Ginkgo Gardens Hit by Burglar Who Scaled Barbed Wire Fence

The 11th Street SE gardening store and plant nursery Ginkgo Gardens was burglarized by a man who cased the business by bike and then scaled a barbed wire fence, the owner and police said.

Video distributed by the Metropolitan Police Department this morning (Wednesday) shows a man riding a bike into the nursery’s yard, entering the business and then climbing over a barbed wire fence wearing a backpack. The crime occurred Thursday, Nov. 6, police said.

The burglar stole cash, said Mark Holler, owner of the 911 11th St. SE shop. Holler had cameras installed a few months ago and is now considering getting more.

“In the 14 years we’ve been open here, we’ve had a few incidents,” he said. Businesses on the quiet block try to look out for one another, particularly after dark.

“At night, there’s not much activity here,” he said.

Since the burglary, police have patrolled the area more frequently, said Holler, whose store is selling holiday wreathes and fresh-cut trees of all sizes, and hosting a sale event Dec. 13 and 14.

Crime Solvers of Washington, DC currently offers a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in the District of Columbia. Anyone who can identify these individuals or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s text tip line at 50411.