Two Plead Guilty in Spree of Approximately Three Dozen Gunpoint ‘Hobbs Act’ Robberies and Attempted Robberies in the District and Maryland

            WASHINGTON – Stephon Harrigan, 30, and Tavarus Thompson, 30, pleaded guilty this week to their roles in a 2022 spree of approximately three dozen armed robberies and attempted robberies of various commercial establishments, including gas stations, convenience stores, fast-food restaurants, checking cashing businesses, and liquor stores in the District and suburban Maryland.

            The pleas were announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Harrigan pleaded guilty on Monday, March 25, 2024, and Thompson pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery (also known as Hobbs Act robbery) and possession of a firearm during and in furtherance of a crime of violence before U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington D.C. Judge Walton scheduled Harrigan’s sentencing for August 1, 2024, and Thompson’s for June 19, 2024.

            Harrigan’s brother, Aaron Harrigan, 28, pleaded guilty on October 3, 2023, to a charge of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery for his participation in four of the robberies. Aaron Harrigan was sentenced to 87 months in prison on September 25, 2023.

            According to court documents, the spree began on January 12, 2022, with the gunpoint robbery of a gas station on 18^th Street, NE, Washington, D.C. It ended on March 6, 2022, when law enforcement stopped a stolen car at the intersection of 1^st Street and Gallatin Street, NW, and its occupants fled on foot. Stephon Harrigan forced his way into a woman’s vehicle and ordered her to drive him away, but the car collided with an unmarked MPD vehicle. Law enforcement then arrested him.

            In the interim, Stephon Harrigan and/or Tavarus Thompson, along with, at times, other individuals, entered an additional 34 establishments while armed with at least one firearm. In general, they brandished at least one firearm and demanded money. They generally obtained money or other property of the establishments, as well as, at times, property belonging to individuals in the establishments.

­­­­            On March 6, 2022, police captured Stephon Harrigan. Tavarus Thompson was arrested in South Carolina on March 18, 2022, and Aaron Harrigan was arrested on March 29, 2022.

            This case was 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; Prince George’s County, Maryland; and Montgomery County, Maryland Police Departments.

            The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon Eppel of the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Kinskey and Andrea Duvall, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Fletcher.