Saturday, December 17, 2011

Five Defendants Indicted for Six Armed Robberies of Dunbar Armored Vehicles

One of the Defendants Was Employed by Dunbar During the First Alleged Robbery; Allegedly Stole $765,000 and Employee Handguns During a Three-Year Period

BALTIMORE—A federal grand jury indicted the following five defendants, all from Maryland, late yesterday on robbery and gun charges arising from a scheme to rob employees using armored vehicles to transport large amounts of cash:

■Erick Wilson, age 26, of Columbia;
■David Marquise Howard, age 28, of Hyattsville and Baltimore;
■Regina McCullom, a/k/a Regina Wilson, age 48, of Laurel;
■Gloria Jeanette Martino, a/k/a “Net,” and “Netty,” age 29, of Hyattsville; and
■Matthew Mace, age 25, of Olney.

Wilson, Howard, and McCullom were previously detained in federal custody. Martino and Mace were arrested this morning and they will have their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Baltimore at 3:15 p.m. today.

The superseding indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Howard County Police Chief William McMahon; Howard County State’s Attorney Dario Broccolino; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.

The 17-count superseding indictment alleges that from May 2008 to May 2011, Wilson, Howard and others robbed, at gunpoint, employees of Dunbar Armored vehicles carrying large amounts of cash and their guns. In order to conceal their true identities, Wilson and Howard allegedly wore disguises and purchased “throw-away” cars which they used to commit the robberies. Additionally, Wilson, his mother McCullom, and Howard allegedly purchased and used disposable cell phones, arranged for vehicles and drivers to be near the robberies in order to facilitate their quick flight, and rented hotel rooms in cash on the days of the robberies, where they met and divided the stolen cash and arranged for the disposal of the stolen guns. Wilson, Howard, Howard’s girlfriend Martino, and Mace allegedly rented commercial storage units under different names in Maryland and elsewhere in order to hide stolen cash and the guns used in the robberies.

More specifically, the indictment alleges that on May 22, 2008, Wilson, McCullom and other co-conspirators staged a gunpoint robbery during one of Wilson’s scheduled cash deliveries at 1111 19th Street, NW in Washington D.C., where Wilson, then an employee of Dunbar Armored, pretended to be surprised by the robbers who stole approximately $210,000.

According to the indictment, on five other occasions from April 29, 2009, through April 4, 2011, Wilson and other co-conspirators robbed employees of Dunbar Armored at gunpoint, in each instance stealing cash and a handgun from a Dunbar employee. Four of the robberies took place in Silver Spring, Maryland and one in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Mace had previously rented a storage unit in Columbia which Wilson used to store stolen cash, an M16 assault rifle, additional parts for the M16, and a handgun used in some of the robberies. In April, 2011, Martino allegedly rented a storage unit in Aston, Pennsylvania, which Howard used to store robbery proceeds and other items. In May, Martino allegedly agreed to safeguard money stolen by Howard and Wilson; and Howard buried $10,000 of stolen money in a box at the corner of Eldorado Avenue and Carleview Road in Baltimore.

The government seeks forfeiture of $765,000, the amount of stolen money.

Wilson, Howard and McCullom face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery. In addition to the robbery and conspiracy sentences, they also face a consecutive minimum sentence of seven years in prison for using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and a consecutive minimum sentence of 10 years for using a short-barreled shotgun in a crime of violence. Martino and Mace face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for being accessories after the fact and Mace faces the same penalty for possessing a machine gun

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Montgomery County Police Department, Howard County Police Department; Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney Mark Crooks, who is prosecuting the case.

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