A 19-year-old Laurel man pleaded guilty Monday to an April armed robbery in Clarksville, where he and an accomplice planned to complete a drug transaction but stole more than $13,000 in belongings.
In addition to two counts of armed robbery, Abdilai Karim Sesay Braima pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and two counts of using a firearm in a violent crime, according to the Howard County State’s Attorney’s Office.
During Monday’s hearing, assistant state’s attorney Natasha Byus said Howard County police responded to the Clarksville home in the 5900 block of Trotter Road after midnight April 11, where the victims reported they invited two men inside the home to complete a drug transaction. After doing so, one of the men, later recognized as Braima, pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, announced the robbery and held the gun to the homeowner’s head.
The two men then stole cellphones, luxury clothing accessories and a Rolex watch. One of the victims identified Braima’s accomplice as Irvin Jacob Smith, 23, of Laurel.
Nearby surveillance cameras captured footage of both men entering and leaving the residence, and Smith admitted to planning the robbery after his arrest.
Smith pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and two counts of robbery in November and is scheduled for sentencing in January. Braima’s sentencing hearing is scheduled in March.
