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Police ID Fatally Shot Suspect Accused Of Stealing Patrol Car

BALTIMORE (WJZ)— A car crash, a stolen police car and a wild getaway attempt--all part of the chain of events that led police to shoot and kill a man in a parking lot. Now police have identified the 26-year-old suspect.

Monique Griego has new information about what happened.

The violence ended at the Patapsco Village Shopping Center in Baltimore City, where police shot and killed a man-- 26-year-old Monpeet Chona of Baltimore-- after they say he stole a cruiser and threatened an officer.

"Yeah, it woke me up," said Courtney Seymer, who lives nearby. "The crime's getting worse and worse around this neighborhood. I just think it's crazy."

Police say it started a few miles away around 2 a.m. when a Baltimore County cop tried to pull over a driver without his headlights on the Beltway.

He fled and crashed near I-95, and then things got really heated.

"He began to engage the officer and fight.  According to county police, the suspect told the officer that he has a gun and he will shoot the officer," said Anthony Guglielmi, Baltimore City police spokesman.

Somehow, police say he managed to steal the police car and drove it to a Motel 6.

Minutes later, police saw an SUV speed out of that parking lot with several people inside, including the guy who stole the police cruiser. They pulled it over and say somehow that man got in the driver's seat and drove away, while police were putting the others in custody.

Police did recover some surveillance video from a bar and restaurant near the Motel 6. The owner says they asked him not to share it with the media.

Investigators say next their suspect headed to Annapolis Road and then to Patapsco Village Shopping Center, where it all ended. He died in police gunfire.

Three Baltimore County officers shot their weapons along with one officer from Anne Arundel County.

It's unknown how many shots went off and unclear whether the suspect was armed.

"They don't know what's on this man's mind, although they maybe could have done it a little better if they didn't see any weapon in this man's hand," said Solomon Chatman, who lives nearby.

Baltimore County Police say they did not chase the suspect. They say they used other methods to keep track of him after their initial encounter.

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