A string of bold robberies that terrorized Northwest Washington commercial establishments came to an end as Hyattsville, Maryland's Roberto McBean, admitted to his crime spree, pleading guilty to multiple charges, the U.S. Attorney's office announced on Friday. The 30-year-old faced justice at the U.S. District Court, conceding to ten armed heists spanning from late summer to early this year.

McBean, whose criminal escapades commenced on August 22, 2023, with a hammer-wielding theft at a Sunoco gas station, eventually confessed to four counts of Hobbs Act robbery—an interference with interstate commerce by robbery, his guilt manifested through the subsequent robbery attempts that escalated in daring and frequency, culminating in a capricious dance between thief and the law, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Among McBean's more audacious moves was his attempt to rob the Georgetown Wine and Spirits on P street, where he brandished a small vegetable knife but was rebuffed by an unyielding employee and later a failed operation at the same location where, harried and desperate, he handled the register before handing it back empty-handed. His spree also included armed confrontations at Glover Park Market and failed notions of profit at Sara's Market and Dry Cleaners, where digital payments thwarted his plans. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly is set to mete out McBean’s fate on September 5, 2024.

The FBI's Washington Field Office, along with the Metropolitan Police Department, untangled the web of McBean's actions, deeming them a significant interference with commercial operations that stretched beyond the District's boundaries. His robberies, though local in occurrence, impacted inter-state commerce, therefore escalating the severity of his offenses.

Following diligent investigative work, FBI agents arrested McBean on January 26, 2024.