Cell Phone Bandit's Accomplice Appears In Court

NBC 4.com
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Alexandria, Virginia (US):
The man suspected of being on the other end of the cell phone bandit's calls appeared in court Friday, as the battle between Virginia state and federal prosecutors comes to an apparent end.
Friends and family of suspected cell phone bandit Candice Martinez's alleged accomplice, 19-year-old David Williams, were in federal court in Alexandria for his preliminary hearing Friday.
"She's a very nice girl, and I'm happy my son was with a nice girl," said Deo Smith, Williams' mother. "I really can't speculate if she was a bad influence on him or he was a bad influence on her."Williams is charged in just one of the bank robberies so far.
Meanwhile, Martinez remains in custody in Loudoun County. Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman stood firm on his decision to prosecute Martinez, who was captured on videotape during the Nov. 4 robbery in Ashburn.
Federal authorities confirmed that they will try Martinez on the three remaining cases: two bank robberies in Fairfax County and one in Prince William County.
Nov 18, 2005