La Plata, MD – The second of four defendants in an Aug. 29, 2014 robbery at a Burger King in Waldorf was sentenced Thursday, April 9 by Charles County Circuit Court Judge H. James West.
Brian James Crayton Jr., 21 of Waldorf (pictured, left), was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of 18 months to run concurrently. Crayton was one of four men charged in the attempted robbery after the group waited until the restaurant closed at 12:38 a.m. before entering the establishment through the back door with what turned out to be a BB gun.
Co-defendant Gregory Robinson was sentenced last week in a case where the brother of the defendant was found to be recording sentencing proceedings on his cell phone.
Crayton’s attorney Luke Woods told the court his client was a young man who had lived in Charles County for three years and in Prince George’s prior to that.
“He has no prior instances, no substance abuse,” Woods said. “He graduated from Westlake High School.”
Woods noted that the four men did not thoroughly think through their endeavor, which he indicated was basically a bungled robbery attempt.
“Mr. Clayton slipped and fell,” Woods said. “He dropped the BB gun. He was basically pushed out the door by workers at the establishment and fled the scene.”
Charles County Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathan Beattie noted that the young men were not accomplished at their robbery attempt.
“They called the business multiple times asking what time they closed,” Beattie said. “One of the suspects was armed with what appeared to be a handgun. This defendant was pushed out of the door. It’s still a brazen act, still a very dangerous event.”
“After talking at length with my client, I feel you’re not going to see him in this courthouse again,” Woods said.
West noted that Clayton was facing sentencing for two charges: attempted robbery and second-degree assault. The judge sentenced the defendant to 10 years with all but 18 months suspended in the armed robbery case, adding three years of supervised probation to the mix. West added another 18 months on the second-degree assault charge, saying the two sentences would run concurrently.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com