La Plata, MD – A Waldorf man was sentenced by Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West Thursday, March 26 to three years in the Maryland Department of Corrections and ordered to pay restitution for stealing a dying man’s automatic teller machine (ATM) card and withdrawing in excess of $6,000.
Gary Donald Bean, 38 of Waldorf, was given an option of 18 months in the Charles County Detention Center to be followed by five years of supervised probation, or three years in the DOC. He chose the latter option.
According to Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney John Stackhouse, Bean pled guilty to a theft scheme of $1,000-$10,000 dollars.
“Your honor, I have a witness, Stella Leonard, in the courtroom today,” Stackhouse said. “The defendant knew her daughter for 12 years and dated her for four or five years. He was a friend of the family and attended events and vacations with the family. Mrs. Leonard’s husband fell terminally ill and has since passed. The defendant stole the man’s ATM card and pin number and made numerous withdrawals, over and over again. Officers in the Charles County Sheriff’s Office figured out who it was by viewing bank ATM videos. They went to his home and he ran out the back door.”
Leonard told the court that over time, Bean stole a bag of money she and her husband kept by their bed and two bank cards.
“While I was watching over my husband, he was making daily withdrawals using my husband’s ATM card,” she said. “When I found out what was happening, I cancelled the card. He is definitely a devious thief.”
She then addressed the defendant directly, telling him, “I hope no one stole from your mother the way you stole from me. Shame on you.”
Stackhouse detailed a litany of three prior offenses the defendant had racked up in Fairfax County, VA in 2008 for credit card fraud, felony theft and forgery.
“I have said this many times in court, we don’t judge people, we judge their actions,” he said.
“There’s different kinds of thefts,” Stackhouse added. “This is just a man taking advantage of a family at the worst possible time. This is a reprehensible con artist and a thief. I ask you to sentence him accordingly.”
When asked if he had anything to say, Bean replied, “I want to apologize to the family,” he said. “I am truly sorry.”
West then sentenced the defendant to three years in the Maryland Department of Corrections minus three days for time already served, and ordered him to pay $6,128 in restitution to the victim.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com