daytime attempted basement break-in on the unit block of W St NW

See this 12/23/2010 afternoon message from a resident on the 100 block of W Street NW regarding a basement rental unit located on the same block:

Dear all,

1:15 pm broad daylight today!

I wanted to let you know about a recent attempted breaking of [xyz`s] basement apartment about an hour ago, please note this guy is at large and may be back to the neighborhood.

Medium build black male, medium complexion about 6 foot tall shaved head with mustache. He was wearing jeans large dark brown overcoat with hoody sweatshirt underneath. He was using a very large screwdriver to pry the front door jamb open.

I caught him as was walking out the front door to walk my dog.

I heard a noise because he was attempting to kick the basement door in.

I confronted him that he did not belong there and he quickly responded no he didn`t shoving his long screwdriver in his back pocket and taking off running.

I called the police they were here in about 5 minutes and gave them a description.

The guy took off running on foot down the alley as soon as i confronted him.

Please be on the lookout for our neighbors who may be out of town for the holidays.

Followed by this quick response from ANC 5C04 Commissioner John Salatti:

Thank you for your foiling this burglary. And thanks for getting a good description out to neighbors.

An extra gift to you and your dog!

Merry Christmas
John
--
John T. Salatti
Commissioner, ANC 5C04
(202) 986- 2592
``Together, Building a Better Bloomingdale``

house break-in attempt on the south side of Thomas St NW

See this 11/03/2010 message from a household on the south side of Thomas Street NW:

We live on the south side of Thomas St. sharing an alley with T. Someone cut the screen on our kitchen window and tried to break in. This window is on our deck, is visible to the alley, and is relatively well-lighted. Please remind people to be vigilant.

We have certainly gotten complacent about leaving exterior lights on and setting our alarm (even though there were two break-ins within the last six-months on Thomas). No more!