By Allison Klein and Susan Levine
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, August 5, 2006

D.C. police are investigating the robbery of a disabled Iraq war veteran and his wife who were mugged in Northwest Washington two weeks ago after an evening off base that ended with after-dinner drinks at a restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue.

Mark Beyers, 27, a Marine who lost an arm and a leg in a roadside explosion last year, told authorities that he and his wife, Denise, were walking in the 4300 block of Jenifer Street when five young men approached and knocked Denise to the ground, according to a police report.

The thieves emptied her purse, stole $300 and left, according to the report. It was money her mother had wired to her, the Beyers family said.

Denise Beyers "received minor scratches and bruises," said Inspector Andy Solberg, the acting commander of the 2nd Police District.

The case has attracted nationwide attention since it was first reported by the Buffalo News on Thursday. The Beyerses have received an outpouring of sympathy and some financial donations, including a $1,200 check from Ohev Shalom-The National Synagogue in Shepherd Park.

The Beyerses, who are from New York, are staying at Walter Reed Army Medical Center while Mark Beyers is in rehabilitation for his injuries. The couple, together since high school and married since April, arrived at the hospital in October and may be able to return to their hometown of Elma, N.Y, in a week.

"Hopefully, we're almost done," Denise Beyers said yesterday.

The robbery occurred about 12:30 a.m. July 23, but the couple did not immediately file a police report. After news of the assault spread, D.C. police checked their files. When no record of the attack was found, an investigator called the Beyerses and took a report over the phone, Solberg said.

Denise Beyers, who also served in the Marines, said she and her husband were walking to their car "just down the street" from Chadwicks, the restaurant in Friendship Heights where they had had drinks, when they were mugged.

Mark Beyers was not hurt, said his father, David Beyers, who learned of the incident when his daughter-in-law called him later that day and recounted what had happened.

"I could tell she was really upset," David Beyers said. "It was hard for her to talk."

Yesterday morning, Ohev Shalom's Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld and several synagogue members presented Denise Beyers with a $1,200 check -- a gesture of concern and help from the congregation.

"It was an attack against a special person in our community, and our community needs to respond," Herzfeld said.

Staff writer Christian Davenport also contributed to this report.