On September 29, 2015 in the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County, 49 year old David John Gill was sentenced to 10 years in prison for a robbery he committed on March 15, 2015.

Mr. Gill brandished a replica handgun and robbed a Hispanic male victim who was attempting to deposit cash into an ATM at the First National Bank on Kent Island.  Mr. Gill initially robbed the man of $300 cash and then demanded and forced the victim to remove an additional $200 from his banking account.  Gill fled the scene and was apprehended at a later date by the Maryland State Police.  Gill was identified after police were able to view bank surveillance footage and subsequently took Mr. Gill into custody after tracking his location utilizing GPS coordinates from his cellular telephone.  Once apprehended Mr. Gill was questioned and also made incriminating statements to police.

Gill pled guilty to the robbery and although he did not have a violent criminal history he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.  The Maryland Sentencing Guidelines recommended a sentence of 3-7 years of incarceration.  These guidelines are merely a guide for the sentencing Judge, but the Judge is not required to issue a sentence within these guidelines.  Judge Thomas Ross imposed the sentence and also ordered a judgment of restitution in favor of the victim.

At his sentencing hearing Mr. Gill offered his explanation for committing this crime as a severe cocaine dependence.

The case was prosecuted by Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Lance Richardson.  Mr. Richardson stated “Mr. Gill obviously suffers from a severe drug addiction, but he must realize the psychological trauma he inflicted on his victim and that he needed to be punished and held accountable for this crime.  I also realize that Mr. Gill needs rehabilitation, but a strong message also needs to be sent that this type of conduct, regardless of the underlying addiction, will not and can not be tolerated in this County”. Richardson also praised the excellent investigation conducted by that Maryland State Police criminal investigations unit and specifically lead investigator, Detective Kyle Simms.