Feb 09 2007
February 8th, 2007 PDF  | Print |  E-mail
Written by Laura M. Siena   
Friday, 09 February 2007
Mt. Airy Safety Network Alert

Last evening, on the 600 and 700 block of Westview Street, the spouse of
the person whose purse was stolen last Saturday night from the 600
Arbutus Street saw the perpetrator.  His description:

African American male, 20 - 25 years old, 5' 9" - 5' 10", neither stocky
or thin with large eyes ( i.e., you can see the whites of his eyes
well.)  Each time this person has been seen, he has been wearing a brown
hooded sweatshirt. The resident (spouse)  called the police, who came quickly, but the
person had disappeared into one of the driveways on the 600 block of
Westview.  I just spoke to Captain Singletary of the 14th District, who
confirmed that this person was not apprehended.  The Captain surmises
that the person lives in the neighborhood.

This same person has been seen in and around the 600 block of Arbutus
and the 800 block of Westview as well as on Wayne Avenue -- in other
words, this whole small area.  Last Saturday night, in addition to
stealing a purse from a car in a driveway on the 600 block of Arbutus
and a cell phone from a car across the street, it has also been reported
to me that he and an male companion were seen in the driveway of a house
on the 800 block of Westview.  When confronted by the owners, they
pulled a knife.

PLEASE, IF YOU SEE THIS PERSON, CALL 911 RIGHT AWAY AND REPORT THE
INCIDENT.  WE CAN ONLY HOPE TO CATCH THIS PERSON IF WE BUILD UP A
DOSSIER IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S DATABASE.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPROACH
HIM OR HIS COMPANIION.

Also, if you see him or them, please email WMAN at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

These incidents are happening in a very small geographic radius, and
it's quite possible that this person can be caught if we all work
together to do so.

Also, please don't leave valuables in unlocked cars, even for a short
time.  Most crimes are "crimes of opportunity" meaning that the person
who commits the crime is looking around for promising opportunities,
rather than planning the crime in advance.  It's evident that this
person was walking around the neighborhood, looking for his chance to
grab some cash.

This alert is being sent by Laura M. Siena, Executive Director of West
Mt. Airy Neighbors.  it is being sent to residents of Zones11, the area
in which the event occurred.  West Mt. Airy Neighbors has divided the
community into 14 zones so that we can more easily communicate about
localized issues and incidents.  To see a map of the zones, visit
www.wman.net/wmanmap.pdf