Articles Posted in Robbery and Burglary

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police-224426__180Yesterday the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced the guilty plea of a 25-year-old Baltimore man who committed a robbery while on supervised release for another federal crime.  According to facts presented in the guilty plea, back in January of this year the defendant attempted to rob a convenience store in Baltimore City.  The store clerk refused to comply with the defendant’s demand for money, whereupon the defendant displayed a gun from within his waistband.  Off-duty Maryland State Police officers responded to the scene shortly after the store manager called 911, and were joined by Baltimore City police officers minutes later.  The defendant was detained by law enforcement officers, and search incident to arrest revealed a loaded 9mm handgun in the defendant’s waistband.  Security cameras inside the store captured the entire incident on video, making the guilty plea the only reasonable choice for the defendant.

The 25-year-old defendant now faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the federal robbery charge, which is codified as attempting to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery.  Robberies are generally prosecuted in state court, but the federal government can obtain jurisdiction over virtually any commercial robbery committed in the U.S.  This most commonly plays out for bank robbery cases due to the fact that banks are insured by the FDIC, and also gun stores that are licensed to do business by the federal government with a FFL (federal firearms license).  But the Commerce Clause allows the feds to obtain jurisdiction over other business that have a potential customer base from multiple states.  The question is whether it’s possible – not likely that a local convenience store in Baltimore City is frequented by individuals from across the country.

Sentencing for the defendant in the federal robbery charge is set for September of this year, though he also must answer for the violation of supervised release.  Supervised release is the federal term for probation, as there is virtually no difference between the two.  Supervised release simply occurs after a defendant has been released from a term of incarceration.  The federal justice system no longer uses suspended sentences; rather when a defendant violates probation or supervised released, he or she could face up the maximum remaining prison sentence upon a guilty finding of a violation.  For example, a defendant sentenced to 5 years on a robbery charge could face up to 15 years upon if found in violation of supervised release.  In Maryland state court, most judges impose suspended sentences to cap the amount of time that could be imposed in a violation of probation, but some judges simply suspend the maximum and decide an appropriate sentence should the defendant violate.  Any defendant who receives a probation before judgement (PBJ) faces the maximum penalty upon a violation of probation.  There are exceptions including whether the violation is considered non-technical or technical.  In Maryland state court, technical violations have a presumptive non-binding cap of 15 days for a first violation.  Technical violations include positive drug tests, failing to complete treatment or failing to pay restitution.  Non-technical violations include missing more than one probation appointment and/or committing a new offense.  Many defendants believe new arrests are the only non-technical violations but this is not true, as it is just as common for defendants accused of absconding to receive some or all of their back up time.

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913166_atm-154x300Baltimore County Police recently arrested a 34-year-old man for attempting to steal an ATM from a bank in Owings Mills.  According to reports, police responded to the bank around 3:30 in the morning for a burglary in progress.  Officers found a truck backed up to the bank with chains wrapped around the ATM, and a suspect who immediately fled upon police arriving.  The suspect was apprehended after a short chase through the woods, and subsequently charged with multiple crimes including felony second-degree burglary and felony theft.  He also faces charges for malicious destruction of property and misdemeanor fourth-degree burglary.  The defendant was denied bail by a District Court judge and remains incarcerated at the Baltimore County Detention Center in Towson.  He does not currently have a trial date, as the case will likely be indicted in the circuit court prior to the January 28th preliminary hearing.  This arrest created additional headlines because it turns out that the defendant was actually a Baltimore City Department of Public Works employee.  The truck used in the burglary is also owned by the city, and was recently reported stolen in Carroll County.  The front license plate and city’s emblem on the vehicle were concealed with tape during the attempted burglary, but clearly the secret is out.

It appears that the defendant may also be facing a probation violation in the near future for a case out of Baltimore City, which could have contributed to him being held without bail.  In 2014 he was found guilty of armed robbery and use of a firearm in a crime of violence, and sentenced to 20 years with 10 suspended.  Following his release from the division of corrections he was placed on 5 years of probation.  A defendant serving a 10-year sentence for a violent offense typically serves 5 to 7 years before being released.  Since the offense occurred in September of 2012, he was probably released from prison in 2018, which means his probation is likely still active.  As of today, there is no information on Maryland judiciary case search that states a violation of probation warrant was issued, though Baltimore City is notorious for not updating their cases promptly.

The Blog will follow this case as it travels through the county court system, and may post a follow-up article in the future.  The defendant faces up to 15 years in prison for the  second-degree burglary charge, while the felony theft charges carries up to 5 years in jail.  He also faces up to 3 years each for fourth-degree burglary and malicious destruction of property over $1,000.  There were some questions raised as to how a person currently on active probation for armed robbery was hired by the city, but our hope is that those with criminal convictions will always have job opportunities upon their release, as stable employment is a key factor in reducing recidivism.  The Blog will also continue to follow theft and burglaries involving ATMs, as there has been a string of these cases lately in Maryland.  This past week in Baltimore City four defendants backed a van into a building, loaded the ATM and fled the scene.  The building in this case was severely damaged, and suspects are yet to be identified.

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firearm-409000__480-200x300A 27-year-old man from Baltimore was recently sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for committing at least 35 commercial robberies throughout Maryland.  According to the plea agreement, between December 2018 and November 2019 the defendant robbed pharmacies, fast-food restaurants, cell phone stores and even a gym during a crime spree that eventually ended with him behind bars.  The defendant originally pled guilty on October 1 to affecting commerce by robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, which has a 7-year maximum penalty.  The robberies took place in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, and were investigated by local police departments as well as the FBI.  The case was likely picked up by the feds due to the extent of the crime spree as well as the presence of a firearm.

Many of the offenses were committed in the same fashion, with the defendant approaching a cash register with a note demanding money and stating that the defendant had a gun.  Fortunately, there were never any shots fired in the robberies, and nobody was injured.  The defendant apparently only brandished his firearm once, though he partially revealed the firearm as many as five times.  In at least one instance the defendant ordered employees to open the business safe, but in many other instances the defendant only made out with a couple hundred dollars.  He stole as much as $1,900 in one robbery, but that appears to be his most lucrative (temporarily) criminal act.

The defendant will likely serve at least 10-12 years behind bars before being considered for release to a halfway house or other type of early release.  There is no parole in the federal criminal justice system, which means this sentence is roughly equivalent to a 20-year state prison sentence.  Anyone sentence to a crime of violence such as robbery must serve at least half of their total active incarceration before being considered for parole, and even then, parole is never a foregone conclusion.  Obviously, the defendant could have faced exponentially more time if had been charged for each of the robberies in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City and Baltimore County.  Combining all the cases in one federal indictment was clearly a more logical option for the government and for the defendant.  The defendant will likely be finished with his sentence before he reaches age 40, and the dozens of victims can have some sort of closure now that the case against the defendant is resolved.  It appears the defendant had a minor history of theft related charges in state court already, so having 35 robberies combined into one global sentence may have been a break for him.

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technology-2500010__480-300x200A juvenile burglary suspect was recently arrested after allegedly attempting to jump off of a bridge in an attempt to flee from police.  According to reports, law enforcement officers in Virginia located a stolen vehicle that was linked to multiple Maryland burglaries in Prince George’s County.  Police pursued the vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but were unsuccessful.  Officers even deployed a tire deflation device that resulted in vehicle losing a tire, but it kept driving, albeit at a much slower speed.  Additional officers responded and attempted to box the vehicle in the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on Interstate 495, which connects Alexandria, Virginia to the Oxon Hill area of Prince George’s County.  The driver of the suspect vehicle then jumped out as it was still moving, and then bolted for the railing of the bridge.  A Virginia State Trooper apparently grabbed the 17-year-old defendant just as he was about to plunge into the 50-degree water.  Reports do not indicate exactly where the juvenile attempted to jump, but the drop could have been as much as 70 feet into the cold and fast-moving water.  Had the suspect jumped, his chances of survival would definitely have been in doubt, so it’s safe to say the Trooper saved a life.

The suspect was a juvenile, and therefore we are not able to uncover additional information about his place of residence or criminal history.  What we do know is he is now facing felony charges of eluding police in Virginia juvenile court, as well as possible burglary and robbery charges in Maryland.  There may also be charges for motor vehicle theft at some point down the road.  The 16-year-old defendant was detained but does not appear to have been charged with any offense related to the fleeing and eluding.  All juvenile cases are sealed from public view, so it will be difficult to track the progress of this particular case, but the Blog will post a follow up article if anything comes out of the Maryland courts.

Virginia has especially tough traffic laws, so it’s no surprise that the teen suspect was charged with a felony.  In Maryland, fleeing or eluding police is part of the traffic code and not classified as a felony.  There is no such crime as aggravated fleeing or felony fleeing in Maryland, but the punishment upon conviction can still be harsh.  Anyone convicted of fleeing or eluding under §21-904 of the transportation article faces up to 1 year in jail and a $5,000 fine.  A second offense raises the maximum penalty to 2 years, and if the act causes bodily injury the maximum is 3 years.  If fleeing from law enforcement causes a death the penalty jumps to 10 years in prison.  In addition, anyone convicted of this offense will receive 12 points and face revocation of their Maryland driver’s license.  Fleeing and eluding is a drastically overcharged offense, and we have seen dozens of cases where defendants simply did not pull over quickly enough for an officer’s liking.  Law enforcement officers have a tendency to take it personally when a driver does not pull over immediately, but sometimes it just takes time to process the fact that you’re being pulled over.
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money-943782_960_720-300x225This past week in the Baltimore federal courthouse a 26-year-old defendant pleaded guilty for his involvement in three separate robberies in the Baltimore metro area.  The first robbery took place in October of 2019 at a Baltimore City pharmacy.  In this particular incident the government presented evidence that the defendant and his co-conspirator entered the pharmacy just as it opened in the morning, and while donning masks, gloves and glasses brandished a black revolver and demanded cash from the safe.  The clerk gave the men over $1,600 and then was bound with zip ties while the pair fled in the victim’s vehicle.

One month later the two defendants committed a second robbery in Anne Arundel County.  This robbery took place at a retail store, where the defendants entered right at closing time.  Once again, the pair were clad in masks and gloves and carrying handguns.  After taking over $3,000 from the store and striking a victim in the head, the defendants fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle.  The final robbery was committed in December of 2019 in Baltimore County restaurant in Parkville.  The defendants entered the restaurant at 7 a.m. just as the shift manager and another coworker were opening for the day, and once again the defendants brandished a firearm and demanded money from the restaurant safe.  After stealing close to $4,000 from the safe and binding the victims with zip ties the defendants fled in one of the victim’s vehicles.

One day after the third and final robbery Baltimore County Police detectives located the stolen vehicle and surreptitiously outfitted it with a GPS tracker.  Two days later police followed the vehicle as it moved and eventually attempted to effectuate a traffic stop.  The defendant abandoned the vehicle and then fled on foot, but was then apprehended a short time later on Harford Road.  After being arrested the defendant agreed to speak to police, and claimed he found the stolen vehicle that day and was merely taking it for a joy ride.  Law enforcement officers obviously were not convinced and ended up charging him with robbery, assault in the first degree, motor vehicle taking and felony theft.  The case was forwarded to the Circuit Court for Baltimore County with additional charges for use of a firearm in a crime of violence and CDS drug charges.  In November of 2020 the case was nolle prossed after the feds decided to pick it up.  While the U.S. Attorney’s press release does not mention the specifics, the feds were likely alerted after local law enforcement discovered the defendant’s involvement in the two other robberies.  A search warrant was executed on the defendant’s phone, and law enforcement found pictures of large amounts of cash on the same day as the first robbery.  Cell phone tracking data also showed the defendant was in the area of the first two robberies on the dates in question.

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pistol-1350484_1280-300x200A 20-year-old Washington D.C. man was recently sentenced to five years in federal prison after he pled guilty to theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee’s facility.  This offense is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.  The incident occurred back in August of 2019 at a Baltimore County gun store in the Essex area.  According to the plea agreement the defendant and a co-conspirator drove up to the gun store in a stolen vehicle, and repeatedly attempted to ram the front door of the shop with the stolen car.  The defendant then broke one of the store’s windows, entered and then proceeded to throw stolen firearms to the co-conspirator waiting outside.  The two fled the scene and were not apprehended immediately.  Shortly after the burglary the defendant posted on social media about the heist, and was not shy about showing off the stolen guns, gloves and mask he wore.  Law enforcement officers were able to match the social medial video with the store surveillance video, and were aided by distinctive tattoos on the defendant’s forearm.  The social medial videos also showed strings tied around the triggers of the weapons, which the store had used for identification.

As if the police needed more evidence of the defendant’s guilt, it turns out that he was also on GPS monitoring for a Prince George’s County case when he carried out the burglary.  The defendant was charged with armed robbery in 2018 and eventually pled guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery ( a misdemeanor common law offense in Maryland).  He was likely being supervised by parole and probation at the time, as he just pled guilty in May of 2019.  There is currently an active warrant out of the Prince George’s County Circuit Court for a violation of probation, though it is unclear how many years the defendant is backing up.

This case is another example of the feds picking up what would normally be a state case.  Much like bank robbery cases, the feds will typically get involved when gun shops are burglarized, as all arms dealers must be licensed by the federal government and the ATF in particular.  In this case, the defendant was also charged with second-degree burglary, felony theft and malicious destruction of property in the Baltimore County District Court.  An arrest warrant was issued back in 2019 and it appears the warrant remains unserved.  If Baltimore County chooses to prosecute the defendant will be transported to Towson upon completion of his federal sentence.  This of course is assuming that he is not taken to Prince George’s County first.  It will be interesting to see if Baltimore County chooses to prosecute a defendant that has been sentenced for the same act in federal court, and then punished for violating his probation due to that act in another county.  The Blog will follow and may post an article in the future.  In the meantime, stay tuned for any new posts regarding gun and drug charges that are filed in federal court.

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packs-163497_1280-300x200This week in the Greenbelt federal courthouse a Baltimore man was sentenced to 151 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for robbing a Hunt Valley bank.  The robbery occurred back in December of 2019 in northern Baltimore County, close to where the man reportedly worked.  The bank is located on York Road in Hunt Valley, an area with a relatively low crime rate.  According to facts presented at the plea, the man walked into the bank and handed the teller a note that demanded all the loose 100’s, 50’s and 20’s in the teller’s drawer.  The note also announced that a robbery was taking place, and that the man had a gun and would begin shooting if the teller did not meet his demands.  The teller complied with the demands and handed over $700 in U.S. currency to the suspect.  The 58-year old robber then fled the bank on foot without incident.  The robbery was captured on interior surveillance footage, which showed a clear image of the man’s face.  After the robbery the bank contacted law enforcement and circulated an internal alert to its employees with a picture of the suspect.

Five days after the robbery the suspect entered a different branch of the same bank that he robbed in order to make a deposit.  Apparently, the man held an account with the bank.  An employee recognized the man from the image in the internal alert and called law enforcement.  The man was arrested wearing the same clothes he had worn during the robbery just 5 days earlier, so it was not a stretch to say the government had a solid case.  It turns out that the defendant was also on supervised release for a prior bank robbery, which undoubtedly factored in to the overall sentence of 12.5 years in prison.  The defendant will likely serve about 10 years, but could be released sooner to a halfway house depending on the evolution of criminal justice reform over the next decade.

This case could have been prosecuted in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County by the State’s Attorney’s Office, but the fact that the defendant already had a federal bank robbery conviction made it an easy decision for the case to go federal.  Remember that federal prosecutors have jurisdiction to prosecute just about any bank robbery that occurs in the United States due to associations with the U.S. Treasury and FDIC insurance policies.  There is no information to say whether the man actually possessed a gun as outlined in his note, but it is reasonable to conclude he did not.  The man seemed to be an experienced (albeit unsuccessful bank robber) based on the fact that he asked for loose bills and knew that any actual display of force was unnecessary.  Loose bills are less likely to be fitted with tracking devices or dye packs, than stacks of cash.  Any stack of bills given to a robber by a teller would likely contain a discreet tracking device that is activated immediately upon movement outside the bank.

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714566_light_1-300x224Earlier this week two Palm Beach County men were arrested for allegedly breaking into two Wellington restaurants and stealing cash and gift cards.  PBSO originally received a call reporting burglaries at the two restaurants on Sunday morning, and responding officers observed smashed windows and ransacked cash registers.  A short time later PBSO received another call about a theft, but this time it was from their neighbors down in Broward County.  The Broward Sheriff’s Office apparently had one of their patrol cars go missing, and GPS pinged to a location in Palm Beach County.  Officers likely had no idea the two crimes were connected, but upon locating the stolen cop car and detaining the suspects the connection became clear.  Search incident to arrest revealed that the suspects possessed numerous gift cards from one of the burglarized restaurants, as well as cash and several suspected stolen credit cards.  The two suspects were taken to jail and booked on charges of burglary of an unoccupied structure, criminal mischief, grand theft of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest without violence.  One of the defendants, a 26-year old from Lake Worth, remains in custody, while the 30-year old defendant appears to have been released on bond.

It is unclear whether police have evidence that the two defendants actually stole the Broward police car, but both apparently admitted to being inside the vehicle.  Originally, they had fled from the scene on foot and were not arrested in the stolen car.  Upon being questioned, both reportedly denied any involvement in the burglary, though the gift cards and cash clearly gave police probable cause for the charges.  While both men are facing multiple felony charges, it appears that all the felonies are of the third-degree variety.  The incarcerated defendant is facing felony charges for corruption by threat against a public servant, in addition to the felony burglary, criminal mischief over $1,000 and grand theft charges.  Resisting an officer without violence is considered a first-degree misdemeanor under Florida law that is handled in county court unless there is an accompanying felony such as in this case.

The Blog will continue to track this case and may post a follow-up article in the future if anything newsworthy comes down from the courthouse.  It remains to be seen whether the pair will face any charges in Broward County, or whether the evidence recovered could lead to additional charges elsewhere.  The two suspected burglars should have been aware that all police cars and most commercial vehicles are equipped with GPS tracking systems that are extremely precise.  Once BSO realized that one of their vehicles went missing it was only a matter of minutes before it could be located.  It is unclear just how these defendants managed to come across a BSO patrol car, but details to this end will probably be released.  It’s certainly an embarrassing situation when a police force allows one of its vehicles to be stolen, which is exactly why it presents a compelling news article to readers.  If you or a loved one has been arrested or has an outstanding warrant for burglary, grand theft, resisting arrest or criminal mischief contact South Florida criminal defense lawyer Benjamin Herbst anytime for a free consultation.  Benjamin is available to meet and take on cases in the Treasure Coast and in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, and specializes in burglary and theft charges.  He has won numerous resisting arrest cases throughout South Florida and is also an experienced Maryland criminal lawyer who has successfully represented thousands of clients in charges ranging from DUI and drug distribution to murder and attempted murder.  Benjamin also specializes in firearm offenses such as illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and carrying a concealed firearm.  Contact Benjamin at 954-543-0305 or 410-207-2598 to find out which defenses may be available in your case.

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dollar-1362244_1280-1-300x200This week at the Greenbelt federal courthouse, a Prince George’s County man was sentenced 4 years in prison for a bank robbery that occurred back in 2019.  According to the guilty plea the defendant entered a bank in Oxon Hill, Maryland during normal business hours and demanded his money.  When the bank teller told the defendant that he would need to provide his identification and debit card in order to withdraw money, the man apparently became upset.  He then demanded money again from the teller, but this time he explained he was committing a robbery and that he would shoot everyone in the bank.  The bank teller was obviously shaken, but followed her training and complied with the man’s request.  She handed over $202 in cash and the man fled the scene.  Unbeknownst to the defendant, the stack of cash contained a GPS tracking device that was likely activated automatically upon being removed from the drawer.

Law enforcement followed the GPS signal and located the defendant a short time later at a fast food restaurant in the same shopping center as the bank.  The defendant was arrested and police recovered the $202 in cash on his person.  Police also reviewed surveillance footage from inside the restaurant that showed the man discarding an object in a trash can.  This object turned out to be the GPS tracking device, which police recovered and entered into evidence.  The robbery did not occur on federal property, and the Prince George’s County Police was likely the agency that apprehended the defendant, but nonetheless he was charged under the federal bank robbery statute.  18 U.S. Code §2113 was established to give the federal government jurisdiction to prosecute robbery from any bank, credit union or savings and loan association in the United States that operates under U.S. law, is a member of the Federal Reserve or is insured by the FDIC.  This basically includes any bank, whether foreign or domestic, that operates in the U.S.  The federal bank robbery statute also covers theft of anything over $1,000, and burglary or other felony committed against the bank.  Bank robbery is a felony with a 20-year maximum penalty, which becomes 25 years if the defendant commits an assault or uses a dangerous weapon or device.  Theft of more than $1,000 in currency or other items from a bank carries a 10-year maximum penalty.

Typically, when we think of bank robbery we think of a masked person pointing a gun at the teller, but a large number of bank robberies are committed without weapons.  Simply relaying a verbal threat to a teller or even passing a threatening note with a demand for money is enough of a show of force to trigger robbery charges.  This is the same under both federal law and the laws of Maryland.  The government is never required to prove the defendant was able to carry out any of the threats in a robbery case.  All that is required is for the defendant to place a victim in fear of his or her safety.  If a weapon is brandished or used the defendant will face a significantly higher punishment under the sentencing guidelines, and if a firearm is present mandatory minimum sentences will be in play under federal law and Maryland state law.

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car-1531277__480-300x200A veteran Anne Arundel County police officer has been arrested and charged with numerous felony offenses for allegedly stealing from the home of a deceased man in Pasadena.  Back in April multiple officers responded to the residence after a report of an unattended death.  The officer in question then returned to the house the next day in full uniform, and according to reports took cash and firearms with him.  A witness observed the officer removing the firearms from the house, but thought it was routine police activity.  The witness never mentioned what he saw until months later when a family member of the deceased homeowner called the department in search of the missing firearms for estate purposes.  The department started asking questions and ultimately came across the witness.

Detectives were probably surprised to learn their prime suspect was one of their own, but nonetheless proceeded to hone in on making an arrest.  Police executed a search warrant on the officer’s home in Linthicum and he was arrested soon thereafter.  The 5-year veteran officer was released on his own recognizance by a district court commissioner after being booked and charged with 6 different offenses including first-degree burglary, felony theft and misconduct in office.  He was also charged with third-degree burglary, fourth-degree burglary and felony theft scheme, and has been placed on leave without pay by the Anne Arundel County Police Department.  There is currently no preliminary hearing date set for the officer’s case, but regardless it will ultimately be forwarded to the Circuit Court for a resolution.

It is too early to tell whether this case will end up going to trial, but if detectives found the firearms during the execution of the search warrant then a guilty plea is almost a foregone conclusion.  While the officer is facing 6 total charges, his attorney will likely argue for the four felonies to be dismissed.  The State will probably push for a plea involving the misconduct in office charge, and one additional theft or burglary charge.  Misconduct in office is a common law offense in Maryland that does not have a set maximum penalty, but it is considered a misdemeanor. Whether the defense can convince the State to go on misdemeanor fourth-degree burglary remains to be seen, as this would ensure the officer does not end up with a felony conviction.

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