The only exit to the community was blocked by a pickup. An angry Everett Gross was standing in front of it, firing his shotgun in the air. He wasn't going to let the men get away with his stepdaughter's car, he told county police.

Mr. Gross had received a call from his stepdaughter, Candid Matthews, 24, just before 4 p.m., according to the police report.

A frantic Ms. Matthews told him three men had just stolen her brown 1995 Mercury Mystique from the street in front of her house in the 1500 block of Ellington Drive.

Her stepfather lives on nearby Columbia Beach Road, the only entrance and exit to the community.

Mr. Gross hung up and jumped into his pickup, pulling it sideways into the road to block anyone from leaving. He then stood in the street and pumped his black Mossberg 20-gauge shotgun.

As the stolen Mercury drove toward him, Mr. Gross stood his ground and fired two shots into the air.

The man driving the Mercury stopped abruptly and began making a U-turn, police said. But he didn't get far.

While attempting to turn the car around, he got stuck in a roadside ditch.

The three men inside the car got out and ran into a wooded area, with one of the men falling out of a pair of black slippers, police said.

Officers with police dogs quickly fanned out in the neighborhood, and the Anne Arundel County police helicopter soared overhead looking for the three men.

While police searched, they got several tips from residents saying three men were seen running on Avalon Boulevard near Shady Side Road.

The police helicopter hovered over that intersection and saw the men.

Officers caught up with the alleged car thieves and arrested them near Juniper Street, the police report says.

Mr. Gross was called to identify them.

"Yep, that's them," he said, according to the report.

Jarrod Antonio Coleman, 19, of Upper Marlboro, Richard Delonta Holmes, 18, of Washington, D.C., and Vernon Edward Clemmons, 18, of Hyattsville were each charged with unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, said Sgt. John Gilmer, a county police spokesman.

Police took Mr. Gross' 20 gauge shotgun for evidence.

Officers said while they were searching for the suspects, someone reported a Plymouth Voyager van stuck in a ditch on Columbia Beach Road, according to the police report. The van had a damaged ignition and had been reported stolen.

Police are investigating whether the stolen van is linked to the incident.

Sgt. Gilmer said police are happy to have made arrests, but does not recommend what Mr. Gross did.

The best thing to do in this situation, he said, is to take note of what the vehicle and suspects look like and pass that onto officers.

"We definitely don't recommend someone attempting to take on possibly armed car thieves," he said.

Mr. Gross and Ms. Matthews could not be reached this morning for comment.