Three 16-year-old boys are facing adult felony charges after Baltimore County police say they carried out an armed carjacking on Loch Raven Boulevard in Towson. Officers responded to the 6800 block of the busy commercial corridor on Sunday, September 27, after reports of the violent robbery, and all three teens were taken into custody the same day.
According to FOX45 News, the arrests were made by the Baltimore County Police Department's Carjacking Team, a specialized unit that made the case on September 27. Police charged the three boys with armed carjacking, armed robbery, first-degree assault, and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle. Because of their ages and the nature of the charges, all three were automatically waived to adult status, meaning their cases will proceed in Baltimore County's adult criminal court rather than juvenile court.
That outcome isn't a discretionary call by prosecutors — it's dictated by state law. Under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Code § 3-8A-03, juvenile courts do not have exclusive original jurisdiction over 16-year-olds accused of armed carjacking, which automatically routes such cases directly into the adult system, according to the Maryland People's Law Library. The same statute applies to a handful of other violent felonies, including armed robbery, regardless of the defendant's age at 16 or 17.
What the Teens Are Facing Under Maryland Law
The stakes for the three boys are severe. Armed carjacking under Maryland Criminal Law § 3-405 is a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison, and judges can stack consecutive sentences for underlying offenses tied to the same incident, per Westlaw's legal reference materials. Notably, prosecutors do not need to prove the suspects intended to permanently keep the vehicle to secure a conviction — the forcible taking itself is treated as the core violent act.
Even so, the path to adult court isn't necessarily the final word. Defense attorneys can request a so-called “waiver down” hearing under Criminal Procedure Code § 4-202, asking an adult court judge to transfer jurisdiction back to the juvenile system. During those hearings, judges weigh a minor's age, mental state, and potential for rehabilitation, according to the Maryland People's Law Library — though it remains an open question whether the Loch Raven Boulevard defendants will pursue that route.
A Law Meant to Rein In Automatic Adult Charges — With Exceptions
The timing of this case lands just as Maryland is set to change how it treats teenage defendants. Governor Wes Moore signed the Youth Charging Reform Act in May, eliminating automatic adult charges for 16- and 17-year-olds accused of first-degree assault and handgun possession starting October 1. But lawmakers deliberately left carjacking and armed robbery off that list, according to FOX 5 DC, meaning cases like this one will still be funneled straight into adult court even after the reform takes effect.
The reform followed years of mounting pressure. Statewide juvenile crime complaints in Maryland jumped nearly 75 percent between 2021 and 2023, climbing from 7,100 to 12,363 complaints, according to Department of Juvenile Services data cited by CBS Baltimore. That surge fueled legislative debate over how the state handles youth intake and intervention — and before this year's changes, Maryland automatically charged more than 1,000 children as adults annually, a rate second only to Alabama nationally, according to the R Street Institute.
Towson's Carjacking Team and a Pattern of Young Suspects
Baltimore County's Carjacking Team made the arrests. The incident took place on Loch Raven Boulevard in Towson.
This isn't the first time young teens have turned up in Baltimore County carjacking cases. In July, county police arrested two 13-year-olds tied to separate armed carjackings in Towson and Owings Mills. Hoodline's report on a fatal Randallstown carjacking attempt concerned a separate incident involving two adult suspects.
Whether the three 16-year-olds arrested on Loch Raven Boulevard will remain in adult court or see their case shifted back to the juvenile system remains to be determined. For now, they face the same felony exposure as adult defendants, even as the state prepares to narrow automatic adult charging for other categories of teenage offenders starting Thursday.
