Story Category: Crime and Punishment »

The getaway car driver in the April 2011 armed robbery of a Hollywood drug store has been sentenced to 18 months in jail. Circuit Court Judge Michael Stamm gave Marcus Cannon, 24, of Hughesville credit for the 257 days he has already served in jail.

During the sentencing hearing on July 31 Judge Stamm said that Cannon should receive the same sentence as his accomplice Thorne Sanna, who actually went into St. John’s Pharmacy, said he was armed and demanded prescription medication.

Stamm said Cannon was no less culpable because he stayed in a car. “You and he robbed a drug store,” the judge said. Sanna was arrested a short time after the robbery hiding in a ditch along Three Notch Road. Cannon was arrested later in Hughesville.

Cannon’s attorney Thomas Pyles of Waldorf argued that Sanna had already been released on parole after serving less time than Cannon had been in jail awaiting sentencing. But Stamm said he had no control of what another judge did and he felt it was right to impose the same sentence.

Cannon pled guilty in May to Conspiracy to Commit Robbery. While incarcerated, Cannon allegedly used drugs that had been smuggled into the jail. “He may have lost his sobriety for a day,” was how Pyles explained his client’s behavior. Pyles asked that Cannon be admitted into either St. Mary’s County Drug Court or a Walden Sierra program.

Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Stanalonis said there was a question about whether Cannon was eligible for St. Mary’s County Drug Court since he is a Charles County resident.

Pyles said of his client, “He is calling out for help from the court.” In addressing the judge, Cannon said, “I am sorry for what I did. I do need help. I have a serious drug problem.”

The judge imposed a six-and-a-half year sentence but suspended all but 18 months and gave him credit for time served. He did allow work release but warned Cannon that if he used drugs while on work release the privilege would be automatically revoked. “As long as you have a drug problem you are a danger to the community,” Stamm said. The judge left open the possibility of approving Cannon for a drug treatment program.

Cannon will be on five years of supervised probation once he is released from jail.