Vincent Ricardo Troy
Prince Frederick, MD – A Prince George’s County man who crashed a motor vehicle into a Calvert County strip mall earlier this year, sparking a fire and causing damage to several local businesses, will be going to prison. On Monday, May 9, the defendant, Vincent Ricardo Troy, 32 of Upper Marlboro, entered a guilty plea to driving under the influence of drugs and driving while revoked. Troy also waived his right to a hearing on violation of probation charges related to a prior traffic offense.
“You deserve to be punished for your reckless activity,” Circuit Court Judge Mark Chandlee told Troy. “I believe you are dangerous. I think it’s appropriate you go to the Department of Corrections.”
Troy will serve two years in the state facility with the remaining segment of his incarceration to take place at the Calvert County Detention Center, where he has been behind bars since January. Chandlee also imposed a strict five-year probation to be served after Troy is released from jail.
The defendant is also burdened with a huge bill of restitution, which is still to be determined.
The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office estimated the damage from the Jan. 6 blaze at the Bright Center West shopping mall on Route 4 in Owings was $750,000. Representatives of two businesses told the court the damage was far more severe than that estimate.
A family member read a statement from Aut Fuller, owner of Floral Expressions, a 30-year-old business that took a direct hit from Troy’s out-of-control vehicle. “Thirty years of hard work, gone in an instant,” Fuller stated, adding that he and his wife were forced to use retirement savings to rebuild the business and pay employees.
In addition to having their business destroyed, the resultant fire also obliterated numerous sentimental items, such as the first dollar the business ever earned. The family acknowledged the “outpouring of love and support from the community.”
“I’m thankful for the fire department’s quick response,” said Tony Destefano of Tax Depot. “We were very fortunate.” Destefano noted that since the Owings location was a new venue for his business a fiduciary baseline for potential earnings had not been established. Therefore, Tax Depot’s insurance company “has denied all our claims.” Of the crash and fire, Destefano stated, “it was a careless and negligent act.”
In the statement of facts read into the record, Calvert County Assistant State’s Attorney Gary Michael Morgan noted that when the crash occurred a passerby risked his life to save Troy from the fire. Responders reported Troy was “extremely lethargic” after being pulled from the wreckage. Investigators reported Troy initially “tried to deny he was driving.”
Further noting that the defendant had no driving privileges at the time of the crash, Morgan added, “Mr. Troy’s actions that night “set ablaze these people’s livelihoods—hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage. Even after insurance there’s still a substantial financial obligation. This has impacted a lot of business owners. Thank God no one was in the building. He never should have been driving that night.”
In requesting that Troy be allowed to serve his sentence in a local facility, Public Defender Del Lynch told Chandlee “he [Troy] does have family to support.”
When given the opportunity to speak Troy said “I apologize” to the affected merchants and his family. He asked Chandlee to take the needs of his [Troy’s] three children “under consideration.”
Chandlee, however, decided a state facility would be more appropriate. Once Troy is released from jail he will be required to attend four Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week, totally abstain from alcohol, have an interlock system installed in his vehicle—if he should happen to be issued a driver’s license—and perform 100 hours of community service. Chandlee indicated the community service requirement could be flexible provided Troy is employed. “You’re either working or doing community service,” said the judge. “You’re not going to do nothing.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
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