Sophomore arrested and jailed for armed robbery

A Blair sophomore was arrested on Mar 26 and charged as an adult with four counts of armed robbery and four counts of conspiracy to commit robbery for his involvement in a series of armed robberies in the Wheaton area. He is currently being held in jail pending bail.

State Attorney Jeannie Cho said that Steven Dickerson, 16, may face up to 25 years in jail for each of the eight counts and for each victim. "When juveniles are charged with armed robbery, they will be automatically charged as an adult," said Cho.

Dickerson has been jailed since his arrest because he failed to post the $150,000 bail. His next hearing is scheduled for June 6 and his trial will be held on July 7, according to Montgomery County Criminal Circuit Court documents.

The series of armed robberies took place on Feb 22 and Mar 13. Dickerson is accused of conspiring with William Beatty, 16, Julio Caicedo, 18, and Kamari Williams, 18, to commit the four robberies with a deadly weapon, a handgun, according to court documents. Two youths were also charged as juveniles.
The four victims suffered physical injuries and were robbed of personal property, including a wallet containing about $20, a jacket worth about $50, a laptop computer and $3, taken from Manual Garcia, Ludwig Kragler, Stephen Gorman and Sintayenu Amare, respectively.

Before Dickerson is convicted, the Department of Juvenile Justice is required to conduct an in-depth study of his family, his school and other matters relevant to the case before court officials make a recommendation, said Cho.

Dickerson's family did not return Silver Chips' phone calls. Through a secretary, Dickerson's lawyer declined to comment, as well.

Julie Nation, Dickerson's developmental reading teacher, said Dickerson's school attendance was poor. "He would come to class about once every month," she said. But despite his "sporadic" attendance, Nation said Dickerson was a student who tried to the best of his ability. "He had good insight. He could stimulate a class. What he got picked up for was unexpected," she said.

Another one of his teachers, who wished to remain anonymous, described Dickerson as a "loner," who did not seem to have any friends. "People didn't sit next to him because they knew he meant trouble," she said. "He was a pistol."

Assistant Principal Patricia Hurley refused to comment on Dickerson's school records because school policy prohibits Blair officials to release such information.