Wednesday, July 25, 2012

surge in drug activity on and around the 2000 block of North Capitol St NW

From a Bloomingdale resident:

All,
            
I wanted the community to see the letter I wrote to MPD officials today about a surge in drug activity taking place on the 2000 block of North Capitol and the unit blocks of U and V Streets NW. It is an urgent situation down here that I believe is growing worse by the day. If you live in the area and see activity which matches the described, please call the police immediately and tell them you suspect a drug transaction is taking place.
             
Dear MPD officials,
Over the past two months, the extreme east ends of the unit blocks of V Street NW and U Streets NW as well as the 2000 block of North Capitol and the alleys in between (of the unit blocks of U and V, 2000 block of North Cap) have seen a huge increase in drug dealing that has been witnessed by multiple neighbors. Most of this drug dealing seems to be associated with three individuals, here are their descriptions:
                   
Individual #1: African American male, mid 20s – 30s. Between 5’6 and 5’10, very skinny. This individual is distinguishable by his very long braids, with which he often wears a baseball hat.
           
Individual #2: African American male, low to mid 20s. About 6’3 and built. He has a small, pointy goatee. This individual is distinguishable by his size. He is tall and broad.
                  
Individual #3: African American male, mid 30s to early 40s. Between 5’8 and 6 ft. Overweight but not outright fat. He has a beard. This individual is distinguishable by the gaps in his teeth.
                            
We believe they are associated with the following addresses: (redacted--all three of these homes are at the extreme east ends of the unit blocks of U and V Streets NW)
              
How we drew these conclusions:
                  
- A neighbor recently pulled up on North Capitol Street and was in her car for a prolonged period. Individual #1 walked past and planted something at the base of a tree approximately in front of 2018 North Capitol St NW. Then a car pulled up, DC plate EC 0331, and appeared to retrieve the item from the base of the tree.
               
- Last Friday, the same neighbor witnessed a woman who she believes lives at the beggining of U Street walk to a gold colored SUV (possibly a range rover or chevy) parked on the 2000 block of North Capitol Street. She drove the truck to make right on U St NW and came back 20 minutes later, leaving the car and returning on foot to U Street. Then, individual #3 walked to the truck and drove off. I do not have a good description of the woman. After this occured, the neighbor looked in front of the woman's house on U Street and there was ample parking available.
                
- I have personally seen individual #1 meeting with multiple individuals on the 2000 block of North Capitol Street. Sometimes he gets in their cars and drives off with them. I have also seen individual #2 idling in multiple vehicles on the 2000 block of North Capitol Street. Several days ago I went outside to do yard work on the 2000 block of North Capitol and there was another individual idling in his car. After I looked in his direction, he drove away. I picked up the garbage along North Capitol on Sunday. I found a crack pipe.
              
We are absolutely positive that this group uses the 2000 block of North Capitol as a drop/meeting point to buy or sell drugs possibly in a multitude of ways. 
- Individual #1 is also constantly using the alley of the 2000 block of North Capitol to go back and forth likely from an address at the extreme east end of the unit bock of V Street NW to the group which hangs out in the alley at the nexus of the unit block of U Street NW and 2000 block of North Capitol Street NW. If I had to bet where the motherload is stashed, I’d bet on the house this guy lives in on V Street.
          
- Recently, Individuals #1-3 were all in the alley of the 2000 block of North Capitol NW playing dice. A gold SUV drove up—possibly the same car mentioned in the prior incident—and individual #1 went into a garage on the unit block of U Streets, approximately one house from the alley, retrieved something and passed it to the individual in the car. The individual in the car drove off. I called the police as the transaction was taking place as well as to report the illegal gambling. I don’t believe anyone ever showed up.
                        
- Elements of this group demonstrate a reasonable degree of sophistication in their drug selling counter measures in that they appear to never keep the drugs on them as they are standing around a group. They likely use multiple parts of the 2000 block of North Capitol Street, the southeast corner of Crispus Attucks Park, and the vacant garage on the unit block of U Streets two houses from the alley for this purpose. Likewise they are meeting with a lot of individuals and are likely moving A LOT of product at this point. If I watch them for any amount of time, strange cars will drive up, idle, exchange passengers, high fives and then drive off.
                                 
Myself and my neighbors are highly alarmed at this sudden surge of bad activity. Likewise, I am concerned these individuals are going to suck the other local youths into their game. I have never seen individuals #1-3 until this year, and they are congregating with many of the local kids in the alley where North Capitol and the unit block of U Street NW meets. Please dedicate resources to this area. Send Narcs. Send drug sniffing dogs. GET THESE GUYS OUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

 

7 comments:

RKnight said...

I would suggest contacting your commander directly. We did this in our neighborhood and was able to to the cell phone number of a local undercover and a detective. when we saw things we texted them directly. Since many of these guys are very good at not doing any hand to hand sales and pass the products off to younger (sometimes really young kids) to transport you will really need to get some help from vice. good luck!

Scott Roberts of Bloomingdale said...

Any other neighbors in this immediate area observing the same activity?

mona said...

I have seen these same guys on the corner of 1st and Ust NW and call the police everytime. They also hang out in front of that market on the same block. If you don't get some results in about a week call the commander and email him, still not getting results email cathy lanier and Kenyon McDuffie. They are working out of some house in the neighborhood. Find the house and target that house too. I noticed an old dealer I hadn't seen on my block recently in a big white SUV that he drives around and parks on the 2200 block of first street. Not that far from where these guys are working out of. Wouldn't be surprised if he is involved.

Anonymous said...

Please take photos.

As an African American male who fits all of the descriptions above and lives on U Street, please take a photo of the alleged drug dealers.

It sounds selfish but I neither want to be stopped, frisked, harassed or inadvertently shot by the jump out squad. "Jump Out Squad" are the narcotic police who speed up on you, slam on the breaks and jump out the unmarked police car.

Yes. You might say that if I’m not doing anything wrong I’ve nothing to worry about. But as Black male between the ages of 18-50 I’d rather not risk being mistaken for descriptions so vague they applies to 90% of African American males in DC.

While I appreciate efforts to curb illegal activities within the neighborhood I'd also appreciate preserving what little civil liberties this War on Drugs has left young Black men and women. Too, I’m not really fond of spending time face down on the concrete, in cuffs with a gun pointed at my back due to my assumed criminal complexion.

So again, please take a photo of the alleged perpetrators. Because if you can see that the man has a gap in his teeth I’m sure you can snap a quick camera phone photo.

Sincerely,

Your law abiding African American / Black neighbor on U Street.

EckingtonGuy said...

I'm on the Eckington list serve. your posting is scarily very similar to my emails I've been sending the past few years about the 2000 block of Summit Place/ 100 Block of U street NE. Email Commander Solberg, and Chief Lanier. They do respond and the commander will send vice cops and event set up under cover.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
From: eckingtonwashdc@yahoo.com
To: Lanier, Cathy (MPD); Solberg, Andrew (MPD); Lyons, Marvin (MPD); Dorrough, Jonathan (MPD)
Sent: Fri Jun 10 21:11:52 2011
Subject: 2000 Block of Summit Place NE

Evening,

Police Chief Lanier, and others I want to thank you for your responses to my last emails about the drug, lotering siutation in my area.

Again today as I arrived home close to 14:00, a couple of young women and young males were loitering on the 2000 block of Summit Place NE, at intersection of 100 U street NE, near Yangs Market.

Eveyday I come home, and on the weekends, I'm calling 911 for drug dealings and often report two black males consitently. Now two of the males who are a regular fixure on my block, and by the way, none of the people live on my block, are about 23 to 25 years old and their stats area as follows:

Drug dealer 1
1. Brown skin
a. Normally wears a black baseball cap
b. Has shoulder lengeth dreadlocks
c. Blue Jeans & white tank-top (wife-beater)
d. Normally rides a bike(dark color)

Drug dealer 2
2. Dark complextion
a. Slim build
b. Short haircut
c. Normally wears white tank-top(wife-beater) or no shirt at all
d. Normally rides a bike

I called 911 today as I was parking my vehicle, but the people disbursed; The two guys mentioned above came back about around 15:00 or so and stayed on the block with their bikes for a good while. I called 911 again, and in the time being, the male with the dreadlocks make several drug sells. I waited and waited and saw no police at all.

I really wanted to throw my hands up and give up. It seems i'm only the resident on my four house block who seems to be dealing with this every single day. The police come sometimes quickly, sometimes forty minites later and by this time the suspects have moved along. Sometimes police do not come as what happened today. And I think at lease one of the above dealers, or both, may have had drugs in the possession.

I'm finding my self now calling two to three times a day for police response, sometimes following up on my previous call hoping the police will come. These guys are so slick. They will "move" or head around the block down to 2nd street ne, and back and sometimes but when the police cruisers arrive, the block is clear.

Commander Solberg, you stated this area is hot, or a trouble area, but I'm not seeing vice or the "jump-out" vice cops at all. These guys are selling illegal drugs in broad daylight. What more can I do. Keep calling 911?

I'm really frustrated in this already hot and seemingly long summer.

Any response is greatly appreciated.

PS I know the male with the dreadlocks lives on the 100 block of U street, towards 2nd street ne.


We'll have our vice unit investigate these guys. You have provided good information and we'll see what we can do with it.

Andy Solberg


Preventing terrorism is everybody’s business.
If you SEE something, SAY something.
Call the Metropolitan Police Department at (202) 727-9099 or email at SAR@DC.GOV to report suspicious activity or behavior that has already occurred.
Call 911 to report in-progress threats or emergencies.

To learn more, visit http://www.mpdc.dc.gov/operationtipp.

Bloomingdale Resident said...

I was told recently by a 5D officer to try to make a note of the shoes that someone is wearing - that that is more constant than a hat or a jacket. It's a great suggestion, but I can imagine there are situations where you might not feel comfortable trying to take a picture.

Anonymous said...

Dear Neighbors,

To assist with our drug problem, I will personally print out a copy of this blog and give to each of the alleged dealers. That way they know that the neighborhood knows what they’re up to and that the police have been notified.

Of course names will be redacted. As will any other information that may personally identify an individual blog contributor. I respect your privacy almost as much as I do my inalienable rights not to be harassed by the cops…for the color of my skin.

Too, I will also advise them all to get haircuts, shave and switch up their styles of dress. Wife beaters are so passé. Of course, once they change their clothes how on earth will MPD identify them?

That way when law enforcements harasses every African American male between the ages of 15-75 in the neighborhood they’ll be even more likely to fit the ambiguous, vague descriptions so kindly provided.

You could of course thwart my subversive efforts to hamper justice by providing a photo of the alleged drug dealers.

Focus your energies (and what I suspect is a lot of free time) on properly identifying the alleged perpetrators, by figuring out how to take a photo. Not simply goading MPD to harassing and arresting every person of color who lives in the neighborhood by giving antidotal descriptions of drug dealers plagiarized from made for TV movie scripts.

*****BOLO****ALERT******BOLO*****ALERT*****BOLO*****ALERT*****
Beware of armed robbers in your neighborhood. Be on the look out for three suspected thieves. Street names: Congressman / Senator / Finance Executive

Description:
1. Pale skin
2. Normally wearing diamond cufflinks
3. Neat cropped “executive haircut”
4. Haberdashery tailored suit & wingtips
5. Normally rides in black big body Mercedes Benz
6. Known to hang out on corners of 1st Street NE and Constitution Ave
7. Last seen at airport heading offshore with your jobs and retirement money

See how a photo would help in that instance?

Sincerely,

Your law abiding African American / Black neighbor on U Street.