A woman’s car was stolen twice in 24 hours, and the second time occurred after D.C. Police had found it and notified her.
News4 has learned an internal investigation into the incident is underway. The car’s owner, Yasmin, is still trying to wrap her head around what happened.
It was pouring rain on Friday night when the 21-year-old from Clarksburg, Maryland, said she dashed from her car to the entrance of an apartment building to hand an Instacart delivery to a woman waiting there.
"I turn around and I just see these three kids circling my car. And before I can even do anything, it just happened so fast. They just drove away with my car," she said.
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In an instant, her silver Mercedes with the keys inside was gone from Fenton Street in Silver Spring.
Around 10 a.m. Saturday morning, Yasmin received a call from a D.C. Police officer who said her car had been found in an alley behind the 1400 block of Chapin Street NW.
She said the officer told her he was with the vehicle.
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Yasmin said she tried but failed to find spare keys, so the officer told her he would have to tow it.
"But he told me it's a better decision for me to call my insurance and get a tow from them, that way I wouldn't be charged for it," Yasmin said.
A call to her insurance company to arrange a tow took longer because of the holiday weekend. Finally, after 6 p.m. both she and the tow truck driver, coordinating by phone, were just blocks away from Chapin Street.
That’s when she got the call saying the car had been stolen again.
“I get a phone call from the police officer telling me that my car is gone,” Yasmin said.
A friend who drove Yasmin to the 3rd district police station recorded a video as she tried to get some answers about how the car was able to be stolen a second time.
An officer can be heard saying he did everything that he possibly could, as Yasmin says, "No you did not. No you did not."
“MPD is aware of this incident. It is currently under an internal investigation to determine if any policies have been violated. MPD has been in contact with the complainant to address her concerns,” D.C. Police said in a statement to News4.
Police want to hear from anyone in the area who may have security camera video from the alley Friday night or Saturday morning.
