image description

Frostburg man facing 43 burglary and related charges

November 25th, 2014 by WCBC Radio

After recently being indicted by the Allegany County Grand Jury, 26 year old Ronald Dewain Smith Jr., of Frostburg was charged with a total of 43 charges, including multiple counts of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th degree burglary, various theft counts, malicious destruction of property, rogue and vagabond, and tampering with a motor vehicle. Smith was also charged with engaging in a theft scheme involving $10,000 to $100,000 in value, and illegally possessing a regulated firearm.

The indictment was issued after an investigation by the Frostburg Police and the Allegany County Combined Criminal Investigation Unit (C3I) into nine different burglaries and two thefts of property from motor vehicles in Frostburg, all of which occurred during the months of September and October 2014. The incidents involved burglaries at four private residences (one of which was burglarized twice, on two separate dates) and multiple burglaries at two different Frostburg businesses – Gianni's Pizza & Wings and Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant. The incidents involved thefts of items such as U.S. currency, televisions and electronics, tools, liquor, jewelry, purses, and police equipment from a private vehicle.

Smith was charged with burglarizing Gianni's on three separate occasions during the month of October 2014. The third time, on October 29, 2014, the owner of Gianni's caught Smith in the act and called the police. Smith fled to his nearby home, where he was arrested by the Frostburg Police at that time.

This provided C3I investigators with sufficient probable cause to obtain a search and seizure warrant for Smith's residence. That search resulted in the recovery of numerous stolen items from these incidents, as well as other evidence of these crimes. The search also revealed that Smith illegally possessed a handgun, which he was prohibited from possessing due to prior felony convictions.

Smith has been held at the Allegany County Detention Center since his arrest on October 29th. The indictment was served on November 21, 2014. Smith remains incarcerated in the Detention Center on $75,000.00 bond pending his next court appearance.

The investigation was conducted by the Frostburg City Police Department and the C3I Unit, with assistance from the Allegany County Sheriff's Office and Maryland State Police Crime Scene Technicians.

Leave a Reply