Baltimore Felon Convicted of Armed Bank Robbery

BALTIMORE—A federal jury today convicted Maurice Colbert, age 59, of Baltimore, Maryland, on charges of armed bank robbery, forcing a bank employee at gunpoint to accompany him around that bank, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The conviction 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; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.

According to the evidence presented at his four-day trial, Colbert robbed the First Mariner Bank in Middle River, Maryland, on November 7, 2011, stealing $31,153. Witnesses testified that Colbert entered the bank, announced the robbery, and brandished a gun at customers and bank employees, even forcing a bank employee at gunpoint to accompany him around the bank. After bank employees handed over the money Colbert demanded, he fled the bank. According to witness testimony, Colbert was subsequently arrested at a nearby business. At the time of his arrest, Colbert had dye stains on his pants and socks and dye-stained cash was found in his pants pockets. According to trial testimony, Colbert had a previous felony conviction.

Colbert faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for armed bank robbery; a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison for forcing the bank employee to accompany him; and a minimum of seven years and a maximum of life prison, consecutive to any other sentence imposed, for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake scheduled sentencing for October 4, 2013, at 9:15 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Judson T. Mihok and Gregory R. Bockin, who are prosecuting the case.