Parkville Man Charged In Attempted Cell Phone Snatching

By Nick DiMarco

Baltimore County police Wednesday charged a Parkville man with attempting to snatch a cell phone from the hands of a shopper—the third such incident in two weeks, officials said.

Justin Johnson, 29, of Parkville, is charged with robbery and assault.

At about noon Wednesday, a man reportedly “tussled” with another man in the parking lot of Home Depot store, 1900 E. Joppa Road in Parkville, in an attempt to steal his cell phone, Ofc. Mark Dorsey said. The suspect did not get away with the cell phone.

A Baltimore County detective on his way home spotted a man fitting the suspect’s description and the description of the suspect’s car in Perry Hall.

Police arrested Johnston near the Mars grocery store in Perry Hall Wednesday at about 3:15 p.m., according to Dorsey, of the Parkville Precinct. 

Two women were robbed last week in Perry Hall in similar incidents. A thief sneaked up on the two women and took their “iDevices” out of their hands, according to police.

Read: Women Forcefully Robbed at Perry Hall Safeway, White Marsh Mall

In one of the incidents, the suspect fled in a black vehicle, a Baltimore County incident report shows.

Stay with Patch as we continue to update this story.  

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