Police Bust Robbery Ring In Baltimore County
BALTIMORE (WJZ)— A massive robbery ring has been shut down in Baltimore County. Now two men are in police custody.
Weijia Jiang explains one man's fast thinking may have saved his life during one of the attacks.
Police say Kyle Powell, 28, and Michael Spencer, 26, are the masterminds behind a massive robbery ring in the Baltimore area, confessing to at least 19 robberies in Baltimore County, three in the city and one in Anne Arundel County.
"These suspects targeted fast food places, pizza delivery places and Game Stop stores. They picked their victims very carefully and cased those locations very carefully," said Lt. Rob McCullough, Baltimore County Police.
Aleksandr Katz works at one of the targeted restaurants--Salvino's Pizza in Pikesville--which has nine security cameras in place.
"If it wasn't for the monitor, we would have been robbed at gunpoint," said Katz.
Katz says he saw Powell and Spencer on a screen with weapons in hand. He says all he could think of was his newborn baby.
"Kind of scary for my son, living without a dad," Katz said.
Katz says the two men got into the building through an emergency exit but in the few moments it takes to get from there to the back entrance of the restaurant, he was able to close and lock the door so they never made it inside.
"It was three seconds when I closed the door and three seconds when they turned the corner and would have seen me," Katz said.
Others weren't so lucky. Charging documents show some incidents were violent. Victims were tied up with rope, punched in the face. At least one was choked.
WJZ was there when investigators tracked the pair and their getaway car down on Feb.17, putting a stop to yet another robbery attempt.
Powell and Spencer are held at the Baltimore County Detention Center without bond, facing multiple charges of robbery and assault.
Police are investigating whether the pair is responsible for even more robberies in the area.
