by Rashad Christian
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
A La Plata man has been charged with five felonies involving the misuse of Royal Farms gift and credit cards, Baltimore County Police said Wednesday.
Tyrone Gerard Uyaho Strickland, 30, of the 400 block of Patuxent Court in La Plata, was scheduled for a bail review hearing later Wednesday. Police used a search warrant to discover 68 Royal Farms gift cards and a credit card inside the van.
Police said Strickland drew suspicion when he was seen filling tanks inside a van with diesel fuel at Royal Farms at 10740 Pulaski Highway near Ebenezer Road. Police received a suspicious vehicle call at 3:34 p.m. Strickland tried to drive away.
Police stopped the vehicle, conducted an investigative traffic stop and found an arrestable traffic violation. Strickland was unable to produce a driver’s license or registration card for the van, police said, adding the validity of the gift cards is under investigation.
The Maryland Vehicle Administration said that Strickland’s license was revoked in 2016. The van had a Virginia registration plate and was seized by Baltimore County Police.
Strickland was being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on $5,000 bond. Initially, he was charged with driving on a revoked license and other relevant traffic citations. The felonies were added later, police said.
Baltimore City and County police were on high alert because of similar incidents around the area.
On Tuesday, I-695 was temporarily closed when a Budget Rental truck, also filled with containers of diesel fuel, ran out of gas on the inner loop near Providence Road. The driver failed to stop when an officer tried to make a traffic stop but was later arrested.
Portions of downtown Baltimore were evacuated on Monday when a van was left unattended in a parking lot with large amounts of siphoned fuel in it. After a sweep, Baltimore City police determined the vehicle did not pose a threat.