State’s Attorney

Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Judge John Maloney sentenced defendant, Jhasir Devaux, to ten years in prison after a jury convicted defendant, Jhasir Devaux, 25, of Baltimore, MD, on one count of robbery on October 26th. This stems from the robbery of the Sandy Spring Bank located at 14241 Layhill Road in Silver Spring on Aug. 7^th, 2019.  The defendant wore a construction vest and hospital mask (this was prior to the pandemic) when he entered the bank and passed the teller a note demanding money. Devaux made off with approximately $4,780.

The following is a summary of events: On 8-7-2019 at approximately 12:59pm, police were dispatched to a bank robbery that just occurred at the Sandy Spring Bank located at 14241 Layhill Road Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland, 20906. Police Interviewed the victim bank teller. The victim stated that at 1255 hours the suspect, described as: a black male, approximately 6’3″ tall, weighing approximately 2251bs, wearing a dark blue long sleeve hooded sweatshirt, orange construction vest, yellow construction hard hat, black sunglasses, white hospital mask, blue gloves and maroon pants, entered the bank and approached her teller window, the suspect handed her a folded piece of paper and advised that his account number was on the paper and he wanted to withdraw his money from the account. She opened the piece of paper and observed It to be a note stating to give him all the money and not include any dye packs. The victim gave the suspect approximately $4,780 in US Currency from her cash drawer and observed the suspect run out the front door of the bank.

Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, Judge Chris Fogleman sentenced defendant, John Tomlinson, 29, to 30 years suspend all but 15 years in prison. Ten of those years are mandatory meaning he won’t be eligible for parole until after then. Judge Fogleman also ordered 5 years supervised probation upon Tomlinson’s release. Tomlinson pleaded guilty to charges of attempted second-degree murder and prohibited person in possession of a firearm on August 25^th. This stems from an incident on Dec. 13, 2021 at 2:14 a.m. in the area of Thayer Avenue and Manor Lane (video below).

A man, later identified as John Tomlinson, saw a driver collide with his friend’s vehicle parked on Manor Lane. As Tomlinson’s friend engaged in an altercation with the driver, Tomlinson ran down the street, retrieved a handgun from another vehicle and then returned to the scene firing off nine gunshots, hitting the vehicle, street signs and at least five businesses on Bonifant Street. Miraculously no one was injured. Video from a Tesla parked nearby was used along with area surveillance video to identify Tomlinson and he was in possession of a firearm when he was arrested the following month.

Today in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, MD, Judge Sharon Burrell sentenced defendant, Biet Van Tran, 65, to life without the possibility of parole on the charge of first-degree murder of victim, Linh Pham, 23, and to an additional 55 years in prison for two counts of attempted first-degree murder for the stabbing attacks on Quy Luc, 32, and Thi Nyguen, 22.

The stems from an incident in May of 2020. The COVID pandemic was underway, and the three victims planned a trip from their home in Florida to visit the D.C. area. On May 9^th, 2020, they drove to Luc’s mother’s home at 911 Balmoral Drive in Silver Spring, Maryland. She had recently had a stroke and was staying in a rehabilitation center but her boyfriend, the defendant, was still living in the home. Luc also planned to assist with arrangements for his mother.