BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

Ski Mask Gang Stays Underground Yet

Another Week; Lights On or Off on Westbard?

Another fairly uneventful week in the ongoing search for the Ski Mask Gang. First, Montgomery County Police confirmed that the Willard Avenue robbery last week does not fit the masked trio. There was only one robber, and he is identified as a white male. So there is a lone robber out there, too, now.

Second, masked robbers were in the news in western Montgomery County. A white truck with 2 masked armed robbers has rammed vehicles to simulate an accident, then robbed the victim when he or she gets out to exchange information. MCPD reminds you to remain in your vehicle and call police if you are involved in a suspicious "accident" like this.

No relevant crimes in the MCPD report. The following crimes were reported by SpotCrime:

Assault, 5600 block of Wisconsin Ave./Somerset Terrace, Chevy Chase Village, 4/16/12

- This, like the Willard Ave. incident, is in the Ski Mask Gang's territory. They last struck in Montgomery County just south of there on Wisconsin in February. But not enough information here to implicate the SMG.

Robbery, 36th St. and Porter St. NW DC, 4/15/12.

- Kind of far from Friendship Heights, Tenleytown and Van Ness. No mention of guns, masks or multiple assailants. Verdict: Not the SMG.

There were a couple of robberies on Benton St. NW earlier this week; the only suspect is listed as a 60 year old man. Doesn't exactly sound like the SMG.

The search continues!

Meanwhile, in the ongoing saga of the Westwood Shopping Center, owner Capital Properties has now turned all of the parking lot lights back on. They did this one other time during the period since February during which large portions of the lot have been left dark at night. And then they went off again. So we can't be sure if CP will leave them on. But they can be sure I will keep readers posted if they take the irresponsible action of turning them off again! It has been bad public relations for Capital Properties to put shoppers at risk by turning off the lights where Park Bethesda and Westbard Mews residents walk over to the Giant and Rite Aid.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

Ski Mask Gang Still Laying Low

Another week without any sign of the Ski Mask Gang in Bethesda or NW Washington.

The only relevant crimes (robbery, armed robbery, assault) were:

From Montgomery County Police:

Armed Robbery, 900 Block of Wayne Avenue, Silver Spring, 3/31/12, 3:45 AM

Suspects: 3 black males

The fact that it was 3 armed robbers certainly deserves attention, and the location is not that far from Bethesda and Friendship Heights. However, no mention of ski masks.

From SpotCrime (whose CEO tells me they get their reports directly from an MCPD stream):

Robbery, 4400 block of Willard Ave., Chevy Chase, 4/7/12

This was right in the sweet spot for the Ski Mask Gang locationwise. But no mention of more than one robber, guns, or ski masks.

So the Ski Mask Gang remains at large another week. Next week, it will have been 3 months since they struck in the Park Bethesda parking lot, and about 2 months since a confirmed robbery attempt by them in the Western Avenue area.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE UPDATE

Ski Mask Gang Continues to

Elude Capture after Winter

Crime Spree

Another week has passed without developments in the case of the 3 masked, armed robbers who struck in Friendship Heights, Northwest Washington, and the Westbard area during January and February.

As you recall, last week there was a report of two armed robbers near the Van Ness Metro in NW.

There are no related crimes in this week's Montgomery County Police crime report.

So once again, we turn to the unofficial SpotCrime report:

Assault, 6900 block of Arlington Road at Bradley Blvd., 3/29/12

Assault, 4900 block of Newport Ave. at Massachusetts Ave., 3/30/12

Assault, 3700 block of East West Highway at Cypress Pl., 3/30/12

Theft, 5300 block of Westbard Ave., 4/2/12

*I'm not typically listing thefts as related to the Ski Mask Gang, but given the crime spike in the Westbard area, I'm listing any serious crimes in that location

Assault, 4200 block of Massachusetts Ave. NW, 4/2/12

Robbery, 5000 block of Wisconsin Ave. NW, 3/29/12

Nothing here fits the description of the masked trio.

Westwood Shopping Center Update: Capital Properties kept large sections of the parking lot pitch dark for another week, as of last night. The company remains aloof regarding safety concerns of patrons crossing the darkened lot from Park Bethesda and Westbard Mews to reach the Giant and Rite Aid.

BETHESDA / NW DC

CRIME WAVE

UPDATE

Has the Park Bethesda Ski Mask

Gang Reemerged on DC Side of Line?

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive!!!

The January 19 Park Bethesda armed robbers remain atop Bethesda's "Most Wanted" list.

No incidents fitting their description (3 robbers using firearms, wearing ski masks, assaulting and robbing victim of property) are found in the Montgomery County Police official crime report.

However...

Let's check SpotCrime's unofficial report:

Assault, 5000 block of Dalton Road, Bethesda, 3/24/12

Robbery, 4200 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

***Armed Robbery, 4000 block of Connecticut Ave. NW, DC, 3/28/12

According to SpotCrime:

Metropolitan Police Department officers reported an armed robbery "at gunpoint" at 2:01 PM on Tuesday, March 28. Suspects described as 2 black males, who fled the scene and are still at large.

This sounds somewhat like the ski mask gang, fits their m.o. of operating near Metro stations on the Red Line (Van Ness, in this case), but there are only two robbers mentioned. And there is no specific mention of them wearing masks. Is this a different group, or have they lost their Third Musketeer?

Were they the same guys who committed that second robbery on Connecticut that same day? That second incident (above) does not mention "armed" but it is reminiscent of how the ski mask gang struck on Wisconsin Avenue one night, the victim escaped, and then they struck again just a few blocks south.

It's a waiting game at this point. Certainly, there were no armed robbery incidents reported in nearby NW or Bethesda for several weeks. No official information on this incident is available, which is strange, because the SpotCrime source for this says the robbery was reported by MPD units.

No crimes of any kind were reported in the Westbard Sector this past week. Police remain on patrol in the area.

Nothing's changed at the Westwood Shopping Center; large portions of the parking lot were pitch black again for the entire week, as of last night. Park Bethesda residents must brave the darkness to walk over to the Giant or Rite Aid, as Capital Properties - for reasons still known only to them - simply refuses to activate full lighting on the property at night.