In November 2023, Chester Lewis, 49, of Oxon Hill, and Al Gibran Taylor, 42, of Reston walked into the store with the intention of robbing it of cash, which had previously been scoped out by the Maryland resident.
During that robbery, prosecutors say that Lewis was armed with a .223/5.56 mm caliber semi-automatic rifle, which he pointed at customers and ordered them to put their hands in the air, while Taylor attempted to open a cashier booth, which contained the store’s register and safe.
According to investigators, when Taylor found the booth locked, Lewis identified the store’s cashier, grabbed her by the neck, and brought her to the cashier booth, which was then opened, and the pair “removed a large amount of cash from the store’s safe.”
Lewis was arrested in March during a search of his Maryland home, when the rifle used during the robbery as well as a privately made firearm with no serial number, a shotgun, and ammunition were all recovred.
A subsequent search a week later led to the recovery of a handgun and additional ammo.