Montgomery County police announced Friday they had arrested a Washington, D.C. man for stealing laundry detergent packets in a September armed robbery at a Rockville Safeway store.
Police arrested Maurice Leonard Brown, 46, of Southeast D.C., on Oct. 20. He is charged with armed robbery and first-degree assault after he allegedly stole Tide laundry packets from the grocery store and threatened a manager with a weapon around 10 p.m. on Sept. 17 at the Safeway at 5200 Randolph Road.
Surveillance footage of the incident released by police shows a man fleeing the store, followed by the manager, who grabs mangoes from a nearby fruit stand and hurls them at the alleged robber.
Police said they arrested Brown after receiving a tip through Crime Solvers of Montgomery County.
Officer Rick Goodale, a police spokesman, said laundry detergent and other items are popular among thieves because they’re non-traceable and can easily be turned around and sold on the street.
On Sept. 15, just two days before this robbery, a different man stole about $100 worth of Tide from a Giant store on University Boulevard West in Wheaton. In that case, police say the man threatened a manager with a large knife before fleeing the store. Police arrested Mario Wells, 35, after he turned himself over to police on Sept. 30 in that case.
