Police: Shoplifting Family Affair At Babies R Us Ends In Car Chase
PASADENA, Md. (WJZ) — A man and a woman were charged, and the woman's 10-year-old niece and 11-year-old daughter were given juvenile citations, after the four of them conspired to rob a Babies R Us in Pasadena Thursday night, police say.
The incident ended in a police chase on Ritchie Highway, where officers say the suspects were throwing the stolen merchandise out of the vehicle.
Officers responded to Jumpers Junction Mall around 7:43 p.m. for a report of shoplifting.
When they arrived, they say 28-year-old Tierra Latasha Reid and the children were running from the store to a getaway vehicle waiting in the parking lot, where 50-year-old Erik Benjamin Prestbury was waiting.
A responding officer confronted the suspects as they entered the getaway car, but Prestbury, they say, hit the gas, striking the officer in the leg, and continued in the parking lot towards Jumpers Hole Road.
The responding officers blocked the exit to the roadway in an attempt to contain the car, but when Prestbury encountered the police officer and vehicle at the parking lot exit, he stopped for a brief moment, then placed the vehicle in reverse and intentionally rammed a patrol vehicle, according to police.
Prestbury allegedly maneuvered around the vehicles and exited onto the roadway. He continued north on Ritchie Highway as police pursued the car, and where passengers began throwing stolen merchandise out the window.
Officers then deployed "stop sticks," devices used to deflate tires, in the area of Ritchie Highway near 16th Avenue.
The car hit the sticks and eventually stopped in the same area. The suspects were taken into custody without further incident.
Detectives say Reid was having her niece and daughter steal and conceal items within the store. About $400 worth of merchandise was recovered from the side of the road and returned to the store.
She and Prestbury were charged with multiple charges including assault, theft, and traffic related offenses.
The juveniles were served on juvenile citations and released to another family member.
The officer that was struck sustained minor injuries and did not require immediate medical attention.
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