Hagerstown-area man charged with carjacking at Sheetz, then crashing SUV into cycle shop
A Washington County District Court judge ordered a competency hearing Tuesday for a Hagerstown-area man accused of carjacking a sport utility vehicle Sunday at a local Sheetz and crashing it more than once, including into a local cycle shop, according to court records.
Antonious De Mond Bizzard Jr., 26, of Bridle Court south of Hagerstown, was charged with carjacking and robbery — both felonies, as well as with disturbing the peace at the convenience store off Eastern Boulevard and maliciously destroying property at Twigg Cycles, according to charging documents.
District Court Judge Victoria J. Lobley, on Tuesday, ordered Bizzard to be held without bond at the Washington County Detention Center. She also ordered Bizzard to be evaluated through the Maryland Department of Health to determine if he's competent to stand trial, according to court records.
The maximum penalty for the carjacking charge alone is 30 years in state prison.
District Public Defender Angela Oetting provided the following statement: "At this point in time it would be premature for our office to make a statement regarding Mr. Bizzard and his cases.
"However, our clients, like all criminal defendants, are innocent until proven guilty. We will ensure that Mr. Bizzard's rights are protected during the process of him being evaluated under the court's order signed yesterday at his bond hearing and will review all evidence as it is disclosed to us by the State's Attorney's Office."
Carjacking and disturbing customers at Sheetz
Hagerstown Police were dispatched to the Sheetz at 191 Eastern Blvd. North around 11 p.m. Sunday for a reported robbery and a potential carjacking, charging documents state.
Police reviewed camera footage and saw a man — later identified as Bizzard — walk behind the register and reach past an employee, removing money from the register, charging documents state.
Before doing that, the man was walking around the store disturbing customers, including going into the women's restroom and disturbing females using the facilities, charging documents state.
A man sitting in his Chevy Equinox told police a female customer he recognized informed him a man was in the women's restroom causing a disturbance. A man fitting the description of the disturber then walked out of the store and got into the SUV's passenger seat, telling the driver to "give it to him," charging documents state.
The Chevy owner told police he realized the man wanted his SUV so he told the suspect he was going to grab his cellphone and exit the vehicle, charging documents state. The suspect allegedly told the man to leave his cellphone and demanded the passcode. The driver told police the suspect said he would "murder him" if he didn't leave his cellphone and get out of the vehicle.
Fearing for his life, the driver exited the SUV and the suspect drove away, charging documents state.
The officer, still at Sheetz, learned the stolen vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run at Twigg Cycles off South Edgewood Drive, court records state.
Police at the cycle shop reviewed camera footage showing the stolen SUV driving straight into the front of the cycle shop, backing up, turning around and reversing into the building before fleeing. The video showed the SUV destroy the building's front glass and "cause significant damage to the property," charging documents state. Several motorcycles were knocked over and damaged.
An owner estimated the damage to be worth several thousand dollars, court records state.
One of the cycle shop's owners, reached Wednesday, had no comment for this story.
The investigating officer learned Maryland State Police and the Washington County Sheriff's Office found the stolen SUV in the area of Sharpsburg Pike (Md. 65) and Poffenberger Road south of Hagerstown.
The suspect and stolen vehicle were involved in a disturbance and hit-and-run at a home in the area before the SUV was wrecked at the intersection, charging documents state.
Most of the money stolen from Sheetz, over $550, was recovered from the vehicle and returned to Sheetz.
Police also found credit cards, a cellphone and a driver's license for the SUV's owner in the vehicle.
The SUV had significant damage.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown-area man charged in Sunday robbery, carjacking and crash
