Donnell Duane Berry, 44, of Forestville, Maryland, plead guilty to a federal bank robbery charge this past week. Berry also admitted that he committed this crime while on supervised release for a previous federal conviction.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Jennifer C. Boone of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; and Interim Chief Hector Velez of the Prince George’s County Police Department.
According to his guilty plea, on September 4, 2019, Berry and two other individuals committed the robbery of a bank in Lanham, Maryland. Berry, who had previously committed a robbery at this same location, wrote the demand note and provided it to his co-defendant, who entered the bank and provided the demand note to the teller, while Berry and the third individual waited in the getaway car. In fear for her life, the victim teller gave the co-defendant over $4,000 in cash along with a GPS tracker. The co-defendant took the cash and fled the bank, getting into the waiting getaway car.
As detailed in the plea agreement, a short time later police located the getaway car, which was disabled in an intersection approximately five miles from the bank. Berry and the other robbers attempted to run away from police, but were all subsequently apprehended. Officers recovered the following items from a bin underneath the deck of a house near the intersection: the hat worn by the co-defendant during the robbery; the co-defendant’s wallet; and $3,050 in cash, which still had the bank’s GPS tracker in it. Near the wood line several yards east of the intersection officers also recovered a black and gray backpack with Berry’s identification and credit cards in it.
Berry and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Berry will be sentenced to between 144 and 204 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for December 16, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended the FBI and the Prince George’s County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin B. Pulice and Dwight Draughon, who are prosecuting the case.
