Four Men Indicted for Armed Robbery of Armored Truck Employees

GREENBELT, MD—A federal grand jury indicted four defendants today on charges arising from the armed robbery of employees who were transporting money in an armored truck:

• Antonio Lamar Cooper, age 27, of Washington, D.C.;
• Juwan Armarni Watkins, age 21, of Washington, D.C.;
• Maurice Lorenzo Foreman, age 22, of Oxon Hill, Maryland; and
• Eugene Robert Watkins, age 22, of Washington, D.C.

The indictment was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; Chief Cathy L. Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks.
According to the three-count indictment and court documents, on January 15, 2014, the defendants stole a vehicle and drove it to a restaurant on Allentown Road in Morningside, Maryland. Outside the restaurant, two armored truck employees were transporting money from the restaurant. One of the defendants pointed a gun at an employee’s face, pushed her to the ground, placed his gun on the back of her head, and took her gun. Another defendant pointed his gun at the second employee’s head and took his gun as well.
The indictment and court documents allege that the defendants robbed the employees of $74,106 in cash, $4,028 in checks, a scanner, and a printer. During their escape into Washington D.C., the defendants allegedly shot at a witness to the robbery who called a 911 dispatcher and followed the defendants in a high-speed chase to obtain the license number of their getaway vehicle. The defendants shot the driver’s side window of the witness’ car several times.
According to court documents, Prince George’s County Police officers pursued the defendants’ stolen vehicle into Washington, D.C., where the defendants got out of their vehicle and attempted to flee. With the assistance of a canine search initiated by Metropolitan Police officers, the defendants were subsequently arrested.
The defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy and for interfering with interstate commerce by robbery; and life in prison for using a firearm during the robbery. All of the defendants but Foreman have had their initial appearances in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt and are detained. Foreman is in state custody.
An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceedings.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI, Prince George’s County Police Department, Metropolitan Police Department, and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William D. Moomau and Bryan E. Foreman, who are prosecuting the case.