A relatively new communications system allowed police to track a carjacked vehicle across Maryland last week.
Marna Plaia, of Great Falls, Va., was driving on River Road with her two, young children on July 15 when Montgomery County Police say she was pulled from her vehicle by Carl Eugene Jones, 31 of Chesapeake Beach, Md.
Police state that Jones had driven a stolen vehicle from Baltimore before stopping at River Road and Clewerwell Drive and getting out. According to Police spokesperson Lucille Bauer, Montgomery County Police were only notified of the pursuit at 8:20, minutes before the River Road carjacking.
“Police were on the way at the time,” Bauer said.
According to police reports, Jones then flagged down Plaia’s vehicle, a Mercedes SUV, pulled her out and drove off in it with her two children still in the car.
The vehicle was equipped with a communications system, called Teleaid, which allowed police to track the progress of the vehicle and to listen to what was happening in the car “It’s how the officers were able to check on the status of the children,” said Police Spokesperson Joyce Utter.
While the system was helpful to police, it has rarely been used under similar circumstances. According to Gary Wallace, spokesman for ATX, the company which operates the Teleaid system, it has only been used four or five times to track a vehicle.
The car was stopped near the Prince George’s - Anne Arundel County line when Montgomery County Officer Thomas Tippett blocked the Mercedes with his vehicle.
The children were not physically harmed. A statement released by the family thanked all of the officers involved. “Their professionalism and sensitivity at every juncture, was exceptional,” it said.
Jones is being held without bond by Montgomery County Police. He has been charged with carjacking, two counts of kidnapping, second-degree assault, theft over $500, motor vehicle theft and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.