Suspect caught after chase

After chasing him through downtown College Park, University Police arrested Kevin Daniel Aguilar Saturday on charges of stealing a scooter from Lot Y earlier that day.

The 19-year-old Washington resident, who is not a university student, also confessed to stealing a laptop from McKeldin Library last week. On Saturday, an officer attempted to stop Aguilar and a passenger for driving the scooter illegally on the sidewalk near Regents Drive and Route 1. According to University Police spokesman Capt. Marc Limansky, Aguilar sped away and a chase continued into Old Town.

The passenger, who is described as a 6-foot-tall black male with short hair, khaki pants and a navy blue sweatshirt with gray on the shoulders, jumped off the scooter on Knox Road, Limansky said. The passenger has still not been apprehended.

Aguilar drove to College Avenue and jumped off, Limansky said. He was caught behind the Tri-Delta sorority house at 4604 College Ave. while attempting to flee on foot.

While Aguilar was sitting in the holding cell at the University Police station, an employee of the Security Operations Center – a branch of police that monitor more than 300 security cameras placed around the campus and city — noticed similarities between Aguilar and a suspect wanted for stealing a laptop from McKeldin Library on Nov. 19, Limansky said.

"The SOC [employee] noticed similarities in height, weight and features," Limansky said. "He said, ‘I think this is the same guy.' So, he called the detective and the detective looked at it and continued interviewing [Aguilar] and then he admitted to stealing the laptop."

Aguilar is being charged with the failure to obey the lawful order of a police officer, resisting arrest, driving a vehicle on the sidewalk where prohibited, driver failure to obey traffic control device, left turn from improper road position, attempt by driver to elude uniformed police other than on foot, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to drive right of center, driving the wrong way on a one way street, attempt by driver to elude uniformed police by fleeing on foot and driving a motor vehicle on a highway without license and authorization.

He has not yet been charged with stealing the scooter or the laptop, but he has admitted to both thefts, Limansky said. Court records also show two charges of fourth degree burglary in October.

"We are very lucky that our officer was where he was at the time and he noticed that the scooter was on the sidewalk," Limansky said of the arrest that occurred just minutes after the theft. "Timing was everything here."

egan@umdbk.com