D.C. Police arrested two teenagers in the latest of a recent series of robberies involving stun guns, but it’s unclear if this case is related to the others.
Tuesday morning’s robbery was the sixth involving a stun gun in 10 days.
Three men approached two bicyclists in the 4000 block of Georgia Avenue NW about 2:10 a.m. and demanded their property, police said. When the bicyclists refused, one of the men pulled out a stun gun and threatened the victims with it.
The men took the bicyclists' money, cell phones and bikes, but police stopped two men matching the descriptions of the robbers nearby, and the victims positively identified them.
Michael Moore, 19, and David Ashton, 18, were arrested and charged with robbery.
“We are not sure whether the folks we made the arrest on last night are involved in the other ones or not or whether there’s multiple different incidents involving a stun gun,” D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said.
Police are still looking for the man armed with the stun gun. He’s described as black, 150 to 160 pounds, 6-feet to 6-feet-2-inches tall, with brown eyes and long dreads. He wore black pants and a black jacket.
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In a robbery Sunday morning, a newspaper delivery man’s car was stolen in the 300 block of Tennessee Avenue NE by a group of robbers as he was dropping a paper off on a porch.
"One of them, he's coming up the steps now and in his left hand evidently he sets off the Taser,” the victim said. “I can see the sparks across the gap. Then he says to me, ‘Give it up.’ I handed him the keys, and they drove off."
"I'm 60 years old,” the victim added. “I made the decision I couldn't outrun seven guys who looked like they were all in their early 20s. I could see by the body language of the group that they weren't there to hurt me or kill me. They just wanted something from me."
D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier addressed District residents Wednesday evening in a townhall meeting.
"If somebody approaches you and attempts to commit a crime, none of your property is worth being injured," Lanier advised.
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