District Man Sentenced to Prison for Hardware Store Break-in

Press Release

Defendant Smashed Store Window with a Cinder Block

WASHINGTON - Earl Britt, 60, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for burglarizing the W.S. Jenks & Sons Hardware store on February 12, 2024. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Britt pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree burglary in March 7, 2024, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

According to the government's evidence, on February 12, 2024, at approximately 9:05 p.m., MPD officers responded to the report of a burglary at the W.S. Jenks & Sons Hardware store located at 910 Bladensburg Rd, NE. When officers arrived, they observed that the front glass window pane of the store had been shattered. A man walking his dog in the area at the time of the break-in reported seeing a man break the window to the store and gave a description of the man to the officers. The store manager, who had received an alert on his phone when Britt broke into the store, was able to provide footage from the surveillance video to law enforcement. Surveillance video from the store showed a man, matching Britt's description, destroying the store's glass windowpane with a cinder block and crawling inside of the broken window into the store. The video further captured the defendant jump behind the counter where the register is located and begin to open and search the register drawers for cash. A short time later, Britt is seen leaving the store through the same broken window where he entered and fled on foot along Bladensburg Rd NE.

Britt was apprehended a short time later, after officers were able to match his description with the surveillance video and eyewitness account.

In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney's Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Cocuzza and Lindsey Miller, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Updated May 8, 2024