A Baltimore police officer and her husband are now the targets of an expanding investigation into vehicles stolen from the city’s Pulaski Highway impound lot, a law enforcement source told The Examiner this week.
The officer, whom police have yet to identify, was suspended in September in connection with changing tow codes for cars brought into the lot at the behest of tow truck operators to garner higher tow fees, the law enforcement source said.
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The city’s Regional Auto Task Force is investigating the alleged involvement of the officer’s husband, who works for the state Motor Vehicle Administration, in connection with the disappearance of several vehicles removed from the lot, the source said.
The new developments in the investigation come two weeks after police arrested Juwann Smith for allegedly taking a 2003 Volkswagen Passat from the impound lot before the owner, Antonio Brown, could pick the car up. Smith was charged with felony theft and possessing fraudulent documents.
That arrest has brought little solace for Brown, who said police have told him they have yet to find his car.
“There’s not word on my car yet, police told me the guy who they arrested isn’t cooperating,” Brown said in a phone interview. “It’s putting a lot of stress on me. I’m still making payments on the car, but I don’t have it. It’s very frustrating.”
The investigation recently expanded into disappearing cars after an insurance company investigator began questioning impound lot officials about another vehicle picked up before the owner could claim it, said sources familiar with the case. The expanded investigation includes the activities of the officer’s husband, an MVA employee who had access to sensitive vehicle records, the source said.
MVA spokesman Buel Young said the agency was cooperating with the investigation but declined further comment.
The law enforcement source said the department’s internal affairs division started interviewing independent tow truck drivers who may have towed cars off the lot for the officer.
Police spokesman Troy Harris declined to comment.
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