A Frederick man on Tuesday pleaded guilty to robbery with a dangerous weapon in connection with a May 2023 incident in which, authorities said, he pepper sprayed a mother and her 8-year-old child, then took the mother’s purse.
Nicholas Peter Albanes, 42, was scheduled to be tried Tuesday on charges that also included attempted kidnapping, robbery, theft under $1,500 and two counts of second-degree assault.
The Frederick News-Post previously reported that the mother and child were walking near a bus stop on Hillcrest Drive when a dark-colored vehicle pulled up beside them. The mother told police that a man got out of the vehicle and tried to grab her daughter.
The woman said the man took her purse, then tried to grab her daughter before pepper spraying the pair and fleeing the scene using the same vehicle in which he arrived.
Assistant State’s Attorney Ricky Lewis told the court on Tuesday that, if the case had gone to trial, prosecutors would have presented evidence including DNA from Albanes that was found on the pepper spray canister and its belt holder.
Prosecutors also planned to present surveillance footage showing the time before, during and after the attack, as well as victim descriptions of the attacker’s arm tattoos that were consistent with Albanes’, Lewis said.
Under Maryland law, robbery with a dangerous weapon is a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
In exchange for Albanes’ guilty plea to that charge, Lewis told the court on Tuesday, prosecutors and Albanes’ public defenders agreed to request the maximum sentence under the statute.
Lewis said prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence in which he served no less than 18 years in prison, while Albanes’ public defenders agreed to seek no less than 10 years in prison. Either way, the judge could impose up to 20 years, then suspend some of the sentence.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Albanes would serve five years of probation after being released from prison.
While on probation, Albanes would have to comply with conditions such as abstaining from alcohol and drugs, staying away from the mother and daughter he attacked and submitting to mental health evaluation and treatment. He would also have to pay $280 in restitution.
Frederick County Circuit Judge Julia Minner, who presided over Albanes’ plea hearing, said in court on Tuesday that she had no reservations about the terms of the plea agreement as they had been presented.
Minner agreed to set Albanes’ sentencing hearing for Feb. 18 at 9 a.m. to give the victims an opportunity to attend.
Per the plea agreement, prosecutors intend to drop Albanes’ remaining charges after he has been sentenced, Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office spokesperson Jacqueline Rottmann said in a phone interview on Tuesday.