Princess Anne Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Brandishing a Firearm During and in Furtherance of the Armed Robbery of an Armored Vehicle in Salisbury, Maryland

Co-Defendants Previously Sentenced to 9 Years and 20 Years in Federal Prison

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett today sentenced Ryan Shevin Smith, age 39, of Princess Anne, Maryland, to 141 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit the robbery of an armored vehicle in Salisbury, Maryland on January 22, 2018, for participating in the robbery and for brandishing a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence.  Smith pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit the robbery and to participating in the robbery, and a federal jury convicted him of brandishing the firearm.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan.

According to the evidence presented at his two-day trial and court documents, at approximately 7:15 a.m. on January 22, 2018, Smith and his co-defendants, Michael Watts and Orneth South, approached the driver of the armored vehicle as he was removing cash cassettes from an ATM machine at a credit union on Mt. Hermon Road in Salisbury, Maryland.  Co-defendant Michael Watts placed a .40-caliber handgun to the driver’s head and disarmed him of his service weapon.  Watts testified that he got the .40-caliber handgun from Smith, which was named “Big Nasty,” and that Smith took the gun back after the robbery.  Watts then grabbed the driver by the hair and order him to open the door of the armored vehicle.  After the driver opened the door, Smith and South removed several bags of money from the vehicle, as well as ATM cassettes filled with cash.  Watts then forced the driver into the vehicle, where he used zip ties to secure the driver’s hands.  The robbers then fled with the money, stealing a total of $1,324,288.  The robbers went to Smith’s residence in nearby Princess Anne and divided the stolen money.  South and Watts then left and headed south, toward North Carolina.

On April 20, 2018, Orneth South, age 49, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was arrested on a warrant issued as a result of the robbery, and pleaded guilty to his role in the armored car robbery in Maryland, as well as a robbery in North Carolina.  On January 31, 2019, co-defendant Michael Watts, a/k/a “Turtle,” age 42, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to his role in the robbery.  Watts was arrested on May 18, 2018, in Queens, New York, and at the time of his arrest, was wearing approximately $70,000 in jewelry, including a custom turtle pendant, which was purchased with the proceeds of the armored vehicle robbery.  Watts also admitted using his portion of the stolen money to purchase a Mercedes S430 automobile, clothes, two tombstones, and to pay off bills and rent.

Judge Bennett ordered all three defendants to pay restitution in the full amount of the victim’s loss, $1,324,288.

Judge Bennett previously sentenced Watts to nine years in federal prison, and sentenced South to 20 years in federal prison.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Salisbury Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys P. Michael Cunningham and Paul A. Riley, who prosecuted the case.