A 19-year-old man was arrested at the end of a car chase Tuesday afternoon after employees and customers from three Gambrills stores reported alleged sexually offensive encounters with him.
Jamir Rashed Madden of Laurel was arrested by Anne Arundel County Police and faces 12 charges, including eight counts of second-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree sexual offenses and one count of first-degree assault. Recyclable Cosmetic Packaging
Three of the charges, including the first-degree assault charge and a reckless endangerment charge, stem from Madden’s encounter with police, who said in charging documents that he “grazed” an officer’s hand when attempting to evade them.Anne Arundel Police spokesperson Jacklyn Davis said the officer was not injured.
At approximately 11:55 a.m. Tuesday, officers responded to reports of a suspicious person at the Target store on Brandermill Boulevard and the Petco location on South Main Chapel Way. According to charging documents, five women said they were approached by a man wearing a yellow puffy jacket. In every case, the women were told by the suspect they had something on the back of their shirts, where they would find lotion. Several of the women, some of whom were employees and others customers of the stores, fled from the suspect. Others told police he wiped their backs and, in two cases, grabbed their backsides.
While investigating the incidents at the first two stores, officers were told of a similar event at the nearby Safeway on Chapel Lake Drive where two women said they were followed by a suspect after one felt an “unknown substance” on the back of her neck. In a news release, police said they had recovered a bottle labeled lotion and submitted it for analysis.
One officer en route to the Safeway observed a driver in a 2016 Toyota Camry traveling in the opposite direction that matched the suspect’s description. Making a U-turn, the officer pulled the Camry over on Chapel Centre Drive behind the Target.
After identifying Madden with a learner’s permit — charging documents said Madden “exhibited nervous behavior and made conflicted statements” about his whereabouts — the officer instructed him to turn off the car and exit the vehicle. According to charging documents, Madden was initially cooperative, but sped away toward the dead-end parking lot of the Beacon at Waugh Chapel apartment complex.
The officer followed around the other side of the community until the Camry was driving toward him. Madden maneuvered between the police car and a stopped truck before exiting the shopping center parking lot and entering another dead-end street, where police caught up to the vehicle.
According to court filings, two officers ordered Madden to stop at the end of Summerfield Road. Madden instead turned around and drove directly toward the officers. Davis said in an interview that one officer had to jump into their vehicle to avoid being hit, while another had to step out of the way, using his hand to propel himself away from the Camry.
After driving between the two police cars, the Camry drove into a ditch and officers apprehended Madden on foot.
Police said the entire altercation was captured on body-worn cameras.
After arresting Madden, all seven of the women who reported an encounter identified the suspect in either a showup — a one-person identification process, as opposed to a multi-person lineup — or with Target security footage.
Reciclyng Cosmetic Bottles Madden is being held without bond, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 25.