Montgomery County lawmakers are pursuing a bill to deter youth from the type of "flash mob" thefts that occurred in 7-Eleven stores in Germantown and Silver Spring this year and have begun to pop up around the country.
The bill, which state Del. Jeffrey Waldstreicher, D-Silver Spring/Kensington, plans to introduce in the General Assembly, would increase the penalties for participants of a so-called "mob theft" by making each individual participant in a theft responsible for the total amount stolen.
Current law gives a participant in a theft responsibility for only the items that he took, meaning that if 50 people each take items worth less than $10, each person would get a slap on the wrist, said Montgomery County Councilman Craig Rice, D-Germantown, who is working with Waldstreicher on the bill. But with the new measure, each participant would face larger fines and more jail time.
Rice has been talking with officials in Baltimore City and Prince George's and Montgomery counties to garner support for the new measure, and he touts the support of local police. Montgomery County police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks declined to comment.
