With the help of a Baltimore City pawn shop and Connecticut police, Howard County police caught the man they say is responsible for two home invasion burglaries and a sexual assault in Columbia.
“They did it the old-fashioned way ? they went to pawn shops and did checks,” Howard County police spokesman Pfc. Jamie Myers said of his detectives? investigation.
The New Haven Police Department took Ronnie Gordon Smith Jr., 39, of the 400 block of Eastern Street in New Haven, Conn., into custody Wednesday night and are waiting for Howard County to extradite him to Maryland, police said.
Smith was wanted on several charges, including attempted rape, assault, theft and vehicle theft.
In a Dec. 6 home invasion, Smith entered a home on Smooth Meadow Way, tied up a 60-year-old woman and stole money, jewelry, credit cards and the victim?s car, police said. Her car was recovered in Baltimore City.
In a Dec. 11 incident, police said, Smith tied up a 24-year-old female victim on Brook Way and sexually assaulted her, then fled after stealing electronics and cash.
Police said they were led to Smith through pawn records after he sold the stolen goods at pawn shops.
Police said they are not releasing the name of pawn shops so as not to compromise the investigation.
“We normally get lists from the pawn shops, just because so much stolen property is pawned,” Myers said. “Our detectives went to Baltimore City and did checks. They found the items and [that] led them to his name as a possible suspect.”
Multiple tips led Howard County officers to believe Smith had traveled to Connecticut, they said.
