La Plata, MD – John Matthew Cowens, 35 of Chesapeake Beach, was sentenced to five years for an opiate-fueled crime spree in July of 2014 by Charles County Circuit Court Judge Amy J. Bragunier Tuesday, Dec. 1 in La Plata.
Cowens accepted a plea bargain Nov. 6 on count 11 (theft scheme – $1,000 to $10,000) of a 12-count indictment.
Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Freeman explained that the victim left his wallet in a car at a local park and returned to find his vehicle had been broken into and his wallet stolen.
“Within an hour the defendant had used the victim’s credit card to make purchases at Best Buy, where he bought a digital Canon camera and attempted to purchase an iPad at Target, but that transaction was declined,” Freeman said. “These are luxury items you don’t need to live.
“He is a thief,” she added, stating that the defendant has previous theft charges from 2004 which he violated probation on in 2006.
Cowens also had a felony credit card forgery.
“He was wanted in different counties,” she continued, noting that “once his photo went out to law enforcement, because of his dealings in Virginia and Maryland, he was recognized. His criminal history is well known,” Freeman said.
“There is nothing I can do to alter the impact of his record,” Charles County Assistant Public Defender Allison Heldreth told the court. “There are two reasons people steal. One is greed, the other is drugs. Mr. Cowens has a drug problem. All of these items he intended to resell to buy drugs. These were sloppy crimes. They show his desperation in committing these crimes. He had an opiate addiction. He was deep in the throes of addiction.”
She said that her client is a family man with two children.
Cowens’ girlfriend said her boyfriend’s opiate addiction emerged when he was trying to alleviate pain from rheumatoid arthritis.
“That is why he resorted to stealing,” she said.
“I’m not making any excuses,” Cowens stated. “I wronged a lot of people. I got addicted to Percocet.”
Cowens said his 14-year-old daughter sat him down and “talked to me like a parent.
“I would like to apologize for messing with these people’s sense of security,” he said. “I did a lot of messed-up stuff.”
Bragunier sentenced the defendant to 10 years with all but five years suspended and placed him on five years of supervised probation. She gave him credit for 360 days of time served and ordered him to undergo alcohol and drug treatment as part of his probation.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com