July 24, 2008
Man's theft trial moved to Circuit Court
The Baltimore County trial of a Pennsylvania man accused of wearing a Dunbar Armored uniform to steal more than $270,000 from businesses in two counties, will be moved from District to Circuit Court, prosecutors said yesterday.
Robert Allen Flanagan's trial on theft charges was scheduled to begin yesterday in District Court, but prosecutors requested the move because of the scale of the crimes.
"It's a large amount of money, and it's rather complex," Baltimore County Assistant State's Attorney Jill Savage said.
District and circuit courts have "concurrent jurisdiction" over felony theft cases, meaning they can be tried at either level, depending on the seriousness of the case.
On Friday, the Baltimore County state's attorney's office filed a criminal information - or written notice of charges - to the Circuit Court for Flanagan's case, Savage said. No trial date has been set.
According to police, Flanagan, 38, walked into several businesses one day in October in Baltimore and Howard counties and asked store employees for deposits. Police allege Flanagan kept his Dunbar uniform after the company terminated him and wore it during the theft attempts in hopes of convincing employees he was making legitimate pickups.
Employees at three Baltimore County businesses refused to turn over money, but an employee at a Target store in Towson gave the man $70,000 in deposits, including $55,000 cash, according to court records. Flanagan was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted theft of $500 or more and one count of theft of $500 or more in Baltimore County. He posted bail and was released.
Two months later, the same approach was used to take almost $200,000 from a Bank of America branch in Ellicott City, according to Howard County police. Flanagan was arrested at his Dallastown, Pa., home and is being held at the Howard County Detention Center.
His Howard County trial on theft and attempted theft charges is scheduled to begin June 17.
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