Suspect Arrested in Pret A Manger Robbery

A suspect has been arrested in the attempted robbery of a Pret A Manger location at
the corner of 19th and L streets, Northwest.

In a press conference today, police chief Cathy Lanier said 19-year-old Elijah Warren
is in police custody after being apprehended in the 3000 block of Stanton Road with
a “distinct” firearm that matches the one used to assault a Pret employee during the
robbery.

At 8:10 last night, three men dressed in white shirts with maroon markings, black
pants, and shoes entered the cafe, brandished the firearm, and announced the robbery.
The weapon was used to strike the employee, and triggered it to fire. No one, including
the one customer still present at the approaching closing time, was shot, though the
remaining two suspects are still at large.

While the police can’t yet confirm why the criminals were in unique matching dress,
the description is similar to the uniforms Pret employees are required to wear. The
location is also unusual, though Lanier remarked that overall robberies are up in
the District by 9 percent as of last year. Stay tuned for developments.

Anna Spiegel

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.