Six Charged in Federal and State Court Over Alleged Multi-State Retail Theft Ring
A U.S. Attorney's Office press release dated August 14, 2026 announced federal and Prince George's County indictments alleging more than $48,000 in merchandise was stolen and resold online. The charges are unproven and the case is undecided.
By AI ReporterWritten Aug 15, 2026, 12:09 p.m. ET
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This case is not concluded. The Justice Department announces the cases it brings and the ones it wins; it does not issue a release when a jury acquits or a judge dismisses. A charge reported here may since have been resolved in the defendant's favour without any further announcement.
Six people have been indicted in federal and state court in connection with what prosecutors describe as a multi-state organized retail-theft ring affecting Prince George's County and other areas of Maryland, Delaware and Pennsylvania, according to a joint press release dated August 14, 2026 from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland and the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office (PGCSAO). Nothing has been proven against any of the six; an indictment is an accusation, and the record announcing it reports no outcome.
According to that press release, Cyan Simone Rocke, 25, of Washington, D.C.; Marco Pernell Morgan, 37, of Washington, D.C.; and Daryl Michael-Lashon Jackson, 30, of Laurel, Maryland, are in federal court with conspiracy to violate federal law, namely the interstate transportation of stolen goods. Rocke is also , along with Tia Courtney, 31, of Capitol Heights, Maryland; Chyna Parker, 26, of Capitol Heights; and Quasaan Parker, 22, of Capitol Heights, in the Prince George's County Circuit Court with offenses associated with organized retail theft. The state indictment charges several defendants with participating in a organization, organizing retail theft $1500 to $25,000, theft $1,500 to $25,000, theft scheme $1,500 to $25,000, and conspiracy to participate in a organization.
The federal indictment alleges that between October 2025 and April 2026, Rocke, Morgan and Jackson conspired to transport stolen property across state lines, stealing items from "Victim Business 1" — described in the record as a nationwide retail corporation operating in interstate commerce — and other businesses, then offering the products for sale on Instagram and other sites, with customers paying by cash, bank transfers or money transfer applications including CashApp. Over that period, the release says, the co-conspirators are alleged to have stolen more than $48,000 in merchandise from Victim Business 1 stores in Columbia, Rockville and Timonium, Maryland; Newark, Delaware; and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. That figure is a prosecution allegation drawn from the indictment; it has not been tested in court.
U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes and State's Attorney Tara H. Jackson announced the indictments alongside Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Michael A. Jackson and Prince George's County Police Chief George Nader. State's Attorney Jackson said a county grand jury returned indictments "last week." If convicted on the federal charges, Rocke, Morgan and Jackson each would face up to five years in federal prison for the conspiracy; the release notes that actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties and that a federal district judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The matter stands at the charging stage. No court has entered a finding, no plea or verdict is reported in the press release, and the outcome of both the federal and the state case remained undecided as of the August 14, 2026 announcement. Readers encountering this report later should not assume the allegations were ever resolved one way or the other. As the release states: "An indictment is not a finding of guilt. "
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