Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) have arrested a 16-year-old boy they say was part of a group involved in a retail theft offense. Now they are looking for the other of the group he was with.
Police say that on Tuesday, April 16 at approximately 8:45 p.m., a group of suspects entered a CVS in the 1100 block of New Jersey Avenue SE and took items without paying. When they were confronted by a security guard one of the suspects threw a bottle, missing the security guard.
After an investigation, the 16-year-old was arrested April 20 and charged with Burglary Two, Theft and Assault on a Police Officer.
Detectives continue to search for the additional suspects pictured above and below.
It is only the latest arrest for theft at a CVS. On April 17, police arrested a 28-year-old man after watching him take items from the Eastern Market CVS (661 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) and leave without paying; he was eventually charged in at least 4 other retail thefts.
The arrests appear to be linked to provisions in the Secure DC Bill. The legislation originally intended to lower the threshold for felony theft frm $1,000 to $500. That provision was dropped, but another targeting organized retail theft provides that if more than one theft of $1,000 or more is committed within six months, those amounts can be aggregated into a single charge. For adults, the penalty could include a fine of $37,500, incarceration for up to 15 years, or both.
Anyone who can identify these suspects or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s Text Tip Line at 50411. MPD currently offers a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in the District of Columbia.
