(Aug. 20, 2015) Alleged bank robber Jeff V. Hare, 53, of Ocean Pines, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Baltimore this week on charges stemming from the March 13 hold-up of the BB&T branch on Racetrack road.
Hare, who was tracked to his home by police in a matter of hours after the incident, stands accused of bank robbery, carjacking and displaying a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to indictment announced by U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, Hare entered the bank wearing a ski mask and told the bank tellers in lobby that he had a gun. He also said he was robbing the bank and demanded that the tellers give him only $50 and $100 dollar bills and no dye packs.
The indictment alleges that Hare moved through the lobby from employee to employee, pointing the handgun at each and demanding money. Hare also ordered the tellers to give him their car keys and purses, but each teller told Hare they did not have them available, according to the indictment. Hare stole approximately $2,850 in cash from the bank.
The indictment said that after robbing the tellers, Hare found a bank employee who had locked herself in a back room. He reportedly forced open the door, pointed his handgun at the employee and demanded her car keys and her purse.
The employee turned over her purse, which contained cash and personal effects, and the keys to her car, a 2007 Kia Spectra that was in the bank’s parking lot. Hare allegedly left the bank and fled in the car, which he abandoned at a nearby business.
State Police Sgt. Adam Howard said back in March that numerous 911 calls came into the State Police Berlin Barrack at 1:13 p.m., including an alarm company call about a robbery in progress. Howard said state police troopers responded, along with Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Ocean Pines Police Department and Natural Resources Police Department.
At approximately 6:30 p.m. police conducted a reverse 911 call to all residents within a five-square-mile radius of the BB&T, Howard said. That led to an anonymous tip. Members of the FBI, Worcester County Bureau of Investigations, the Worcester Criminal Enforcement Team, state police, and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office visited two homes in Ocean Pines, leading to Hare’s arrest at his residence.
“Law enforcement is never stronger than when it cooperates on all levels,” Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby said. “The employees of the BB&T branch woke up that morning and wanted nothing more than to do their jobs when Mr. Hare entered their bank thinking a mask and gun could shield him from responsibility. Now, our brothers and sisters from the U.S. Attorney’s Office will do their jobs, and we look forward to seeing Mr. Hare held federally accountable for his dangerous, reprehensible and cowardly actions. “
Hare faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for armed bank robbery; a maximum of 15 years in prison for carjacking; and a mandatory minimum of seven years and up to life in prison for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
An initial appearance has yet to be scheduled for U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
Hare, who was tracked to his home by police in a matter of hours after the incident, stands accused of bank robbery, carjacking and displaying a firearm during a crime of violence.
According to indictment announced by U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein, Hare entered the bank wearing a ski mask and told the bank tellers in lobby that he had a gun. He also said he was robbing the bank and demanded that the tellers give him only $50 and $100 dollar bills and no dye packs.
The indictment alleges that Hare moved through the lobby from employee to employee, pointing the handgun at each and demanding money. Hare also ordered the tellers to give him their car keys and purses, but each teller told Hare they did not have them available, according to the indictment. Hare stole approximately $2,850 in cash from the bank.
The indictment said that after robbing the tellers, Hare found a bank employee who had locked herself in a back room. He reportedly forced open the door, pointed his handgun at the employee and demanded her car keys and her purse.
The employee turned over her purse, which contained cash and personal effects, and the keys to her car, a 2007 Kia Spectra that was in the bank’s parking lot. Hare allegedly left the bank and fled in the car, which he abandoned at a nearby business.
State Police Sgt. Adam Howard said back in March that numerous 911 calls came into the State Police Berlin Barrack at 1:13 p.m., including an alarm company call about a robbery in progress. Howard said state police troopers responded, along with Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Ocean Pines Police Department and Natural Resources Police Department.
At approximately 6:30 p.m. police conducted a reverse 911 call to all residents within a five-square-mile radius of the BB&T, Howard said. That led to an anonymous tip. Members of the FBI, Worcester County Bureau of Investigations, the Worcester Criminal Enforcement Team, state police, and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office visited two homes in Ocean Pines, leading to Hare’s arrest at his residence.
“Law enforcement is never stronger than when it cooperates on all levels,” Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby said. “The employees of the BB&T branch woke up that morning and wanted nothing more than to do their jobs when Mr. Hare entered their bank thinking a mask and gun could shield him from responsibility. Now, our brothers and sisters from the U.S. Attorney’s Office will do their jobs, and we look forward to seeing Mr. Hare held federally accountable for his dangerous, reprehensible and cowardly actions. “
Hare faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison for armed bank robbery; a maximum of 15 years in prison for carjacking; and a mandatory minimum of seven years and up to life in prison for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
An initial appearance has yet to be scheduled for U.S. District Court in Baltimore.