A 19-year-old man sought in connection with four carjackings -- one of them fatal -- in the Baltimore area was arrested yesterday after he allegedly robbed a Pennsylvania bank and led police there on a high-speed car chase, authorities said.
Denation Lee Kent of the 2700 block of Cylburn Ave. was arrested by Pennsylvania State Police about 9:15 a.m. after a holdup at the Blue Ball National Bank, just outside Morgantown in Lancaster County, said Trooper Ronnie W. Bowers of the Ephrata barracks.
Trooper Bowers said a man walked into the bank, announced the robbery, then fired at least one shot into the ceiling. The man ordered eight employees and five customers to the floor, then emptied several cash drawers, the trooper said.
The man fled the bank and got into a car that may have been stolen and sped off with about a dozen police officers from seven different police agencies and a civilian in pursuit.
The high-speed chase, which reached speeds of 105 mph, continued 10 miles to Reading where the suspect lost control and collided with a truck, Trooper Bowers said.
The suspect jumped out of the car and was chased on foot for a short distance before he was arrested, Trooper Bowers said.
Money believed taken from the bank and a .357-caliber Magnum containing several live rounds were recovered from the suspect, the trooper said.
State police in Reading charged Mr. Kent with bank robbery, reckless endangerment and making terroristic threats. Other charges are pending, Trooper Bowers said. Mr. Kent was being held last night in the Lancaster County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Trooper Bowers said that Pennsylvania would seek to try Mr. Kent before allowing him to be extradited to face charges in Maryland.
Mr. Kent and Kevin Lamar Coley, 18, of the 4400 of block of LaPlata Ave., who remains at large, are considered prime suspects in four carjackings in the Baltimore area, city and Baltimore County police said.
In a carjacking on Wednesday night, Frederick Montague Johnson, 61, of the 3800 block of Dolfield Ave., was slain by two men who stole his car in the 4400 block of Tamarind Road in North Baltimore, police said.
The car was found abandoned two blocks away with a flat tire. Two of its windows had been shattered by gunshots.
