3 men charged with string of armed robberies in DC, Maryland

Three men are behind bars for a string of armed robberies across Washington, D.C., and Maryland over the past few months.  

Gas stations, liquor stores, hotels, restaurants, and even Busboys and Poets are among the businesses that were robbed at gunpoint. 

Police say the men who did these crimes committed over 24 other robberies. 

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In a violent six-week crime spree, police say three D.C. men also stole cars and used guns bringing fear to business owners and patrons across D.C and Maryland. 

"They were on a run and as a D.C. resident when your dry cleaners gets robbed at gunpoint, your neighborhood pharmacy, when your business gets robbed, that’s very unsettling to the community, " said Ashan Benedict, Assistant Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department. 

The suspects have been identified as Stephon Harrigan, his brother Aaron Harrigan and Tavarus Thompson. Each Northwest native had different roles in the crimes.

They are seen in countless security cam videos terrorizing businesses.

"They made everyone get down on their knees, made everybody walk to the back, it was really horrific and scary, and watching it on camera makes you cringe. The brazenness of it," said Andy Shallal, CEO & founder of Busboys & Poets.

FOX 5 spoke to an employee who was closing up shop when the robbery happened. 

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"All I heard was "gun" and I turn around and there’s a gun in my face," said an employee who wanted to remain anonymous. "It traumatized me, I got to go to therapy now, I got to be on medicine, yeah. It was a lot." 

Robberies in D.C. have increased by 45%. Benedict said D.C. Police is issuing a stern warning to other criminals: "We’re putting you on notice today here, that it’s not just MPD, but it’s our federal partners, the FBI, and the other agencies." 

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The owner of Busboys & Poets says while he appreciates the joint effort by D.C. police and the FBI to put these men behind bars, more must be done to address crime in the District. 

"This is a real serious issue here in the city. The amount of crime that’s been happening is really putting a damper on a city that’s otherwise can be really wonderful," Shallal said. 

Police say they were able to recover some of the guns used in these attempted robberies. They were not, however, able to give FOX 5 a specific value of the items taken but did say it was "thousands of dollars worth of valuables."

Washington, D.C.News