A 53-year-old Canton man says he was chased through his own neighborhood by a group of roughly six teenagers who demanded his shoes and watch, threatened him with a gun, and pelted him with rocks as he tried to get away. Richard Dreves refused to hand over his shoes and watch, but the group stole his watch anyway during the broad-daylight confrontation on August 4.
Dreves spoke with FOX45 News, which reported that officers were called to the 600 block of South Bradford Street after the attack. The outlet reported the suspects were estimated to be between 12 and 17 years old, and that the group eluded police despite a fast response. Investigators have since released surveillance images of the juveniles along with a $6,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, according to the station's report.
The confrontation left more than one victim. Neighbors reported that the same group smashed flowerpots and threw a paving block through a garage window belonging to Bob Lippert as they moved through the area, according to a video report from FOX45. Lippert discovered the damage to his garage shortly after the group passed through his street.
Police Were Already Tracking the Group
Dispatch audio from the day of the incident showed police were not caught entirely off guard. A responding Baltimore Police officer was already actively searching for the specific group of juveniles in the area before the robbery was even reported, and warned other officers over the radio that one suspect was armed, per the same account from WCBM. One juvenile brandished a gun and threatened Dreves with it during the encounter, and officers later gathered home surveillance video from surrounding alleys to help identify the group.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Baltimore Police or Metro Crime Stoppers of Maryland, which allows tipsters to submit information anonymously through 1-866-7LOCKUP, the P3 Tips smartphone app, or online, according to Annapolis.gov. The organization uses an independent coding system to protect informants' identities and pays cash rewards upon a felony arrest or indictment.
Frustration Over a Familiar Cycle
Dreves said he doesn't think the current system is working. He called for better consequences and accountability, arguing that time in a cell or dorm would actually deter the juveniles from committing more crimes.
That frustration is shared at the top of Baltimore's law enforcement leadership. Police Commissioner Richard Worley said “we shouldn't be arresting them three and four times,” noting that officers frequently arrest the same juveniles multiple times without long-term detention. Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates echoed the sentiment, saying, “we've got to fix the broken system.”
The debate over youth accountability comes even as youth arrests have shrunk as a share of overall Baltimore Police Department arrests, falling to about 5% in 2024 from 10% in 2016, according to data cited by The Daily Record. Public concern has stayed focused on high-visibility offenses like carjackings and armed robberies even as the overall numbers decline.
A Broader Legal Backdrop
Maryland lawmakers already moved to tighten juvenile accountability once in recent years. House Bill 814, the Juvenile Law Reform Act, took effect in November 2024 after being signed by Governor Wes Moore, expanding juvenile court jurisdiction for children ages 10 to 12 charged with violent crimes, handgun offenses, or aggravated animal cruelty, per the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services. The law also gave prosecutors statutory authority to review specific juvenile cases directly, bypassing standard intake recommendations from the department — a provision the ACLU of Maryland criticized even as it aimed to increase oversight of repeat youth offenses.
The Canton incident also lands against a backdrop of falling citywide violence. Baltimore recorded 133 homicides in 2025, the lowest annual total in nearly 50 years and a 31% drop from 2024, alongside a 24.5% decline in non-fatal shootings, according to the Baltimore City Mayor's Office. City leaders have credited community violence intervention strategies for the reduction. Canton itself recorded a Part 1 crime rate of 58.3 per 1,000 residents in 2024, just above the citywide average of 57.5, according to the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance.
The August 4 robbery follows other recent incidents that have rattled the neighborhood. Hoodline previously reported on a late-night attack in which a tobacco shop clerk was blasted with a fire extinguisher during a robbery in the same neighborhood. No arrests have been announced in the Dreves case, and investigators are continuing to seek the public's help identifying the juveniles pictured in the released surveillance images.
