Suspect Charged for Armed Robberies of KFC in Silver Spring

[Howard Hartman]

	DEPARTMENT OF POLICE MEDIA SERVICES DIVISION 2350 RESEARCH BOULEVARD ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20850-3294
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2012	FOR MORE INFORMATION:                         Media Services Division, 240-773-5030

Suspect Charged for Armed
Robberies of KFC in Silver Spring

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Major Crimes Division - Robbery Section charged Deandra Nelson, age 22, of the 6500 block of 6th Street, NW in Washington DC, in connection with two armed robberies of the KFC located at 7720 Blair Road in Silver Spring.

On March 14, 2012 at approximately 9:30 a.m., 3rd District officers responded to the KFC located at 7720 Blair Road in Silver Spring for an armed robbery that had just occurred. The investigation revealed that as an employee exited the business and entered her vehicle, the suspect (now identified as Deandra Nelson) approached the employee from behind and presented a handgun. Nelson grabbed the victim’s purse from her vehicle passenger seat; the purse contained money proceeds from the KFC. Nelson was last seen running from the parking lot and across the street into the District of Columbia.

On March 22, 2012 at approximately 9:30 a.m., 3rd District officers again responded to the KFC located at 7720 Blair Road in Silver Spring for an armed robbery that just occurred. The investigation revealed that as an employee exited the KFC and approached her vehicle, the suspect (now identified as Deandra Nelson) approached the employee from behind. Nelson presented a handgun and shoved the employee to the ground. Nelson grabbed the employee and was able to remove the jacket from the employee; the jacket contained proceeds from the KFC. Nelson fled into the District of Columbia with the victim’s jacket. The victim walked through the KFC parking lot and observed a cellular phone on the ground. She noted that the phone was not there before the robbery.

Robbery detectives believed that both robberies were committed by the same suspect based on the suspect’s behavior and suspect description. Robbery detectives also believed that the phone found at the scene of the second robbery belonged to the suspect and seized the phone. A search warrant was obtained and executed by detectives for data on the phone. Detectives obtained three photographs of the suspect that he had taken of himself. Detectives circulated the photograph of the suspect to law enforcement officers and school officers in the area and a Metropolitan Police Officer was able to identify the suspect as Deandra Nelson.

An arrest warrant for Nelson was obtained by detectives on April 5 for charges that include two counts of armed robbery, two counts of first degree assault, one count of theft $1,000 to under $10,000, and two counts of the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony/violent crime. Nelson is currently detained in Stafford, Virginia, on unrelated charges.

Deandra Nelson

7720 Blair Road in Silver Spring