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B&E on 27th Street
11/18/2013 8:39 AM by John M
Rachel has word of a B&E on the corner of 27th and Marshall last night:
Tenant was robbed in my building… Stole two TVs, cash, laptops and more. Only gone an hour… Police on scence. Broke through door.
This is exactly what happened at our house a month ago. We live a block and a half down the same street. What time of day was it?
Man, that is horrible and just on my corner BUT… I believe someone tried to break in our house the other day as well here on the 400 block of N 27th too.
The back door was opened and slightly splintered but we have a security bar across the door and it stopped them. Plus we have a burglar alarm system and cameras too.
Be on the look-out!
Eric
Is that the WPA building?
An empty foreclosed property on my block was also broken into recently. Across from Chimborazo elementary.
Bummer. I doubt the deadbolt would’ve saved you. Maybe a metal plate on the backside of the frame? Like Eric said nothing beats a solid horizontal bar. The old shop door got kicked in late July by some large boots. I had to use one until we moved cause both door and frame destroyed.
I just got the CH crime watch call. They said that this may have been done by someone that knows the tenant.
Well, my back door was kicked in mid-September (there was a mention at the time on CHPN). I’d love to see a Google Map showing the location of break-ins over the past 3 or 4 months, with the time of day the attempted/successful break-in occurred.
Jujubee- what house across from Chimborazo Elementary? That’s my block…
2913
The front door was unlocked and the boards covering the outbuilding were kicked in. I called the police and got in touch with code enforcement and they are going to let Wells Fargo know to come by and secure the front door and outbuilding. My concern is that the property is attracting squatters.
Jujubee.. or worse yet, they can start fires as the weather get cold and that is another concern if it jumps from house to house.
Brett@Cyclus… I am assuming you had a security system at a business location. Did it not go off and if so, how long did it take for police to show up?
Also, with our security system we have glass breakage and impact sensors so they must not have tried very hard to get in. We have a set of French Doors also in the back and in that room is one of a series of sound sensors anyone can see and they may have?
Exactly, Eric. Code enforcement condemned the building today, so hopefully that will push the city to make it eligible for auction sooner.
Church Hill Burglary Has Residents on Edge
http://www.wric.com/story/24002942/church-hill-burglary-has-residents-on-edge
@Eric – I had a security system on my house when I got broken into back in 2006. The guy was in and out of a 2-story house in less than 5 minutes. The police took maybe 15 minutes to arrive. I was only a few blocks away when I got the call and got there before they did.
Back in July and August 2006 there was a rash of B&Es across the area, this kind of reminds me of that. That guy was caught when a neighbor saw someone doing something suspicious and called the police.
Recent break-ins on 22nd/23rd
/2006/07/23/recent-break-ins-on-22nd23rd_491/
Recent breakins #2
/2006/08/24/recent-breakins-2_517/
They’ve got him?!?
/2006/08/31/theyve-got-him_525/
I live on the 700 block of 27th street and I am home during the daytime almost everyday. I Make it a point to walk my dog around the several blocks that i live a few times a day and keep an eye out. I have not seen anything suspicious, but odds are I have seen the culprit(s) because criminals operate in areas they are comfortable. The other thing I have noticed is the complete absence of police patrols during the day. Police regularly go down 25th st. coming and going from precinct #1 HQ, but never have I seen a police officer on patrol on 27th st, 26th st., etc. during the daytime. When they go down Jefferson or Marshall they are not patrolling they are just zipping by. I have expressed my concerns to Ms. El-Amin, The commander of precint #1. Perhaps if more of us request a regular daytime patrol we can deter crime.
Yesterday around 3:00, I saw a medium build dark, skinned male, late 20’s, walking in the 2800 block of E Grace St. He was carrying two large trash bags, one white, one black, both stuffed full of something. He was wearing black jeans, a dark blue (almost black) coat, had a back pack stuffed full with a white sweat shirt hanging out of it. I watched him go up on several porches and go between two houses. When he realized he was being watched, he quickly started walking in the opposite direction (West on Grace).
I called the police and they responded quickly. I don’t know if they found him or not.
This man was clearly casing houses and did not want to be seen. I followed him for three blocks but he was younger, faster and more determined than I was.
If anyone else saw him, let the police know when and where you saw him.
Excellent point Kevin_H
John-M – I hear you and remember this rash of incidents too. In fact I believe the police chased one suspect through our back yard after they both jumped the fence! I also recall seeing suspicious characters – one carrying a pillowcase full of stuff and the police never responded to our call.
Kevin-H… not adding fuel to the fire but at the same time making residents aware of the fact that there just are no police to cover the area. During two different CERT classes I attended where a representative from the police department was giving a speech, they said that there were only between 7-12 officers available to cover an area from basically Fulton to the Boulevard! We need more police patrolling the streets but that is also why they now admit they can’t handle the load and ask for citizens to step in and be alert.
7-12 officers at a time? Then why on earth are there always SO many patrol cars sitting outside the station down on 25th? Maybe they can sell off some of those cars to hire a few more patrollers.
Jean, my neighbor and I saw the young man you are speaking of down at the end of East Broad and East Marshall. My neighbor saw him sorting through her recycling bin, located right next to her house. She watched him the whole time he was doing this from her back porch and said he seemed quite focused on the task at hand. He did not attemp to look through their windows though. He ultimately walked all around our block while he was down here. I’m not sure if casing was involved or if he was just looking for extra cash from aluminum cans.
The bottom line is that he seemed innocent but given all the burglaries it’s fair to ask questions and that is truly a shame.
Kevin H
Check out FB page N 27th St on the Hill, RVA
More police on the street would be great but residents still need to be involved. If someone is loitering, it’s not illegal, but it’s suspicious and you should call the police and you should keep calling. In my area, a few years ago we had 5 houses robbed in a 2 block area over a period of about 6 weeks. All were day time robberies that involved kicking in back doors. I remain convinced that the robbers used loitering at the Blue Wheeler as a way to scout the 300 and 400 blocks of N 32nd Street. While loitering is legal, I know my neighborhood – I know the difference between a stranger watching/waiting and our regular hangers. I am going to call the police (repeatedly, if necessary) when I see a stranger loitering and the police should make it an unattractive activity for the loiterer.
I really wish something could be done about the sorting through our recycling bins. I realize it’s sitting out on the public sidewalk, but we’re each paying a fee for that service to be carried out, and as mentioned above it can create a legal excuse for what may actually be illegal behavior.