Per the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office: In the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, the Honorable Karla Smith has sentenced defendant, Steven Ray Beitzel Jr., 33, of Germantown to 85 years in prison suspend all but 32 years and five years of supervised probation upon release. The sentencing hearing was held yesterday, June 21st, 2023.
On March 23rd, 2023, after a two-day trial, a jury found Beitzel guilty of one count of Attempt to Disarm Law Enforcement and two counts of Second-Degree Assault. Following the conviction, the State and defendant entered into a plea agreement to resolve four remaining criminal cases involving charges including Motor Vehicle Theft, Assault, Armed Robbery, Robbery and Burglary. This stems from a string of incidents in 2021 and 2022.
The defendant was ordered held without bond following a vehicle theft in November 2021. He was transferred to the Avery Road Drug Treatment Center per court order but absconded from the center that same day. The court immediately issued a bench warrant. Beitzel was apprehended on January 12th, 2022, but over the two months when his whereabouts were unknown, the defendant, who refers to himself as “Stick-up Steve”, robbed two convenience stores and committed a rash of bank robberies, making off with approximately $60,000. A witness told police Beitzel used the money to buy two motorcycles and a car. He also made trips to Baltimore to purchase fentanyl, some of which he used and some of which he sold.
On January 25th, 2022, while in custody, Beitzel, according to doctors, feigned illness and was transported to Holy Cross Hospital. In a hospital restroom, the defendant attempted to disarm one of the sheriff’s deputies monitoring him. He lunged for the deputy’s service weapon. A mele ensued and during the scuffle, Beitzel was able to lower the safety hood of the service weapon, which is the first step in removing the gun from its holster. The two deputies involved were injured and subsequently treated for concussions. Thanks to the discipline and restraint of the two Sheriff’s Deputies and an off-duty Montgomery County Police officer who stepped in to assist, a firefight was narrowly avoided.
Assistant State’s Attorneys Jodi Mount and Rachel Morris prosecuted this case.