Man gets six years in home invasion

January 17, 2007|by PEPPER BALLARD

A 20-year-old Hagerstown man was ordered Tuesday by a Washington County Circuit judge to serve six years in prison for a February home invasion.

Circuit Judge John H. McDowell ordered John Derek Hays, of 1425 Kensington Drive, to serve 15 years in prison but suspended all but six years of that sentence on a first-degree burglary conviction. He ordered Hays to serve five years of supervised probation upon his release from prison.

On Feb. 27, 2006, at about 8 p.m., Hays and co-defendant Mark Milson Moore forced their way into Catrina McClintock's Hagerstown apartment armed with handguns, charging documents state. A handgun was stolen in the home invasion, police said.

McClintock, 22, told McDowell on Tuesday, "I'm half terrified to open doors now ... The fear I have is just ridiculous for what they've done to me."

Moore, 30, was ordered in December to serve five years in prison for his role in the invasion, court records show. Moore, who entered an Alford plea to robbery, was sentenced to 15 years in prison with all but 10 years suspended, according to court records.

Hays' attorney, Gregory Hannigan, told McDowell on Tuesday that Hays was abusing heroin at the time of the crime. Hays apologized for his actions.

McDowell told Hays, "I see that, in this case, you actively and willfully participated in an act of terror against Ms. McClintock. There is no excuse for your involvement."

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