Crime Reported in Inverness Forest

As a followup to the Sept. 30, 2011 blog post on burglaries in Potomac, here is a report of vandalism and possible theft in Inverness Forest.

Sandra Gaddy asked the president of IFA, Sharlene Shugarman, to inform the community about the vandalism. Here is her email:

"I just want to report that my gas tank cover was torn off my car lastnight. Gas tank covers were also tapered with on two other cars.None of us are sure how much gas was in our tanks but we think gas wassiphoned. We reported the matter to the police and thought you mightwant to alert the community to be vigilant.
Sandra Gaddy"

If you have a comment or additional information, please post it here or on the Inverness Forest Group at Facebook.

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If you look to the right sidebar, you will see that my Inverness Forest Today blog has had over 11,000 page views since its inception in 2008.  I appreciate all the interest and the positive comments over the years.  I intend to continue posting to this blog after I leave the board in a few days.  I appreciate your emails on topics or questions you'd like to see addressed.

As I mentioned in my previous blog post, "A New Community Communication Resource" (Oct 7, 2011), the new Inverness Forest Facebook Group is a very good way to directly connect with other residents in our community.  The group already has 21 members and is growing rapidly.  I hope you'll take advantage of this resource and join the group.  That way you can see what other residents are saying and perhaps add to the discussion yourself.

Harvey

iftblog@gmail.com

Attempted burglaries in Potomac

Update:  The meeting will be held on October 17 at 7:30 PM at Bells Mill ES.


Also, there is a Yahoo Group where local residents can post crime information.  The link to the group is PotomacCommunityAwareness@yahoogroups.com

There have been reports of attempted burglaries in nearby communities recently. I would like to thank Renzo and Jessica Bejarano for keeping me informed about these developments. Representatives of affected communities are arranging a meeting with the police and our Montgomery County Council Member, Roger Berliner. It appears the date of this meeting will be October 17, but no other details are available at this time.

Here is the email forwarded by Renzo and Jessica:

From: Worland HOA [mailto:worlandhoa@gmail.com]

Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 9:36 AM

Subject: Another break in

All,

I received this today from the President of the Fox Hills Community HOA. He is coordinating a four neighborhood meeting where police and county councilmember Berliner want to alert residents to the county response to the recent attempted burglaries along gainsborough in your area. They want to hold the meeting at cabin john or bells mill schools but it may even be at potomac community center. I will keep you posted. Below is the latest report:

There was another attempted break-in on Tyler Terrace, just off Gainsborough Road between Bells Mill and Democracy, Friday night, September 23, approx 10:50 pm. Someone was attempting to jimmy the front door open. Homeowner called police but the people ran off and they didn't find anything. Dogs in neighboring house were going crazy. This is the same place where the Blue Mustang was parked LAST weekend--just out of view from the main road.

Keep lights on and lock up in the evening. If you are away, leave lights on timers. Speak to your immediate neighbors on both sides and behind to ensure that we are all working together. I noticed a lot of homes with no exterior lights on this week in our neighborhood. Please help spread the word about the security issues in our area.

Regards,

Dawn

Harvey

iftblog@gmail.com

A String of Car Burglaries Last Night

Cybel Wigle sent me the following email about a string of car break-ins that occurred last night in her cul-de-sac.  Someone from another cul-de-sac also reported a string of burglaries from cars.

Hello neighbors,

This morning I found my car opened and burglarized. It wasn't only us, but another 4 neighbors in our cul-de-sac. The police took samples of the finger prints in all cars. Thankfully, I had nothing of value taken but a $50 REI gift card.

Please stay vigilant and do not leave any items of value in your cars.

Have a great day!

Cybel W.

8151 IRR

Please follow Cybel's advice and do not leave anything valuable in your car in plain sight.  In past years we have had reports of similar incidents.  Here is a link to an Inverness Forest Today blog post I did a few years ago on the same subject:

http://invernessforest.blogspot.com/2008/08/opportunist-burglary-attempt-in.html


Harvey


Harvey Levine
iftblog@gmail.com

Community Safety Meetings on October 6

Inverness Resident LaVerne Magarian has informed me of two events taking place on Monday October 6, 2008. Both events deal with safety. One event is "Safety for Seniors". Here are the details:

When: Monday, October 6, 2008
Where: Davis Library - 6400 Democracy Blvd., Bethesda (Community Room - downstairs)
Time: 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Topics to include: Residential security, Locks, Windows, Doors, Alarms, Landscaping, Reporting suspicious activity, When to call the Police

Presented by Montgomery County Police - 2nd District, Officer Dana Matthis - Community Services Officer 301.657.0119
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The other meeting was organized by Councilman Roger Berliner. Here are the details:

Dear Neighbors and Friends:

A public meeting regarding the Havenstein homicide and home invasion robberies is scheduled for October 6, 2008 from 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM at the Walt Whitman High School auditorium. Walt Whitman High School is located at 7100 Whittier Boulevard in Bethesda, 20817.

The purpose of the meeting is for Chief Tom Manger and officers of the Montgomery County Police Department to brief the community on the status of the Police Department’s efforts and to answer questions from the audience.

Please contact my office at (240) 777-7828 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Roger Berliner
Montgomery County Councilmember
District 1
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Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Burglary Target Fights Back

The August 1, 2008 posting featured a story about an attempted burglary. Since then, several community car burglaries have been reported on Inverness Ridge Rd. and Deborah Dr. Max Rapoport, whose car was burglarized, has decided to do something about it. Max has asked me to post the following comments…
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Dear neighbors,

In wake of recent acts of vandalism and theft in our community, we are seeking volunteers to form a neighborhood watch. We are looking for volunteers to patrol the neighborhood at night (12:00pm – 6:00am) in effort to make us all feel more secure.
Please email Max Rapoport for details (MaxRapoport@gmail.com)

I did some research and if we get enough people we could register the “watch” with the local PD.

Thanks,

Max.
**********************************

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com

Opportunist Burglary Attempt in Inverness Forest

Abdol Rahnavard of 10801 Deborah Drive told me about an attempted car burglary near his house earlier this week. Abdol's son was awakened in the early morning hours by sounds in the parking lot. He looked out his window and saw a group of young men trying car doors to see if any were unlocked. He awoke his father and they called the police.

The young men apparently arrived in a car that they left running nearby. Abdol and his son noted the license plate. The young men noted they were being observed and left. When the police arrived and called in the license plate number they discovered that the would-be burglars lived a few blocks away and went after them.

Thanks to the vigilance and quick wits of Abdol and his son the burglars were unsuccessful and likely had an unpleasant interview with the police.

Lessons learned:

1. Lock your car so that opportunist burglars can't have easy access to your property

2. Would-be burglars should rethink their career path if they are dumb enough to go off on a noisy crime spree in a car with its license plate clearly visible.

Harvey
ifatreasurer@mac.com