Creep in Courthouse area shining light into apartments. (Arlington, Alexandria: home, tenants)

[JasperJade]

Some jerk in a building near mine has been going out on his balcony anywhere between midnight and 4:30 a.m. and shining some kind of camping light or floodlight into people's apartments. I always draw my blinds when the sun goes down, and the light is still bright enough to light up the room. The first time he did it, I thought maybe someone had escaped from the detention center or police station and the light was from a helicopter overhead. He has done it a few times since.

Well, tonight I caught him on camera. When his light got over to my living room, it paused, and then he shut it off and ran inside. He probably saw me taking pictures of him--or, at least my hands and phone aimed his way through the blinds.

Just not sure who I should go to first about this--his landlord or right to the police. I doubt this is legal, and I have a sneaking suspicion this guy is a pervert trying to look into random bedrooms at night to see what he can see, if you know what I mean.

[BOS2IAD]

I would call the police. Let them know which apartment this nuisance is coming from. Have you talked to any of your neighbors about it? If so, they can corroborate your story.

[Old Guard]

I would go to the police just to be on record if he escalates this.

If he saw you taking pictures you may know where he lives, but he also knows where you live.

I am not sure what the problem is with some people and why they do things like this.

EDIT: You know thinking about it there is this whole flashlight subculture where people are trying to get the brightest, nicest, flashlights and this may be what is behind this. Kid may have purchased a $200 flashlight and may want to see how good it is.

That does not excuse this idiot, but at least I can understand this a little.

Still not cool.

[Ffxdata]

Originally Posted by Old Guard

I would go to the police just to be on record if he escalates this.

If he saw you taking pictures you may know where he lives, but he also knows where you live.

I am not sure what the problem is with some people and why they do things like this.

EDIT: You know thinking about it there is this whole flashlight subculture where people are trying to get the brightest, nicest, flashlights and this may be what is behind this. Kid may have purchased a $200 flashlight and may want to see how good it is.

That does not excuse this idiot, but at least I can understand this a little.

Still not cool.

My spouse is one of those flashlight lovers but would never dream of shining it into someone's apartment no matter what hour of the day. Let's hope that is the case, but they may need a wake up call that their actions are weird and upsetting.

[MedvedActual]

Clearly the only solution is to get a much brighter spotlight and shine it right back at the creepo. Just kidding. Tell the property management, ask the other tenants if they have witnessed similar behavior and file a police report. Also, keep an eye on it happening again and record dates/times when it does, so you are not going off memory.

[The Dissenter]

I say report it to both the police and the property management so a paper trail is had with both. Reminds me of the sicko who went around assaulting women in Arlington and Alexandria for a few years.

[HokieFan]

Go straight to the police.

[Bigfoot424]

Why has posting something like this taken precedence on a social media forum instead of calling the police? CALL the police for crying out loud. Google the non emergency number and call them.

[LuvVA]

It's better to call the non-emergency # and let the police know this incident. You will never know what this could lead into.
People like this creep are sometimes in the news when they laser pilot eyes which are very dangerous and a serious crime.

[JasperJade]

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions. I'm going to let my building management know, and then I'm just going to go over to the station so I can show the police the pictures I took. It was foggy last night, so the beam really showed up.

Originally Posted by Bigfoot424

Why has posting something like this taken precedence on a social media forum instead of calling the police? CALL the police for crying out loud. Google the non emergency number and call them.

No need to grouch at me. First, I had to catch the guy doing it. Second, it was after midnight and I had to get up early this morning and get some work done. And again, better to go over in person and just show them the photos, which, now that I think of it, they were probably going to ask me to come over and do today, anyway. At least I work at home and have time this afternoon to handle it in person.