Police officer sentenced in bank burglary case

A former Prince George's County police officer was sentenced to 21/2 years in prison Monday for a failed plot to steal cash from an ATM at a Temple Hills bank.

Eddie L. Smith Jr., 42, of Fort Washington, who had been on the county force for 16 years, apologized to his family, friends and former officers before the sentence was handed down in federal court in Greenbelt.

"I take full responsibility for my actions," Smith said.

Smith hatched the plan to steal from the bank, recruited a partner to help and brought an electric grinder to cut into the ATM, prosecutors said. When firefighters responding to an alarm happened upon the break-in in progress, Smith pretended to run in pursuit of the thief.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte called the crime "a stain on the police department of Prince George's County."

"This was a police officer sworn to protect the public who abused his position of trust," Messitte said. "If we don't have the police we can count on, who can we count on? Who can the people of Prince George's County count on?"

Smith admitted his crime in July, pleading guilty to entering a bank with the intent to commit larceny. Prosecutors said the ATM contained about $40,000 in cash, which they say Smith and his partner planned to take.

Authorities said the break-in occurred early on the morning of July 9, 2009. Smith, who was in uniform and driving a marked police cruiser, drove his co-defendant, Earl Blake, to a SunTrust bank branch on Old Branch Avenue in Temple Hills.

Smith disabled the burglar alarm by cutting lines on the telephone pole outside the bank, court papers say. He gave Blake a bag containing an electric grinder and instructed him on how to cut open the ATM.

Smith waited outside while Blake went in through an unlocked front door, adjusted the surveillance cameras inside, and began to saw, court papers say.

Authorities said the plot was interrupted about 3:30 a.m. when the bank's alarm company received a report of a fire alarm. As firefighters headed to the scene, they noticed that a police cruiser that had been parked nearby followed them into the parking lot.

Smith, who stopped and hopped out of his cruiser, told the firefighters that he had checked the building and that it was secure. But one of firefighters noticed a man fleeing out a rear door.

Smith ran after the man but returned alone shortly after, according to court records. He drove off without talking to the firefighters or contacting a police dispatcher.

Prince George's Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton said Monday that Smith's actions didn't reflect on the rest of the force. "We want the community to understand that the lack of integrity of one officer does not reflect the character of the rest of the officers," Hylton said.

Messitte also sentenced Smith to three years of supervised release and ordered that he pay $10,170.94 for damage done to the ATM.

Blake, 53, of Capitol Heights, pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to five months in prison.