Baltimore Store Robber Exiled to More Than 12 Years in Prison
Robber Identified After Drinking a Red Slurpee Prior to the Robbery

BALTIMORE—U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced Anthony Griffin, age 44, of Baltimore, today to 151 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for robbery. Judge Hollander enhanced Griffin’s sentence upon finding that Griffin is a career offender based on four prior convictions for robbery related crimes. His federal sentence will be served concurrent to a 15-year state sentence Griffin is currently serving for a 2010 robbery conviction in Baltimore County.

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 February 5, 2007, Griffin selected several items at a lingerie store located at 1003 South Charles Street in Baltimore that he pretended to want to purchase. After the store owner placed the items in a bag, Griffin told her, “This is a robbery” and demanded money from the register. The store owner placed approximately $200 in the bag with the items and upon Griffin’s further demand, gave him her diamond engagement ring.

At this point, a customer entered the store. Griffin forced the store owner to tie the hands and feet of the customer with pantyhose, and then Griffin tied the owner’s hands and feet with pantyhose. A friend of the owner who was coming to meet her saw Griffin leave the store and, suspecting something was wrong, alerted a nearby policeman who located the owner and customer. The owner told the policeman that the robber’s mouth was red, as if he had been drinking a red beverage. Griffin had discarded the Slurpee straw and cup at a nearby jewelry store soon before the robbery. A clerk at the nearby jewelry store identified Griffin in a photo lineup as the man who had drank and discarded the Slurpee at the jewelry store. DNA was recovered from the straw used by Griffin to drink the Slurpee. The lingerie store owner/victim also identified Griffin in a photo lineup.

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 Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin M. Block, who prosecuted the case.