Donnell Edward Harris, Armed Robbery, Maryland 2013

Greenbelt, Maryland – A convenience store in Waldorf was robbed at gunpoint by Donnell Edward Harris, a 21-year-old from Burtonsville, Maryland, on September 11, 2013. Harris pleaded guilty to the armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during the crime.

According to the plea agreement, Harris, along with co-conspirators Charles Johnson and Madani Tejan, robbed a convenience store on St. Ignatius Drive in Waldorf. Harris brandished a firearm during the robbery and the conspirators forced the store employee at gunpoint to open the store’s cash register. The robbers stole $90 in cash and several packs of cigarettes.

Harris also admitted that after he was arrested for the robbery and while he was incarcerated, he threatened to hurt co-conspirator Charles Johnson if Johnson did not lie to law enforcement by stating that he (Johnson) had brandished the firearm during the robbery.

Johnson, age 20, of Beltsville, Maryland, and Madani Ilara Tejan, age 32, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to the robbery.

Harris faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the robbery and a mandatory seven years, consecutive to any other sentence, and up to life in prison, for brandishing a gun in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge George Jerrod Hazel has scheduled sentencing for Harris on March 20, 2015, at 9:00 a.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Montgomery County Police Department, and Charles County Sheriff’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Leah J. Bressack and Daniel Gardner, who are prosecuting the case.

Donnell Edward Harris, a 21-year-old from Burtonsville, Maryland, is set to face the consequences of his actions in a court of law. The people of Waldorf can rest easier knowing that justice is being served.

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