man jumps fence in LeDroit Park Sunday afternoon, 7/29/2012

Posted at the LeDroit Park list yesterday, Monday, 7/30/2012:

Hi there,

Yesterday afternoon I had a guy try to jump my fence to get to my patio.  I`m guessing he was either going to try to break in to my house or steal my bike off my patio.  I yelled at him from behind my security gate and told him I was calling the cops.  He took off running and I called the cops.  They came by and said they were going to look for him.  I`m not sure whether they ever found him, but they did advise that I always lock valuables in a shed or in my house. 
  
This person was brazenly trying to get onto my property in the middle of the afternoon on a Sunday!  He was african american, medium color skin, short braids or dreads covered with a skull cap, and a black t-shirt.  I couldn`t tell exactly how tall he was, but my guess is between 5`10 and 6`1.  I just wanted to give everyone a heads up of the incident and advise you to lock up your valuables.  It seems locked gates aren`t deterring thieves:-(

Best,

Elm Street NW

.... followed by this post:

From: Elm Street NW Household

To: LeDroitPark @ yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2012 10:17 AM
Subject: [LeDroitPark] Re: Crooks Jumping Fences in Ledroit

All,

We also had someone jump our fence last week sometime. They stole a lot of tools from my shed and made a mess of the place. Didn`t call it in because we didn`t notice it until days after the fact. So, not an isolated incident, lock everything up tight.
 

Elm St.


... followed by this post by LeDroit Park resident Jana Baldwin:

From: Jana Baldwin

To: ``LeDroitPark@yahoogroups.com``
cc: ``LeDroitPark @ yahoogroups.com`` ; Lt. Alberto Jova MPD ; Marc Morgan
Sent: Monday, July 30, 2012 10:23 AM
Subject: Re: [LeDroitPark] Crooks Jumping Fences in Ledroit

Thank you for posting this. I also live on Elm street and there is a lot of foot traffic in the alley. While this event took place during the day I have noticed that my block lacks lighting at night. I will continue to ask all neighbors to turn your back lights on! You can purchase a ``dusk to dawn`` light for around $4 at home depot which will make lights fade off during the day.

You did the right thing and we must all continue to be vigilant and look out for each other!

I will ask Lt Jova to increase patrols in the alleys in LeDroit!

Best-

Jana
 

....followed by this message:

Ok, same thing happened to me. Theives came into the back alley into my garage. They hopped and stole things from my shed during daytime, mid week.

The cop who showed up said that he does not even know that our alley exists (back alley starts on elm street). I live on second but back up to the alley that starts on Elm and ends on 2nd by the Anna Cooper House.

This alley needs to be monitored. I have heard of 3 thefts so far happening there. The Howard University dorms are there and they are planning to shut them down at some point. I hope they do not become abandoned.

Please report everything to the police, they need to know and be available in these overly sketchy areas.

Ledroit Neighbor


....followed by this post by Eric Fidler:
  
The civic association voted to support Howard University`s campus plan on the condition that its dorms in the neighborhood never remain vacant for more than one year.  When approving the campus plan, the Zoning Commission adopted our concerns into its legally binding decision:

``In the transitioning of existing student residence halls away from use as student housing into faculty and/or workforce housing, the University shall not allow the halls to remain vacant for a period of more than one year.``

Eric Fidler
Vice President
LeDroit Park Civic Association