Police detectives focusing on burglaries, auto thefts, assaults

Car thefts are way up this year. [FCPD]

The criminal investigations section at the Mason Police Station is having a busy year so far.

The unit has had 184 cases in 2021, compared to 213
for all of 2020, 2nd Lt. Richard Buisch reported at the station’s community
engagement meeting June 1.

Among the cases in 2021, there were nine grand larceny cases (theft of an item
worth $1,000 or more), 11 cases involving weapons, 37 burglaries, 62 stolen auto
cases, 12 robberies, three prescription fraud cases, one indecent exposure,
three peeping cases, one malicious wounding, one assault, and one false
police report. There are also about 20 domestic violence or domestic dispute cases a month. 

One of the big cases solved by the unit this year involved
burglaries at about 80 Asian restaurants in the region carried out by
the Simple City Crew from D.C.

The ringleader has been arrested, Buisch says, thanks to
teamwork involving multiple jurisdictions, and is locked up in Georgia. After
that arrest, the break-ins at Asian restaurants stopped.

In a related series of crimes, there have been about 130
break-ins or attempted burglaries at businesses across the region between
January and May conducted by the Culmore City Crew. These were “smash and grabs”
at mom-and-pop stores, as crew members broke a door or window and grabbed the
cash register. Since the police started making arrests, the break-ins have
stopped.

On the other hand, residential burglaries are down this
year, mainly because people have been spending more time at home during the
pandemic. Of the 37 burglaries in 2021 in the Mason Police District, just 11
were residential.

Another recent series of crimes involved the theft of
high-end stolen autos worth $60,000 to $100,000. There were about 15 of these cases
in Fairfax County, Buisch said, and 25 in other D.C.-area jurisdictions.

The police have identified suspects and a crew and are
working with police in Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and D.C. to bring them down.

The thieves aren’t breaking locks; they’re getting into cars
that are unlocked and looking in the glove box for an extra set of keys or keys
for another car in the driveway. The crews go down the street pulling on door
handles; if the car is locked, they move on to the next one.

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Aside from making sure your car is locked, it’s also a good idea to keep your car keys in your home
away from the front door, says Det. Gary Moore. A crew from D.C. has a device
that can read a signal from the key even if it’s in the house.

In cases where the police were able to recover stolen cars, the
owners had paid for a high-end security service from the automaker, such as OnStar.

These crews go through a neighborhood doing surveillance, so
Moore urges people who see anything suspicious to take a photo and call the
non-emergency police number, 703-691-2131, or 911.

Among open cases, police have still not identified a
suspect in the sexual assault on May 13 in the restroom at the Dollar Tree at 7448
Little River Turnpike in Annandale. Detectives are reviewing surveillance video
and canvassing the area for potential witnesses, said station commander Capt.
Shawn Adcock.

Another case under investigation involves a shooting in
the 5000 block of Fran Place in Lincolnia shortly before 5 p.m. on May 8. That incident started as a verbal altercation, and the victim suffered
non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in the leg.

In another major crime this year, police arrested Jonathan
Lincoln for harassing people with a knife as they entered Dar al-Hijrah Islamic
Center in Bailey’s Crossroads. He attempted to stab two people, made racially
biased threats, and was charged with assault and disorderly conduct.