Upper Marlboro Couple Charged With Theft

By Tim Lemke

A couple suspected of stealing the wallets of unsuspecting shoppers throughout the region has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of theft. 

Anne Arundel County police said Karen Steelman and Kenneth Harris were found in their Upper Marlboro home with more than $50,000 in merchandise bought using stolen credit cards. They have been linked to six cases of theft in Anne Arundel County, as well as similar cases in other jurisdictions. In most of those cases, they distracted female shoppers before stealing their wallets, police said.

Police first alerted the public about the couple's alleged actions last month, when they were suspected of stealing the wallet of a shopper at the Safeway near Arundel Mills. 

Detectives from Anne Arundel and Montgomery County obtained a warrant and found Steelman and Harris at their residence at 9005 Cheval Lane in Upper Marlboro. They arrested the couple and discovered some of the victims' credit cards, identification, and two handguns, police said. 

Further investigation revealed that the Steelman and Harris are also suspects in similar thefts in Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and Gastonia, NC.