Baltimore, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Tyrone Dale, a/k/a “Slim Dollar,” age 45, of Hurlock, Maryland, to 15 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for the armed robbery of a Salisbury grocery store and related gun charges. A federal jury convicted Dale on July 14, 2011.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Baltimore Field Division; Wicomico County State’s Attorney Matthew A. Maciarello; and Salisbury Police Chief Barbara Duncan.

“ATF and our partners remain committed to putting violent criminals behind bars where they can no longer victimize innocent citizens,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Theresa Stoop. “Our citizens deserve to be safe at work and in their communities.”

According to testimony at Dale’s four day trial, on November 22, 2009, Dale approached two employees of the Food Lion grocery store located on Snow Hill Road in Salisbury, as they were closing the store for the night. Witnesses testified that Dale brandished a .12 gauge shotgun at both employees and threatened to kill them if they did not let him into the store. The employees let Dale into the store and Dale demanded the money in the store safe. According to the testimony at trial, fearing for their lives, the employees opened the safe and Dale stole $1,844.10 in small bills and coins. Dale then ordered both employees onto the floor of the store, threatened to kill them if they activated the store’s alarm and fled the scene.

As Dale left the store, he was intercepted by officers from the Salisbury Police Department, who, after a short foot chase, arrested Dale and recovered both the shotgun and the proceeds of the robbery.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the ATF, Salisbury Police Department and Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in this investigation and thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Clinton J. Fuchs and Cheryl L. Crumpton, who prosecuted the case.