DC Walgreens store manager pleads guilty to being involved in 7 inside-job robberies

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A former store manager of a drugstore in Chinatown, D.C. has ped guilty to being involved in several inside-job robberies.

What we know:

The former store manager has been identified as 21-year-old London Teeter, of Washington D.C. Teeter pleaded guilty to her role in a series of seven inside-job robberies of Walgreens located in Chinatown where she was employed as a store manager. 

According to authorities, Teeter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery.

According to court documents, Teeter and three co-conspirators devised a scheme to carry out armed robberies of the Walgreens store in Chinatown nearly once a month, beginning in July 2023, when either she or her co-conspirator were working. 

As a store manager, Teeter knew the timing of cash transfers within the business. In each robbery, a masked gunman entered the store, forced an employee into the manager’s office or accessed the manager’s office using a code provided by Teeter or her co-conspirator. The gunman then robbed the employees and fled through a rear exit. 

According to authorities, Teeter and her co-conspirator took turns pretending to be the "victim" manager on duty, knowing that the robberies would be captured on internal surveillance. The robberies occurred on July 18, 2023, August 2, September 2, November 10, December 4, January 9, 2024, and February 11. 

Authorities say Teeter was present in the manager’s office and pretended to be the victim of a robbery during the July 18, 2023, and January 9, 2024, robberies. Teeter was aware that armed Special Police Officers would be present during the robberies and that a co-conspirator robbed the officers of their firearms during the robberies that occurred on December 4, 2023, and February 11, 2024. 

In the plea agreement, Teeter admitted that the co-conspirators stole and split at least $28,983. She also acknowledged that she reviewed surveillance footage from the August 2, 2023, robbery during which a co-conspirator briefly placed his firearm on a chair. Teeter acknowledged that she sent a co-conspirator a text message stating: "the vid looks so bad," "idk why he put the gun down," and "he can’t do it next time [not gonna lie]." 

What's next:

Teeter is scheduled to be sentenced in June. Authorities said she faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Trial dates are pending for the three alleged co-conspirators: Michael Robinson, Kamanye Williams, and Gianna Robinson.

Dig deeper:

"I’m not surprised," said Ron Hill, a distinguished professor in the Kogod School of Business at American University. "I think it happens more often than people know."

Hill added that while most retail employees are honest, hard workers – inside-jobs happen a lot.

"I think the typical consumer is unaware of it. They’re unaware that this is a big space," Hill explained. "I would say there are fewer items going out the door by employees, but they tend to be bigger items and more expensive items and those are the ones that the company needs to protect the most."