Maryland Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges Relating To The Armed Robbery Of A Delivery Man
Met the Driver to Accept the Delivery While an Armed Co-Conspirator Robbed the Driver at Gunpoint
Greenbelt, Maryland – Tataw Ayuk-Arrey Obenson, age 21, of Burtonsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty on August 14, 2019, to interference with interstate commerce by robbery; and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur and Special Agent in Charge Rob Cekada of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division.
According to his plea agreement, on April 22, 2018, Tataw Ayuk-Arrey Obenson committed the armed robbery of a delivery driver with co-conspirator Wakeene William Graham. That evening, while at a residence in Burtonsville, Graham used an application on his cellular phone to place an order for food to be delivered to another residence within walking distance.
Shortly before the food arrived, Obenson and Graham arrived at the residence where the food was to be delivered. Graham hid on the side of a row of townhouses, while Obenson waited at the front of the residence. The driver arrived at 9:45 p.m. and met Obenson in front of the home. Obenson accepted the food from the delivery driver while Graham approached his side and pointed a pistol at him. Obenson and Graham robbed the driver of his telephone and approximately $170, then ran away in different directions, discarding the victim’s telephone in woods nearby.
On May 22, 2018, Obenson was arrested and confessed to committing the armed robbery of the driver. Graham was arrested a few days later. Law enforcement searched Graham and recovered a loaded, semi-automatic pistol concealed in his groin area; a bag of ammunition from Graham's right rear pants pocket; and a cellular telephone. A search warrant was obtained for Graham's phone, which revealed a screen shot from the date of the robbery, featuring the application software and the phone number that was used to place the delivery order that led to the armed robbery, along with multiple photographs of Graham possessing the handgun.
Obenson and the government have agreed that, if the Court accepts the plea agreement, Obenson will be sentenced to seven years and a day in federal prison. U.S. District Judge George J. Hazel has scheduled sentencing for November 27, 2019 at 10:00 a.m.
Graham previously pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to 104 months in federal prison.
United States Attorney Robert K. Hur commended ATF for its work in the investigation. Mr. Hur thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy F. Hagan, Jr., who is prosecuting the case.
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