WASHINGTON – Tavarus Thompson, 32, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 205 months in prison for his role in a spree of dozens of armed robberies and attempted armed robberies of commercial establishments that included restaurants, convenience stores, and liquor stores in the metropolitan region during early 2022, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Thompson pleaded guilty March 29, 2024, before Judge Reggie B. Walton to Conspiracy to Interfere with Interstate Commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act robbery), and to Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence. In addition to the 205-month term of incarceration, Judge Walton ordered Thompson to serve five years of supervised release.
“Tavarus Thompson committed dozens of armed robberies and attempted armed robberies in less than three months—targeting restaurant workers, store clerks, and gas station attendants, ordinary people simply doing their jobs. Each time, they were forced to stare down the barrel of a gun,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Thompson turned workplaces into war zones. This is the kind of individual who does not belong in our society, and today, he is being held fully accountable.”
According to court documents, the spree began on Jan. 12, 2022, with the gunpoint robbery of a gas station on 18th Street NE. It ended in March 2022, after law enforcement stopped a stolen car on March 6 at the intersection of 1st Street NW and Gallatin Street NW, leading to the arrests of co-defendant Stephon Harrigan. Thompson was arrested in South Carolina on March 18, 2022. Co-defendant Aaron Harrigan, was arrested March 29, 2022.
Thompson acknowledged that he engaged in 29 of the robberies or attempted robberies. In all of them, at least one firearm was brandished including, many times, by Thompson himself.
Aaron Harrigan, 30, pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2023, to a charge of Conspiracy to Interfere with Interstate Commerce by Robbery for his participation in the conspiracy and was sentenced on Sept. 25, 2023, to 87 months in prison.
Stephon Harrigan 32, pleaded guilty on March 29, 2024, Conspiracy to Interfere with Interstate Commerce by Robbery and Possession of a Firearm During and in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence for his participation in the conspiracy and was sentenced on Aug. 1, 2024, to 210 months in prison.
Joining U.S. Attorney Pirro in the announcement were FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox and Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department.
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, Md., Prince George’s County, Md., and Montgomery County, Md. Police Departments.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon Eppel. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Kinskey and Andrea Duvall, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Fletcher.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — District of Columbia — U.S. Department of Justice press release.