Car thieves who took a pickup truck in Northwest D.C. last week returned minutes late to steal a motorcycle, too.
Before 6 a.m. Aug. 16 at the busy intersection of First and R streets, one thief pried open the door of a truck while another drove a scooter, presumably acting as a lookout, surveillance video shows. Once they gained access to the pickup, the scooter was thrown in the back and they jumped in the cab.
Minutes later, they returned with a third accomplice and blocked traffic while they took a Honda Rebel motorcycle parked across the street, loaded it onto the pickup and drove away.
“It was terrible,” said the motorcycle’s owner, Carlo Quintanilla. “I mean, I love that bike. I had it for maybe almost three years. I’ve taken it across, like, 20-something states across the country.”
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Quintanilla was astonished that the thieves mightily struggled to get the bike in the back of the truck while blocking busy rush hour traffic, and no one said a word.
“It makes me think that they’re doing this more often,” he said. “It makes me think that they know that they are going to get away. They’re emboldened.”
So far this year compared to the same time last year, vehicle thefts are up 114%, according to D.C. police. Thefts are up 25%, and overall property crime in the District is up 29%.
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The owner of the pickup said it hasn’t been recovered, and Quintanilla said he fears his bike is gone forever.
“I don’t know what the answer is, but I don’t think that they should just be let off the hook,” he said. “I don’t think that’s the answer, either, because they get let off the hook and they’re emboldened even more. They know that they can do this again.”
A scientist who moved to the District for a job in 2021, Quintanilla said he’s thinking of leaving.
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