Jenny Cruz Case Summary

On January 23, 2013, Jenny Cruz (“Cruz”) was working as a sales representative at a Boost Mobile store located in Oxon Hill, Maryland. At or around 7:15 p.m., Cruz was alone working in the front of the store when a man wearing a sweater entered the store, pointed a silver revolver at her, and told her to give him the money. When confronted by the assailant, Cruz briefly stuttered, and initially refused the surrender the money. Video of the robbery obtained from security footage shows that Cruz briefly paused when confronted by the robber. Cruz’s manager, Mariano Fernandez (“Fernandez”), then emerged from the restroom in the rear of the store. The assaliant similarly threatened Fernandez and demanded money. Fernandez physically handed the man the entire case register, whereupon the man instructed Cruz and Fernandez to go to the back of the store while he fled.

The parties stipulated that the fingerprints were Offutt’s. Detective John Hamer, with the Metropolitan Police Department, subsequently came into contact with Offutt on January 31, 2013, in Washington, D.C., where he was taken into custody and interviewed by members of the Metropolitan Police Department, the Prince George’s County Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. During the interview, Offutt denied having gone to Oxon Hill, Maryland, stated that he “had never been to any other store -- phone store, besides a Cricket,” or that he had any involvement in the January 23, 2013 robbery. Cell phone records, that were admitted at trial though the testimony of a State’s expert witness, undermined Offutt’s statements to the police by showing that Offutt’s cellphone was used near the scene of the crime at about 7:15 p.m. the evening of the