Four Washington, D.C., residents are facing criminal charges after police say they burglarized a Lexington Park liquor store in the early hours of June 8, resulting in a police chase and multi-jurisdictional manhunt.
According to court records filed in St. Mary’s District Court, deputies went to an alert at Canopy Liquors on Great Mills Road soon after 4 a.m. and found the glass front door shattered. Lottery scratch-off tickets were found both inside and outside the establishment.
Surveillance film purportedly recorded a silver or light-colored Honda vehicle pulling into the lot shortly before, with its trunk facing the storefront. At least three people were spotted exiting the automobile, kicking the door, and entering the store while wearing facial coverings.
Once inside, the suspects allegedly tampered with the scratch-off display, took the tickets and display cases, and escaped. A fourth person exited the vehicle to assist before the gang drove eastbound on Great Mills Road.
Patrol officers received the car description and were able to find a matching Honda within minutes. When cops tried a traffic check, the vehicle fled, prompting a pursuit that ended with stop sticks on Three Notch Road in Mechanicsville. The occupants eventually fled on foot.
Shortly later, a separate silver BMW with Virginia plates was seen exiting a nearby residential area at high speeds. Deputies halted the vehicle and apprehended the female driver, a male passenger, and two other individuals, one of whom was shirtless and sweating. Two hoodie coats spotted inside the automobile reportedly matched those seen on security film.
Additional searches, involving K9 tracking and cooperation from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office, resulted in the arrest of other suspects in neighboring wooded areas. According to detectives, one suspect attempted to flee by vehicle again but was apprehended after approaching the Drift Inn Crab House area.
Four people were charged with the burglary: Ejion Davantai Thorton, 18; Darryl C. Harrison, 22; David Burch, 29; and Javeion White, 18—all from different neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Each faces several felony charges, including second- and third-degree burglary, theft ranging from $1,500 to $25,000, and malicious destruction of property worth more than $1,000.
According to court filings, Thorton was positively identified using Metro Police image records and given the detectives the moniker “Lil E.” According to charging documents, he and others used cellphones to plan transportation and meeting spots near the burglary site.
On June 9, all four defendants appeared before Judge James Tanavage for bail review hearings. They were ordered to be jailed without bond pending preliminary hearings in St. Mary’s District Court on July 8, 2025.