Grasonville Couple Married During 3-State Crime Spree Sentenced

GRASONVILLE, MD — A federal judge has sentenced a Grasonville couple to prison for a three-state crime spree during which they were married. Matthew Dale Bush, 39, and Crystal French, also known as Crystal Lynn Bush, 34, both of Grasonville, stole ATMs and robbed a bank in cases ranging from Harford County to Virginia to Delaware. As they ran from police the couple led authorities on a chase that covered over 40 miles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Delaware and another occurred in the heart of Baltimore.

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Bush to 110 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit bank larceny, interstate transportation of stolen goods, and interstate transportation of stolen vehicles, and for bank robbery and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition. At Bush’s sentencing on Dec. 11, Judge Bennett said that Bush’s conduct was “alarmingly egregious,” and that the high-speed chases “grossly endangered” the public and law enforcement, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's office.

French was sentenced on Dec. 12 to 20 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to commit bank larceny, interstate transportation of stolen goods, and interstate transportation of stolen vehicles.

The were ordered to pay restitution of $10,341.38. Bush and French married on October 14, 2017, during the crime spree, authorities said.

According to their plea agreements, from September 2017 through Oct. 23, 2017, Bush and French broke into retailers to steal automated teller machines. In those two months, the couple stole six ATMs that contained over $38,900 in cash, and attempted to steal two more ATMs. The pair stole from businesses in: Stevensville, Cambridge and Chester, Maryland; Kent County and Dover, Delaware; and Sterling and Broadlands, Virginia.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland, Bush typically entered the store wearing a mask, attached a chain or rope to the ATM, and pulled the machine out of the store through the front glass window. The couple took the ATMs to their home in Grasonville, where they hid the proceeds. Both spent the stolen cash on heroin and other illegal narcotics.

When police arrived at their home on Oct. 19, 2017, to execute a search warrant, officers saw Bush and French drive off in a green Mercedes. During the search, police found masks and clothing worn by the couple in the surveillance videos at the burglaries; the license plate to one of the stolen pickup trucks used to drive to crime scenes; and a van containing several damaged ATMs, prosecutors said.

On Oct. 22, 2017, Bush and French stole a pickup truck in White Marsh, and drove to a gas station in Harford County where Bush demanded money, but the clerk refused to hand over cash. The pair then drove to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where they stole another pickup truck, and drove it to a convenience store in Harford County. They broke into a High's store and stole about 86 packs of cigarettes.

Afterward, Bush robbed SunTrust bank in the 8700 block of Belair Road on Oct. 23, 2017. Authorities said he gave a note to a teller at the bank in Perry Hall demanding money. After the bank robbery, the couple tried to elude law enforcement but was arrested following a pursuit that ended with a crash into a person's vehicle in Baltimore City, police said.

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Photos of Matthew Dale Bush and Crystal Lynn French courtesy of the Baltimore County Police Department.