BALTIMORE — An attempted car theft caught on camera has Roey Cherkasski fed up with the crime in the city.
"I love Baltimore, but I'm sick and tired of how disgusting it is," said Cherkasski.
In Cherkasski's camera footage, it captures three young men canvassing the Weldon Avenue neighborhood.
Shortly after 11:30 a.m., on March 6, a suspect broke his backseat passenger window and attempted to steal the car.
"Why does this keep happening? Why are these kids not in school? Why isn't our mayor doing anything? Why are we still having a fight this battle? Why do we have to keep upgrading our security system? And keep defending ourselves from our neighbors," asked Cherkasski.
The crime spanned nearly 30 minutes. It came to a halt when his neighbor Jack Tedder sprung into action.
"I drove down the street watched it in the mirror the whole time and then I noticed one was crouched down behind the car," said Tedder.
"So, I turned around and came back up the street right quick and that's when the third guy climbed back out the window. He was in there the whole time. So they almost got it," said Tedder.
Watch as Tedder drives back up the street and scares off the thieves:
Thanks to Tedder, Cherkassky was not a victim of auto theft, a major problem in the city.
According to Open Baltimore, the Baltimore Police Department crime map shows the city has seen nearly 1,500 auto thefts this year. Nearly an 80% increase from a year ago.
"I see nothing happening. You see cops chasing bad guys but you still see the vandalism happening in front of your eyes," said Cherkassky.
Unfortunately for Cherkassky, this is not the first time he's had to deal with theft.
"The first time it was my moped in the back of the house, chained up and there was a tarp over it they got a bolt cutter to get over the tarp you just rolled it down the street," said Cherkassky.
That indecent drove him to install cameras outside of his home, where he was able to replay the crime just feet away from his front door.
As his car sits there damaged and broken, Cherkasski has gone the unconventional route of deflating his tire and disconnecting his car battery until his insurance company can have it towed away.
