ANC’s Rick Murphy Catches a Thief
By • August 5, 2019 0 1020
ANC 2E Chairman Rick Murphy became something of a community hero when he helped stop a shoplifter who was leaving the 7-Eleven at P Street and Wisconsin Avenue, near Murphy’s home, on July 31 at about 7:30 a.m., carrying unpaid merchandise. Murphy helped the 7-Eleven employees subdue the “fairly strong guy” until police came and “gently” (according to Murphy) arrested him. The shoplifter appeared to be unarmed, but at the time, no one was sure.
Murphy told the Washington Post that he thought the shoplifter was homeless. Metropolitan Police said the 25-year-old suspect has no fixed address. He was charged in a citation with theft and released from the station house; he has a court date in September.
“It’s tough out there for people like him on the streets of Washington. Shoplifting is not a huge deal compared to what goes on all over this city,” Murphy told the Post. “But it is a quality-of-life issue. It’s bad for any neighborhood it happens in. That’s the issue for me. You can’t just let it go, but you do want to make sure that people under these circumstances get help.”
