Turning the other cheek
Posted on July 13th, 2007 by catalyst into the About Us categoryHere's an amazing story about a potential mugging in a Capitol Hill neighborhood near my house. Recently, a hooded man came into the backyard of a dinner party, pointed his gun at a young girl and demanded money:
The five other guests, including the girls' parents, froze — and then one spoke.
"We were just finishing dinner," Cristina "Cha Cha" Rowan, 43, blurted out. "Why don't you have a glass of wine with us?"
The intruder took a sip of their Chateau Malescot St-Exupéry and said, "Damn, that's good wine."
Then he tucked the gun into the pocket of his nylon sweatpants.
"I think I may have come to the wrong house," he said, looking around the patio of the home in the 1300 block of Constitution Avenue NE.
"I'm sorry," he told the group. "Can I get a hug?"
Rowan, who lives in Falls Church and works part time at her children's school, stood up and wrapped her arms around him. Then it was Rabdau's turn. Then his wife's. The other two guests complied.
"That's really good wine," the man said, taking another sip. He had a final request: "Can we have a group hug?"
The five adults surrounded him, arms out.
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July 13th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Page two of the article goes on to say….
With that, the man walked out with a crystal wine glass in hand, filled with Chateau Malescot. No one was hurt, and nothing was stolen.
The homeowner, Xavier Cervera, 45, had gone out to walk his dog at the end of the party and missed the incident, which happened about midnight June 16. Police classified the case as strange but true and said they had not located a suspect.
We believe it is a true robbery,” said Cmdr. Diane Groomes, who is in charge of patrols in the Capitol Hill area. But it’s one-of-a-kind, she said, adding, “I’ve never heard of a robber joining a party and then walking out to the sunset.”
The hug, she said, was especially unusual. “They should have squeezed him and held onto him for us,” she said.
Rabdau said he hasn’t been able to figure out what happened.
“I was definitely expecting there would be some kind of casualty,” Rabdau said this week. “He was very aggressive at first; then it turned into a love fest. I don’t know what it was.”
Rabdau, a federal government worker who lives in Anne Arundel County with his family and lived on Capitol Hill with his wife in the 1980s, said that the episode lasted about 10 minutes but seemed like an hour. He believes the guests were spared because they kept a positive attitude during the exchange.
“There was this degree of disbelief and terror at the same time,” Rabdau said. “Then it miraculously just changed. His whole emotional tone turned — like, we’re one big happy family now. I thought: Was it the wine? Was it the cheese?”
After the intruder left, the guests walked inside the house, locked the door and stared at each other. They didn’t say a word. Rabdau dialed 911. Police arrived quickly and took a report. They also dusted for fingerprints — so far, to no avail.
In the alley behind the home, investigators found the intruder’s empty crystal wine glass on the ground, unbroken.
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That is almost too bizarre to believe.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Oops. I’m an idjut. I didn’t see the handy-dandy blue link you kindly posted. I did a web search and found the original article. I’d say “my bad” but I can’t stand that phrase for some reason. So, I’ll just quote John Wayne: “Life is hard. It’s harder when you’re stupid”.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:28 am
No worries. And thanks for posting the rest of the article, I’m never sure how much people actually want to read.
Anyway, I suspect this will make a great Criminology study. What makes people perform a criminal act and what stops them?
Still, an amazing story.
July 13th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Great story!