Vontay’e Lamonte Gilbert, 40, was arrested by Chestertown Police at his home in Church Hill on Tuesday for the alleged armed robbery of Uncle Charlie’s Bistro on Saturday, Jan. 4.
He is being held without bail in the Kent County Detention Center.
CPD Chief John Dolgos said multiple felony charges against Gilbert include two counts of armed robbery and three counts of first-degree assault. Misdemeanor charges include reckless endangerment, theft and firearms violations.
Gilbert was charged in a string of armed robberies in late 2013 on the Eastern Shore and Delaware. In a month-long robbery spree between October and November that year, Gilbert and an accomplice hit seven locations that spanned from Easton, Centreville and Chestertown. This did not include robberies in Delaware.
Dover City Police arrested Gilbert on Dec.19, 2013 and in March of 2014 his accomplice was apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Rankin County, Mississippi.
Gilbert was released on Mandatory Supervision in April of 2019 and found work at Uncle Charlie’s Bistro where he worked as a busboy. He later left on his own accord to work for Reeb Mill Corporation.
He allegedly wore the work gloves provided him at Reeb to commit the robbery.
The robbery was caught on the restaurant’s video surveillance. The video showed a black male matching Gilbert’s size and build wearing camouflage pants and a black hooded sweatshirt — holding two female employees at gunpoint. Uncle Charlie’s owner, Charles Ministero, immediately identified Gilbert as the suspect. Gilbert made off with roughly $500 in cash.
The robbery came a day after his girlfriend had quit her waitressing job at Uncle Charlie’s.
In his investigation, Det. Chris Pavon of CPD learned that the two employees had identified Gilbert on social media even before he interviewed them. One of the employees claimed that the glasses worn during the robbery were identical to the glasses Gilbert wore in a Facebook photo.
The Kent County Drug Task Force was also able to identify Gilbert through communications with two certified confidential informants.
Dolgos credited the Maryland State Police and the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office for assisting in the investigation.
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Marty Stetson says
Thank goodness, most crooks are stupid. This guy is a prime example.
Susan De Simone says
So glad that the waitresses weren’t harmed and that the suspect was caught.