Police: Stolen Cars Had Stolen Police Weapons
Mario Alvarado | MCPD
An assault rifle and a shotgun stolen from a Rockville City Police cruiser were discovered in two stolen cars near Albert Einstein High School in North Kensington, Montgomery County police said.
A Wheaton man, 18, and a juvenile face auto theft charges, Montgomery County police statement said.
The 18-year-old, Mario G. Alvarado of the 2900 block of Dawson Avenue, also faces firearms charges, police said. He was released on $2,000 bond, according to online court records.
Rockville spokeswoman Marylou Berg said city police is cooperating with the county police investigation. City police also is conducting a review of the incident and its policies.
Montgomery County Police said a school resource officer (SRO) assigned to Einstein High in Kensington saw Alvarado driving a stolen vehicle at the high school about 10:33 a.m. Monday, police said.
The car, a blue Mazda 3, was parked to the rear of the high school, police said. The SRO saw the driver leave the vehicle, walk toward the school, and return to the Mazda a short time later, police said. As the Mazda drove away, the SRO activated his cruiser’s emergency equipment and pulled the car over at Norris and Kenton drives. The driver stopped the car and immediately fled, police said.
A short time later, the driver, identified as Alvarado, returned to the intersection, and the SRO and other officers arrested him, police said.
A computer check of the Mazda’s registration revealed it had been reported stolen on April 27 from a home on Milton Street in Wheaton, police said.
Officers searched the Mazda and found the assault rifle in the trunk, police said. Police said the weapon had been stolen from a Rockville cruiser in the Kensington area on Saturday.
Officers also found a black Nissan Frontier parked near Einstein High that had been reported stolen on April 22 from a home on Lafayette Drive in Wheaton, police said. Officers searched the Nissan and found the shotgun, which had been stolen from the same RCPD cruiser on Saturday, police said.
Alvarado has been charged with possession of a deadly weapon on school property, possession of an assault weapon, possession of a stolen vehicle, and other firearm-related charges.
On Tuesday, auto theft unit detectives arrested a 15-year-old boy and charged him with auto theft offenses related to this investigation. The juvenile was released to the custody of his parents.
This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding these crimes is asked to call the 2nd District Investigative Section at 240-773-6710.
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