La Plata, MD – Sanovia Angela Smith, 37 of Accokeek, was sentenced to 120 days in the Charles County Detention Center Tuesday, Jan. 25 after she entered an Alford plea last October to conspiracy to commit theft charges for property over $1,000 and less than $10,000.
Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Katrine H. Bakhtiary told the court that Smith used her real estate credentials to open a locked house Jan. 19, 2015, allowing men she said were contractors to remove a new heat pump still in the box from a home for sale.
“Without the code, the theft would not have occurred,” Bakhtiary stressed.
She said the state was seeking 18 months detention.
The facet of the case that troubled Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West most was that Smith allowed the men to put the heat pump in the back of her SUV.
“She went to [co-defendant] Mr. Fenwick’s aunt’s house to drop it off,” Bakhtiary said. “That is not an empty box. This type of crime should not be tolerated.
“The state is asking that she turn in her license,” she added.
“She had an investor and the contractor was there,” offered Defense Attorney James Zafiropulos. “She had a child with her. It was incredibly stupid, considering what was at risk for her. It was an oversight on her part. She is highly embarrassed by this situation. People make errors in judgement.”
Zafiropulos stressed that his client had no prior offenses and cooperated with police when questioned about the incident.
“She has already received a letter stating that her license would be taken from her,” he said. “A conviction would seal the deal. She would lose her real estate license which is her only source of income.”
He called the events leading up to the theft “a comedy of errors.”
“I was shocked and disappointed when I learned of the charges,” Smith told the court. “I remember it was extremely cold and I had a child I was tending to. I wasn’t as vigilant as I should have been. I didn’t realize anything was stolen.”
“This is a tough one,” the judge noted, “because there have been agents or people for homes that were foreclosed on, renovated or flipped, where property turns up missing. In each one of those cases, the defendant went to jail.
“You were in a position of trust,” West added. “You were in a unique position to aid in the crime. It could be that what you say is 100 percent accurate, but it just doesn’t feel right.”
West handed down a sentence of 10 years, suspending all but 120 days and placing the defendant on two years of unsupervised probation.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com