College Park Woods

Dear Neighbors: 

The following crime alerts sent out to residents of University Park, our neighboring city, were forwarded to us — we are sharing them with you FYI:

<<The following is a brief synopsis of information reported to the University Park Police:

INCIDENT: Attempted Breaking & Entering

OCCURRED: July 27, 2009 at 1:55pm

LOCATION: 4000 block of College Heights Drive

UPPD CASE #:  09-208-0898

BRIEF DETAILS:  On July 27, 2009 at 1:55pm in the 4000 block of College Heights Drive a resident advised that he was sitting in his basement when he observed a person look in his basement window. The suspect then walked down the exterior basement steps and opened the unlocked basement door. The resident grabbed the suspect’s arm as he was opening the door, but the suspect slipped away, jumped over the fence and ran down Beechwood Rd. towards Adelphi Rd.  The suspect left behind a silver and blue Dynacraft mountain bike. The resident advised that he also saw a second suspect leave the area in an unknown direction.

The resident called 911, and UPPD & PGPD responded to the scene. The area was searched for the suspects with negative results. The bicycle left behind was processed for fingerprints and held for evidence. No property was stolen.

Suspect #1 was described as a black male, 5′8″, 130 lbs, between 15-17yrs. old, with short dark hair, wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans.

Suspect #2 was described as a black male, 5′8″, 130 lbs., between 15 – 17 yrs.old, with short dark hair, wearing a dark blue t-shirt, blue jeans, and riding a dark colored mountain bike.

Please be vigilant of suspicious persons and suspicious activity . 

 As insignificant as a situation may seem at the time, it could be the tip necessary to solve the crime so please call the UPPD if you notice anything out of the ordinary.

 If you believe a crime is in progress call 911 immediately. If you have any information pertaining to this incident or any other crime committed in University Park, please contact the UPPD at 301-277-0050. Your information will be kept confidential. >>

<< On July 21, 2009 at approximately 3:00 p.m., three unknown suspects broke into a residence in the 3900 blk of Madison Street in Hyattsville.  The suspects entered the home through a basement window and stole several electronic items.  The suspects are described as follows:

       Suspect #1 — Hispanic male, late teens or early 20’s, 5’8”, 145 lbs, wearing all white clothing

       Suspect #2 — Hispanic male, late teens or early 20’s, 6’0”, 170 lbs, wearing all white clothing

       Suspect #3 — Black male (no further description available)

The suspects fled in a white sedan. >>

<< The following is a brief synopsis of information reported to the University Park Police:

INCIDENT:  Breaking & Entering

OCCURRED:  July 23, 2009 Between 7:30am – 10:00pm

LOCATION:  4200 block of Sheridan St.

UPPD CASE #:  09-202-2101

BRIEF DETAILS:  On July 21, 2009 at between 7:30am and 10:00pm in the 4200 block of Sheridan St. the home owner arrived home and found his laptop computer missing. The UPPD was contacted and the home was searched and found to be safe. The homeowner advised that the windows were left open and some indication that window screens had been tampered with was found. The Item stolen was a Dell 17″ laptop computer.

The UPPD processed the scene for fingerprints, searched the area for suspect/s and witnesses and notified local jurisdictions of the incident.

Please be vigilant of suspicious persons and suspicious activity .

As insignificant as a situation may seem at the time, it could be the tip necessary to solve the crime so please call the UPPD if you notice anything out of the ordinary.

If you believe a crime is in progress call 911 immediately.

If you have any information pertaining to this incident or any other crime committed in University Park, please contact the UPPD at 301-277-0050. Your information will be kept confidential. >>

Please note that for us who live in College Park, the non-emergency number to call for police is 301-333-4000. 

Call 911 for crimes in progress or suspicious activity that you feel needs immediate police attention.  Follow your instinct in calling 911 — don’t rationalize away your first impression of emergency!

National Night Out

• A unique, crime/drug prevention event.
• Proven to be an effective yet inexpensive and enjoyable program to promote neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships.
• Designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness;
• generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs;
• and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods
• are organized and fighting back.

Please join us in our observance of this important event on

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

by

• Getting to know your immediate neighbors – Use the simple chart on the back of the flyer that will be distributed to every home to help you do this;
• Participating in a community gathering — 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the CPW Neighborhood Park – Bring a dessert to share (and perhaps a recipe to swap with neighbors); and
• Turning your porch light ON — from dusk to midnight Tuesday evening, August 4th.

There is a Neighborhood Watch meeting scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. this evening, Wednesday, July 15^th, 2009 at Davis Hall, 9217 – 51st Avenue, College Park, MD. 

The subject of the meeting will be the recent rise in car and personal items stolen in College Park, and locations for closed-circuit security cameras throughout the city.  A meeting for city business owners interested in Neighborhood Watch will follow from 9 to 10 p.m.  All residents of the City of College Park are encouraged to attend.

Dear Neighbors:

Here are a few things that might be of interest to you:

• The Swim Club’s Crab Feast is this Saturday, July 18th, 2009, starting at 6:00 p.m.  Cost is $35 per adult and $15 for children under 10.  Call Jean at 301-935-6698 by Thursday, July 16th to make reservations.

• There is a lost Black Rabbit with a white paw hanging around [a home on the 3700 block of] Marlbrough Way.  Seems to be someone’s pet.  If you know to whom this rabbit belongs, please reply to this e-mail and we’ll connect you with the resident who asked that this notice be circulated.

• Do you have a gray box on your Air-conditioning Unit?  Years ago, Pepco had a Kilowatchers Plus program where one could enroll, have a device attached to their central AC unit and get a discount for letting them cycle your AC off for periods during peak usage.  That program is gone (probably for about 9 years), but you may still have one of the gray boxes on your AC unit.  If so, they can periodically cause the compressor to take a break.  From all appearance, the AC is working, but there is no cooling.  Then it may work fine again.  We were notified by an insert with the monthly bill that we could have the boxes removed, but most of us just recycle those inserts without reading them.  If you have one of the units and want it removed, call Pepco’s Customer Care number 7am-8pm, 202-833-7500.

• Save the Date!  National Night Out to stand against crime is Tuesday, August 4th, 2009.  Plan to participate in our “Get to Know Your Neighbors” activities that evening and turn on your porch lights from dusk to midnight that night.  More details will be forthcoming via e-mail and flyers.

Dear Neighbors:

One of our Block Captains for Gettysburg Lane has reported the following:

<<A visitor’s truck which was parked in our driveway [on] Getttysburg Lane was broken into last night between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am.   A generator was stolen from the back of the truck and the chargers for the cell phone and GPS were stolen from the cab.  They broke into the glove compartment but did not take the GPS.   We don’t know for sure if anything else was stolen.   The break-in was reported and the police came quickly.   There has been at least one other break-in last night (on Marlborough Way), and they expect to hear of others since the thieves cruise the area taking whatever they can get. 

If anyone knows or heard anything, please notify the police at 301-333-4000.>>

There will be a citywide Neighborhood Watch meeting at 7:00 p.m. next Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at Davis Hall.  All residents are encouraged to attend.

JULY FOURTH SAFETY……… FIRST AND ALWAYS!

Please check out the following website:  http://cms.princegeorgescountymd.gov/FireEMSNews/default.aspx?itemid=1016

COMMUNITY CARNIVAL – JULY 4th CELEBRATION at the pool on Saturday, July 4^th, 2009 from 2-6 p.m.

Admission:  FREE for members; $5.00 for non-members ($3.00 for non-members under the age of 6 accompanied by a paying adult).  Children under 10 must be accompanied by an adult.

Food (hot dogs, hamburgers, snacks, drinks, desserts, ice cream) will be available to purchase as well as ‘tickets’ to participate in carnival games, face painting, races, greased watermelon contest, etc.

Keep your doors locked!

The recent event of bank robbers fleeing police and entering the neighborhood serves to remind us that no community is isolated from such a random occurrence.  It is always a good idea to keep doors locked, especially rear doors where unauthorized entry would be more likely to go undetected.

Citywide Neighborhood Watch Meeting – Wednesday, July 15^th, 2009

There is a Neighborhood Watch meeting scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15^th, 2009 in Davis Hall.  The subject of the meeting will be the recent rise in car and personal items stolen in College Park.  A Business Meeting will follow from 9 to 10 p.m.  All residents of College Park are encouraged to attend.  Thank you for supporting Neighborhood Watch!  — Kim Lugo, Neighborhood Watch Coordinator for the City of College Park