Man sentenced to 65 years for role in Aspen Hill carjacking
Judge gave Larry Ayers the maximum penalty on carjacking and kidnapping charges
A 20-year-old man was sentenced this morning to 65 years in prison for his role in a carjacking in Aspen Hill last summer, the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office reported.
Larry Anthony Ayers was sentenced by county Circuit Court Judge William J. Rowan III, who imposed the maximum sentence allowed, 30 years each, on charges of armed carjacking and kidnapping and the mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison for use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, according to the State's Attorney's Office. All the sentences will run consecutively.
Ayers, of no fixed address at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to all three charges on Feb. 5, the press release states.
David Felsen, Ayers' Rockville attorney, said he felt the sentence was unfair given that his client pleaded guilty.
"We are disappointed that the court handed down such a difficult sentence," he said. "We did not feel that the case should have been handled in the excess of the sentencing guidelines. Mr. Ayers has substantial things to contribute, and though we understand the court's desire to impose a punishment, we think there should have been a component of rehabilitation."
Felsen said the sentencing guidelines call for 20 to 36 years in prison.
Ayers is the oldest of four men who allegedly approached a 24-year-old man on Aug. 12 as he was getting out of his car in front of his home in the 14100 block of Grand Pre Road in Aspen Hill, county police said.
The men, one of whom displayed a handgun, forced the victim back into his car and demanded that he drive to the Bank of America in the Aspen Hill Shopping Center at 13601 Connecticut Ave. and withdraw money from his account at the ATM, police said.
The four men, who repeatedly threatened to kill the victim, eventually told him to park in a dark area on Connecticut Avenue where they stole his car and left him, the State's Attorney's Office reported.
Police chased the men through Montgomery and Prince George's counties and finally into Washington, D.C., where the four men abandoned the car and were caught after a short chase, police said.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Ayers, who was then 19 years old, was both the gunman and the driver of the stolen car, the State's Attorney's Office reported.
"This was a serious, terrifying crime," Montgomery County State's Attorney John J. McCarthy said in a prepared statement. "I am glad that this violent criminal is off the streets."
Two other men arrested in the incident are Jamal William Cooper, 17, of no fixed address, and a 16-year-old from Silver Spring.
Cooper was also charged as an adult with armed carjacking and kidnapping and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, Emily White, a spokeswoman for the State's Attorney's Office, said. He pleaded guilty to the three charges on Feb. 27 and will be sentenced on June 2, according to online state court records.
The 16-year-old is in the hands of the juvenile court system, White said.
A fourth suspect, Anthony Lawrence McCombs, 17, of no fixed address, remains at large, she said. A police warrant has been issued, charging him with kidnapping, armed carjacking, armed robbery and using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, according to online court records.