This guy was photographed breaking into a car at 9:30 a.m. today on the 1500-block of Corcoran Street NW. His bicycle is visible in the bottom of the photo. After jacking the car, he rode off on his bike.

Note: Luis reported this incident at One Photograph A Day and gave me the information.

1500-block of Corcoran Street NW, 9:30 a.m.: This photo shows a break in and theft from an auto in progress. Our neighbor on the block looked out his window, saw what was happening and called the police. According to our witness (who has talked to the police), the guy pulled up on his bike, which he then parked on the sidewalk (in the bottom of the photo). He apparently saw something on the back seat of the car, then smashed the right back window and then popped the trunk. According to the witness, the guy did not seem to have a care in the world… didn’t seem to be worried about being seen or caught.

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It bears repeating again and again and again… there are things you can do to reduce the likelihood of your car having its windows smashed and your valuables taken. I originally posted, “Car Talk: Are Your Hookups Showing?” on August 21. Please: Read it. I have even posted the text below so you don’t have to click on the link.

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The fountain at Dupont Circle. (Image: Luis Gomez Photos.)

Incident 1: Robbery with a Gun, 1900-block of S Street NW

• Date, Time & Location: Thursday, November 27, at 1:30 a.m., on the 1900-block of S Street NW.
• Details: Complainant reports he was walking in the block when the suspect approached him from the rear, pointed a silver colored gun at him and demanded his property.  Suspect fled on foot. Police believe there may be a connection between this crime and the street robbery that occured about 75 minutes earlier at 1617 15th Street in Borderstan.
• Lookout: Lookout for a black male, 19 years of age, 6’0”, medium complexion, wearing a blue-white skull cap, dark coat, carrying a silver gun.

Incident 2: Assault with Intent to Rob, 1800-block of R Street NW

• Date, Time & Location: Saturday, November 22, at 11 p.m., on the 1800-block of R Street NW.
• Details: Complainant reports he was walking in the block when he was approached by two suspects and was punched. The suspects fled on foot, eastbound on R Street.
• Lookout: Lookout is for two black males, 15- to 17-years old, 5’11”, 165 to 170 pounds wearing black coats.

Incident 3: Robbery Force & Violence, 1800-block of T Street NW

• Date, Time & Location: Saturday, November 22, at 10:40 p.m., at 1800-block of T Street NW.
• Details: Case closed with arrest of three suspects. The complainant reports he was walking in the block and was approached from behind by three suspects. All three suspects knocked the complainant to the ground and started punching him. The suspects fled on foot and were apprehended by Officer Mike Smith, PSA 208. The complainant was treated at George Washington Hospital for his injuries.
• Three Arrested: Arrested were one adult and two juveniles. The adult is identified as Joshua Fortson, Black Male, DOB: 7/24/89. His address of record is 1119 Stevens Road SE. The two juveniles arrested are 15- and 17-years old and live in the vicinity of the arrested adult suspect; their names cannot be released because they are juveniles.

Incident 4: Robbery Force & Violence, 1700-block of Swann Street NW

• Date, Time & Location: Tuesday, November 11, at 6 p.m., 1700-block of Swann Street NW.
• Details: Complainant reports while walking in the block a group of six males jumped him from behind and began punching him. The complainant sustained a laceration to his forehead and was treated at George Washington University Hospital.
• Lookout: A general lookout was provided for six black males in their late teens to early ’20s. 

Incident 5: Assault with Intent to Rob, 18th & New Hampshire NW

• Date, Time & Location: Monday, November 10, at 12:10 a.m., at 18th Street and New Hampshire Avenue NW.
• Details: Female complainant reports she was walking in the block when two suspects approached her from behind and pushed her to the ground. The suspects attempted to grab the complainant’s bag, but fled before taking possession of it. The suspects fled on foot northbound on 18th Street.
• Lookout: Lookout is for two black males, 15- to 16-years old, 5’7” to 5’8”, 140 pounds, wearing blue jeans and dark coats.

Arrest Made in Theft from Auto

PSA 208 officers made an arrest in a Theft from Auto case on November 27 in the 1600-block of O Street NW.  The suspect is identified as Reginald Teneyck, 52-years old, no fixed address.

The 1500-block of Corcoran Street NW was recently the site of attempted car thefts. (Photo by Luis Gomez.)

Received this message from Office Mike Smith last week and it’s a bit disturbing:

“Just wanted to pass on that there were two attempts to steal cars in the 1500-block of Corcoran this week.  Both were Chrysler Sebrings. In the first, a neighbor saw three black male juveniles in the car for a while trying to get it started, left and came back try again.  This happened around 6 to 7 p.m. In both cases they pulled out the ignitions, but couldn’t get the car started.”

Remember: Remove valuables from your car, hide or remove your car hook-ups (satellite radios, GPS / navigation systems, etc.). Obviously, if you see someone in your neighbor’s car, and the situation doesn’t seem right, you should call 911.

Here are the Borderstan crime stats for the past week, August 22-28. The stats show auto theft and thefts from autos are a problem in Borderstan. Two cars were stolen during the past week and five car break-ins were reported. (Did you read this post, “Car Talk: Are Your Hookups Showing?”)It is important to report car break-ins to the police. These crimes too often go unreported.

Violent Crime

• Homicide: 0 for both weeks.
• Sex Abuse: 0 for both weeks.
• Robbery Excluding Gun: 0 for both weeks.
• Robbery With Gun: 0 for both weeks.
• Assault With a Dangerous Weapon: 0 for both weeks.

Property Crimes

• Burglary: 0 for Aug. 22-28; 1 the previous week — down 100 percent.
• Theft from Auto: 5 for Aug. 22-28; 1 the previous week — up 500 percent.
• Stolen Auto: 2 for Aug. 22-28; 1 the previous week — up 100 percent.
• Arson: 0 for both weeks.

Crime Summary, Aug. 22-28

• Total Violent Crime: 0
• Total Property Crime: 8, up 100 percent from previous week
• Total Crimes: 8, up 100 percent from previous week

Related Links

• D.C. crime stats from D.C. MPD
• Search for crime stats for a specific area in D.C.

14th & You has a good post on auto thefts in the area.. and asks, “What’s Up With All Those Stolen Cars?”

“Thefts From Autos” are a big problem in Borderstan. The police constantly warn us: Do not leave anything of value visible in your car. This also extends to hookups for Global Positioning Systems (GPS), satellite radio and iPods. Why? If a thief sees a hookup, he may assume that the GPS, satellite radio or iPod is somewhere in your car — and break in to look for it. One officer recently told me that thieves are now targeting cars where the outline of the suction cup for a GPS hookup is visible on the windshield.

Yeah, I know: It’s a pain to have to do this, but it beats broken glass and the cost of a new system.

Here’s a visual reminder we found over at We Love DC.