Conspirator in Armored Car Robbery Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Walter Morsley, age 50, of Baltimore, today to 33 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to commit robbery, armed robbery, possession of a gun by a felon, and brandishing a gun, in connection with the May 9, 2008 armed robbery of a Dunbar armored car at the Lexington Market. Judge Bennett enhanced Morsley’s sentence upon finding that Morsley is an armed career criminal based on two previous convictions for murder and a previous conviction for assault. Judge Bennett also ordered that Morsley pay restitution of $105,000.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy; Baltimore Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III; and Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to testimony presented at the seven-day trial, on May 9, 2008 Morsely, Cromwell, Charles Witherspoon, and others robbed an armored vehicle which was picking up and dropping off cash in the Lexington Market in Baltimore City. Witherspoon and another conspirator drove the robbers to and from the Lexington Market. Inside the market, Morsley carried a shotgun in a bag and acted as a look-out while the armored car employees were robbed at gunpoint of $105,000. After the robbery, the conspirators fled, later meeting at an abandoned house on Payson Street. Cromwell divided the stolen money among the co-conspirators, giving approximately $20,000 each to Morsley and Witherspoon, and keeping the bulk of the stolen money for himself.

Charles Witherspoon, age 50, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on December 22, 2009 to 15 years in prison for the armed robbery and possession of a gun in furtherance of a crime of violence. Donald Cromwell, age 54, also of Baltimore, was convicted at trial of the armed robbery and possession of a gun in furtherance of a violent crime and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 6, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys James G. Warwick and Rachel M. Yasser, who prosecuted the case.