Strong armed robbery at the Wal-Mart on Rt. 50 in Berlin

On 11/20/2015 at 9:27 PM, Troopers from the Berlin Barrack responded to a strong armed robbery at the Wal-Mart on Rt. 50 in Berlin. Troopers made contact with a female victim who informed troopers she was at the Red Box in the entrance of the Wal-Mart when an unknown black male grabbed her purse from her shopping cart and ran into the parking lot. The victim chased the suspect through the parking lot where the suspect got into the passenger side of a teal hatchback passenger car. The victim reached in the vehicle from the driver side and grabbed her purse from the suspect. During the struggle for the purse, the victim was punched in the face by the suspect. The vehicle then fled the scene.

The victim told police the vehicle was driven by a heavyset white female, with brownish/dirty blonde hair pulled in a ponytail. The suspect is described as a black male believed to be in the late 30’s possibly 40’s, tall with a thin build, wearing thick black frame glasses and a baseball style cap. The vehicle is described as a teal blue two door hatchback, possibly a Geo Metro.

Through investigation, Detectives with the Worcester County Bureau of Investigations were able to identify the female suspect as Karen J Landon of Snow Hill, MD and the male suspect as Edward Brad Ward Jr. of Crisfield, MD. On 11/23/2015, Detectives with the Worcester County Bureau of Investigations along with the Maryland State Warrant Apprehension Team located and arrested Landon in Worcester County, MD, Landon was held on $9500.00 bond. Ward was located in Wicomico County and arrested without incident. Ward was held without bond. Both Ward and Landon were charged with Robbery and related charges.