Member of Armed Robbery Crew Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Tiffany Edmundson, age 31, of Greenbelt, Maryland, today to 78 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit two armed robberies.  Judge Grimm also ordered Edmundson to pay restitution of $1,740.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Assistant Director in Charge Timothy R. Slater of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Chief Peter Newsham of the Metropolitan Police Department; Chief Henry P. Stawinski III of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Marcus Jones of the Montgomery County Police Department; and Chief Anthony Morgan of the Mount Rainier Police Department.

According to her plea agreement and other court documents, Edmundson committed two robberies on May 31, 2012.  Edmundson’s role in the robberies included conducting surveillance of the target businesses before the robberies, planning the robberies with her co-conspirators—including knowing that at least one co-conspirator would be armed with a gun, participating in the robberies, and dividing and receiving a portion of robbery proceeds. During the robberies, Edmundson and her co-conspirators partially hid their faces with cloths or a mask.

Specifically, Edmundson and two co-conspirators, Anthony Akrah Morris and Chavez Tyrone Smith, robbed a 7-Eleven store at 1:05 a.m. on May 31, 2012, located in the 12000 block of Laurel Bowie Road in Laurel, Maryland.  Smith stood at the entrance of the store to watch for other customers or law enforcement.  Smith was armed with a gun, which he brandished at people inside the store.  The robbers ordered customers to the floor.  Morris took approximately $340 from the store cash register. Edmundson and Morris also took $475 worth of cigarettes from the store. Edmundson also took money and items from customers, including an Apple iPhone from a female customer. The co-conspirators fled from the store in a vehicle driven by co-conspirator Cornelius Jennings.

Shortly thereafter, at 2:59 a.m., Edmundson, Morris, and Jennings entered a McDonald’s restaurant located in the 15000 block of Old Columbia Pike in Burtonsville.  Jennings brandished a firearm at persons inside the restaurant.  Edmundson and her co-conspirators forced employees to open the restaurant’s safe from which they stole $1,400 in cash.  They fled in a getaway vehicle driven by Smith.

Edmundson pleaded guilty on February 13, 2013, but her sentencing was delayed as a result of intervening litigation related to a Supreme Court decision which vacated her conviction on the gun charge to which she had pleaded guilty.

After several reported violations of her pre-sentence release conditions, on January 10, 2019, a detention hearing was held before Judge Grimm, in which Edmundson sought to avoid detention pending sentencing.  In anticipation of the hearing, Edmundson created a letter from her supervisor at her place of employment extolling her work performance.  She provided the letter to her counsel with the hope that it would be shared with the Court.  The letter was subsequently relied on by counsel and provided to the Court.  The letter, however, was discovered to be false and was created by Edmundson without her supervisor’s knowledge or consent.

Anthony Akrah Morris, age 30, of Burtonsville, Maryland, was convicted after trial and sentenced to 505 months in prison for conspiring to commit robbery, two counts of robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a robbery.  Chavez Tyrone Smith, age 40, and Cornelius Jennings, age 32, both of Washington, D.C., pleaded guilty to their roles in the robberies and were sentenced to 16 years and 111 months in federal prison, respectively. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Metropolitan Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department, and the Mount Rainier Police Department for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Hur praised the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for their assistance and coordination.  Mr. Hur thanked Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Sullivan, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Jason Medinger for his work on the appeals.

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