State of Maryland V. Ronald Cordell Smith III Criminal Trial No. CT200409X

To whom it may concern,

On Friday, December 6, 2019, at around 3:30pm, my wife and I were robbed at gunpoint while conducting an estate sale located in Bowie Maryland. We were relieved of about $60,000 worth of jewelry by Ronald Cordell Smith and Al’ Baki Akbar. We learned immediately after the robbery who had robbed us from their social media accounts of the perpetrators. Same phone number was used by Ronald Smith that linked these accounts of the only gentleman who knew that we even had jewelry at our estate sale. Because this was not common knowledge and we never advertised jewelry on our website. He was portraying an actual customer interested in purchasing a Rolex.

 The entire robbery was filmed on a total of 4 cameras from start to finish. Beginning with Ronald Smith entering the gate in his own vehicle with 3 distinct scratches on the drivers side door. Same car he was trying to sell online through social media. Also wearing the same clothing he was wearing on his instagram account. Specifically a unique orange baseball cap and gold tone watch. There is also another video of the two in masks entering the premises captured on the outdoor ring video camera. Clearly showing Ronald’s car again which he purchased second hand in Virginia. During the robbery the two men were both captured on two video cameras wearing unique clothing and a very unique two tone handgun which I witnessed clearly. As well as a black duffel bag with Ronald’s photo ID in it which were all recovered in the search warrant on Ronald’s DC apartment. Cell phone Ronald was using eventually came back to be linked to his girlfriend's account who lives with him at said apartment. 

Once Ronald was apprehended by DC police from the robbery warrant, DC allowed him to make a call back to his girlfriend two hours prior to the search warrant being served. Which DC was ordered specifically not to do. So all evidence of any potential jewelry was removed prior to the police arrival. Among other things recovered were the same pair of basketball shoes that were used in the robbery. The DC police also found a massive cannabis grow room within Ronald’s apartment which he was never charged for. There was also multiple other circumstantial evidence. The store that Ronald wanted me to initially meet him at was at a single location in the world called Monica Jewelers in Columbia Mall. This meeting was to verify the Rolex’s authenticity. And this was the same exact jewelry store he is tagging his necklace in which he is wearing in one of his photos on his instagram account photos. The likelihood of this is one in a million or even being hit by lightning.

 We were also selling a Mercedes convertible at our estate sale. And I texted Ronald wondering if he was also interested in purchasing a vehicle. He responded that he wasn’t interested because he owns a BMW. The same vehicle that was used in the robbery. We were also intimidated after the robbery from an anonymous number which came back again to be linked to Ronald’s girlfriend’s account. 

On top of all of this information my wife and I could clearly identify who robbed us even though they were wearing a partial mask.  The same style masks he is wearing on his instagram account. But we were told that this type of identification would not hold up in court. Both robbers Ronald and Al’ Baki simultaneously turned their phones off for 1 hour during the robbery. Unfortunately there was not enough evidence to charge Ronald’s best friend Al’ Baki Akbar for any crime. Turns out that this gentleman actually works at a car dealership within walking distance of my house. 

When this case finally got to the Prince George’s County attorney’s office. It was initially assigned to Christopher K. Welsh who was the Assistant State’s Attorney to Aisha Braveboy. Mr. Welsh was very sympathetic toward our situation and was very easy to reach by phone. Ronald C. Smith was going to be charged with 13 felonies. And because of the large sum of money that was lost, Mr. Welsh was making every effort to try to recover that money for us in restitution. We had both agreed upon a plea deal where Ronald was to pay back every cent stolen from the robbery and only serve a short stint in jail with a lengthy probation period. I was more concerned about recovering the $60,000 that was stolen from us during the robbery as well as a major conviction being permanently placed on Ronald’s record. My wife and I have a small business and that loss was significant for us especially during these times of covid. Mr. Welsh felt that he had a very strong case. Even without the botched DC search warrant. He saw a guilty plea as a certain conclusion. 

And then the Covid pandemic hit hard. The case was delayed. Extended by Ronald’s high end lawyer Mr. Thomas C. Mooney. About a year after the robbery Ronald had reached out to the lead Detective Munawar and stated that he now had an alibi and wanted to come in and give an official statement. Detective Munawar made three different attempts to try to schedule Ronald to come in and go on the record to corroborate his alibi story. But to no avail. And now nearly two years later the case lands on the desk of States Attorney Giovanna Miller. I only learned about the change of attorneys from Mr. Welsh himself. I attempted 3 times to contact the new attorney Mrs. Miller about the status of the case but was never successful. 

Now comes December 7, 2021. Day of the trial for armed robbery and 12 other felonies. I got a call. It’s Detective Munawar telling me that he has bad news to share. And that the States Attorney Giovanna Miller dropped all charges! He told me that Giovanna Miller had stated that she dropped the case because Ronald Smith had a solid alibi. Detective Munawar questioned her on this. And she stated that she didn’t know exactly what that alibi was, but that he had one. The detective, being perplexed by all of this, questioned her further. Mrs. Miller stated that she wasn’t really familiar with the case because she has been out of town and never really looked into it. As you can imagine this was quite the bomb shell for the detective and I. I had thought that when I picked up the phone it was going to be the detective giving me the good news on the solid guilty plea. I was sorely mistaken. 

Giovanna Miller had never once reached out to me prior to the trial or even after the trial. And how can an alibi be taken into consideration, if an alibi was never given to the police. Was this the persuasiveness of Mr. Mooney for Mrs. Miller to accept this falsehood at face value. Was she intimidated by the high class swinging lawyer and believed every word that he said during the pre-trial conference meeting days prior? With any fact checking of the case file she would have discovered there was no alibi. Was there something even more nefarious going on here with a possible bribery scheme to drop all 13 charges? Or was this just a complete dereliction of states duty to not have done any research of the case whatsoever. 

With one lawyer on one side Mr. Welsh confident on a guilty plea. And Giovanna Miller on the other side dropped all charges without even attempting to try the case in court with such an insurmountable amount of evidence. Certainly missing out on the opportunity of recovering my stolen $60,000 hurt. But what hurt more was letting this criminal right back on the street again without even a blemish to his record. Or any attempt to try to even bring him to justice. The next time the brazen and emboldened Ronald Cordell Smith robs his next victim, that individual might not be so lucky as to walk away with his life.

 I didn’t even put up a fight once I saw the two masked gunmen in all black enter my sale. With a gun pointed at my chest and the other pointed at my wife’s face, I wasn’t going to be dying over a few fancy watches. If everything that I know to be true, this is an incredible gross negligence of the States attorney office of dereliction of duty to the state of Maryland. And this case needs looking into immediately. With Ronald Cordell Smith to be retried for the armed robbery that he committed by a competent states lawyer. This letter will be filed as an official complaint against the Prince George’s County state’s attorney office as well as the American Bar Association.