DC Councilmember Robert White's car broken into, wife's car stolen

It was a rough morning for a D.C. council member after thieves broke into his car, his brother-in-law's car and his neighbor's car in his Northwest D.C. neighborhood. In addition to that, a spare key that was taken from his car was used to steal his wife's car.

The break-ins all happened near Holly Street and 16th Street.

D.C. Councilmember Robert White (D-At-Large) said people need to be careful about leaving valuables and gifts in their cars and he believes the thieves could have been looking for those type of items during the thefts in his neighborhood.

"What I am hearing is that there are rashes of break-ins at certain times of the year, especially during the holidays," said White. "One of my law school classmates reached out to say that a number of cars last night were broken into in her neighborhood in D.C. as well."

White realized what had happened to his vehicles at around 6 a.m. Thursday. He said this kind of thing typically doesn't happen in his neighborhood, but clearly is the kind of crime that can happen anywhere.

He has surveillance cameras that caught at least two of the thieves on camera and he has turned the video over to police.

He wants to make sure people know that the D.C. government will reimburse residents for installing outside security cameras - up to $500 for homes and $750 for businesses.

"The more people have cameras on their homes that face even a little bit into the street, I think the more it will deter crimes like this from happening, and certainly we have to make sure that our street lights are up to par across the District," White said.

The council member said he just had his own surveillance cameras installed and is taking advantage of the rebate.

To learn more about the city's security camera rebate program, go to ovsjg.dc.gov/service/private-security-camera-system-incentive-program