Robbers, Car Thieves Strike at Metro D.C. Lots, Metro Police Car Stolen

Transit System Faces Rise in Serious Crime
by Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 27,2002

Metro parking lots are suffering a wave of car thefts by bold young
thieves -- one of whom brandished a pellet gun as he carjacked a
Dodge at the Takoma Station on Monday, while another stole a
Metro police vehicle from the Branch Avenue Station on Wednesday.

"These kids are just out of control," Metro Transit Police 
Chief Barry McDevitt said after announcing a 59 percent increase 
in parking lot crime over the past year. In 2000, 686 crimes were 
reported; in 2001, the figure increased to 1,088.

Violent crimes remain rare, but solving the theft problem will be a 
high priority for Metro this year. The transit agency maintains 50,000 
spaces throughout the system, making it the biggest parking provider
in the region.

"I still can't believe it happened," said Laine Henry, a 17-year-old 
Silver Spring high school student whose green Dodge was stolen at 
gunpoint at the Takoma Station. "And he was a young boy. A kid. He 
was younger than me."

And after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, police were further 
reassigned from parking lots and buses to the subway stations
and trains to respond to hundreds of bomb threats and reports of 
suspicious packages.

On Wednesday, two Metro police officers were staking out the Branch
Avenue parking lot about 2:30 p.m. when they saw four men attempting
to break into a car, Detective Julios Byrd said. As the officers gave 
chase, one of the men hopped into an idling 1999 Metro police Ford 
Explorer and raced out of the lot, Byrd said.

The man drove north on Branch Avenue and struck three cars as he 
tried to pass them, Prince George's police Cpl. Joe Merkel said.

"He was kind of half in the road, half off the road, trying to get 
around them," Merkel said. The stolen police-utility vehicle struck 
a 1998 Ford van, which collided with a 1998 Buick Le Sabre. The 
police SUV flipped and landed on its wheels, Merkel said.

Four people were taken to hospitals, including two airlifted with 
serious injuries to Prince George's Hospital Center, said Mark Brady,
a spokesman for the Prince George's Fire Department.

The thief got out of the stolen vehicle and ran away toward the Iverson
Mall, Byrd said. On Friday, a 16-year-old District youth suspected of
stealing the police vehicle turned himself in to authorities several 
hours after Metro police issued a warrant for his arrest, Deputy Transit 
Police Chief Folly Hanson said,

Police arrested three alleged accomplices at the Branch Avenue Station:
Marcus McCrae, 19, of the District;Rahman Hill, 30, of Annapolis; and a 
17-year-old District resident whose name is being withheld because he 
is a minor. They were charged with motor vehicle theft, malicious
destruction of property, burglary and theft over $500. In addition,
McCrae was charged with possession of crack cocaine.


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