Columbia Crime Spree: Man Charged With 20-Plus Offenses

COLUMBIA, MD — Police have filed charges in a recent armed robbery in Columbia as well as several burglaries, including one where the suspect worked out in an apartment building he plundered. The break in the case, leading authorities to the suspect, came last week on MD 175 at Thunder Hill Road when a traffic stop went awry.

Officers tried to stop a vehicle for a registration violation at 11:08 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 16.

The driver took off, leading to a pursuit. During the chase, police said the suspect hit several parked cars. Nobody was inside them, and there were no injuries, according to authorities. Officials allege the driver got out and ran on Thunder Hill Road and was found shortly thereafter.

Robert Charles Davis, 29, of Floral Drive in Hyattsville, was taken into custody.

Detectives matched his physical description and vehicle with a December robbery in Columbia, and they began putting the pieces together.

Davis is described as a black man who is 5-feet-9-inches tall and 209 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Court records indicate he was driving a 2002 Chevrolet with Virginia tags when he was stopped last week on Thunder Hill Way.

In the Dec. 20 robbery, police said an armed man approached two victims on Cradlerock Way at Garland Lane around 11 p.m. He showed he had a handgun, took their cell phones and stole a jacket. Then police allege the robber fired the weapon in the air before leaving.

The suspect in the December robbery was driving a tan pickup truck, police previously reported.

When police executed a search warrant at a Columbia residence where Davis was staying, officials said they recovered evidence connecting him to that robbery.

RELATED: Gunfire In Columbia Crimes Reported Twice In One Week

Police said more evidence found at the Columbia residence linked Davis to three burglaries in August and October.

In August, electronics and gym equipment were taken from the Columbia Alister Apartments. Police said the same suspect returned on Saturday, Aug. 25, to steal a chair.

Officials released surveillance video on Twitter on Friday, Oct. 12, entitled: "Burglary at Alister Columbia Apartments," asking the public to help identify the suspect, who could be seen working out while inside the apartment complex's clubhouse.

SEE ALSO: Surveillance Video Shows Burglar Working Out At Scene Of Crime

Remember this burglary suspect caught on camera stealing items out of the Alister Columbia Apartments clubhouse? Robert Davis, 29, was arrested...and charged with multiple other crimes in #HoCoMd since August. Read more: https://t.co/lnhEd1KoQb pic.twitter.com/c7FBgwRXwW
— Howard County Police (@HCPDNews) January 24, 2019

Items from the Alister Apartments were recovered at the home where Davis was staying, police said, and so were things stolen in an October burglary at the Columbia Commons leasing office.

Surveillance video in all three burglaries shows a man matching Davis’s physical description, police said.

Davis also was charged with motor vehicle theft and rogue and vagabond because a stolen motorcycle was in his possession, officials said; and a credit card read/write device, embosser and blank credit cards were found in the Columbia residence where he was staying.

From the traffic stop on Thunder Hill Way, he was charged with multiple traffic violations, including eluding police, reckless driving and leaving the scene of a crash.

Davis faces more than 20 criminal charges, in addition to the traffic violations:

• 2nd-degree burglary; Aug. 21
• 4th-degree burglary/theft; Aug. 21
• Theft $100–$1,500; Aug. 21
• 2nd-degree burglary; Aug. 25
• 4th-degree burglary/theft; Aug. 25
• Theft $100–$1,500; Aug. 25
• 2nd-degree burglary; Oct. 5
• 4th-degree burglary/theft; Oct. 5
• Theft from $100-$1,500; Oct. 5
• Two counts of armed robbery; Dec. 20
• Two counts of robbery; Dec. 20
• Two counts of theft from $100 to $1,500; Dec. 20
• Two counts of second-degree assault; Dec. 20
• Two counts of reckless endangerment; Dec. 20
• Unauthorized removal of a motor vehicle; Jan. 18
• Rogue and vagabond; Jan. 18
• Possession of a skimming device; Jan. 18

File photo.