U.S. marshals deputies are looking for a burglar accused of breaking into homes in Montgomery County and the District. Twenty-two-year-old Antoine Dillard and an accomplice are accused of breaking into homes in Bethesda in August during the daylight hours and stealing thousands of dollars in electronics. Marshals said the duo entered the homes through the rear of the houses by breaking windows or doors, and pawned the stolen items immediately after the thefts.
They were arrested together and charged with similar crimes last year in the District. Dillard pleaded guilty to one count and was sentenced to six months in jail.
U.S. Marshals Supervisory Inspector Matt Burke this week called Dillard the “picture of a regional crime problem.”
“He’s the reason people don’t feel safe in their homes during the day,” said Burke, of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Dillard had worked at several locations in the Underground Station Mall in Arlington, and is believed to still frequent this area. Dillard was seen at this mall last week wearing a long green jacket and white kufi hat. Investigators believe that Dillard was tipped off by someone in the mall that police were looking for him.
Marshals deputies are familiar with Dillard. They’ve arrested him in previous cases and now they are asking the public to help them track down Dillard again.
He is described as 5-feet-8 and 135 pounds. Dillard has lived in the areas of Bellview Street SE, Galveston Street SW and 51st Street NE in Washington, but has strong ties to Arlington.
Dillard has a history of arrests for drug possession, armed burglary and embezzlement in D.C. and Virginia.
Anyone with information regarding Dillard’s whereabouts — particularly area pawnbrokers — should call the Task Force at 301-489-1717.
Tips from readers of The Washington Examiner have led to the arrest of 34 wanted fugitives in the D.C. area in the past three years, including convicted murderers, kidnappers, child sex offenders, rapists and scam artists.
The Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force, run by the U.S. Marshals Service, is composed of 30 federal, state and local agencies from Baltimore to Norfolk. The unit has captured more than 33,000 wanted fugitives since its creation in 2004.
