Two men were charged yesterday in a smash-and-grab burglary at a Parkville convenience store, and Baltimore County police say they may be responsible for several similar crimes in the area.
Vasilous J. Manouse, 36, and Joseph A. Kosyjana, 43, were arrested about 3:30 a.m. near the Royal Farm store in the 8200 block of Harford Road. They are accused of stealing $700 worth of cigarettes after breaking into the store.
Each has been charged with second-degree burglary and grand theft, police said.
Twenty-eight such crimes, in which burglars break a window, enter a store and run off with as much merchandise as they can grab, have been reported in the county since May 1.
Manouse, of the 3000 block of N. Branch Road in Baltimore County, was denied bail. Bail for Kosyjana, of the 7200 block of Shadow Lawn Ave. in Baltimore, was set at $100,000. Both men were being held at the White Marsh precinct last night.
Police were called to the store to investigate a broken window and discovered "numerous cartons" of cigarettes had been stolen about 12:30 a.m., said Bill Toohey, a police spokesman.
About 3:30 a.m., while officers were investigating the incident, a car being sought in connection with smash-and-grab burglaries in the area drove by the convenience store.
Officers stopped the car, which was being driven by Manouse and in which Kosyjana was a passenger, police said.
Inside the vehicle, officers found a large rock, a crowbar, gloves and some broken glass, police said.
After police reviewed the store's surveillance video, they decided to arrest the two men, Toohey said.
Toohey said detectives believe the suspects might be responsible for some of the other recent smash-and-grab burglaries in the county.
The two suspects have been arrested several times on burglary charges, according to court records.
Police said that authorities in Harford County, where Manouse also has been accused of burglary, were expecting him to turn himself in at the county detention center today.
