Man Sentenced For Armed Carjacking Of His Vehicle From Repair Shop In Columbia

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — A 59-year-old Howard County man has been sentenced this week after pleading guilty to armed carjacking and use of a firearm when committing a crime of violence.

On Jan. 20 around 12:03 p.m., detectives from the Howard County Police Department were called to an auto body shop in the 6500 block of Dobbin Road. They learned that Derrick Berkeley stopped by the shop to pick up his vehicle that was there for vehicle repairs. Berkeley told the officer employee at the auto body shop that his insurance company would send them the $3,741.77 check to cover the cost of repairs. The office worker told Berkeley that the repair shop contacted the insurance company and they were told that the check had been sent to Berkeley and had already been cashed. Berkeley was told he could not take his vehicle without payment, according to the Howard County prosecutor.

Berkeley asked the worker to show him his vehicle and start it up, so he knew that it worked. Once this happened, Berkeley then pulled out a gun and told the worker to open the garage door so that he could take off in his vehicle, which the worker did. But Berkeley crashed into another vehicle on its way out of the auto repair shop. Berkeley ended up driving away in his vehicle without making any payment or staying at the scene of the crash. The worker later identified Berkeley as the person who pointed a gun at him and drove away in the vehicle.

Berkeley was sentenced to 25 years suspend all but 15 years. After being released from prison, Berkeley will be on three years of supervised probation.