Prince George’s Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Laurel Business

Greenbelt, Maryland - Clarence Antonio Lynch, 22, of Prince George's County, Maryland, has pleaded guilty to Interference with Interstate Commerce by Robbery and Use of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - Baltimore Field Office, and Chief Malik Aziz, Prince George's County Police Department (PGPD).

According to the guilty plea, on August 4, 2023, Lynch - who was driving a dark-colored sports utility vehicle - traveled to a convenience store (Business-1), located in Laurel, Maryland, with the intention of robbing it. He was armed with at least one firearm.

Lynch entered the store and used physical restraint to force an agent and employee (Victim-1) of Business-1 into an office by pulling Victim-1 by his collar and breaking his necklace. Then Lynch used a hydraulic tool to forcefully open the store's automated teller machine (ATM). Lynch took $65,780 in cash from the ATM's trays. He also took Victim-1 into the store office and used a firearm to take $6,940 in cash from the office along with $11,852 in cigarettes. Both the cash and cigarettes were property of Business-1, and the ATM cash was also property of a financial institution.

Lynch faces a minimum mandatory sentence of five years and a maximum of life in federal prison followed by up to five years of supervised release for these offenses. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. District Judge Lydia K. Griggsby scheduled sentencing for September 2, 2025, at 1 p.m.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and PGPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Rosenthal and William Moomau who are prosecuting the case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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