Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Marvel Alegria, age 24, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, today to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to commit armed robbery in connection with four robberies of Chipotle restaurants. Judge Bennett also ordered Alegria to pay restitution of $24,900.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge William P. McMullan of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Colonel Marcus L. Brown, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; Washington County Sheriff Douglas W. Mullendore; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Carroll County State’s Attorney Jerry Barnes; Washington County State’s Attorney Charles P. Strong; and Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy.
According to her plea agreement, Alegria was a general manager at the Chipotle restaurant in Mt. Airy, Maryland until July 17, 2012 when she was fired for violating company policies. She became upset about her termination, and began discussing robbing the Chipotle restaurant with co-defendant Lamont Bonds, with whom she was having a relationship. Alegria advised Bonds of the best time to commit the robbery, and how to access the store and its safe which contained money.
On July 22, 2012, Bonds and Alegria recruited co-defendant Norman Guifarro to participate in the robbery. That evening, Bonds and Guifarro entered the restaurant wearing masks Bonds had made from tee shirts. Bonds, armed with a shotgun, forced the manager into the office at gunpoint and obtained the money from the safe, while Guifarro, armed with a knife, held the other employees on the floor. Bonds and Guifarro stole $5,000 in cash and fled after forcing the employees into a bathroom. Bonds and Guifarro divided the stolen money among themselves and Alegria.
On August 4, October 21 and Nov. 25, 2012, Bonds, armed with what appeared to be a black semi-automatic pistol, robbed Chipotle restaurants in Hagerstown, Gaithersburg and Damascus, Maryland, respectively, using similar methods as in the first robbery. In the August 4th robbery, Bonds and another man stole $9,400 from the safe. Alegria drove Bonds to and from the Gaithersburg and Damascus robberies where Bonds stole $7,000 and $3,500, respectively. In each robbery, Bonds forced the manager to open the safe at gunpoint.
Lamont Bonds, age 26, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, previously pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 24, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. Norman Guifarro was convicted in Carroll County Circuit Court of the Mt. Airy robbery and was sentenced to seven years in prison.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Maryland State Police, Montgomery County Police Department, Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery, Washington and Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Offices for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney A. David Copperthite, who prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
