Crime in Glover Park had risen for three years in a row as the wider city descended into fear and chaos, but then the bat signal went out in January, and the DC Metropolitan Police Department began to wrest control from the criminals and restore order. Total crime reports in Glover Park dropped from 179 in 2023 to 155 in 2024 – an 18% decline, and a return to the 2019 and 2022 (pre- and post-Covid lockdown) crime levels (see charts at bottom). Though the direction of criminal activity is positive, the persistence of violent crime and brandishing of weapons in the neighborhood continues to disturb residents, even though the numbers are low compared to other areas of the city.
Crime stats here cover all of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B, which includes parts of Cathedral Heights up to the commercial area on New Mexico Avenue south of American University. Thefts from cars – a persistent problem in recent years – dropped significantly (-23%) in 2024 while thefts of cars remained at about the same level (16 cars stolen in the neighborhood). General thefts include shoplifting, looting, purse/wallet snatching, bike thefts, theft of belongings from around houses and apartments (such as delivered packages), skipping out on tabs such as rideshare fares or restaurants, and this crime category dropped 21%.
Violent crimes and break-ins remain troubling. Below are status updates on four high-profile cases in the neighborhood in 2024. Violent crime (defined by MPD as robbery, assault, homicide and sex abuse) remained high for Glover Park at 10, though thankfully we had no homicides for another year. While burglary is not categorized as a violent crime, the circumstances sometimes are disturbing and these went up from 2 in 2023, to 5 in 2024. Though, the primary perpetrator of those crimes in Glover Park is in federal prison now (see below). Glover Park once again had one carjacking in 2024 – of an Amazon delivery truck driver at gunpoint in November. That’s why Santa uses a flying sleigh and not an Amazon delivery truck. In 2024 there were seven crimes in Glover Park in which the perpetrator brandished a gun.
Crime against businesses continues to be a problem, in Glover Park, all of DC, and every major city in the nation, but as you can see from the pie chart below, once again the majority of crime was in the neighborhood, rather than the commercial strips of Wisconsin Avenue and New Mexico Avenue. That said, the businesses do get hit regularly, and it does not always translate to a police report and a crime stat. I’ve personally witnessed multiple times at the Georgetown Safeway people walking out with armfuls of stuff, and not getting stopped by employees or security though sometimes they try. These and other petty crimes are more and more likely not to be reported, which skews the crime stats.
Yet, one cannot argue about the stats for the drop in violent crime across DC! Violent crime is down 35% city wide from 2023, including a 32% drop in homicides. DC police Chief Pamela Smith worked her first full year as chief in 2024 and used a strategy of targeting “crews” of criminals – not necessarily gangs, but groups let by a few individuals who were responsible for a good portion of the crimes and she has gotten many of them off the streets. This strategy seems to be working as crimes are down in every category of crime tracked by MPD, led by a 39% drop in robberies.
Here are four high-profile crimes in Glover Park from 2024 and the current status:
1) Serial Robber - Robert McBean went on a crime spree in Glover Park and Georgetown with a gun and hammer in hand from August 2023 to January 2024. In Glover Park he held up the Sunoco station and Glover Park Market (four times). The idiot made little attempt to hide his identity and the evidence pre-trial was overwhelming. He was charged under the Hobbs Act and faced up to 80 years in prison. McBean and the USA reached a plea agreement in April and he was sentenced to 6.5 years in the medium security federal penitentiary of FCI Petersburg in Hopewell VA. The sentence also includes 3 years of supervised release.
2) Sexual Assaulter – On September 17th Tyzhea Warren of Hyattsville MD was arrested for the sexual assault of a Glover Park resident in the parking lot behind the Calvert Center at 2330 Wisconsin Avenue (post office, Chipotle and Sherwin Williams). He (allegedly) made aggressive sexual contact and verbally abused the woman. Apparently he had done the same to a different woman at Safeway down the street earlier that day. Video of the assault was obtained by MPD and he was promptly arrested and then released with two stay-away orders. A non-jury trial is scheduled for March 11th 2025 at 9:30, and his attorney stated that he has complied with his release conditions. As this is an ongoing case, people are assumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
3) Christmas Presents Carjacking – On December 1st on Tunlaw Road an Amazon elf doing his duty delivering Christmas presents was held up at gunpoint by two carjackers who threatened to kill him. The perp took his phone and his Amazon vest and drove off in the van with all the Christmas presents. The van was recovered later and apparently some of the packages were taken. MPD has made no arrests in the case. In fact, only about one-third of DC carjackings result in arrests.
4) Pearson’s Looters – Pearson’s Wine and Spirits was looted once again, on September 9th. Apparently, a group of thieves went on a city-wide rampage that night in CityCenter, Glover Park, Georgetown, H Street, and 14th Street neighborhoods, possibly in response to a police shooting in Southeast. Liquor stores are a common target for these looters. Eight people piled out of a van in front of Pearson’s and smashed the door with an axe, then stole items quickly and moved on. They also hit Hop, Cask and Barrel in Georgetown, stealing $35,000 worth of cash and liquor there. Five people - Alton Pernell Jr. 27, Husan Thurston 32, Sabrina Kenny 24, Jasmine Clark 23, and Alnaja Jackson, 24 – were arrested in connection with two of the robberies in other areas but so far no charges have been issued for the Pearson’s robbery. Kenny, Clark and Jackson were found guilty and received a suspended sentence of 6 months (no jail time), with 90 days of community service and 1.5 years probation. Thurston and Pernell pleaded guilty and are awaiting their sentencing.
Note: Crime Spree photo and some details of that crime spree are from DC's ABC7 News.