Baltimore Man Sentenced To Prison For Armed Commercial Burglaries And A Home Invasion Robbery

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced William Metcalf, age 39, of Baltimore, today to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit bank burglary. Judge Motz also entered an order requiring Metcalf to pay a money judgment of $75,000 as forfeiture.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Special Agent in Charge Gary Tuggle of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Baltimore District Office; Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner; Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Police Chief Kevin Davis; Acting Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Nicholas DiGiulio, Office of Investigations, Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services; Otis E. Harris, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Coast Guard Investigative Service, Chesapeake Region; and Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department.

Metcalf admitted that he conspired with others to commit commercial burglaries in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. The conspirators stole cash, money orders, stamps, silver bars, jewelry, cigarettes, lottery tickets, prescription drugs, food, beverages, safes, laptop computers, cell phones, electronics, vehicles and other valuable items from gas stations, convenience stores, banks, credit unions and other commercial establishments. The conspirators often stole or attempted to steal cash from ATMs.

The conspirators usually cut power lines, telephone lines, cables and other wires before entering a business. They used vise grips, sledgehammers, chopsaws, grinders and blow torches to enter the business, and then often waited – for several minutes or sometimes up to several hours – before ransacking the business of its valuable items. Metcalf agreed that he committed, or attempted to commit, commercial burglaries with one or more of his coconspirators, and that the loss to those businesses, in terms of both property damage and stolen items, exceeded $250,000. For example, Metcalf, along with at least one conspirator, participated in a commercial burglary at Steel & Wire Products Company, on West Patapsco Avenue in Baltimore. The conspirators drove a truck through the fence surrounding the lot. They then cut the telephone lines and pulled several cameras off the walls. Three safes were taken, inside of which were three handguns. The conspirators took approximately $22,256 in cash

Metcalf and at least one other conspirator robbed a residence in Greenbelt on January 31, 2012, stealing a five hundred pound floor safe which contained $1,300 cash. On June 15, 2012, Metcalf and at least one coconspirator committed a home invasion in Baltimore. One of the conspirators, holding roses and posing as a flower delivery man, knocked on the 62-year-old female victim’s front door. After the victim began opening the door, the conspirator forced his way into the residence and held a gun to her head. The conspirator then placed the victim’s hands in flex cuffs and took her to the upstairs office where her valuables were kept. The conspirator then put flex cuffs on the victim’s ankles and washed her wrists and ankles with water to remove identifiable prints. The conspirators stole jewelry, collectible coins, and approximately $15,000 in cash.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the DEA, Howard County Police Department, Baltimore County Police Department; Anne Arundel County Department, ATF, Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General; Coast Guard Investigative Service and Baltimore Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein also praised the many local and state agencies in Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania for their assistance in the investigation.

Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys David I. Sharfstein and Andrea L. Smith, who are prosecuting this Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force case.