Howard County Man Sentenced For Roles In Robbery, Shooting, Burglary Cases: Prosecutor

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — An 18-year-old Columbia man has been sentenced for his role in three separate crimes involving a robbery, a shooting at The Mall in Columbia from 2023 and a burglary.

Kennard White will serve 18 years in prison for his involvement in the three crimes, according to the Howard County State's Attorney's Office.

On Nov. 13, 2023, around 7:27 a.m., Howard County police officers were dispatched to an apartment complex on 7600 Monarch Mills Way in Columbia for a reported robbery. Patrol officers found a juvenile victim who said he was walking to the bus stop when he was hit on the back of his head. He stated that he saw two suspects – one with a baseball bat and another with a handgun with an extended magazine. One suspect pointed the handgun at him, but the victim was able to run off. During the incident, the suspects stole the victim’s headphones. An investigation led police to White who police say targeted the victim due to a group assault that happened at Hammond High School, according to the Howard County Police.

On Nov. 15, 2023, at approximately 6:46 p.m., Howard County Police received multiple reports of a shooting that had just happened at The Mall in Columbia. Witnesses reported two gunshots coming from the direction of the Lidl supermarket. Police conducted an area canvass at the scene and found a parked, unoccupied vehicle in the lower parking lot that had a bullet hole in the front windshield and a projectile that was lodged in the frame of the windshield. Police also found cartridge casings near the vehicle. Surveillance video revealed that the suspect, identified as White, and the victim had exchanged words while riding the Regional Transit Authority bus to the mall, according to the police department.

Howard County Police later executed a search and seizure warrant at White’s residence in Columbia. Inside White’s bedroom, police found the handgun used during the robbery and the shooting at the mall, multiple rounds of ammunition, along with a stolen shotgun. White later confessed to his involvement in the incident at the apartment complex and the mall.

Police also discovered that the shotgun found in White’s bedroom had been reported stolen after the burglary of an apartment in Columbia that happened Dec. 4, 2023. DNA evidence found at the scene of the burglary was linked to White.