Olde Towne bank robbery trial begins

Police say a man fitting Denzel’s description stood in line at the Bank of America on North Summit Avenue around 1 p.m. April 19, according to charging documents. The suspect passed the teller a note that stated that he had a weapon and demanded cash, the documents state. The teller complied and the man fled with about $3,000.

Denzel was arrested April 27.

Opening arguments in the case weren’t expected to begin until just before The Gazette’s deadline on Tuesday. Denzel’s attorney and prosecutors could not be reached for comment.

At the time of the bank robbery, Denzel was out on $40,000 bond for charges of first-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary and theft of more than $500 in connection with a 2006 Kentlands burglary of more than $259,820 in property, according to court records.

In that case, Denzel pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft over $500 on July 17 and was sentenced to eight years with all but 15 months suspended.

Denzel admitted to pawning two bracelets taken from the apartment but denied knowing they were stolen, his attorney in that case, Rene Sandler, has said.

Denzel’s younger brother, Jaime Cowger Denzel, 23, pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary in connection with the incident and was sentenced to 15 years with all but six years suspended in April, according to an online state court records database. Joshua Kane Mancebo, 23, of Gaithersburg pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary in connection with the case and was sentenced to 10 years with nine years suspended on June 13, the database shows.

The burglary victim, Helene Berman, filed a $3.25 million civil lawsuit in Circuit Court in August against the brothers, their parents, the condominium association and its management company.

Barry Leibowitz, Berman’s attorney in Wheaton, asserts that Jaime Denzel had access to Berman’s home because his mother, Susan Denzel, was president of Kentlands V Condominium Association, and employed him to perform plumbing maintenance in homes at the complex.