WASHINGTON — A Maryland man was found guilty on multiple charges for three armed robberies that took place in less than an hour around Prince George’s County last year.
James Lorenzo Thomas Jr., 32, of Oxon Hill, was convicted by a federal jury this week following a four-day trial, the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Maryland said in a news release Tuesday.
In April 2017, prosecutors said Thomas and an accomplice robbed businesses in Camp Springs, Clinton and District Heights in less than an hour. They had used a firearm in each robbery.
In the first two robberies, they stole cash and, at one robbery, even stole someone’s cellphone.
The last robbery was at a game store, where prosecutors said Thomas and his accomplice stole PlayStation 4s, virtual reality headsets and an Xbox. One of the stolen items, however, had a GPS tracker that police used to quickly find Thomas and his accomplice, prosecutors said.
Thomas was also accused of trying to intimidate a witness from testifying. Prosecutors said a deputy U.S. Marshal, who had heard Thomas trying to intimidate the witness, testified at trial.
Thomas was found guilty for three counts of armed commercial robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.
He will be sentenced on Feb. 28 and faces a hefty prison term, including a maximum of 20 years for each of the three counts of robbery.
Thomas’ accomplice, 33-year-old Nathan Sergio Latimore, of Camp Springs, had already pleaded guilty to five robberies, including three that he did with Thomas. Latimore will be sentenced Dec. 10.
