization,” she said. “We need to continue to move our progress forward, so that we are pushing that perception back and that we’re seeing real outcomes for our community.”

At the town hall, a resident said frustration is growing over how leaders are handling the issue.

“I know remarkable progress has been made, but I think we’re all really getting tired of the finger pointing amongst yourselves,” the resident said.