Council Member's Purse Stolen 'Within Seconds'

DURING THIS WEEKEND'S BIG WAVE of arrests by the Metropolitan Police Department, officers arrested nearly 650 people — enough for Chief Cathy Lanier to declare a 10 percent dip in weekend crime. But it seems that the push failed to find one opportunist who struck on Sunday. The victim? Ward 7's new D.C. Council member, Yvette Alexander, at left.

As The Post's Nikita Stewart reports, Alexander was at a gas station at Pennsylvania and Branch avenues to fill a tire on her Range Rover when she was distracted by someone who recognized her as a D.C. Council member. She briefly forgot to lock her car and "within seconds," she noticed that her treasured "linen handbag with a floral print and white leather handle" from T.J. Maxx was gone.

» "Police OT Credited in Crime Dip" [WaPo]
» "Council Member's Purse Is Swiped" [District Briefing/WaPo, 2nd item]