Roger Spears, Home Invasion with Firearm, Maryland 2024

Baltimore man Roger Spears, 36, admitted in federal court today to brandishing a firearm during a violent home invasion and subsequent drug trafficking operation that terrorized victims across jurisdiction lines. The guilty plea, entered in Maryland’s U.S. District Court, marks a grim milestone in a case steeped in violence, narcotics, and brazen criminal conduct.

On June 21, 2016, Spears stormed a residence in Anne Arundel County armed with a pistol and launched an armed home invasion that left one man bloodied and beaten. According to court documents, Spears pistol-whipped the victim in the face before dragging him upstairs to a bedroom where two others lay sleeping. He held all three at gunpoint, demanded their property, and seized jewelry, heroin, Xanax (alprazolam), cash, and a .40 caliber handgun. The stolen narcotics were later sold off by Spears, who kept the firearm for future use.

The violence escalated weeks later on July 25, 2016, when Spears engaged in open-air drug trafficking from a stash point on a Baltimore porch. He had hidden 18 bags of cocaine in a bag and left the narcotics unattended while stepping away. Upon returning as a passenger in a minivan to retrieve the drugs, police attempted a traffic stop. The vehicle fled, and Spears hurled the bag containing the gun and cocaine from the window as officers gave chase.

The minivan crashed into a curb moments later. Spears bolted on foot but was apprehended a short distance away by Baltimore City Police Department officers. Evidence recovered at the scene linked him directly to both the drug stash and the firearm, cementing the case against him. The entire incident was captured in part by surveillance and corroborated by eyewitness testimony and forensic analysis.

Under the terms of a binding plea agreement, Spears and federal prosecutors have agreed that he will serve 15 years in federal prison followed by lifetime supervised release, provided the court accepts the deal. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2018, at 2 p.m. in downtown Baltimore. A lifetime of supervision looms for Spears should he ever leave incarceration.

Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen M. Schenning praised the collaborative effort between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Baltimore Police Department that led to Spears’ arrest and prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew DellaBetta, who is handling the case, emphasized that crimes involving firearms and narcotics will be met with the full force of federal law. “This was not a petty theft,” DellaBetta said. “This was a calculated, armed assault fueled by drugs and greed.”