Upper Marlboro man gets 25 years for home invasion

Green, others posed as U.S. marshals for Waldorf break-in

For his part in a September 2017 home invasion, an Upper Marlboro man was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday.

Charles County Circuit Court Judge Amy J. Bragunier sentenced Bernard Green to 25 years in prison for home invasion and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, according to a release from the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office. Green, 35, pleaded guilty to the above-mentioned charges in June.

On Sept. 3, 2017, officers responded to the 3500 block of Elsa Avenue in Waldorf for the report of a home invasion. Upon entrance to the residence, officers discovered two adult victims, one male and one female, confined in separate areas in the basement level of the home. The female victim’s hands and feet were bound with duct tape and plastic zip ties, while the male victim’s hands were handcuffed behind his back and his feet were bound together with flex cuffs.

The investigation revealed that during the evening hours three suspects knocked on the door of the victims’ residence wearing jackets that read “US Marshals,” and claimed that they were there for official business. Soon after the victims answered the door, the suspects forced the victims into the basement area of the residence, assaulting and binding them. Young children were also present at the residence during the incident, but they were unharmed. Before fleeing the scene, the suspects stole marijuana, money, two handguns and the male victim’s vehicle.

During the course of the investigation, Green, as well as co-defendants Dakevis Larry Maryland and Danzie Lee Barron were identified as the suspects who entered the home. Maryland received a 12-year sentence last December, and Barron was sentenced to 10 years in January.

Co-defendant Michael Damion Coffer was discovered to be a part of the home invasion by providing the victims as a target to Green; however, he was not present on the night in question and never entered the residence. Coffer received a 10year sentence last December.

Based on the investigation, Green was identified as one of the organizers of the home invasion along with Coffer.

A last suspect, co-defendant Jermel Andrico D’Aubrey Thomas, was identified to have a limited role as a lookout during the home invasion but abandoned the other co-defendants before they left the residence after committing the offense. For his limited role, the Maryland Independent reported in July that Thomas received five years of unsupervised probation.