January 10th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

The Office of the State’s Attorney for Allegany County, Michael Twigg, State’s Attorney, announced on Thursday that Robert Michael Bridges, 42 of Cumberland, was sentenced in Allegany County Circuit Court for two convictions of first degree burglary, having previously been convicted of those charges in December 2018.  The Honorable Jeffrey S. Getty, Circuit Court Judge, sentenced Bridges to 40 years in the Maryland Department of Corrections, suspending 20 years of the sentence.

The Maryland State Police were called to investigate two separate burglaries, one in December 2017 at a Messick Road  residence in Cumberland, and the other in April 2018 at a residence in Bel Air.  Bridges was developed as a suspect in each daytime burglary, and was ultimately arrested on those charges.

According to Assistant State’s Attorney Erich Bean, who prosecuted the case, “Mr. Bridges has a long history of stealing from others to fuel his drug addiction.  While that is an explanation for his behavior, it certainly is not an excuse, and he has to pay a price for having victimized our community.” 

The case was investigated by the Maryland State Police, along with assistance from C3I.  Bridges was represented by Michael Stankan of the Public Defender’s Office.