October 27, 2009|By Andrea F. Siegel | Andrea F. Siegel,andrea.siegel@baltsun.com
A man whose car was hit by a train after it became stuck on the tracks in Harmans Saturday afternoon tried to steal several cars afterward, Anne Arundel County police said.
A woman who lives in the 7400 block of Railroad Ave. told police that she went outside about 5:30 p.m. to see what caused a loud noise and saw a stranger in her vehicle. He ran when she yelled. She found the vehicle's steering column had been tampered with, police said. The loud noise that had drawn her attention was the sound of an Amtrak train hitting a vehicle.
Police said their investigation showed that a man had driven a Dodge pickup through a fence and got stuck on the train tracks. The truck was empty when struck.
As officers searched for the man, they said they were stopped by a 28-year-old man from a nearby business who said a man threatened to stab him if he did not turn over his car keys. Police said the man told his assailant that he did not have car keys and ran away from him.
Officers were still canvassing the area when another man told them that a stranger had been in his wife's car, trying unsuccessfully to steal it before running away, police said.
Police said victims gave descriptions of the man. Police then saw someone who matched the descriptions near Dorsey Road and Aviation Boulevard. After police had detained him, a 61-year-old man told the officers that a man had jumped in front of his car nearby on Dorsey Road. Police said the victim told them the man tried to force open the driver's side car doors, reaching inside an open window.
Police said the man and his wife, as well as the other victims, then identified the same person.
Gary Eugene Ensor, 43, of the 1300 block of Conewago Ave., Manchester, Pa., was arrested, police said, on charges including attempted armed robbery, three counts of attempted auto theft, attempted carjacking, assault and drug possession.
