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Washington Grove crimes are spiking, watch group says

Slain deer found amid concerns that some cases are not being reported

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Five butchered deer carcasses were found earlier this year on a tract of private land near Washington Grove, remains that some believe were left by poachers in a place where people often bring their pets and go for walks.

The report of the deer, discovered Jan. 20 by a resident, surfaced in the town’s February newsletter at a time when the neighborhood watch group in the small Gaithersburg-area town says it has seen a spike in crime along with fewer residents relaying timely reports of incidents.

Fourteen disturbances were reported in January, noticeably more than the three or four that have been reported in an average month since the neighborhood watch group started a few years ago, said Keith Gillis, who with his wife, Leigh Partington, both 48, has headed the group for the last year.

So far in February, Gillis says, six cases have come in, and he expects the month’s total may climb as latent reports trickle in.

‘‘It’s a little bit of a concern,” said Gillis, who has lived with his wife in the town for two years. ‘‘But I guess I won’t be concerned until I see this going on for a couple more months. Then it will be a problem.”

But the group is already planning to hold their annual meeting before the originally scheduled time in July — in part a response, they say, to the disarming statistics so far this year.

The group, which includes 22 ‘‘block captains” who each oversee groups of about 10 neighbors and serve as liaisons between the watch group and the town at large, began in 2003 after residents began noticing more cases of vandalism, break-ins and other crimes around the town.

Residents can call the group, e-mail or communicate through a Yahoo.com listserv, and have done so a total of 87 times since its inception in July 2003.

Apart from the dead deer, a prime concern in Washington Grove lately has been car break-ins, of which there were six on one night alone in January.

In one case a purse was stolen; in another, thieves took a satellite radio.

‘‘A lot of those cars were unlocked,” Gillis said. ‘‘Someone was obviously going from one end of town to the other, and they hit several cars.”

Gillis says he’s not sure why the town has been such a target for thieves lately; he ventures that Washington Grove sits amid populated areas and sees a lot of foot traffic at night.

Town Councilwoman Betsy Klinger, who as the town’s safety liaison receives reports from Gillis, said she was ‘‘not aware” of any general spikes in crime rates or cases concerning slaughtered animals.

She added, however, that finding dead deer is not unheard of given a venerable deer population that has drawn hunters many times in the past.

‘‘Deer are all over town,” said Klinger, who as the town’s safety liaison receives reports from the neighborhood watch group. ‘‘When we see them, we usually see five or six at a time.”

Residents often hear gunshots — such as the three that two residents reported to Gillis about 10 p.m. Jan. 24 — presumably from nearby hunters, Klinger said.

And Gillis says he found a pile of deer skin late last year not far from where the carcasses were found, which he also attributes to hunters.

But whether dead deer, break-ins or loose dogs — also a dangerous problem around town lately — Gillis says he and his wife hope residents can report incidents in a timely manner.

‘‘The question,” he says, ‘‘is if there are really fewer incidents going on, or if people are just not reporting them.”