Former APG Police Officer Admits to Stealing Electronics from Government Buildings While on Patrol

Baltimore, Maryland – Former Army police officer and sergeant at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Gregory Lamont McNeill, age 45, of Baltimore, pleaded guilty today to concealing and retaining stolen federal government property.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Joshua Adams, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground; Joel Holdford, Chief of Police, Department of the Army (DA) Police, Aberdeen Proving Ground; and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 From December 2002 to February 2015, McNeill was a police officer and sergeant for the DA Police on APG. McNeill patrolled APG during non-business hours.  At times he would find buildings unlocked.  McNeill would sometimes enter the building to determine whether anyone was working.  Many times, no one was working during these non-business hours and the building occupants simply forgot to secure the building.

According to his plea agreement, from at least September 2011 to August 2014, during these building checks, McNeill took items of government property for his own personal use, or for the use of his family members, including laptops, iPad, iPod, camera and accessories, and other electronic equipment. McNeill would place the stolen item in a bag which he transferred from his police vehicle to his personal vehicle at the end of his shift before returning home.

In the months following the theft, four of the five stolen Apple electronic items were linked to iTunes accounts that belonged to McNeill or a member of his family.

On February 5, 2015, agents interviewed McNeill at the APG, while other agents searched his home with the consent of his wife.  The agents seized numerous stolen items from his residence.  McNeill was unaware of the ongoing search and during his interview, he denied stealing any government property and claimed, for example, that his family did not use Apple products.

During the scheme, McNeill stole approximately $35,000 worth of property belonging to the U.S. Army.

McNeill faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for November 23, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the Department of the Army Police on Aberdeen Proving Ground; U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and FBI for their work in the investigation.  Mr. Rosenstein praised the Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Mid Atlantic for their assistance in the investigation, and thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jefferson M. Gray, who is prosecuting the case.