Baltimore Man Exiled to More Than 11 Years in Prison for the Armed Robbery of Jewelry Store in Columbia Mall

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake sentenced Reginald D. Dargan, Jr., age 21, of Baltimore, Maryland, today to 135 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for the March 30, 2011 armed robbery of a jewelry store in the Columbia Mall. Judge Blake also ordered Dargan to pay restitution of $33,255.

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; Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; Howard County Police Chief William McMahon; and Howard County State’s Attorney Dario Broccolino.

“This is the kind of cooperative effort that results in positive outcomes,” said Howard County Police Chief William McMahon. “The case is a great example of how a collaborative team can take a potentially dangerous criminal off the streets. We appreciate the efforts of all our partners.”

According to the testimony at Dargan’s three-day trial, on March 30, 2011, Dargan and two co-defendants, Deontaye Harvey and Aaron Pratt drove to Columbia Mall to commit the armed robbery. Dargan was armed with a knife and Harvey and Pratt were each armed with a gun. They entered a jewelry store in the mall and brandishing their weapons demanded that store employees open the display cases. One employee tried to run out into the mall to get help, but Dargan and Harvey went after him and brought him back into the store at gunpoint, while Pratt stayed in the store with the other employees. Dargan then had a store employee empty the men’s watch display into a bag that Dargan was carrying and the three robbers left the mall.

Dargan and his co-defendants stole 35 men’s Rolex watches valued at approximately $275,475.

Pratt and Harvey, both age 22, of Baltimore, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and were sentenced to 87 months and 162 months in prison, respectively.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Baltimore Police Department, Howard County Police Department, and the Baltimore City and Howard County State’s Attorney’s Offices for their work in this investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Benjamin M. Block, John W. Sippel, and A. David Copperthite, who prosecuted the case.