Catonsville Man Sentenced to 72 Years in Prison for Armed Robberies

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a Catonsville man to 72 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of two fast food restaurants and a gas station, according to a release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Eric Jordan, 49, was convicted by a federal jury in April on one count of conspiracy to commit a robbery, three counts of robbery, three counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of unregistered firearms.

Judge Richard D. Bennett found that Jordan was a career offender and an armed career criminal based on three previous felony convictions for crimes of violence, the release said.

According to the Department of Justice, on February 5, 2011, Jordan and co-defendant Aaron Graham were arrested after robbing two fast food restaurants in Baltimore in less than an hour, according to the release

In each robbery Jordan drove the get-away vehicle and Graham robbed the restaurants at gunpoint, pistol whipping a clerk in the first robbery, the release said.

When they were arrested, police found a pistol that Graham used in both robberies on the front passenger side floor where Graham was sitting, according to the release

During the trial, prosecutors proved that Jordan and Graham, together with another man, had previously robbed a gas station in Gwynn Oak on February 1, 2011, according to the Department of Justice.

During the gas station robbery, Graham beat and kicked the cashier while brandishing the same small pistol with a white handle that was recovered from Graham’s truck after the robberies on February 5, 2011, the release said.

One of the other robbers carried a sawed-off shotgun and assaulted a customer who tried to leave during the robbery, according to the release

A search of Jordan’s residence resulted in the recovery the sawed-off shotgun used in the gas station robbery, a .357 caliber revolver and ammunition and clothing worn by Graham during the gas station robbery, the release said.

Graham, 50, of Owings Mills, was also convicted of the three robberies as well as three additional robberies. He was sentenced to 147 years in prison in August, according to the Department of Justice.