'I Was Scared,' Baltimore Man Charged In Towson Crime Spree Tells Judge
TOWSON, Md. -- A Baltimore man accused of carrying out a "one-man crime spree" Monday in Towson was ordered held without bail Wednesday.
Saying Zaron Elzey "presents a risk to the public," a judge declined to let the 19-year-old go free while he awaits trial on an extensive list of charges.
Elzey is charged with carjacking, first-degree assault, robbery and motor vehicle theft, among several other felony and misdemeanor counts, court records show.
Notably, Elzey represented himself at Wednesday's hearing because of a delay in the paperwork needed to secure him a public defender.
"I was scared," Elzey told the judge at one point while speaking in his own defense. "I'm not a bad person."
The charges stem from a pursuit that began Monday afternoon in Towson and came to an end hours later in Baltimore.
About 5 p.m. that day, police were called to an alleged road rage incident near Stevenson Lane after drivers reported seeing a BMW driving erratically.
Authorities said things escalated when the vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run crash along Osler Drive, and the driver assaulted a responding officer.
A mother told police she was driving with her daughter when she encountered the suspect, whom she said followed her and tried to run her off the road.
The events unfolding near Towson University's campus led the school's administration to issue a shelter-in-place order for students and staff.
Police said the suspect eventually got out of the BMW and fled on foot, but then he resurfaced and commandeered another woman's Range Rover.
That woman told police she tried to run from the man, who knocked her to the ground, grabbed her purse, hopped in the SUV and sped away.
It wasn't until later on that the pursuit for the stolen vehicle's driver came to an end in Baltimore.
Police later identified Elzey as the man suspected in that string of incidents. He remains in custody at the Baltimore County jail.
If convicted of all counts, the 19-year-old could spend decades in prison.
