At 7:30 p.m. May 25, Charles County Sheriff’s officers responded to Top Gun Automotive Center located at 2890 Crain Highway in Waldorf for the report of an armed robbery.

The investigation revealed two men entered the business, punched the clerk, brandished a handgun and demanded money. The clerk complied and the suspects fled with an undisclosed amount of money and the clerk’s cell phone.

While officers were en route, police communications officers dispatched a lookout for the suspects, who were described as black males wearing all black clothing and last seen running into the Oak Manor subdivision on Route 925. Det. D. Gross responded to the neighborhood and observed two men matching the description of the suspects leave a residence and enter a vehicle.

The vehicle left the neighborhood and officers stopped it and identified the occupants as Darrell Ivan Johnson, 28, of Waldorf and Darrell Jonathan Hawkins, Jr., 17, of Indian Head.

After confirming that Johnson and Hawkins robbed Top Gun Automotive Center, officers arrested them. Det. Gross went to Johnson’s residence — the residence Johnson and Hawkins were seen leaving — and found Phillip Morris Johnson, Jr., 32, of Waldorf, who he discovered was a co-conspirator in the robbery. Phillip Johnson was subsequently arrested.

The three accused were each charged with armed robbery, first- and second-degree assault, using a handgun in the commission of a felony, reckless endangerment and theft valued at less than $500 and are being held at the Charles County Detention Center pending appearances before a district court commissioner. Hawkins, a juvenile, was charged as an adult. Det. Gross investigated.

 “Our officers are very successful catching these idiots committing robberies,” said Sheriff Rex Coffey of the arrests. “While some are apprehended when they commit the crime, many are arrested later by our detectives based on their investigation. In most cases, people are subjecting themselves to 20-year prison terms for a small amount of money — we will get you.”