Over the past few weeks, the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sixth District has experienced several burglaries of construction sites. Some of the items stolen included air conditioning units, doors, tubing, tools and other construction equipment.  The Sixth District, in turn, created a specialized unit specifically designed to combat these crimes.

On Saturday, August 11, 2006, unit members observed a pickup truck, in the 200 block of 56^th Street, NE, carrying an air conditioning unit. Officers recovered the unit but did not charge the driver who had received the unit as payment for work done.  As part of an ongoing investigation, unit members developed information that led them to a three-story building being renovated in the 300 block of 56^th Street, NE.  Police subsequently obtained a search warrant for the 56^th Street address.  As a result, unit members recovered a number of reported stolen items such as air conditioning units, new doors, work tools, etc., that were meant for other buildings under construction in the area.

The ongoing investigation indicates that the stolen items were allegedly being used to help renovate the building in the 300 block of 56^th Street, NE. An individual was arrested on Monday, August 14, 2006, and charged with Receiving Stolen Property. Individuals who may have been the victim of a construction site burglary are asked to call police at (202) 727-9099.