BALTIMORE, MD—It’s hard to keep a bad man down. When a convicted bank robber got out of prison he decided that a life of following the law – as required by his order of supervised release from prison — and working for a living was not for him, a decision that many take. This hapless soul will now not have to worry about where his next meal will come from anytime soon.
U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz sentenced Antonio Rennard Gilliam, age 43, of Baltimore, on Oct. 17, 2014, to 135 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for a commercial robbery and for violating his supervised release from a previous bank robbery conviction.
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; and Chief James W. Johnson of the Baltimore County Police Department.
According to his plea agreement, on August 19, 2013, Gilliam robbed a cell phone store in the 800 block of Taylor Avenue in Towson. Gilliam told a store clerk that he wanted to switch his phone service. Gilliam lingered in the store until there were no other customers, then approached the cash register with his hand in his pocket, as if he were carrying a handgun. Gilliam leaned over the register counter and yelled at a store employee demanding all the money from the register. Gilliam took approximately $300 from the store, then ordered the store clerk to the back of the store and ordered another employee to go outside. Gilliam then ran away.
A short time later, Baltimore County Police officers responding to the robbery saw Gilliam, who matched the description of the robber, at a nearby intersection. They ordered Gilliam to stop, but he ran into a wooded area on the south side of Goucher Boulevard. Gilliam was found hiding in the woods and arrested. During a subsequent interview with police, Gilliam admitted robbing the cellular telephone store, as well as robbing a swimwear business in Towsontown Mall on August 15, 2013, taking about $300. Gilliam denied having a gun during either robbery.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and Baltimore County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney John F. Purcell, Jr., who prosecuted the case.
According to his plea agreement, on August 19, 2013, Gilliam robbed a cell phone store in the 800 block of Taylor Avenue in Towson. Gilliam told a store clerk that he wanted to switch his phone service. Gilliam lingered in the store until there were no other customers, then approached the cash register with his hand in his pocket, as if he were carrying a handgun. Gilliam leaned over the register counter and yelled at a store employee demanding all the money from the register. Gilliam took approximately $300 from the store, then ordered the store clerk to the back of the store and ordered another employee to go outside. Gilliam then ran away.
