La Plata, MD – A man who followed and robbed a Waldorf woman of money she won at Maryland Live! Casino in Annapolis Dec. 20 was sentenced to 20 years in prison by Charles County Circuit Court Judge Amy J. Bragunier Monday, Aug. 24.
The victim won about $1,000 at the Hanover casino before driving to her home an hour away in Waldorf.
Mark Antoine West, 25 and Maria Cerise Wheeler, both of Hyattsville, followed her from Anne Arundel County, through Prince George’s County to her Waldorf home.
According to Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeremy Widder, the couple then pulled up to the victim’s house.
“While the defendant’s wife waited in the car, West produced a handgun and took money and a wallet containing $1,500 in cash,” Widder explained.
Widder noted that while this was the defendant’s first violent crime, he does have a prior record, including possessing a handgun without a license.
“He was charged with another crime in July in Washington, DC,” he added.
“He does have an active warrant in DC,” Bragunier said.
“These are the kind of cases our community can’t stand by and abide,” Widder stated.
Bragunier sentenced the defendant to 20 years on the first count of armed robbery with all but 10 years suspended. On the second count, use of a firearm while committing a felony-violent crime, the judge also sentenced West to 20 years with all but 10 years suspended, and added that he would not be eligible for parole for five of those 10 years.
She also tacked on five years of unsupervised probation following his release.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com