SILVER SPRING, MD – Stephen Lavance Oates, Jr., 35, and Katrice Ceclia Wood, 29, with no fixed addresses, were arrested and charged for two armed robberies of 7-Eleven stores on January 8 and January 10, 2024.
Officers from the 4th District responded to the 14100 block of Georgia Ave. 7-Eleven at about 2:52 a.m. on January 8, following a robbery report. The investigation revealed two masked suspects entering the store, one brandishing a handgun and the other using pepper spray on the employees. The assailants fled with cash from the register and the employees’ cellphones in a Ford Expedition.
A similar incident occurred on January 10 at around 4:21 a.m. at the 11300 block of Lockwood Dr. 7-Eleven. The same suspects demanded employees’ cellphones at gunpoint, stole scratch-off lottery tickets, and an undisclosed sum of money, again fleeing in a Ford Expedition.
Montgomery County Department of Police – Major Crimes Division identified Oates Jr. and Wood as the suspects. They were apprehended on January 11, around 10 a.m., in the 3500 block of Old Annapolis Rd., Laurel, MD.
Both suspects face multiple charges, including armed robbery, assault, theft, and firearms-related offenses, and are currently held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit.