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Taking crime to the suburbs

According to the Washington Post, "Metro Transit Police have arrested four men for allegedly breaking into more than 50 vehicles in a Fairfax County Metrorail station parking garage, officials said."

Some random thoughts:

1) This occurred in Springfield, VA, which is about 17 miles south of Washington, DC. According to the Post: "The two arrested June 25 are Maurice Conyers, 22, of Southeast Washington, and Darryl Walker, 20, of Hagerstown. The two arrested July 13 are Randy Smith, 19, and Kevin Wilson, 22, both of Northeast Washington."

Three from DC, one from Maryland. So these guys apparently took the Metro out to Virginia to steal cars? I'll remember that the next time I hear suburbanites getting criticized for opposing the Metro line to their area.

2) I've always thought "parking attendant" was a misnomer. "Attendant" is stretching it since they really just seem to be cashiers who also park your car and leave the door open long enough after they bring it back so you can tip them. But I've never trusted that those guys were paying attention...

3) The Post also notes: "Police say the four broke into 52 vehicles in June and stole more than 100 items, including Global Positioning System devices, car televisions, car stereos and cellphones as well as a sport-utility vehicle."

Wait, wait, wait! They stole a GPS device? For years (okay, at least 2 decades) I've said that I can understand someone hungry stealing food to eat. And by understand, I mean that is one of the few times I think someone shouldn't get the death penalty for touching someone else's property. But a GPS device?

4) I also like one other thing from the article: "The men were selling some of the stolen items at pawnshops and to family members, Smith said."

I'll admit it. I have some relatives that I would call the cops on if they showed up with a GPS device.

CJL

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