Burglary Spree Suspects Convicted

SNOW HILL - Three
suspects arrested in January after Ocean City police detectives were able to
connect them to an extensive narcotics distribution ring and a burglary spree
involving nearly 30 residences in Ocean City, West Ocean City and Berlin
appeared in Circuit Court last week and were each convicted on various serious
charges resulting in jail time and extensive restitution to the victims.

Shawn Barry White, 22,
of Berlin, appeared in Circuit Court to face 108 total burglary, theft and
other charges for his role in the extensive ring. White pleaded guilty to two
counts of third-degree burglary and was sentenced to 11 years total including
10 years for one charge and one year for the second, although all but two years
were suspended. White was also placed on supervised probation for five years
for the two burglary convictions. Perhaps more importantly, he was ordered to
pay his share of over $40,000 in restitution to 29 victims of the burglary spree.
The largest amount of restitution to a single victim was over $6,000 with the
smallest around $200, resulting in an average payback of around $1,400.

David Powell, 22, of
Berlin, appeared in Circuit Court to face 105 total charges related to his involvement
in the burglary spree. Powell also pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree
burglary and another count of theft scheme from $10,000 to $100,000 and was
sentenced to 10 years for each conviction although all but two years was
suspended from his sentence. Powell was also placed on supervised probation for
five years.

Finally, Shawna
Williams, 19, of Berlin, was in Circuit Court to face 52 charges including
conspiracy to commit theft and distribution of oxycodone. Williams pleaded
guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit theft from $1,000 to $10,000 and
was sentenced to 10 years for that charge. She also pleaded guilty to
distribution of oxycodone and was sentenced to an additional 10 years. However,
all but two years of Williams' sentence was suspended and she was placed on
probation for five years and fined $500.

The investigation began
in November, focusing on the illegal distribution of oxycodone, but detectives
soon began to unravel a vast burglary ring involving the same suspects. In
early January, an undercover detective was able to purchase two stolen flat
screen televisions and two stolen DVD players from the suspects targeted in the
oxycodone distribution investigation.

During the ensuing
investigation, detectives were able to connect the suspects to 29 area
burglaries.