Baltimore Armed Robber Exiled to 15 Years in Prison
| U.S. Attorney’s Office November 20, 2012 |
BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Gerald Jerome Rice, age 44, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 15 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department.
According to Rice’s plea agreement, on November 26, 2011, Baltimore City Police Department detectives responded to the Family Dollar store located at 5330 Frankford Avenue in Baltimore for a report of an armed robbery. Employees of the store told detectives that a man, later identified as Rice, entered the Family Dollar store, approached an employee of the business, and asked to use the restroom. After Rice was informed that the store did not have a public restroom, he pulled the employee into the store office, pulled out a handgun, and demanded money. No money was in the store’s office, so Rice then forced the employee to a cash register and ordered the employee to hand over money from the register. Rice stole approximately $155 from the cash register and left the store.
The store’s video surveillance system captured Rice’s actions and several people were able to identify Rice as the person who robbed the store. Detectives also viewed Rice’s Facebook page and discovered a picture of Rice wearing the same distinctive shirt with large lettering that Rice wore during the robbery. At the time of the robbery, Rice was on supervised release for a previous federal conviction for armed bank robbery.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney John W. Sippel, who prosecuted the case.