Crime & Safety

Germantown Man Sentenced in Violent Robbery Spree

Jose Contreras, 19, of Germantown, was sentenced to 115 years, with all but 20 years suspended.

Despite his family’s tearful testimony in court Thursday, a Germantown man received a 115-year sentence for his role in a violent robbery spree in 2010.

Jose Contreras, 19, pled guilty to first-degree assault, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and armed robbery, and use of a handgun in commission of a felony.

But through a deal struck by his attorney Rene Sandler and assistant state’s attorney Stephen Chaikin, Circuit Court Judge Eric Johnson suspended all but 20 years of the sentence. Contreras must serve at least half of the 20-year term before he’s eligible for release, at which time he’ll have to serve five years of supervised probation.

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“I do find you are remorseful,” Johnson said, just before delivering the sentence. 

Contreras was the last of four Germantown men sentenced in a series of armed robberies in Germantown and Gaithersburg, culminating in a shooting on Moon Ridge Drive on Sept. 6, 2010. A father was shot in the legs while trying to prevent the armed men from entering his house, where his wife and young child were inside, court records state.

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Travis C. Mason, 22, of Germantown, received 145-year prison sentence May 18 for shooting the man and for leading the crew on other robberies. Johnson suspended all but 35 years of Mason’s sentence.

“Nobody was supposed to get hurt,” Contreras said between sobs Thursday, before the bailiffs cuffed his hands and took him away.

Sandler and family members described Contreras as young person who got caught up with the wrong set of friends. He was a student at Clarksburg High School but dropped out, his attorney said in court Thursday. He also started using drugs, a habit fueled by the robberies Sandler said Thursday. 

In court, his mother Adriana Contreras said that she and her family left Venezuela in order to pursue better opportunities in the United States.

“It is a nightmare because I know my son is not a bad person,” she said, crying and looking toward her son. His lower lip trembled as tried, though unsuccessfully, to maintain his composure. His face was pale. His eyes were blood-shot red. At one point, the judge asked Contreras if he were ill.

 “I’m just really nervous,” was Contreras’s response.

His older brother, Alejandro Contreras, also spoke in court. He said that they grew up without their dad. He tried to be a father figure for his little brother.

“As a big brother, I feel like a failure,” said Alejandro Contreras, a fireman, between sobs. “Maybe I didn’t put enough effort into you.”

During the proceedings, Chaikin said that the family was not being judged for Contreras actions, and that while his family could be seen as unintended victims of his crimes Contreras still had to be held accountable for what he did. The judge later echoed this sentiment.

“You have to be incarcerated,” Johnson said.

According to records filed in Circuit Court, police linked Contreras, Mason, Anthony Moore, 19, and Paris Lyn, 21, to the September shooting several other robberies from a gun found under a car stolen from a Prince George’s County, Md., home. 

Contreras had also been charged for his involvement in trying to rob an employee at Popeyes restaurant in Germantown and robbing another family at their Germantown home. 

As for his sentence Thursday, the judge gave Contreras credit for the time he’s served since Sept. 9, 2010, when the legal process began. Contreras will serve the sentence at Patuxent Institution in Jessup, Md., which his attorney said was the ideal outcome.

Patuxent offers a program for young offenders. 

“Otherwise he would simply be warehoused in the corrections system,” Sandler said.

Contreras still has an active case in Prince George’s County Circuit Court, stemming from the stolen car.

According to court records, the car was allegedly taken to Montgomery County after a robbery in which a man and another woman were reportedly ordered to lie on the ground face down, their hands and feet bound by tape.


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