Woman has car stolen for a second time from DC parking garage
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — It’s déjà vu for a local woman, after her car was stolen for a second time from a D.C. parking garage.
Nikki Peele said her black Kia Soul was stolen in February 2023 from a parking garage where she was living at the time in Northeast, D.C. She then moved to NOMA this year. Then, this week her car was stolen again out of a parking garage at Cielo, where she lives now.
“Monday around 5:30 p.m. I was going to run errands. When I walked [into the garage] I saw it was empty. I thought ‘maybe I was on the wrong floor, maybe it was a towed,’” she said. “I checked my AirTag and saw it was in Temple Hills, Md. and I burst out crying.”
Peele said she was in disbelief.
“I said, ‘this cannot be happening to me again,’” she said.
According to Peele, surveillance video that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) reviewed showed at least two people in a Kia follow a neighbor entering the garage, before stealing Peele’s car.
Peele took numerous precautions to prevent her car from being stolen including two steering wheel locks, a tire wheel lock and decals stating the car is GPS monitored and has updated Kia software. She also pays $275 a month for secure garage parking.
“My Kia had to be the most hardened vehicle in the District of Columbia,” she said.
Police located the car in Maryland and took it to an impound lot.
Peele was able to see the car in person on Wednesday.
“It was like seeing your best buddy on its worst day. You just want to hug it, you’re happy to see them again but you’re devastated about what happened to them,” she said.
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The thieves ripped the ignition out of the car, tore the door handle off and pulled out the entire lining of the trunk. It’s unclear when the repairs can be made.
Peele is now considering what to do next.
“My brain is telling me ‘it’s time to let it go,’ but my practical side of my brain is also saying ‘where is it going to go?’ I can’t sell it to an individual person because who is going to want to buy it?” she said.
DC News Now reached out to LCOR, which owns the Cielo.
In a statement a spokesperson for the company said, “We are working collaboratively with the appropriate authorities and have provided the necessary footage to MPD. The safety and security of our residents will continue to be our top priority. As such, we are reviewing the events surrounding the incident to inform the future protocol and usage of the automated garage system.”
Peele said she’s disappointed with their response.
“Luxury does not equal safety,” she said. “I expect so much more. This is a universal problem we’ve had with the lack of safety protocols.”
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According to MPD, officers are still investigating the crime.
Meanwhile, Peele has a message for those responsible.
“I hope you have a miserable life, because you have brought a lot of miserable to a lot of people and this is not a victimless crime,” she said.
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