Flower Thief on the Prowl in Cleveland Park

Somebody's been stealing flowers from people's gardens in the Cleveland Park neighborhood. The what we know: flowers. But the why remains unknown.  But it looks like the neighbors had a description and are keeping a lookout. Here are the reports from our companion email list, the Cleveland Park Listserv. 

I just looked out the window in the 3100 block of 34th Street and saw a man walking briskly southward carrying a large bunch of lilacs. They weren't wrapped but loose. I believe I have seen this same man in past years walking away from the Cathedral Close bearing large branches of flowering shrubs. I am sorry if your shrub has been stripped.

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This is probably the same individual who comes into the Newark Street Community Garden and helps himself to everyone's peonies. This year I will call the police (who are conveniently located just up the street) if I seem him.

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If this man is about 60 years old, of short stature, Caucasian, and with wavy, salt-and-pepper hair, I believe I have seen him in past years helping himself to big armfuls of hydrangeas in the summer, from multiple homes. Each time I've seen him, he's walking away from the denuded bushes very quickly.

This man is always dressed in the standard uniform issued by commercial kitchens, and I've wondered if he was stealing blooms for restaurant table vases.

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This is the man I saw this morning. Maybe if we watch for him, we can get the police to catch him.

Watch Out for Trash Thieves

From the Brookland listserv comes this intriguing account of a trash thief caught in the act. Although the trash-stealer quickly came up with a lofty-sounding motive, the more likely object of trash sifting is any unshredded paid bills or bank statements that can be used for identify theft.

This morning, a little past 8am, I looked outside towards the rear where the trash barrels are, and saw a man going through several stacked and tied-up trash bags that had been placed there for pickup this week. I noticed a white sports model car parked right outside the fenced-in yard, and yelled through the window at him "What are you doing?!" 

Beware the Booeymonger Thieves

Photo by Shawn Honnick

Turn on your third eye and pay attention to your surroundings. You don't have to be kind to strangers by lending them your iPhone to be robbed. Thieves will take almost any opportunity that's available, and if you provide them with one, say goodbye to your belongings. Here's what happened,as reported on Communite-E to an unaware victim at the Booeymonger restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue and Jenifer Street, NW.

On Tuesday, October 12 at about 1:30 pm, two very sophisticated thieves opened my purse and removed two credit cards from my wallet --that was in a zipped compartment-- and an envelope containing cash that was in a second zipped compartment. I must have hung the purse over the back of my chair, not a good thing to do.

How to Catch DC's iPhone Robbers

There are multiple iPhone thieves on the loose in Washington, DC. One thief approaches his victims and asks to borrow the phone. The victim hands the phone to the thief and then gets to see how fast a mugger can run. Another area thief snatches iPhones from Metro passengers: One moment you're listening to Lily Allen on the ride home, and the next moment your phone's been snatched.  Faster than you can say, "doors closing," the thief and your phone are gone.

The police want you to call 911 when your phone's been stolen. But how do you do that when you no longer have your smartphone?

Grasshopper, there is a way.

Install an app on your iPhone (or other smartphone) that lets you track the phone's location. These apps display exactly where your phone is on a website map.  Having your iPhone snatched is no fun, but being able to direct the police to your phone via an online map is cool and effective.