Yesterday, Tavon Reid-El, a 25-year-old Baltimore City man, was sentenced to fourteen years in federal prison for a series of armed robberies and carjackings in Baltimore City and announced by United States District Judge George L. Russell, III. In detailing the sentence, which includes five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron pointed to the collaboration between the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Baltimore City Police Department.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the spree began on December 28, 2019, when Reid-El and an accomplice robbed a Safeway Lock & Key employee. The locksmith was forced to program a new key fob, then, at gunpoint, had to hand over partial payment, his wallet, cellphone, and tools. Though the employee resisted an attempted abduction, the crime spread fear among the city's working class, especially those responsible for securing locks and doors.
The crime spree continued on January 11, 2020, when Reid-El committed three armed carjackings. He approached victims with a handgun, stealing their vehicles and belongings. Co-defendant Tyree Bethel assisted by driving the white sedan used in some of the carjackings. In one incident, Reid-El posed as a stranded driver before pulling out a gun and robbing a Jet Locksmith worker of his wallet, phone, and cash from the vehicle's safe.
A cellphone tracking order helped Baltimore police locate one of the stolen phones with Reid-El, found in a silver Honda Accord with Bethel and another person. This led to the recovery of a victim's phone and linked Bethel to the crimes through another tracked phone. A search of Bethel's home uncovered several stolen items, including tools taken nearly a month earlier.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Sippel, Jr. prosecuted the case, and both Barren and extended law enforcement communities commend all parties involved for bearing the investigation's weight and delivering a sentence that echoes the gravity of Reid-El's crimes.
