“we were awoken to a man in the house at 3am yesterday night…the robber was wearing a police uniform”

Photo by PoPville flickr user KJinDC

“Dear PoPville,

Last week my neighbor’s home at 15th and Buchanan was robbed twice, likely by the same perpetrator within 12 hours! My husband saw the brazen thief exit through the back with the bike that was reported on your blog, as he was in the ally during broad daylight taking in the trash bin. He looked the guy straight in the eye and got a good description. He was wearing a construction uniform to blend in with the construction workers doing work in the ally.

Fast forward only 6 days, we were awoken to a man in the house at 3am yesterday night, who we chased out. Video surveillance at the back of our house caught the robber wearing a police uniform spending about 15 minutes using tools to manipulate the locks on a back window, and opened it an crawled in the house. This was the same man who broke into the neighboring house last week.

We estimate he spent almost an hour rifling through the house, carefully preparing bags full of liquor, snacks, electronics, etc. We caught him when he tried to enter the bedroom and turn on the lights at about 3am! We chased him out and he fled out of the back door and had to jump over our fence because the gate was securely locked. He got away with a wallet, credit cards, and a few items, some of which are likely TBD (we’re still going through everything to see what he took, because he spent so much time going through the entire house). He had to ditch all the large bags he prepared on the back porch in the escape.

Police arrived right away and collected the video, fingerprints, DNA, and other evidence. Stolen credit cards were used at several Columbia Heights locations right after the robber fled, and working with the cops at the house, we tracked the purchases, and dispatches immediately followed the robber, and two accomplices to apprehend them.

One of the police who immediately responded to our call came back this evening to tell me that they positively ID’d the man who had broken into our house, and found his fake police uniform in the car, with other stolen property. He will be arraigned tomorrow morning.

The police should be commended for their work in helping get this robber and his associates off the streets. He’s terrorized 16th St Heights, which has always been a quiet, safe neighborhood. Now, with the knowledge that the perpetrator of at least 3 recent incidents in the area is behind bars, we can all sleep a little bit better tonight.

PROPS TO THE COPS!!!”