Lusby, MD – On July 6 at approximately 2:49 a.m., an armed robbery occurred at the 7-11 Convenience store located on Old Town Road in Huntingtown.
During the robbery a male suspect entered the store and brandished a black handgun and demanded money. The male suspect fled to a dark colored SUV or truck and left the scene. The male suspect was described as a thin white male. He was described to wear a black hooded sweat shirt with the hood over his head and black and white bandana covering his face. Further he was wearing black gloves, blue jeans and black shoes. The gun was described as a black handgun.
On July 9 at approximately 4 a.m., an armed robbery occurred at the 7-Eleven store, H.G. Trueman Road, Solomons. An unknown white male subject entered the store wearing a black hooded jacket, black gloves, blue jeans, and black boots with a white/black mask covering his face. This suspect was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun. The suspect encountered the only store employee towards the rear of the store and demanded money. The store employee complied and the suspect made way with US Currency.
After reviewing the video footage, it was believed that the same suspect committed both robberies.
Based on the time-frames of the two robberies occurring, it was very probable there would be a third similar robbery in the near future. At the direction of Sheriff Mike Evans, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Bureau put together an operation to conduct surveillance on all of the convenience stores in Calvert County. Personnel from within the Sheriff’s Office as well as from the Southern Maryland Information Center (SMIC) joined forces to conduct the operation which began July 10 at midnight.
During the early morning hours of July 10, Detective Cameron of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and Detective Simonds of the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office (both assigned to SMIC) were conducting surveillance on the Lusby and St. Leonard Fast Stop convenience stores.
While conducting a check of the St. Leonard Fastop, detectives encountered a suspicious vehicle matching the description of the vehicle used in the first two robberies. The detectives set up surveillance in the area and observed the vehicle as it continued to engage in suspicious activity. The detectives called for marked Sheriff’s Office units to respond to the area to assist. The on scene detectives requested the marked units conduct a traffic stop on the Dodge Dakota 4 door truck bearing Maryland registration 9AK8162. When units stopped the truck it was being operated by Bethani Yvonne Wood and Steven E. Garner.
During the traffic stop several pieces of evidence were recovered to link the vehicle and its occupants to the previous 7-11 robberies. Both Wood and Garner were arrested and transported to the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office for questioning. Wood and Garner were charged accordingly and were transported to the Calvert County Detention Center to await their hearings before a District Court Commissioner.
