Bethesda news, restaurants, nightlife, events and openings, real estate, crime reports and more - the way only a lifelong Bethesda resident like Robert Dyer can bring it to you. Everything you want and need to know about Bethesda, plus special investigative reports you won't find anywhere else. The must-read blog for breaking Bethesda news, when you want to be the first to know.
An intruder trespassing inside an entrance vestibule attempted to smash an interior glass door that provides entry for tenants of 8200 Wisconsin to the apartment tower's lobby this past weekend. Yesterday, the interior lobby door could be seen papered over inside the Woodmont Avenue entrance to the building, and broken glass had been cleaned up. This comes after residents of the building have already expressed concern over the reduction of staffing at the lobby desk to only four hours per day. Some residents have reported security failures and trespassing by previous intruders, which were made possible by the lack of 24-hour desk coverage.
One recent event was an example of an apparent new trend of vagrants and homeless people "couch surfing" during the night in residential lobbies, including at least once at 8200. The individuals either sneak in, are assisted with entry by an unwitting resident, or possibly invited in by a bleeding heart tenant to crash for the night on lobby furniture. This is not only illegal trespassing or burglary in most cases, but a security risk to residents. Montgomery County police have not commented publicly on this weekend's incident at 8200, so the motive or intention behind the attempt to break in is unknown at this time.
The incidents I have heard from readers have all taken place at buildings in the Woodmont Triangle, where Montgomery County of course sustains several homeless facilities. As in White Flint and Derwood, some of these individuals have untreated psychiatric conditions and/or criminal records, and harass, beg, or assault people going about their business, as well as stealing from, robbing, or vandalizing local businesses. They have repeatedly broken into vacant buildings in that vicinity.
Now a growing trend is this couch surfing at residential buildings. This not only often provides access to mail rooms with packages in or off of lobbies, but in at least one case at a different building, residents reported a trespasser in the lobby then taking elevators to residential floors upstairs with unclear intentions.
Montgomery County police have arrested three suspects in relation to the infamous February 22, 2026 "street takeover" riot at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and East-West Highway in Chevy Chase. The uncivil disturbance, taking place within view of the elite Columbia Country Club, included the malicious destruction of two County police cruisers. Police today revealed that one of the suspects dropped his pants to expose himself to a County police officer.
Ayden Joseph Cline
Ayden Joseph Cline, 18, of Cumberland, Pennsylvania has been charged as an adult with reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, malicious destruction of property, failure to obey lawful orders, and obstruction and hindering. Novorriya Gregory Smith Jr., 20, of Lusby has been charged with reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, malicious destruction of property, failure to obey lawful orders, obstruction and hindering, and indecent exposure. A juvenile, 17, of Laurel has been charged with disorderly conduct, malicious destruction of property, failure to obey lawful orders, and hindering.
Smith, Jr. and Cline are being held without bond at the County jail. The juvenile has been released into the custody of "a parent or guardian."
Montgomery County police were called to the Purple Line construction site at Wisconsin Avenue and Elm Street Monday morning, April 6, 2026, after workers discovered a vandal had carried out an attack at the site. Police say the suspect poured a container of oil into a shaft at the site, causing unspecified damage. Detectives believe the incident took place sometime between 12:00 PM on Sunday, and 4:00 AM on Monday. They have not released a description of the suspect.
Montgomery County police are seeking the public's help in identifying and locating multiple suspects who damaged two County police cruisers during what police call a "street takeover" at the intersection of Connecticut Avenue and East-West Highway Sunday morning, February 22, 2026, sometime after 12:39 AM. According to police, the suspects were part of a large group engaging in illegal motor vehicle activity in Prince George's County, and were proceeding into Montgomery County with the alleged intent of doing the same in downtown Silver Spring. Angry that County police had blocked their entry into Silver Spring, the suspects attempted - successfully - to carry out their car show in Chevy Chase. When County police arrived at the intersection of Connecticut and East-West, the suspects proceeded to attack their cruisers.
In a press release, County police say Maryland State Police eventually arrived to assist in "clearing the area." The statement makes no mention of arrests. It states that no County officers were injured, but that the front and rear windows of a police cruiser were broken while an officer sat inside, and that unspecified damage was inflicted on at least one other police cruiser.
Anyone with information regarding identities of the individuals involved is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “Submit a Tip” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. Tips leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward ranging from $250 up to $10,000. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Few details about this apparently powerful group have been provided to the public by police. A number of things are quite obvious, however.
First and foremost, most of us would call this a riot, not a "street takeover." The police statement acknowledges that the participants in these intersection riots are known to carry firearms - you know, the same firearms that law-abiding citizens in Montgomery County are not allowed to carry. Sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Second, in the video, there's a guy with an exposed face literally holding a sign advertising an organization that is part of this Montgomery County Council-endorsed enterprise.
Third, this is another direct result of the radical Marxist Montgomery County Council's pro-criminal, anti-police, defund-the-police actions and rhetoric since 2002 and specifically over the last six years. It's a nationwide problem to an extent, where police in many jurisdictions with similar "leadership" to MoCo are uncertain if they will have the support of elected officials - or even end up in prison - if they employ the level of force required by a given situation. But it should never have become a problem here, and that is squarely the fault of the County Council, which has made abundantly clear that it does not support our police officers.
The end result is the lawless environment Montgomery County residents have experienced over the last six years. That criminals are allowed to "take over" an intersection in view of the Columbia Country Club is rich with symbolism of just how far MoCo has fallen since the turn of the century. The Councilmembers who sit on the Public Safety Committee should probably step down, just for starters. Taxpayers, who will pay to repair the damaged police cruisers, and who are paying obscene auto insurance rates thanks to our pro-criminal elected officials, demand and deserve answers about what happened Sunday, who was behind it, what's going to prevent it from happening again, what's going to change - right now - about the way the law is enforced in Montgomery County, when criminals will get the same third-degree treatment as law-abiding taxpayers, and what the County Council is going to do - right now - to regain the confidence of the rank-and-file police officers of the Montgomery County Police Department.
If you think the local media is going to ask those questions, well, I've got an unbuilt Potomac River bridge to sell you. The press is as pro-criminal and anti-police as their fellow travelers on the County Council. Together they are a proud Fifth Column. Only the voters can likely bring change this November, and they've so far shown no indication they will do so. Is a "street takeover" in Chevy Chase (Chevy Chase!!) a smelling salts moment?
"I am concerned for the security of our great Nation; not so much because of any potential threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within." - Gen. Douglas MacArthur, 1957
The crime wave continues at the Westbard Square development in Bethesda. Over the last four months, thieves have struck with impunity, smashing vehicle windows in the parking garage and helping themselves to bags and valuables left inside. The latest theft took place this past Monday morning, June 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM. This is at least the 17th theft from a vehicle inside this garage since February, with most of the incidents taking place during daytime hours.
No surveillance camera images or arrests from any of the cases have been made public so far. It appears that security or police could simply wait in the garage, and/or set up a bait car trap, and easily catch the thieves in the act. Yet the thefts continue unabated.
Many of the victims have been customers whose vehicles were vandalized while they were inside the Starbucks. With a new pizza restaurant opening soon, it becomes even more imperative for this theft spree to be brought to an end. If diners are coming out to find their windows smashed and property stolen while they were eating lunch, this will be terrible for business, as you can imagine.
The Montgomery County Council remains silent on the crime wave at Westbard Square, which included a shooting that injured two people outside of Bowlero on March 29. Months later, only one suspect has been arrested in that case so far, with one or more shooters still at-large. Police have not specified how many shooters there were in total, only that there was more than one, so it is still unknown how many suspects are being sought. It's unclear why Montgomery County and Westbard Square property owner Regency Centers are not moving urgently and forcefully to quash this criminal activity, as the area is apparently gaining a regional reputation among criminals as a place where crimes can be committed with impunity, which will be a total and complete disaster for the development and the surrounding community.
The crime wave around the new Westbard Square development in Bethesda continues. A March 29, 2025 shooting that wounded two people outside the Bowlero bowling alley at 5353 Westbard Avenue has been the highest-profile incident, but an ongoing spree of thieves breaking into cars parked in the development's parking garage has claimed at least three more victims since May 10. Montgomery County police reported that two vehicles were broken into between 3:38 PM on May 10, and 3:13 PM on May 11. Money and other valuables were stolen from inside the cars.
A third vehicle parked in the garage was broken into this past Thursday, May 22, at 9:45 AM. According to a witness who passed the scene about 45 minutes later, one of the car's windows had been smashed.
This makes a total of at least 16 vehicles that have been broken into in the Westbard Square garage since February. Like virtually all of the incidents, the latest three occurred during daylight hours. Most of the victims report that they had simply parked their car in the garage, and gone into Starbucks, only to come out and find their vehicles damaged and items stolen from within. "This is making me hesitant to shop and go to Starbucks there," the witness said.
As with the March shooting, there appear to be no consequences for the criminals who are preying on patrons of the development's businesses. And, as with the shooting, no surveillance images of the garage perpetrators are being released to the public. Who are these thieves, and where are they coming from?
Word is getting out that this is a "free pass" area for crimes, and that does not bode well for public safety or successful businesses in the Westbard community. Now you have residents and customers starting to say they feel unsafe. I'm surprised that property owner Regency Centers and Montgomery County are not moving swiftly to get this under control.
A man attacked the front of Z-Burger at 4827 Fairmont Avenue in Bethesda about an hour before the restaurant opened yesterday morning. Witnesses said the man smashed the front windows using what appeared to be one of the new, rat-proof public trash cans. The crashing of the metal trash can drew a lot of attention from those in the vicinity at the time. Montgomery County police arrived at the scene, and very shortly had a suspect in custody.
The suspect was handcuffed and seated in the adjacent Veterans Park, as officers searched his belongings. A motive for the vandalism is unknown at this time. An arrest in the case does not appear in Montgomery County arrest records as of this writing. Despite the damage, Z-Burger forged ahead Monday. The broken glass was swept up, and the burger restaurant opened for lunch.
The "security" fence around the property at 8008 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda was repaired yesterday. One or more intruders smashed the fence and crushed it downward to illegally gain access to the vacant buildings there earlier this week. Vagrants and vandals have repeatedly broken into the vacant storefronts at 8008 and 8000 Wisconsin Avenue, as well as the "beer house" behind them at the corner of Cordell and Woodmont Avenues.
The buildings and lots in question have become eyesores, a danger and a public nuisance while the 8000 and 8008 Wisconsin redevelopment projects have repeatedly stalled out over the last decade. A fire and flood were started in one of the buildings by intruders this past fall. Montgomery County is apparently unwilling or unable to exercise control of the situation.
Intruders have once again broken into the row of vacant storefronts between 8000 and 8008 Wisconsin Avenue in downtown Bethesda. A fire and flood caused by a burglar inside one of the buildings a few months ago, along with a rampage of window smashing on the block, led to a moderately-stronger attempt to secure the properties. Alas, the most noticeable intrusion since then has occurred during the Christmas holiday. A portion of the security fence was damaged on the Cordell Avenue side of the property to gain access to the site. The situation has been caused by major delays in the two redevelopment projects planned for 8000 and 8008 Wisconsin; the developer of the 8000 site recently acquired the 8008 property from Toll Brothers, but groundbreaking for the Artena Bethesda tower at 8000 Wisconsin has again stalled out despite demolition permits being pulled for that portion of the block.
Antisemitic graffiti was found on posters critical of Israel pasted to a utility cabinet at the intersection of Old Georgetown Road and Grand Park Avenue near Pike & Rose yesterday, December 9, 2023. Swastikas and genocidal messages about Israel, and a numerical code used by Neo-Nazis, were among the things written onto the posters. A reader forwarded these photos of the posters and graffiti, which appeared just two days after a menorah was toppled outside a synagogue in Olney at the start of the Chanukah holiday.
Vandals, burglars and vagrants just can't resist the temptation of breaking into the vacant retail buildings left rotting by the long-delayed 8000 and 8008 Wisconsin Avenue redevelopment projects. A fire and flood inside the former Parvizian rug building a couple of weeks ago led to many of these eyesore structures being boarded up. But yesterday, there was visible evidence that someone smashed their way back inside the Parvizian building, carefully jamming the pieces of the broken plywood back into the door frame.
It can't be ruled out that the intruder(s) might still be in there, as vagrants have squatted in the structures here before. The buildings have had demolition notices on them for years, but never get torn down. Meanwhile, the full half-block of blight weighs down the upscale chocolate shop, Trader Joe's grocery store, and luxury apartments directly adjacent to the deteriorating lots. In fact, the lobby entrance door to those new 8001 Woodmont apartments was shattered during that recent window smashing rampage at 8000 Wisconsin next door.
Clearly someone has had enough of the break-ins, vandalism and squatting in the vacant buildings of the Woodmont Triangle. It's not yet clear who that is - the property owners, the police, or Montgomery County government officials (although it's hard to believe it's the property owners, as they haven't secured these buildings adequately for years). But someone has finally ordered the buildings on the sites of 8000 and 8008 Wisconsin Avenue to be boarded up, following Monday's burglary-fire-flood incident that followed Sunday's glass-smashing rampage on the block. Yesterday, lower rear windows and doors of the Saphire Cafe and Parvizian Rugs were sealed, and plywood was placed inside the windows of 8011 Woodmont Avenue.
The front porch of the abandoned Dunmor's (a.k.a. the "beer house") at 8013 Woodmont has recently become a hangout spot, complete with tables and chairs. Yesterday, that furniture was removed, and access to the porch and porch steps was physically blocked off. These buildings are still eyesores and create an abysmal pedestrian environment around that whole half block of Woodmont, Cordell and Wisconsin Avenues.
Redevelopment projects planned for both sites - 8000 Wisconsin and 8008 Wisconsin - have been in development hell for about 6 years, but the Artena Bethesda project at 8000 Wisconsin had been expected to finally break ground before the end of this year. Public Parking Lot 43 on the 8000 Wisconsin site's Woodmont Avenue side (seen in the top two photos in this article) was closed earlier this summer for that express purpose. Stay classy, Bethesda!
An emergency response requiring police, fire and water utility personnel at a vacant Bethesda building Monday morning has served as an "enough is enough" moment for some of the most-prominent eyesores in town...sort of. A set of empty buildings long awaiting demolition for the Artena Bethesda development has finally been boarded up, but only on the Wisconsin Avenue side. Glass windows facing Wisconsin Avenue - some of which were smashed over the weekend - of the former Saphire Cafe, Parvizian Rugs, and 8000 Barber Shop are now covered with boards. But no wood has been hammered over the windows on the Woodmont Avenue side, other than one that already was covered, and those on the front of the "beer house further up the block on Woodmont.
Following the smashed windows seen Sunday at the vacant properties, and next door at the new 8001 Woodmont apartments, police officers, firefighters and paramedics, WSSC water utility workers, and even a K-9 unit converged on the scene Monday morning. Montgomery County police and fire departments have been mum on what happened so far, but a reader who heard first responder communications via scanner gave a version of events that transpired. At least one suspect illegally trespassed in the vacant rug store, and apparently ignited a fire inside. This triggered the building's sprinkler system, and somehow resulted in the basement of the store flooding with 5 feet of water. Police were apparently informed that someone had been inside the store when the fire started, so they brought in the K-9 to search the building.
Most of the block north of 7900 Wisconsin Avenue and 8001 Woodmont Avenue has been vacant for several years, as the Artena Bethesda and 8008 Wisconsin redevelopment projects stalled out since 2016. The vacant storefronts along both sites have attracted vandals and vagrants repeatedly, with very little action taken in response by Montgomery County. It's unclear what prompted the overdue but partial boarding-up yesterday - a new sense of caution by the Artena developer, or the exasperation of police and fire departments having to deal with the ongoing problems at these properties. While the Artena project is finally expected to break ground soon, 8008 is still tied up in a pending land deal, after which that project is also expected to belatedly move forward.
Glass was smashed intentionally at two vacant Bethesda storefronts since Saturday night, and the front entrance glass doors are shattered at the adjacent 8001 Woodmont apartment tower. It is not yet known if the 8001 Woodmont damage is related, but it also occurred during the same timeframe since Saturday night. A glass door was destroyed in a similar way at the vacant 8000 Barber Shop at 8002 Wisconsin Avenue, and objects were thrown through windows at the vacant Saphire Cafe. The latter buildings are awaiting demolition for the Artena Bethesda development. Vandalism and vagrancy has been an ongoing issue at those properties for several years, as well as at the adjacent 8008 Wisconsin development site next door.
It is not yet confirmed if the police, fire and rescue and WSSC water utility response to the vacant carpet store between the Saphire Cafe and barber shop this morning is related to the vandalism, as the damage at 8001 Woodmont and Saphire Cafe was already visible on Sunday evening. However, a K-9 unit was brought in this morning, suggesting police suspected someone might be inside the carpet store.
Plaza Artist Materials recently resurfaced its parking lot at 7825 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. One reader noted in the comment section of my report that there was graffiti on the building. That has now been taken care of, as well. A worker painted over it yesterday. By the way, we need one more Bethesda parking lot resurfacing story this morning to complete the trifecta.
Vandals have once again smashed their way into a vacant surplus store at the 8008 Wisconsin Avenue property where a redevelopment plan has stalled for several years. An entire glass panel had been shattered away as of yesterday morning. There appears to be an uncovered shaft that disappears into the floor just inside the window, presenting a danger to any trespassing children or urbex explorers who might be tempted to go inside. The store and adjacent properties continue to be one of the major eyesores created by stalled development downtown.
