An man and his nephew were indicted Wednesday in connection with a spree of 20 armed robberies in Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland between September 2006 and January 2007.

According to the indictment, Michael Gray and his nephew Dante Gray targeted retail shops, ranging from Family Dollar stores to a Sears department store, rarely getting away with more than a few hundred dollars.

Federal prosecutors say the team's biggest take was its first. On Sept. 10, 2006, the two allegedly held up a Variety Wholesalers on Branch Avenue in Temple Hills and made off with $7,000. Its smallest was ripping off a Family Dollar in Capitol Heights for $150, prosecutors say. All told, the duo allegedly stole more than $21,000.

Both men have had trouble with the law.

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Dante Gray was arrested on a felony larceny charge in September 2006 by Fairfax County police. His uncle was convicted of a 1991 manslaughter charge in Arlington and, in the same year, was charged with and convicted of six counts of armed robbery with a deadly weapon in Prince George's County.

Their latest round of alleged crimes came to an end when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Agent Matthew T. Collins was able to link the two men to robberies they allegedly committed in the midst of their four-month spree using fingerprints they left behind and security camera footage, Collins wrote in a sworn statement.

The first set of prints was pulled from cigarette cartons the two threw on the ground after displaying a silver handgun and demanding cash at an Exxon gas station at 2316 Shirlington Road in Alexandria, Collins wrote. According to the indictment, they stole $300 in the Nov. 29, 2006, robbery.

The Grays again left behind prints when they robbed a Sears department store in Alexandria on Jan. 4, 2007, Collins wrote. This time, they entered the store, bought a pair of socks using a $20 bill, then brandished a silver pistol and took $918 from the register, according to Collins. On their

way out, one of the two was

caught on camera touching the door.

Prints were pulled from the $20 bill and the door, and the video of the two was shown to relatives in the District of Columbia who were able to identify them as Michael and Dante Gray.

The two were brought up on federal charges because their actions affected interstate commerce, the indictment said.

fklopott@dcexaminer.com