Burglaries Have Surged 21 Percent

In recent weeks, Kamperin said, police in his district are seeing some results. The number appears to be tapering off, he said.

That's welcome news to Capitol Hill resident Michael Stroud, who has been burglarized three times in the past year -- including on Memorial Day, when thieves pulled a moving truck into the alley behind his home. They cleaned him out of about $45,000 worth of computers, clothing, art, jewelry and a 52-inch plasma TV.

"They took a boatload of stuff within one hour," said Stroud, 44, a real estate agent who lives near the Potomac Avenue Metro station. "And it was broad daylight."

In September, a thief broke into Stroud's garage and took a digital camera and laptop computer from his car. Stroud saw the man and called police, but by the time an officer arrived, the burglar was gone. The third break-in occurred early Jan. 29. Stroud heard a noise and looked out his back window.

"I see the guy standing at the garage door with a mini-crowbar," he said. "I said, 'Oh, no! Not again.' "

Stroud called 911 as he watched the thief use the crowbar to break the lock on the garage. Police came quickly, Stroud said, but the man fled empty-handed down an alley into the darkness. The officers were still at Stroud's home, interviewing him about what had happened, when they got a call that a man trying to break into a nearby house had just been cornered by a dog. Thanks to the pet, police caught the man.

Police took Stroud to the scene, where the suspect was in handcuffs. "It was the exact same guy," Stroud said.

Leyvanze Howard, 38, of the District was charged with second-degree burglary, according to D.C. Superior Court records, and his case is pending indictment. Howard was convicted in 1994 of a burglary charge, the records show.

No one has been arrested in the first two break-ins, however, and Stroud said he feels "terrorized."

"I've toyed with the idea of moving. If you don't feel safe in an area, it doesn't matter how many alarms you have," he said. "Every little bump you hear, you wonder: Is this somebody breaking in?"

Across the Anacostia River, in communities such as the area around the new Giant on Alabama Avenue SE, thieves have been getting into construction sites and houses under renovation to steal tools and copper piping and fixtures.

"They take it to a salvage yard and sell it," said Maupin, the 7th District commander. "It's another way to make some money."

In his district, an average of 53 break-ins a month were reported through March, compared with 38 a month in the same period last year. In many break-ins, he said, thieves slinked in through windows, sometimes by taking out air conditioners, and made off with PlayStations and other electronics.

Maupin has assigned two detectives to work exclusively on burglaries in hopes of spotting suspects, trends and patterns. He also has increased foot patrols in alleys and instructed his officers to stop anyone walking down a street with electronics to confirm that the goods aren't stolen.

"Most of it is a small group of people committing them," Maupin said. "It's a matter of tracking down them and their associates."