Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[PRN]

Around 1 AM last night there were gunshots in the alley behind the 1900 block of Monroe and Park. Numerous police cars responded.

This is very close to the locus of a group of african american youths that deal drugs around 18th and Monroe and occasionally around the Argyle or the alley behind Hellers. They are the remnants of the drug dealing gang that was driven out of Park Road Park a few years ago and are easily identifiable by the white shirts donned when they are they dealing.

Does anyone know what happened and/or if this had anything to do with these drug dealers?

[MeridianFC]

Are you sure about the time? I heard shots at 3am (I have to get up with the 3 week old every night at that time) and called 911. The operator said they'd already had calls from our street and were responding.

I've noticed the return to the corner of 18th and Monroe of the group you mention though their attendance there seems random.

[Tom Bell]

I heard the shots from 18th St. at Monroe and called 911. It was about 3am. I've also been calling about the gang that hangs on the corner of 18trh and Monroe. Inspector Burke has checked up on this group.

[admin]

the info police have so far is that 2 white males were exchanging gun fire. Some shell casings were recovered. Nothing else at this time.

--Laurie

[PRN]

I entered the wrong time it was around 3am - it was a houseguest of ours that was awake when it occured. He spoke to the police and the suspects were two white males. Whether they were involved with the drug dealers I mentioned in my first post I don't know. Like Tom we have called the police whenever we notice any drug dealing. At our end of the street cars will sometimes pull up (or stop) outside the Argyle where I believe they give the dealers money - a phone call is made by one of the dealers - we then observe the same car loop around (or person walk if the deal on foot) down the alley btwn the 1700 block of Park and Monroe where they are met by someone else - presumeably to pick up the drugs. Sometimes they dissapear to the right at the end of the alley - they are out of our sight but based on my observations dog walking etc. I believe the drugs are then passed around 18th and Mt. P. If anyone sees these guys in action please call the police - the more they hear from us the more pressure gets put on the dealers.

[dsachdev]

I'm sorry...to clarify, is this happening in the alley of the 1700 block (where Monroe does not continue). Ie. the part of the alley that was not repaved in the last year, or in the part of the alley that WAS repaved this last year. Maybe some additional street lights in this alley could help deter?

[zrathore]

Having read about the tragic death of Mr. Villatoro, I learned about the ShotSpotter technology and how it was used to track down Mr. Villatoro's killer within a matter of hours. Understandably, the locations of these devices are kept under wraps...but perhaps someone from MPD or elsewhere could suggest that our neighborhood or area get one if we do not have it already. Sounds like a very promising technology. For those who are not familiar:
http://www.shotspotter.com

The DC pilot is funded by the FBI...so that may complicate the ability to get one installed in our area. Jack, do you know anything about this?

[jack]

[zrathore]

[mha]

Perhaps a better way to say it is "relatively rare." The recent Washington Post article on crime in DC has a very good graphic that shows every gun and nongun crime over a set period of crime. What is clear from that graphic is that Mt. Pleasant remains one of the quietest and safest inner city neighborhoods of DC. That's not to say there's not still too much crime here - there certainly is by my standards and I have been alarmed by the recent incidents. Still, we live in a relative haven regardless of the chatter you see here.

[jack]

[jack]

[dsachdev]

Could someone please clarify which alley the drug dealing is happening in? Hell - please post fliers there saying "Known Drug Corner"...maybe that will scare them away. Even fake looking video surviellence could help. That is what they used on the Dulles Access Road toll booth's for years.

[zrathore]

[Tom Bell]

I'm sure others will be able to identify critical alley segments close to the big intersection of Park and Mt. Pleasant. But I'm aware of the alleys I regularly use and see: the short stretch that runs east-west from Mt. Pleasant (exteneded) to 18th St. behind the houses on the north side of Park. That alley has a T intersection with the long alley that runs north-south parallel with Mt. Pleasant (extended) and 18th St. It jogs twice and meets Newton across the street from Bancroft. It has been, though isn't obviously right now a good haven for illegal activity, because when you're in the long north-south section, you're invisible from any street. It serves as as good way to leave the scene, letting you get from the hot corner around Mt. Pleasant and Park to the corner of 18th and Newton, close to the woods below Bancroft, without being seen from the street. The short section from Mt Pleasant extended to 18th is a short cut, and I have seen suspicious guys hanging there lately - same guys who hang on the corner of 18th and Monroe, talking on cell phones. From an earlier post, it sounds as though they may be linked to activity around the corner near the Argyle - one team takes the $$, another delivers the goods - communicating by cell phone.

Other posters, please clarify which alleys you're concerned about.