Catonsville Felon Exiled to 72 Years in Prison for Armed Robberies of Baltimore-Area Businesses

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Eric Jordan, age 49, of Catonsville, Maryland, today to 72 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for charges related to the armed robberies of two fast food restaurants and a gas station. A federal jury convicted Jordan on April 30, 2012, of one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery, three counts of robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of unregistered firearms. Judge Bennett found that Jordan was a career offender and an armed career criminal based on three previous felony convictions for crimes 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; Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore City Police Department; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; and Baltimore County State’s Attorney Scott Shellenberger.

According to the testimony at Jordan’s two-week trial, on February 5, 2011, Jordan and co-defendant Aaron Graham were arrested after robbing two fast food restaurants in Baltimore in less than an hour. In each robbery, Jordan drove the getaway vehicle, and Graham robbed the restaurants at gunpoint, pistol whipping a clerk in the first robbery. Graham was identified by witnesses in the restaurants, who also identified the getaway vehicle, a gray pick-up truck that was driven by Jordan. At the time of their arrest, police recovered from the front passenger side floor where Graham was sitting a small black pistol with a white handle, later identified as a .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, which Graham used in both robberies; $83 in cash from the center console of the vehicle; and approximately $1,083.56, which was recovered from Jordan and Graham.

Evidence at trial proved that Jordan and Graham, together with another man, had previously robbed a gas station in Gwynn Oak, Maryland, on February 1, 2011. During the gas station robbery Graham beat and kicked the cashier while brandishing the same small pistol with a white handle that was recovered from Graham’s truck after the robberies on February 5, 2011. One of the other robbers carried a sawed-off shotgun and assaulted a customer who tried to leave during the robbery. Subsequent searches of Jordan’s residence resulted in the recovery the sawed-off shotgun used in the gas station robbery, a .357 caliber revolver and ammunition, and clothing worn by Graham during the gas station robbery.

Aaron Graham, age 50, of Owings Mills, Maryland, was also convicted at trial of the three robberies described above, as well as three additional robberies. Graham was sentenced on August 16, 2012, to 147 years in prison.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin M. Block and Debra L. Dwyer, who prosecuted the case.