U.S.

Department of Justice


United States Attorney
District of Maryland



Rod J. Rosenstein 36 South Charles Street 410-209-4800
United States Attorney 4
th
Floor TTY/TDD: 410-962-4462
Baltimore, Maryland 21201 410-209-4885
Vickie E. LeDuc FAX 410-962-3091
Public Information Officer Vickie.LeDuc@usdoj.gov

October 10, 2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
www.justice.gov/usao/md MARCIA MURPHY at (410) 209-4885

SERIAL ARMED ROBBER EXILED TO 30 YEARS IN PRISON

Perpetrator of 13 Robberies or Attempted Robberies Has Committed his Last Robbery

Baltimore, Maryland U.S. District J udge George L. Russell, III sentenced J ohn J oseph
Wilson, age 54, of Dundalk, Maryland today to 30 years in prison followed by five years of
supervised release for armed robbery of a bank and post office, and the use of a firearm during a
robbery. J udge Russell also ordered Wilson to pay restitution of $48,818.01.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J .
Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Postal
Inspector in Charge Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division;
Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Chief J ames W. J ohnson of the
Baltimore County Police Department; Harford County Sheriff L. J esse Bane; Commissioner Anthony W.
Batts of the Baltimore Police Department; Baltimore City States Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein; Baltimore
County States Attorney Scott Shellenberger; and Harford County States Attorney J oseph I. Cassilly.

If we are serious about reducing gun crime, we need to be serious about sentencing armed
criminals to long terms in prison, said U.S. Attorney Rod J . Rosenstein. Hopefully J ohn J oseph Wilson
has committed his last armed robbery.

According to his plea agreement, from J uly 2010 to October 2013, Wilson robbed or
attempted to rob: four banks on eight occasions, one post office on three occasions and a
supermarket on two occasions. These robberies occurred primarily in Harford and Baltimore
Counties, and total $49,046.17. In all but one robbery, Wilson pointed a firearm at an employee.
During his final robbery, Wilson shot at a citizen who was chasing him.

Beginning on J uly 22, 2010, Wilson stole $6,883.50 from the Mars Supermarket located on
Philadelphia Road in Baltimore, after pointing a semi-automatic handgun at a clerk and taking
money from her cash drawer. Wilson returned to the same store on August 27, 2010 and robbed
the same clerk with the same gun, stealing $6,064.01.

On September 30, 2010, Wilson pointed a pistol at a bank clerk and stole $8,297 from a
cash drawer at Madison Square Federal Savings Bank in Fallston, Maryland. When Wilson
returned to the bank on October 9
th
, the employees recognized him from the earlier robbery and
refused to let him enter the bank. Wilson pointed a handgun at the employees before fleeing.

A couple years later, on November 5, 2012, Wilson used a short-barreled shotgun to steal
$4,116.66 from the BB&T Bank in Fallston.

Wilson used the revolver or shotgun to steal $490 from the Benson Post Office on
Connolly Road in Fallston on December 12, 2012; $8,684 from Sovereign Bank on Emmorton
Road in Bel Air, Maryland on December 17, 2012; and $8,960 from the same Sovereign Bank on
J anuary 4, 2013.

Wilson returned to the same BB&T Bank in Fallston on February 4, 2013 and stole $930.
This time, instead of displaying a gun, Wilson showed a bank clerk his cell phone to display his
demands for Large bills and no dye pack.

On April 27, 2013, after initially being thwarted from entering the Sovereign Bank on
Emmorton Road in Bel Air, Wilson returned to the Benson Post Office. Using a revolver, he
forced a postal clerk to open a safe. He took $821 from the safe and cash drawers.

On September 6, 2013, Wilson stole $3,800 from the Liberty Federal Savings and Loan
Association Bank on Belair Road in Bel Air, after pointing a gun at an employee.

Finally, on October 5, 2013, Wilson again robbed the Benson Post Office. When the
postal clerk saw Wilsons gun, she fled to a business next door. The proprietor of that business
chased Wilson, who turned and fired one shot toward the proprietor before fleeing away from the
area. Postal Inspectors and Maryland State Police processed the crime scene at the Benson Post
Office and developed evidence that assisted in the identification of Wilson as a suspect.

Wilson was arrested on October 9, 2013. The revolver and shotgun used in all but one of
the robberies were recovered.

United States Attorney Rod J . Rosenstein commended the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service,
Maryland State Police, Baltimore County Police Department, Harford County Sheriffs Office, Baltimore
Police Department and the Baltimore City, County and Harford County States Attorneys Offices for
their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney P. Michael
Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.