WASHINGTON – Three men, all from the District of Columbia, have been indicted on federal conspiracy charges stemming from a series of recent robberies of employees of various retail establishments, including gas stations, liquor stores, hotels, and restaurants.
The indictments, which were unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, were announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division, and Robert J. Contee III, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Those indicted include Stephon Harrigan, 28, his brother, Aaron Harrigan, 26, and Tavarus Thompson, 28. Stephon Harrigan was arrested on March 6, Tavarus Thompson was arrested on March 18, and Aaron Harrigan was arrested yesterday. All remain in custody pending further court proceedings.
As alleged in the indictment, beginning on or about Jan. 1, 2022, and continuing through at least March 6, 2022, the defendants agreed to carry out robberies of retail and commercial establishments. They had different roles in the crimes that followed. They wore dark clothing and often wore masks or other clothing over their faces as well as gloves. One or more of the defendants was armed with a firearm. They also used various vehicles, including stolen vehicles, to flee from establishments after the robberies or attempted robberies, the indictment alleges.
The indictment lists 25 robberies from Jan. 12 through Feb. 22, at locations in Northeast, Northwest and Southeast Washington as well as in Mount Rainier, Maryland, and Silver Spring, Maryland.
All three defendants were indicted on charges of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery and sale or receipt of stolen vehicles. Stephon Harrigan and Thompson also were indicted on firearms-related offenses, and Stephon Harrigan additionally was indicted on kidnapping and carjacking charges.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Columbia, South Carolina Field Office, and the Mount Rainier, Maryland and Montgomery County, Maryland Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Fletcher and Solomon Eppel of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.