COLUMBIA, Md. — A Christmas Eve crime spree lands a trio of alleged thieves behind bars in Howard County.
Police say 20 vehicles were broken into overnight along Montgomery Run Road in Ellicott City.
Officers spotted the suspects fleeing the area in a stolen car.
The group ended up crashing before attempting their getaway.
Yet police deployed a drone equipped with a thermal camera helping to track them down.
Howard County Police released a video of the investigative operation on their social media pages.
In it they identify the suspects as 18-year-old Anthony Alvarenga-Barrera and Jan Carlos Arita, 19, both from Baltimore.
The third individual is a 16-year-old, also from Baltimore.
Investigators believe they're responsible for 30 other car break-ins that occurred the same day on Columbia Road in Columbia.
