Police in Chevy Chase Village say a thief looking for valuables in unlocked cars went around pulling on vehicle door handles on Thursday night.
Despite persistent pleas from police both in the Village and Montgomery County for residents to lock their car doors, police said the suspect was able to find at least four unlocked vehicles and stole about $5 in change from one.
“Please, please lock your car EVERY time you park,” read a message from Chevy Chase Village Police on Friday afternoon. “Deny these thieves the opportunity to steal. If we do that consistently, they will not come to the Village as frequently.”
Police said they got a call about a “suspicious man pulling on car door handles” at about 1 a.m. The suspect, described as an approximately 6-foot-tall black man wearing camouflage pants and carrying a green tote bag, was allegedly looking for unlocked vehicles in the area of Primrose Street and Connecticut Avenue.
Police said officers responded to the area within two minutes of the call but could not find the suspect. All three of the unlocked cars that had been entered were parked on the street. Owners of the vehicles later confirmed nothing had been stolen from inside.
At 9 a.m. Friday, a resident from W. Lenox Street reported that his unlocked car parked in his driveway had been entered and the change was stolen.
“The perpetrator in this story is our typical thief: he simply walked quietly through the neighborhood pulling on car door handles,” read the message from police. “If the car was locked, he moved on; if it was unlocked, he entered it in search of something of value.”