A smash-and-grab robbery in Chevy Chase led to a head-on crash involving a police car in Southeast D.C. Tuesday, and the suspects are still on the loose, police say.
The incident began around 11 a.m. when several masked people took control of a Cartier store at 5471 Wisconsin Avenue in Chevy Chase "by their manner and presence" for less than a minute, according to authorities.
They smashed a display case, grabbed an unknown number of designer watches and got into a late-model black Dodge Charger with two different license plates.
Montgomery County Police followed them, but discontinued the chase after they crossed the D.C. border. They last saw the vehicle making a left-hand turn onto Porter Street NW.
U.S. Capitol Police and then Metropolitan Police picked up the chase over the D.C. line, but one police officer lost control of his cruiser and crashed into a parked truck at Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue and Halley Terrace SE.
D.C. police confirm that the crash was related to the Chevy Chase robbery. The officer is in stable condition.
No one was reported injured in the store incident, but the manager of the store said a security guard had been "roughed up." Authorities said the robbers displayed no weapons.
Police would not comment on the value of the stolen items.
Anyone with information is asked to call police at 240-773-5100 or, if they want to remain anonymous, Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 866-411-TIPS (8477).
Police are trying to figure out if this robbery is related to a string of high-end robberies in our area.
Back in February thieves targeted Colonial Jewelers in downtown Frederick, Md. Another group grabbed $125,000 worth of rings from Zales at Pentagon City Mall.
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In March, robbers hit the mall again, stealing Rolex watches worth 600 thousand dollars.
