Havre de Grace Vehicle Theft Leads To Chase, Arrest: Police

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — A woman is being held without bail on drug, burglary and theft charges after officials said she stole a car from Havre de Grace. Authorities said she led city police on a chase before she bailed out of the vehicle, and Harford County deputies found her Sunday night in Aberdeen, where she had reportedly broken into a home.

Sarah Michelle Franklin, 35, of Morganton, N.C., was arrested by deputies inside a residence on North Post Road, hours after police said a silver Pontiac Grand Prix was stolen from Revolution Street.

The vehicle was reported stolen from the parking lot of the Susquehanna Hose Company in the 900 block of Revolution Street at 2:39 p.m. on Sunday, June 6. The owner told officers he was planning to head to the laundromat when he noticed his vehicle was stolen.

After an officer saw the vehicle on Old Post Road, police said he tried to conduct a traffic stop; the driver pulled over to the right side, then drove off before the officer could get out and headed west on US 40/Pulaski Highway, officials reported.

Police pursued the vehicle with lights and sirens on as the driver tried to get away.

"The driver recklessly used the grass median to pass vehicles that were in roadway," the Havre de Grace Police Department said in a statement.

Next, officials said the car went off the road, hit a telephone pole and landed in Swan Creek.

"The female bailed out of the vehicle and fled into the woods," said police, who could not find her.

Later Sunday night, police said officers responded to a burglary call that led them to the driver who crashed the stolen car.

A resident in the 700 block of North Post Road came home from work at 5:15 p.m., saw a broken window screen on the front porch and found a woman inside, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

When officers were called to the burglary after 5:30 p.m., authorities reported they located a woman who identified herself as Franklin in the living room at the front of the home. Stolen clothing, watches, keys, drinks and coins were recovered at the scene, according to officials.

Franklin was charged with the following, court records show:

• First-degree burglary
• Third-degree burglary
• Three counts of fourth-degree burglary
• Theft from $100 to under $1,500
• Two counts of theft less than $100
• Possession of drugs other than marijuana
• Two counts of drug paraphernalia
• Rogue and vagabond

Franklin is slated to appear for a bail review hearing in Harford County District Court at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 8, according to court records.