Berlin Armed Bank Robber Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

Also Admitted to Committing a Carjacking

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar sentenced Jeff V. Hare, age 54, of Berlin, Maryland, today to 10 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Worcester County Sheriff Reggie T. Mason, Sr.; Colonel William M. Pallozzi, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police; and Worcester County State’s Attorney Beau Oglesby.

According his plea agreement, on March 13, 2015, Hare entered the BB&T branch located on Racetrack Road in Berlin, wearing a ski mask and brandishing a handgun. Hare told the bank tellers that he had a gun and was robbing the bank. Hare moved through the lobby from employee to employee, pointing the handgun at each employee and demanding money. Hare also demanded each teller give him their car keys and purse, but the tellers told Hare they did not have them available. Hare stole approximately $2,850 in cash from the bank.

Hare admitted that after robbing the tellers in the lobby, he found a bank employee who had locked herself in a back room of the bank. Hare forced open the locked door and demanded her car keys and her purse. The employee gave Hare her purse, which contained cash and personal effects, and the keys to her car. Hare fled in the stolen car, which he abandoned at a nearby business.

Hare was arrested later that evening at a residence in Ocean Pines, Maryland. At the time of his arrest, Hare was still in possession of the money stolen from the bank.

Hare has been detained since his arrest. During that time, Hare attempted to impede the investigation of the armed bank robbery and carjacking by seeking to arrange for the disposal of evidence of the crimes. On May 1, 2015, an associate of Hare visited him at the Worcester County Detention Center in Snow Hill, Maryland. During that visit, Hare told his associate that he was being framed and that unidentified persons had a box of garbage that would incriminate him. Hare asked the person to retrieve the box from his former residence in Ocean Pines. On May 6, Hare called his associate and asked if he got rid of the “trash,” referring to the box Hare had asked the associate to retrieve. The box contained the ski mask Hare wore during the robbery and carjacking, a .38 caliber revolver believed to have been used during the robbery, and the purse Hare stole from the bank employee, including her driver’s license.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the FBI, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police and the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office for their work in the investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew J. Maddox and Zachary A. Myers, who prosecuted the case.