On a December morning, a man in a Dunbar Armored uniform told employees at a Bank of America branch in Ellicott City that he had come for a routine pickup. An employee handed him two bags containing nearly $200,000, and he left.
What the bank workers didn't know was that the man didn't work for the security company.
Police say the cash was picked up by Robert Allen Flanagan, 38, a former Dunbar employee who kept his uniform after losing his job. The Pennsylvania man made the rounds last fall at several businesses, picking up hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way, authorities allege.
The recent thefts in Howard and Baltimore counties pale in comparison with the robbery of a Dunbar depot in Los Angles in 1997, where an employee masterminded a plot that netted $18.9 million. But police say the local crimes - involving the theft of more than $270,000, the bulk of it stolen after the first of Flanagan's two arrests - stand out for their audacity.
"This was an unusual case and certainly a brazen one," said Sherry Llewellyn, a spokeswoman for the Howard County Police Department. "While bank robberies occur from time to time in the county, this type of case is not something our detectives typically see."
Flanagan's trial in the Baltimore County incidents is scheduled for today in Towson. A trial in Howard County is set for June 17. In the two jurisdictions combined, Flanagan has been charged with two counts of theft of $500 or more, four counts of attempted theft of $500 or more and one count of theft under $500. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to 90 years in prison and be fined $150,000.
Although the suspect had a handgun in some instances, he never used it to threaten employees, who often readily handed over the money because they recognized him.
"I don't hear about this very often," said Bill Toohey, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Department. "One of the things that makes [someone] a robber is he has to strike fear in his victims, and since he didn't threaten anybody, it's not a robbery."
Flanagan's wife is scheduled for a trial in June in York County, Pa., on charges of receiving stolen property. According to court records, Robin Gastley Flanagan bought a Chrysler Crossfire the day her husband allegedly took the cash from the Ellicott City bank.
According to court records, Robert Flanagan is a former Dunbar employee who was terminated. A call to the company's headquarters in Hunt Valley was not returned.
