Dupont Car Break-in Artist Soon to be Back on Streets

A man with more than 50 arrests and a history of breaking into cars, often in the Dupont Circle area, will be released from a short jail term soon. That was the word at the meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont on September 11.

Lt. Jesse Porter speaks to ANC2B

The man was named by an ANC2B Commissioner at the meeting. I am not publishing his name, nor the name of the ANC Commissioner, because I can find no corroborating information on the Internet about the alleged break-in artist.

The same ANC Commissioner also said the man never commits crimes of violence against people, only property crimes. His multiple jail terms have all been of short duration. He will soon complete a 90-day stint in prison.

The discussion occurred after Lt. Jesse Porter of Police Service Area (PSA) 208 briefed the ANC about the recent crime situation in the area. Crime has generally dropped, with a few exceptions like car break-ins. Lt. Porter asked people not to leave anything valuable in cars parked on the streets, or even in garages. Handbags, coats, and GPS devices have functioned as inviting reasons to smash a car window.

Porter said one man recently reported $60,000 in cash stolen from a car parked on the street. Another man said his "family jewels" had been stolen from a parked car, according to Porter. There was no further explanation of either theft.

A resident attending the meeting said most people who are residents in the area already know about car break-ins and are probably not the most frequent victims. The resident went on to speculate that many of the victims may be visitors to the area's nightclubs and bars.

Lt. Porter neither agreed nor disagreed.

The resident asked about more effectively alerting the section of the population that does not attend ANC meetings to this unfortunate trend in crime. For example, signs, placards, and other advertising might be used to alert visitors to auto break-ins. Porter speculated such a campaign might be a tough sell to the local merchant and business community.

A map of the area covered by PSA 208 is available here.

A similar rise in "smash and grab" thefts from cars was also reported at the meeting of neighboring ANC2F (Logan Circle) two days earlier by Master Patrol Officer Jermaine Wilson and Officer Christopher Brown of PSA 307.