An Elkridge man was sentenced to seven years in prison in Howard County Circuit Court Wednesday after being convicted of robbery and assault for an incident that occurred while he was already on probation for an attempted robbery conviction.

David Joseph Critchfield, 28, of Elkridge, was convicted of robbery, second-degree assault and theft under $500 in the assault of a 17-year-old Elkridge boy in the Capitol Mobile Home Park Nov. 20, 2008, according to Wayne Kirwan, a spokesman for the Howard County state’s attorney.

At the time of the assault, Critchfield was on probation after pleading guilty in September 2008 to one count of attempted robbery, according to Kirwan.

In the earlier incident, which occurred Feb. 18, 2008, in the 6600 block of Washington Boulevard, Critchfield was charged with kicking in the door of a home, striking a resident in the head and then entering the residence. In that case, Critchfield served five months in jail followed by 15 months of unsupervised probation,
Kirwan said. He was still on probation at the time of the November assault, Kirwan said.

In opening arguments at his trial Tuesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Claude De Vastey Jones told jurors that Critchfield put the boy in a headlock, stole money from him, then dropped the boy’s wallet to the ground and walked away.

“He just doesn’t care. He just throws the wallet and walks away,” she said.

Critchfield’s attorney, Janette DeBoissiere, said the boy waited for more than four hours before calling police and argued there were “holes” in the prosecution’s case.

“There isn’t anything simple in a criminal court,” she said.

This article has been updated.

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