Baltimore’s streets got a little safer with the federal sentencing of Treveric Speaks, 41, to 10 years in prison for a violent crime spree that terrorized wireless store employees across the city. Between July 20 and August 18, 2015, Speaks executed five armed robberies, brandishing a gun, threatening workers, and stealing cash from registers, safes, and even a clerk’s personal paycheck.
U.S. District Judge Ellen L. Hollander handed down the sentence today, mandating a decade behind bars followed by three years of supervised release. The conviction comes after Speaks pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the string of holdups, each carried out with chilling precision—posing as a customer, waiting for isolation, then pulling a firearm and demanding money under threat of death.
One of the most brazen thefts occurred on July 27, 2015, when Speaks not only stole $950 from a register but also seized $580 in cash from a store clerk’s personal envelope—money she had just withdrawn from her paycheck. Surveillance footage captured the moment, showing Speaks scanning the store before making his move, cold and calculating.
The FBI released images from the robberies on August 19, 2015, in a public appeal for tips. The strategy worked. Multiple callers identified Speaks as the suspect. By September 5, 2015, he was in custody. Store clerks later confirmed his identity in photo arrays, and evidence from his home—including clothing and shoes matching those in the surveillance videos—sealed the case.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, who announced the sentence alongside FBI Special Agent in Charge Gordon B. Johnson, Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis, and State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, praised the collaborative investigation. “This sentence reflects the severity of armed robbery and the danger it poses to retail workers,” Rosenstein said. “Justice has been served.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia C. McLane prosecuted the case, ensuring Speaks faced the full weight of federal law. With no room for leniency, the court’s message was clear: terrorizing Baltimore’s businesses with a gun leads straight to a federal prison cell.
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Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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