News Releases

Detectives Charge Suspect with Armed Carjacking

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police - Major Crimes Division have charged Dante Tyler-El, age 53, of the 500 block of Little Hut Drive in Centerville, Maryland, with an armed carjacking that occurred on June 5^th in Gaithersburg.

On Wednesday, June 5th at approximately 5:29 p.m., 6th District officers and Gaithersburg Police Department officers responded to the 18700 block of North Frederick Avenue for the report of an armed carjacking that had just occurred.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the 46-year-old female victim was in her parked car in the 18700 block of North Frederick Avenue when the suspect approached her.  The suspect, who was wearing a yellow construction vest, hard hat, and armed with a handgun threatened the victim and demanded money.  The suspect handcuffed the victim, moved her to the back seat of her vehicle, and began looking for property inside the car.  At one point, the victim screamed, and the suspect struck her with the handgun.  The suspect then moved to the driver’s seat of the victim’s car and drove approximately one hundred yards with the victim still handcuffed in the back seat.  The suspect stopped the car, exited the vehicle and fled the area on foot.   The victim freed one of her hands from the handcuffs and immediately contacted police.

Personnel from the Forensic Service Section (FSS) processed the crime scene for physical evidence, including latent fingerprints and DNA.  Prints believed to belong to the suspect were obtained from the victim’s vehicle and sent to a regional fingerprint database (RAFIS).  On June 7^th, detectives received a fingerprint match to Dante Tyler-El and obtained an arrest warrant for him charging him with armed robbery, armed carjacking, kidnapping, the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and first-degree assault.

During the investigation, MCP detectives determined that early in the morning on June 6^th, Tyler-El had been arrested by officers from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department (MDTA) while driving a stolen vehicle in the area of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.    During that arrest, MDTA officers located a handgun, a fluorescent construction vest, and construction hard hats inside the stolen vehicle.

Tyler-El is currently incarcerated in the Queen Anne’s County Detention Center located in Centerville, Maryland related to the June 6^th stolen vehicle and handgun charges.

rlg/CTJ

# # #

Release ID: 19-216
Media Contact: Rick Goodale 
Categories: carjacking