On Wednesday October 18th, members of the First District Crime Suppression Team were on patrol early in the day. They were on the look-out for package thieves in the Capitol Hill-East area. While on patrol, they observed several suspicious acts.
At approximately 11:08 a.m., one officer observed two men that seemed to be working together in the 400 block of 11th Street NE. The officer saw the two men walking through the block appearing to look into cars. He set up nearby to observe them for actual criminal behavior beyond the merely suspicious.
One of the two men walked up to a building at 410 11th Street NE and sat down beside a large package. When the man opened the package, the other man noticed the officer and the two ran in different directions. He left the package behind.
When he ran, the man also left behind a hedge trimmer that he had either just stolen or had been carrying as a prop while he walked up to houses. He also dropped a backpack containing a large silver foil package from a prepared meal service such as SunBasket, HelloFresh, or BlueApron. Officers were unable to determine from which home he may have stolen the meal service delivery.
The men escaped into the nearby alleyways and were not captured. They were last seen in the area of the 1100 block of E St NE.
At approximately 12:52 p.m., officers stopped a man entering the Stadium Armory Metro. He was carrying two large garbage bags of items, and matched the description of a man who had been seen taking packages in the area of the 1700 block of Independence Ave SE. A witness identified him as a suspect who had stolen the packages in that block. When he was found to have the property stolen from that address he was placed under arrest.
Through the items in his possession, two other victims of package theft were identified. The man was arrested for these thefts as well.
Recover Stolen Packages
The photo above contains items recovered from the suspect, likely stolen the morning of Wednesday October 18th.
The photo below shows the hedge trimmer recovered in the 400 block of 11th Street NE. Police are unsure if it is a stolen item or functioned as a prop.
If you recognize any of those items in the photo as yours and one of your packages went missing today, call the police and make a report. To link the report to this incident, please reference CCN 17180728.
Anyone who has additional information regarding these cases should call police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, information may be submitted to the Text Tip Line by sending a text message to 50411.
In Other News
At 3:53 a.m. Wednesday, there was a robbery on the 1400 block of South Capitol Street NE.
At 9:10 a.m. Wednesday, two men were arrested on the 600 block of H Street NE on charges of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
At 2:32 p.m. Wednesday, there was an assault with a dangerous weapon on the 1300 block of E Street NE.
At 8:23 p.m. Wednesday, there was a robbery on the 1400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
At 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a woman was arrested on the 700 block of 13 Street SE on charges of Unlawful Entry of a Motor Vehicle.
At 8:50 p.m. Saturday, a woman was arrested on the 2000 block of Maryland Avenue NE on charges of Threats to do Bodily Harm.
At 2:16 a.m. Sunday, a car was stolen on the 1000 block of O Street SE.
At 1:00 a.m. Sunday, there was an assault with a dangerous weapon on the 100 block of M Street SE.
Reporting Illegal Activity
Prompt and detailed reporting of suspicious activities helps prevent crime. If a citizen sees suspicious activity, or any activity that seems out of the ordinary, immediately call 911.
When reporting suspicious activity, give an accurate description. Here are some things to include:
- Brief description of the activity;
- Date, time and location of the activity;
- Physical identifiers of anyone you observed;
- Descriptions of vehicles;
- Information about where people involved in suspicious activities may have gone;
- Your name and contact information.
“As we continue to work with our community in the prevention of crime, we ask that if you see something suspicious you contact us immediately,” says First District Commander Morgan C. Kane, MPA.
The Blotter is based on the reports posted on October 19th, 2017 by the MPD to the 1D Listserv and 5D Listserv.
