Police Report: June 22-28

The Mount Rainier Police Department’s weekly report is not intended to be a listing of every incident or call for service handled by the police department, but merely a general summary of incidents that may be of interest to the community. Some reports may be outside the date parameters due to extended investigations or other circumstances. Some cases are not included at all due to ongoing investigations.

June 28^th:

Nothing significant to report.

June 27^th:

3800 block of Rhode Island Avenue: Warrant service – 1am. Officers stopped a 2011 Chevy Cobalt for a traffic violation. Further investigation revealed that the driver had an open arrest warrant for failing to appear in court (FTA) on a charge of driving on a suspended license. He was arrested on the warrant, issued several traffic citations and delivered to the custody of DOC in Hyattsville.

4000 block of 34^th Street: Warrant service – 1:40am. Officers responded to assist Queenstown Apartments security officers with a trespasser. When the officers arrived the suspect had left the area. Further investigation revealed that he had an open arrest warrant charging him with trespassing on Queenstown property. Officers continued to search for the suspect finally locating him in the 4000 block of 34^th Street. He was arrested on the open warrant and delivered to the custody of DOC in Hyattsville.

3600 block of Eastern Avenue: Found bicycle – 9:05am. Officers were flagged down by a citizen who had found an abandoned bike. The bike was not in serviceable condition and the officers took custody of the bike for safekeeping.

3200 block of Taylor Street: Theft – 11:50am. The owner of a gray Trek 7200 hybrid bicycle told officers that he left his bike in his yard on the 26^th. When he returned for the bike this morning he discovered it had been stolen.

4000 block of 34^th Street: Vehicle impound – 3:10pm. Officers stopped to investigate a 2004 Chevy Classic that had an equipment violation. Further investigation revealed that the vehicle’s registration was suspended with a pick up order for the tags. The tags were removed for return to MVA and the vehicle was impounded.

3200 block of Varnum Street: M/V collision – 11:20pm. Officers responded for the report of a hit and run collision. The victim told officers that a second vehicle that was trying to park struck his 1995 Saturn. The driver of the striking vehicle got out of his vehicle to assess the damage whereupon the victim became very aggressive towards him. He left the scene and came to the Mount Rainier police station to report the incident. The owner of the Saturn was given sufficient information to file his insurance claim and no charges were filed against the striking vehicle’s driver.

June 26^th:

2700 block of Allison Street: Armed robbery (false report) – 2:40pm. Officers were approached by the alleged victim who reported that he had just been robbed by three individuals in the hallway of his apartment building. The man said that the suspects placed a knife to his throat and stole $40 cash from him before fleeing the scene towards Queens Chapel Road. MRPD officers with the assistance of a Hyattsville PD K-9 unit searched the area and eventually located one of the suspects walking along Chillum Road. The suspect was taken into custody and positively identified by the alleged victim. Both the suspect and the alleged victim were taken to PDPD District I to be interviewed by robbery detectives. As the result of the interviews revealed that the alleged victim was not robbed but rather involved in a drug transaction with the three individuals he met in the hallway of his apartment building. The alleged victim refused to cooperate further and no charges were placed.

3400 block of Rhode Island Avenue: Theft – 4:30pm. The victim told officers that she fell asleep while using a computer in the MR library. When she woke up she discovered approximately $14 worth of her property missing. No witnesses to the theft were identified.

3200 block of Rhode Island Avenue: Warrant service – 8:20pm. Officers stopped a 2006 Chevy for a traffic violation. Further investigation revealed that the driver had an open arrest warrant through the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office for failing to appear in court on a charge of driving without a license. He was arrested on the warrant and delivered to the custody of DOC in Hyattsville.

June 25^th:

4002 29^th Street: Theft – 7:40pm. The store clerk told officers that that two black males walked into the store and helped themselves to three packages of frozen chicken. The clerk said that they were the same men who came in the night before and took the exact same items. Both left the store with the chicken without paying for them. The suspects did not say anything and displayed no weapons. The men were last seen headed towards the Eastern Avenue.

4600 block of 29^th Street: Criminal citation – 8:10pm. Officers issued a man a criminal citation for drinking in public.

3200 block of Rhode Island Avenue: Found/returned property – 9:55pm. A man came into the police station to turn in a woman’s purse he found at his place of worship. The owner of the purse was contacted and came into the station to retrieve it. She said that she could not remember where or when she had lost her purse but nothing appeared to be missing.

June 24^th:

2300 block of Varnum Street (7-11): Trespassing – 2:10pm. Officers arrested a man for trespassing. He had been previously banned from the store on June 20^th for theft and threatening a store clerk. He was delivered to the custody of DOC in Hyattsville.

32^nd and Varnum Streets: Vehicle impound – 6:20pm. Officers impounded a 2001 GMC truck that had been previously marked for 48-hour towing.

June 23^rd:

4600 block of 29^th Street: Stolen vehicle – 8am. The owner of a 2001 Toyota Celica told officers that sometime between 6:30pm on the 22^nd and the time he called police someone stole his vehicle.

4000 block of 30^th Street: Vandalism to auto – 9:30am. The owner of a 1999 Chevy Malibu told officers that sometime between 1pm on the 22^nd and the time she called police someone flattened both the right front and right rear tires on her vehicle. No evidence or witnesses were identified.

4000 block of 36^th Street: Recovered stolen auto – 11:20am. Officers patrolling with a license plate reader were alerted to a 1991 Toyota Corolla that had been previously reported stolen from an address in Takoma Park. Takoma Park PD was notified of the recovery and the owner responded to the scene to take custody of her vehicle.

June 22^nd:

4500 block of 31^st Street: Found property – 2:35pm. Officers took custody of a brown wallet that a resident found in his front yard. There was no identification in the wallet to assist officers in returning it to its owner. The wallet was turned in to MRPD property storage for safekeeping.

4400 block of 30^th Street: Assault – 3:20pm. The victim was attempting to back into her driveway when she noticed a black Lexus pull up and block the driveway. As she waited for the vehicle to move the driver (suspect) of the Lexus began to shout obscenities at her and to move out of the way. The suspect then got out of his car armed with a small wooden bat and continued to shout that she should move her car out of the way. When the victim didn’t move the suspect struck her windshield with the bat. Several neighbors came out and told the suspect that he needed to leave because they were calling the police. One witness began to write down the suspect’s tag number and he approached her with the bat. She retreated and the suspect got into his car and left the scene toward Upshur Street. Officers were able to identify the suspect through his tag number and charges are pending.

2900 block of Allison Street: EPS – 7:10pm. Officers responded for the report of a woman possibly armed with a knife. When they arrived they found the woman and observed that she had blood on her hands and was sitting on a knife. The woman was uncooperative but officers were able to deduce that the woman had cut herself. She was taken into custody and transported to Washington Adventist Hospital where she was released to medical personnel for treatment and an emergency psychiatric examination.

Citizens are reminded to PLEASE call and report suspicious activity. Even if you choose not to provide your name or other personal information, we still need your help as extra eyes and ears in the community.

See or Hear Something?

Say Something!

We WANT to be bothered! Call 301-985-6565/6566.