Hyattsville Thief Pleads Guilty to 10 Armed Robberies

A string of 10 armed robberies and attempted robberies terrorized Northwest commercial businesses in the District from August 22, 2023, to January 8, 2024. Roberto McBean, a 30-year-old Hyattsville, Maryland man, pleaded guilty to the crimes in U.S. District Court on Friday.

U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department announced the guilty plea.

McBean admitted to committing all 10 robberies, which included four counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery, also known as Hobbs Act robbery. He pleaded guilty on April 26, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who scheduled sentencing for September 5, 2024.

The string of robberies began on August 22, 2023, when McBean used a small hammer to rob a Sunoco gas station on the 2400 block of Wisconsin Ave., NW. He continued to rob commercial businesses throughout the District, including the Georgetown Wine and Spirits on the 2700 block of P Street, NW, on August 31, 2023.

On September 18, 2023, McBean was thwarted when he brandished a knife at the Universal Wine and Spirits on the 2000 block of Florida Ave.– a customer intervened and McBean left without taking any money. However, McBean continued to rob commercial businesses, including the Glover Park Market on the 2400 block of 37th Street, NW, on November 23, 2023.

McBean’s crimes often involved the use of a firearm, and he frequently targeted the same businesses, including the Glover Park Market and the Sunoco gas station on Wisconsin Ave. He was arrested on January 26, 2024, by agents with the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Because each of the six stores that McBean robbed bought and sold goods in interstate commerce, McBean’s actions in each of the robberies delayed, obstructed, or affected interstate commerce.

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office Violent Crimes Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Ryan Lipes and Omeed A. Assefi.