Md. man admits to nearby burglaries

A 26-year-old man confessed to Prince George's County Police this weekend that he committed three burglaries in College Park, but police said they may have connected him with more than ten incidents in the area.

Aljarreau Bolden of Mt. Rainer, Md., turned himself in to county police this weekend after the department had attempted to track him down for at least a week, said Lt. Charles Duelley.

After stealing jewelry from three different homes this year in the city's Hollywood area — near University Boulevard and the Capital Beltway — Bolden Arundel Mills mall for cash, according to Duelley. Police determined he had stolen at least $18,000 worth of jewelry but were unsure of how much money he received in return for selling the goods, Duelley said.

Police tracked Bolden to a rented room in the basement of a Lewisdale apartment Thursday, but he fled before police could catch him that day, Duelley said.

Two days later, Bolden turned himself in to police, according to Duelley.

"He confessed to those three because we had proof; we had the jewelry he stole," he said. "But he wasn't forthcoming on the other cases."

Bolden turned himself in because he most likely knew he would be caught, Duelley said.

"He figured we were going to catch him sooner or later," Duelley said. "This isn't his first contact with the law or our investigators. He conferred with some family members and decided to turn himself in, and we're glad that he did."

Bolden has a lengthy criminal record in the state. He has been charged with attempted first-degree rape, attempted second-degree murder, a third-degree sex offense, drug possession, theft, false documentation, motor vehicle theft and the unauthorized use of livestock, court records show.

Duelley said the burglaries in the city are still under investigation and further details could not be released until the investigation is finished.

Although not unheard of, burglaries of this nature don't happen too frequently in the city, Duelley said. The total number of burglaries for this year was unavailable.

"We get a lot of incidents near the university where there are unlocked doors and unlocked windows and people take advantage of that," Duelley said. "People go out to the bar and leave their doors unlocked, and they come back and their computer's missing. That happens; we get quite a few of them. Every once in a while you'll get a string, lock that guy up, and it dies down for a while until you get another string."

Several students who live off campus said they are aware the city can have burglaries and take the necessary precautions to ensure their homes are as safe as possible, such as locking doors.

"It's troubling especially since most houses in this city have old doors and windows. They're not hard to get into," said junior business major Pat Launi. "One of my roommates got his car window shattered about two weeks ago, but luckily they were only able to get some change out of the cup holder. It's definitely scary."

But some students, such as junior marketing major Greg Spina, said they aren't fazed.

"Honestly, I never think about crime in the city," said Spina, an off-campus resident. "I live with six of my friends, and none of us ever worry about it at all. It hasn't happened to us personally, so it's just not something that we think about."

egan at umdbk dot com