Article provided by Circuit Court of Howard County.
An 18-year-old Frederick man has been sentenced to six years in prison for a drug-related home invasion at a Savage residence. Neal Stevenson Hall, of the 1800 block of Millstream Drive, pleaded guilty to one count of home invasion before Howard County Circuit Court Judge Richard S. Bernhardt in December and was sentenced last week. Hall was one of three men who broke into an apartment, located in the 9000 block of Washington Street, on the morning of May 15, 2017.
During December’s plea hearing, Deputy State’s Attorney Kim Y. Oldham told the court that the victim was lying in bed with her six-week-old infant when two male suspects entered her bedroom and pointed long guns at her while they stole her boyfriend’s AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun, $140 in currency and luxury-branded clothing accessories.
The woman later discovered that a second shotgun was stolen and that the men had entered the residence through an open window after removing a window-mounted air conditioner found lying on the ground.
The victim told police that she recognized Hall, who was carrying a firearm, as an associate of her former neighbor, Diego Morales, who stood in the hallway outside of her bedroom.
At sentencing, Assistant State’s Attorney Maurice Frazier stated that the home invasion had “a gang element to the offense.” He spotlighted Hall’s background including twice being a shooting victim and illegal possession of firearms.
Last December, Hall pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in the May 15, 2017 shooting of a 16-year-old boy outside of a Frederick church and was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Judge Bernhardt noted that Hall had “participated in two highly dangerous criminal offenses on the same day.” He sentenced Hall to 20 years in prison, suspending all but six years, to be served consecutive to the Frederick County sentence.
Upon release, Hall will be placed on three years of supervised probation.
The second suspect arrested, Diego R. Morales, also of Frederick, pleaded guilty to the home invasion and was sentenced to six years in prison last February. The third suspect has not been identified but the investigation is ongoing.
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