Baltimore Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Armed Robbery

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Arnold Dorsey, age 52, of Baltimore, today to 14 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to commit robbery.

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 Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.

According to his plea agreement, on December 7, 2013, Dorsey and Richard Coleman entered a rental business on Frederick Road in Baltimore City. They conversed about gifts with each other and store staff. They asked an employee about an iPad (tablet computer.)

The store clerk walked back to an office to retrieve a charger to demonstrate the tablet. Both Dorsey and Coleman followed the clerk to the office. Once there, Coleman pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at the clerk. Dorsey went to the next office, pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and pointed it at another clerk. They forced the clerks to open the register and took $1,144. They then took $73 from one clerk and $85 from another clerk. At this point they had the clerks lie on the floor and threatened to kill them.

The Baltimore Police Department received a call for a hold up and two officers responded. The first officer on the scene saw both defendants behind the counter in front of the office area. A clerk signaled to the officer alerting the officer that the defendants were robbing the business. The officer entered and made contact with Dorsey as he attempted to leave the store. The officer saw Dorsey’s handgun and had to subdue Dorsey. A second officer arrived and took custody of Coleman who surrendered his handgun. The officers recovered $1,144 from Dorsey and $158 from Coleman.

Co-defendant Richard Coleman, age 49, of Dundalk, Maryland previously pleaded guilty to his participation in the robbery and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant United States Attorney Brandis Marsh, a cross-designated Baltimore Assistant State’s Attorney assigned to Exile cases, who prosecuted the case.