81% of Division VII Incidents Are Vehicle Related

Fairfax County Auto Theft Unit Takes on Rise in Stolen Vehicles

Drew Wilder’s News 4 Washington report on December 22, 2022:

With carjackings and car thefts on the rise throughout the area, Fairfax County police created a special unit earlier this year.

Dramatic, new dashboard-camera video shows how the auto theft unit moved in for a calculated capture of a car thief. Navigating the Beltway, multiple unmarked police cruisers boxed in a red SUV. The officers forced the driver of the SUV to the shoulder. The driver was arrested, and a stolen vehicle was off the street.

It was the work of the Auto Crimes Enforcement Team (ACE) led by Jeffrey Andrea.

“There's one thing that violent crime has in common in this area is that most of the time a stolen vehicle is used, whether it's robberies, murders, shootings," Andrea said.

Since its creation in April, the ACE team has recovered 84 stolen vehicles, made 78 arrests resulting in more than 400 charges and recovered 17 guns. Many of those firearms weren't recovered during takedowns but from stolen vehicles at car dealerships. Car thieves are stealing vehicles, changing the VIN numbers and trying to sell them to dealers.

Hermann Cuardos, the general manager at Fair Oaks Motors, recently tipped police off to a suspicious person trying to sell a call to his dealership.

“In the car they found the person probably had 50 checks all for different amounts for different cars for different dealerships," Cuardos said.

Earlier this week, Fairfax County police recovered a stolen vehicle in Tysons Corner, and the driver had no idea the car was stolen. The driver bought the vehicle from a local dealership that police say unknowingly bought it from a car thief.

Car dealers say thieves are getting more high tech. Recently, a thief went to Fair Oaks Motors, never even put their hand on the key fob but had a device in their pocket that was able to steal the key fob's information, anyway. The thief returned to the dealership that night and stole the car off the lot.  Thankfully, the auto theft unit was able to recover that vehicle and get it back to the dealer.

Residents are being hit hard, too. In October, a homeowner's security camera captured a person going house to house near South Van Dorn and Franconia Road looking for unlocked cars. Four vehicles were stolen that night.

“You'd be surprised how many people, how many stolen cars we have just from people leaving their keys in their car," Andrea said.

Police say its new team has been successful at recovering stolen vehicles, but many of these crimes are preventable.

Police say thieves know how to disable navigation devices, but there are other third-party tracking systems car owners can install that track the vehicle if it’s stolen. Police say if a vehicle is stolen, do not attempt to track it yourself. Call police and let them recover it.

Division VII Police Brightening the Holidays - Thanks to You!

From Corporal Blackwell:

Greetings,
In partnership with the CAC and Greater Expectations Outreach Ministries, the Fort Washington Division VII community engagement unit provided produce boxes and gift cards to the local seniors at the Fort Washington Adventist Apartments. The officers also sponsored a family of 6 with gifts and groceries for the holiday season.

On behalf of the recipients and our department, thank you for your continued support and generosity. Our holiday initiative wouldn't be possible without your partnership and community assistance. I hope your holiday is filled with love, peace, and joy.

Happy Holidays!

Fort Washington Division VII Incidents, January 1 - December 8, 2022

 Data from https://data.princegeorgescountymd.gov/Public-Safety/Crime-Incidents-February-2017-to-Present/wb4e-w4nf/data

Thanksgiving Food Giveaway

The Fort Washington Division VII station hosted a Thanksgiving food giveaway. The event was sponsored by Greater Expectations Outreach Ministry Inc, Key to Karma and River Jordan Project Inc. 

Thanks to our community partners we were able to feed 100 families! 

Toyota Prius and Ford F-150s Have Something In Common - Catalytic Converters in Demand

 

Catalytic Converter Thefts Up More Than 600% in DC Area in Recent Years (News4)

Price of precious metals in targeted auto part on the rise

By Susan Hogan, Rick Yarborough, Steve Jones and Jeff Pipe, Published November 7, 2022

Liz Weir was sound asleep in her Bethesda home when something woke her.

"I heard a noise and thought, That doesn't sound right," she told the News4 I-Team.

It was just after 3 a.m.

"It was a really loud, screeching sound, and I thought someone was dragging something out of the carport," she said.

Security cameras on her house caught the crime in action. Two men pulled up, lifted her car with a jack and sawed off the catalytic converter in just seconds.

"They pulled up at 3:13, and by 3:15 they were pulling away,” Weir said. “It took them two minutes. I mean, and it was so fast.”

Last week, the Justice Department announced a national takedown of a criminal enterprise that made hundreds of millions of dollars from stolen catalytic converters, the car parts that have become targets for theft across the country.

The News4 I-Team analyzed theft data from some of the largest counties in Maryland and Virginia and found catalytic converter thefts have jumped at least 624%. In 2019 there were less than 200 thefts reported in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland and Fairfax and Prince William counties in Virginia. That number jumped to 1,325 last year.

"It's happening nonstop right now," said Montgomery County Det. Matt Vendemio.

His county has seen a steady rise in these thefts with this year already surpassing 2021.

"They're targeting hybrids right now. However, they are stealing from regular cars as well," he said.

And the I-Team found it's impacting almost every part of the area, with hotspots in Gaithersburg, Rockville, Beltsville, Falls Church and Woodbridge.

However, Silver Spring had the most reported thefts, in the data the I-Team received, with almost 500 since 2019.

Andy Cohen, who runs a Maryland recycling facility, knows the value of a catalytic converter.

"People do call me all the time and say, 'Hey, would you like to buy our converters from us?'" he told the I-Team.

The crime is so rampant now he won't even leave a towed vehicle outside his business.

"If they drop outside, by the time I get here in the morning, the converters will be gone," he said.

Cohen showed the I-Team just how quickly that can happen. It took him less than a minute, 37 seconds, to remove a catalytic converter.

He explained it's what is inside the piece that's so alluring to thieves.

"In the past three years, the prices of the precious metals have gone up, which in turn has created the theft of the converters because that's what's in them," Cohen said. 

Precious metals inside, including platinum, palladium and rhodium, often sold on the black market or to unscrupulous scrap yards willing to pay, which then sell to manufactures that need the material for new vehicles.

"The material in a stolen converter will end up in a new converter in a new car, because it's just a recycling process," explained Cohen.

And the I-Team found some models are even more precious to thieves, including the Prius, which the I-Team found targeted repeatedly in the D.C. area.

"Because they have the most precious metals in the converters,” Cohen said. “So, they have the most rhodium, which sells for about $1,000 an ounce."

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PGPD Division 7 Commander Major Mitchell warned at the November 9, 2022 South County Community Roundtable (SCCR) that Ford F-150 trucks are a target of thieves and that they operate day and night.

Protect it. It's Yours.

® MVCPA

® MVCPA