They came like thieves in the night, because that's exactly what they were targeting neighbors' vehicles in Cecil County’s Elkwood Estates.
"I'm not quite sure how they got in, but when I came out the next morning, my glove box was open and stuff was just thrown all over the seat and they had ransacked my vehicle and taken some small items," said Jordan Kane.
The take was bigger outside one of Kane’s neighbors’ homes---expensive high-end tools, and police say the victim wasn't about to let them get away with it.
He found some of them later in a local pawn shop, but the real payoff came when he spotted the rest on a Cecil County consignment website.
"At that point, he actually got on the Facebook page (and) made contact with the female who was attempting to sell the goods,” said Lt. Michael Holmes of the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, “He set up a sale at a date and time at a location with the person. Ultimately after that he contacted us."
When the thieves showed up at a shopping center on nearby White Hall Road to complete the transaction, deputies were waiting for them.
It appears 20-year old Howie Jones and 21-year old Taylor Wheatley-Falcone were no Bonnie and Clyde.
Talk in the neighborhood is that they were stealing to fuel their drug habits.
"It's funny. It's comical to me, but you know what? They're not thinking, especially if you're using anything illegal,” said Natalie Meherg, “You're not thinking to resell somebody's tools to them. It's ironic, but that's karma."
And while the alleged criminals may not have been the sharpest tools in the toolbox, they may have been fortunate that the police, rather than the victims, caught up with them first.
"I just got out of the military about a year and a half ago and served 14 years so I'm very well trained and protecting my family is of the utmost importance to me,” Kane said. “So if somebody is in my vehicle in the middle of the night or somebody on my property in the middle of the night, they're going to be met with force so they are really lucky."
The suspects have confessed to this and other thefts, so more charges could be forthcoming.
The total value of the tools?
$838.
