A Capitol Hill neighborhood nuisance with a record of 59 arrests in 30 years was sentenced to four years in prison for the latest in his series of thefts from cars in neighborhoods around the Hill.
David Vines, 48, of the District, was sentenced by D.C. Superior Court Judge Ronna L. Beck after pleading guilty to contempt of court and second-degree theft.
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“Our community needs to be protected from you,” Beck told Vines as she handed down the sentence Friday.
Vines has targeted the Capitol Hill area, repeatedly opening unlocked car doors and then stealing whatever he could get his hands on — CDs, cash or small change.
Over the years, Vines has racked up 29 convictions, and recently he’s been specializing in stealing from cars. He has been convicted eight times for theft or attempted theft, once for receiving stolen property, and twice for tampering with an automobile.
His capers have made him something of a legend in the neighborhood, prosecutors said, and his case was first reported by the Washington Post.
Calls by fed-up citizens led directly to the arrest of Vines in the cases that led to Friday’s sentencing, prosecutors said.
On Nov. 2, 2011, Vines was free from jail awaiting a trial in another theft case. Under the terms of his release, Vines was ordered to obey a curfew each night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
About 4 a.m., a civilian called 911 and reported seeing Vines pulling on door handles of parked cars on the 100 block of 12th Street SE. Police subsequently arrested him.
Vines pleaded guilty to the contempt charge on Nov. 28, 2011, and was placed in a halfway house.
The very next morning, a day that he was once again due in court, he was caught by police after breaking into a car on the 1200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue SE and stealing about $12 in bills and change, prosecutors said.
