2 days ago
Man arrested after string of break-ins in Baltimore's Mount Washington community
A 27-year-old man was arrested Tuesday, Baltimore police said, after a string of home break-ins put Baltimore's Mount Washington community on edge.
The arrest of Izaak Franklin came after five break-ins and several attempts were reported between July 30 and August 12.
Franklin was charged with burglary and theft in connection with an offense on August 1 in the 5700 block of Pimlico Road. It's unclear if Franklin was connected to all of the reported crimes.
Baltimore police said five different streets were targeted within two weeks.
"People are worried that they're next. There's a lot of cries out to the community for help and for justice," said Jenny Turniansky, who lived in Mount Washington for two years.
Turniansky became a victim of the break-ins on August 1.
"My entire house was completely trashed," she said. "It looked like a daycare full of toddlers had just gone around and thrown everything on the ground."
The break-ins also prompted concerns about restrictions on using facial recognition technology in Maryland.
A person of interest was captured on camera approaching multiple homes following the reported break-ins. While police were aware of the video, they were unable to use facial recognition to identify the suspect under Maryland law.
The restrictions are due to a 2025 law that limits the use of the technology to serious offenses like violent crimes.
Baltimore Councilman Isaac "Yitzy" Schleifer raised concerns about the limits, telling WJZ that it delayed how long it would take to apprehend the suspect.
"I think that we should be able to use every piece of technology in the toolkit to solve crimes, and there's really no reason we should be limiting ourselves and limiting our detectives from utilizing a tool that can help them solve these crimes," Schleifer said.
