Detectives have charged a Bel Air man in connection to four separate thefts of utility vehicles each belonging to a different recreation organization in Harford County .

On May 20, 2020, at approximately 11:00 a.m., deputies assigned to the Northern Precinct of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office responded to Hickory Park in the 2300 block of Ady Road, Forest Hill, for the report of a theft. Upon arrival, deputies were informed sometime between March 15, 2020 and May 15, 2020, and unknown individual had cut the locks off a storage shed and stole a John Deere Gator TX owned by the Hickory Fountain Green Recreation Council. The investigation was assumed by detectives with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division.

As the investigation progressed, other thefts of a similar nature were reported to deputies. Those incidents included:

• May 23, 2021 – Theft of a John Deere Gator from the Hickory Fountain Green Recreation Council. Occurred sometime between May 21, 2021 at 1 p.m. and May 23, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. at Hickory Park in the 2300 block of Ady Road, Forest Hill.
• June 6, 2021 – Theft of a John Deere Gator from the Hickory Fountain Green Baseball program. Occurred sometime between June 4, 2021 at 8 p.m. and June 6, 2021 at 10 a.m. at Schucks Regional Park in the 300 block of Schucks Road, Bel Air.
• July 20, 2021 – Theft of a Kubota side by side tractor from the Bel Air Terps. Occurred sometime between July 15, 2021 at 12 p.m. and July 20, 2021 at 8:30 p.m. at Tucker Field in the 600 block of East West Highway, Bel Air.

In most of these incidents, the sheds where utility vehicles were stored were properly secured with a lock.

To date, only one of the stolen utility vehicles has been recovered. At this time, it appears the vehicles were stolen for personal use and were subsequently disposed of through unknown means.

The investigation continued into all four thefts, and it was determined they were each connected. Detectives developed a suspect, identified as Adam Patrick O’Brien, 22, of Bel Air. On February 15, 2022, an arrest warrant was issued in connection to the theft of the Kubota and the June 6 theft of the John Deere Gator. On April 22, 2022, arrest warrants were issued for the other thefts. O’Brien has been charged with multiple counts of malicious destruction of property, burglary and theft. Following each of his arrests, O’Brien was transported to the Harford County Detention Center, after which he was released on bail.

The investigation is ongoing. Detectives are continuing their search for the three utility vehicles that have not been recovered. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Criminal Investigations Division at 410-836-5442.