A retired D.C. police officer on his way to work Thursday says he stopped by his neighborhood store and walked right into a robbery in progress. He says he pulled his weapon, told the suspect to freeze and shared with police what he saw after the man ran.

George Darley said his head is always on a swivel. It comes from years of chasing fugitives in D.C.

When he walked into a 7-Eleven in Fairfax County as usual on Thursday, he took a look around, grabbed a drink and saw the store owner.

“She has this look on her face like she’s terrified,” he said.

Darley said he saw a man scooping things up from behind the counter.

“So, I look at her and she has this horrified look on her face, and she goes ‘He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun!’ And she gives me a signal,” he said.

“I pulled my weapon out and I yelled at him and said, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ He lifted up his shirt and I could see the butt of a gun,” he said.

The suspect hopped over the counter of the store in the 2400 block of Fairhaven Avenue, in the Huntington area, and ran into the neighborhood, Darley said.

The retired cop said he jumped into his car and started chasing the man through the streets.

He lost sight of him, but Fairfax County officers with long guns closed in after neighbors called 911 and said they saw a suspicious person running through their yards on Byrd Lane. It all happened before noon.

A neighbor shared doorbell camera footage he turned over to police.

After hours of searching, police thought they had cornered the man inside a vacant house on Byrd Lane. From the ruined windows and bashed-in door, you can see where police entered.

Anthony Edwards, 51, of Maryland, was found hiding in the attic, police said.

Officers returned to the neighborhood on Friday to look for a gun.

Darley said he was told by police the video inside the 7-Eleven shows the suspect dropped a gun and then picked it up as he ran out of the store.

Darley said he returned to the store Friday and was thanked by the owner.

“She said, ‘Thank you, George! Thank you!,’” he said.

Darley said he’s glad he didn’t open fire because the parking lot was crowded and there were patrons in the store.

“I just wanted him to get out of the store. I didn’t want him to come in the store and take a hostage, and so I kind of, like, gave him an exit,” he said. “I’m sure if I felt threatened enough to shoot him, I would have had no problem, you know, doing it, but he never pulled it out of his waistband to me. He just showed it, thinking that I was going to be scared.”

Fairfax County police had no comment on Darley’s role other than saying in a statement that “a community member was present in the store and attempted to apprehend the man.” They said no one was hurt.

Edwards were charged with robbery, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, felon in possession of a firearm and burglary. He was held without bond.

WASHINGTON – D.C. police are searching for a man who they say stole a Ralph Lauren bag valued at over $6,000. The theft was caught on camera.

 The store is located on the 1200 block of Wisconsin Avenue, NW. D.C. police want your help catching the suspect who walked through this front door on Tuesday afternoon on April 8.

 Surveillance video captured the man strolling in, wearing a tan colored sweater, a dark blue ‘Georgetown’ sweatshirt that and light-colored pants.

He immedately walks over to the Cooper Calfskin Duffel bag, being displayed on a wooden table. The bag costs $6,200 on the Ralph Lauren website.

The suspect picks it up, looks at it and then calmly walks out the front door. 

People who live and work in Georgetown say they’re sick and tired of theft.

“I’m honestly just feeling bad about it, especially for the sales associates and everybody who has to keep on guard for the theft and have to keep working extra hours to make sure we aren’t losing our stock and materials,” D.C. resident and clothing store employee Trinity Anthony said. 

“People think it’s ok to steal from a business but it’s not ok because businesses also have to make their numbers and you know, they work on profit, so, it’s not like ‘oh it’s just a business, they have a lot of money,”  Georgetown resident Suzy Nabil said. “A lot of businesses might consider closing because of that.” 

Police are offering a reward of up to $1000 to anyone who has information. If you recognize the suspect shown on the surveillance video, call MPD. 

Gas and electric bills have been rising across the D.C. region for a while and that trend may continue, with Washington Gas proposing a rate hike in the near future.

“There’s been a strong upward trend of higher utility bills beyond just the rate of inflation,” said Claire Mills with the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a nonprofit that advocates for policies supporting climate stability in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. “It’s a really tough environment.”

The Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia, an agency that regulates local utility companies, is considering a proposal from Washington Gas to raise rates by about 12%.

According to the utility, the increase is needed to generate revenue to cover the cost of maintaining and upgrading its infrastructure.

“This is a really massive increase for the average customer,” Mills said, noting that it could push monthly bills up by at least $15.

The commission has held several community meetings to discuss the proposed hike. And Mills was at the most recent event.

“I think almost 20 people had the time to testify, and every single person was talking about how we can’t afford these increased rates,” she said. “One of the people testifying was talking about having to pay $200 a month on gas already.”

Other utility bills have also risen recently.

In January, Pepco informed its customers that electric bills would be increasing by about 5%.

“We have the cost for the literal energy we’re using, and that’s going up because of issues with the regional energy grid,” Mills said. “Then there’s also the distribution charges, like the cost of getting the energy to your house, and that’s going up because of regulatory decisions.”

Unpredictable weather has played a role, too.

Earlier this year, Pepco said it would extend assistance to customers whose energy bills spiked dramatically over the winter.

William Ellis, director of external affairs for Pepco, told WTOP in February that the sticker shock was especially tough on customers after a mild fall.

“It was a very mild November, where the average temperature was about 60 degrees,” Ellis said.

Compare that to the winter conditions where “the average temperature has been hovering around 30 degrees,” Ellis said, which led to “tremendous spikes in customers’ usage” and higher bills.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.