WASHINGTON — A local man was arrested in Howard County after police say he shot something like a BB gun at a speed camera van near an elementary school in December.
Abraham Naveed Quraishi, a 20-year-old Ellicott City resident, has been charged with second-degree assault and malicious destruction of property, according to Howard County Police.
On Dec. 11, a county speed camera operator — who works for the police department — was in a van on Rogers Avenue and Patapsco Valley Drive, near Hollified Station Elementary School, when an unknown object struck the van and broke the left rear window.
The unnamed operator — who wasn’t injured — took a picture of a 2008 Toyota Corolla that was passing at the time. Later, police determined the van was struck by a BB from a BB gun.
The Corolla was seen at Quraishi’s home. Police issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the vandalism of the speed camera van.聽Quraishi was arrested Jan. 7 after turning himself into police. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released.
Quraishi has denied all of the charges.
The Corolla driven by Quraishi had been cited for speed and red light camera violations.
This is the fourth arrest for destruction of a speed van or speed camera equipment since the program was launched in Howard County three years ago.
鈥淲e want people to know that we take these cases very seriously and will file criminal charges,鈥� Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner said in a statement. 鈥淓veryone is entitled to their own opinion about the speed camera program, but we cannot overlook the significant damage to equipment and potential injury to our van operators.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檝e had equipment set on fire,” says Sherry Llewellyn, a spokesman with Howard County Police. “We鈥檝e had pellets fired through windshields and windows, so it鈥檚 just something that we feel like we need to take very seriously. This is more than a prank.”
91欧美激情’s Max Smith contributed to this report.
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