Washington, D.C. – An 18-year-old Landover, Maryland man, George E. Hartzog, pled guilty yesterday in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to armed robbery in connection with the robbery of two District residents at gun point in the 1000 block of G Street, NE, Washington, D.C. in March of this year, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

The evidence in the case showed that on March 27, 2008, at approximately 10:43 p.m., Hartzog and a juvenile companion, while brandishing hand guns, approached a man and a woman in the 1000 block of G Street, NE, Washington, D.C. (PSA 102). Hartzog ordered the man to the ground and stole his wallet, credit cards and cell phone, while his juvenile companion ordered the woman to the ground and stole her purse. Ten minutes after the robbery, surveillance video from the Hess gas station at 5th and Florida Avenue, NE, captured images of Hartzog using the male victim’s credit cards to purchase gas for himself and other two other patrons. Metropolitan Police Officers from the First District recognized Hartzog in the surveillance video. The female victim’s bag was later recovered from the trash can at the Hess Station.

After the guilty plea was entered, the Honorable Robert I. Richter ordered that Hartzog be detained pending sentencing, which is scheduled for October 3, 2008. Hartzog faces a possible maximum sentence under the statute of 30 years in prison and a likely sentencing range of 48 to 96 months of imprisonment under the sentencing guidelines.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor expressed his appreciation to the Metropolitan Police Department, and particularly praised the work of MPD Detectives Thomas Smith, Stacy Carey, Gary Johnson, Don Juan Monroe, and Officers Millard Pitts, Charles Johnson, Len Cummings, Eric Walsh, and Amy Oliva. The U.S. Attorney also commended the work of Legal Assistant Tameka Garcia and Assistant U.S. Attorney