From Maryland State Police:
On Tuesday, October 13, 2009 Troopers from the Bel Air Barrack responded to the Royal Farm Store located at 630 Edgewood Road, Edgewood, Maryland for a reported armed robbery. Upon arrival troopers learned that a light skinned H/M or B/M forced the victim/clerk at knife-point to handover an undisclosed amount of cash from the cash register. During the robbery the tip of the knife blade actually made physical contact with the victim’s back on two occasions, causing two small indentations on the victim’s lower back.
Troopers were able to retrieve surveillance of the suspect inside the establishment. It was noted that the suspect was clothed in a white “A-shirt” which exposed his arms and upper back. The suspect’s face was concealed with a scarf. Although numerous tattoos were observed along these areas of the body it was very difficult for investigators to recognize the tattoo characters. Investigators placed snapshots of the suspect in flyers and saturated the surrounding neighborhoods and allied police departments with the flyers. This effort yielded a number of tips as to a potential suspect from both entities.
During the evening of Wednesday, October 14, 2009, Maryland State Police investigators, following up on leads as to the suspect’s location, learned that he was in the act of receiving additional tattoos in the Edgewood area. Troopers, with the assistance from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, then located/apprehended the suspect inside the tattoo shop. It was quite possible that the suspect was having more tattoos applied to his body in an attempt to mask his identity. It was noted during the apprehension that tattoos in the surveillance photos matched the tattoos on the suspect’s body.
Victims:
Shaireese Dudley, 22 yoa, Edgewood resident
James Kitts, 37 yoa, Edgewood resident
Accused:
Lance Edward Shepherd, B/M, 26 yoa, Edgewood resident
Charges: Armed Robbery, Assault 1st, 2nd Degree, Theft under $1,000 (currently being held on $300,000 bond)
Way to go MSP!!! Keep up the great work!!
While I applaud the efforts of the MSP and HCSO in apprehending this perp — and exceeding quickly at that — I’m reminded of a the favorite statement of a BCoPD officer I once knew: “If it weren’t for dumb criminals, I’d be out of a job!” So, thanks, dumb criminals!!