Charles County Man Receives 14-Year Sentence for Armed Robbery Spree

Greenbelt, Maryland – A Charles County man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison for his role in a series of armed commercial robberies that spanned across multiple Maryland counties. The sentencing, handed down by U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow, concludes a case involving a firearm used in the commission of violent crimes.

Daniel Michael Harris, Sr., 44, of Waldorf, Maryland, was found responsible for orchestrating and executing four armed robberies between March and April of 2023. The crime spree targeted businesses in Prince George’s, Charles, and Montgomery counties. During these incidents, Harris and his accomplices made off with cash from registers, cigarettes, and personal belongings of store employees.

Court documents detail a pattern of violence and intimidation. On two separate occasions in late March 2023, Harris and his associates robbed convenience stores in Prince George’s County, brandishing a pistol-grip shotgun and stealing cash and cigarettes. The following week, on April 5, 2023, a convenience store in Charles County was targeted. During this robbery, Harris not only took cash and an employee’s wallet and phone but also held the employee at gunpoint with the shotgun while pinning a customer against a wall. The pattern continued on April 6, 2023, with another convenience store in Montgomery County being robbed of cash and an employee’s purse and phone, again with the same shotgun.

Law enforcement efforts led to a critical break in the case on April 12, 2023. A Prince George’s County Police Department officer observed the vehicle believed to be used in some of the robberies, initiating a traffic stop. While the occupants fled the scene, law enforcement recovered evidence from the vehicle, which was subsequently submitted for DNA analysis. The results of this testing provided a strong match between Harris and a DNA sample found on a bottle recovered from the getaway car.

Further investigation by the Charles County Sheriff’s Office culminated in a search warrant executed on November 9, 2023, for Harris’s storage unit. Inside, detectives located clothing items matching those worn by the perpetrator during the robberies, as well as the distinctive pistol-grip shotgun used in the commission of these crimes.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a federal initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence by fostering collaboration between law enforcement agencies at all levels and the communities they serve. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland emphasized the importance of this program in strengthening community safety.

The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan S. McKoy. The successful investigation and prosecution were credited to the collaborative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office, the Prince George’s County Police Department, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montgomery County Police Department.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Maryland.

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