Armed Taxi Robbers Pled Guilty In Takoma Park

TAKOMA PARK, MD — Two men pled guilty for five taxi cab robberies in Takoma Park that took place in 2015, police announced Thursday.

Since July 2015, the Takoma Park Police Department had been investigating five taxi cab robberies they believed to be related. The means and methods used by the suspects in each robbery had distinct similarities and were believed to be committed by the same individuals, police said.

One of the armed robberies took place on November 12, 2015, at approximately 8 p.m. Takoma Park Police responded to the 1200 block of Myrtle Ave. for the report of an armed robbery and theft of services. The victim, a taxi cab driver, picked up two fares on Georgia Avenue, between New Hampshire Avenue and Sheppard Street. The subjects told the victim they would just give him directions of where to go.

When the victim arrived on Myrtle Avenue, one of the suspects put a knife to his throat and demanded property, police said. The victim complied and the suspects then fled on foot into the wooded area south of the 1200 block of Myrtle Ave.

Lonzo Shelton Holmes-Jenkins, 22, of Washington, DC, was identified as one of the suspects through extensive investigative efforts, police said. On October 20, 2016, Takoma Park Police responded to the DC Jail and picked up Holmes-Jenkins for the outstanding Takoma Park warrant.

A second suspect involved in the taxi cab robberies was identified as Gregory Andrew Maples, 25, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and he was subsequently arrested.

On July 26, 2017, Holmes-Jenkins pled guilty to two counts of Armed Robbery in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County. He was sentenced to eight years in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2021.

Maples pled guilty to one count of Armed Robbery and his sentencing is scheduled for a later date that's not yet determined.

Photos: Takoma Park Police Department