Elkridge Man Convicted and Sentenced for Strong-Arm Robbery

June 10, 2009

An Elkridge man was sentenced to seven years in prison this afternoon for the strong-arm street robbery of a teenager. David Joseph Critchfield, 28, of the 6000 block of Hunt Club Road was sentenced after a Howard County jury convicted him of robbery, assault and theft in the November 20, 2008 encounter on a street in the Capitol Mobile Home Park in the 6600 block of Washington Boulevard.

During the one-day trial, the teenager testified that Critchfield placed him into a headlock and threw him to the ground after initially asking to borrow a dollar. Following the attack, the victim noticed that $52 he had received for his birthday was missing from his wallet. The next day, the victim was able to identify Critchfield from a photo array provided by Howard County police.

Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Claude de Vastey Jones asked Howard County Circuit Court Judge Timothy J. McCrone to sentence Critchfield to seven years—towards the top of the sentencing guidelines—because Critchfield committed the robbery some 50 days after being placed on 15-months probation for an attempted robbery of an Elkridge resident. Critchfield also served over five months in the Howard County Detention Center for the crime.