WASHINGTON – A valet was left injured and some restaurant patrons are still without their car keys after two different incidents in Northwest D.C. where keys were stolen from valet stands. Police are continuing to investigate but right now, some customers are asking what the restaurants plan to do to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
The first robbery happened on Thursday, June 20. Diners at Kitchen + Kocktails located at 1300 I Street were shocked to find that while they were eating, a valet had been beaten and keys were stolen.
According to a police report, four suspects pulled up to the restaurant in a black Infiniti Q50S with a Maryland hard tag of 50033CJ. Detectives say while one man distracted the doorman, the others broke into the valet key box and stole the keys to several vehicles.
The men hopped back into the Infiniti and fled the restaurant going west on I St NW before turning right onto K St NW.
Police say one of the valets had chased the suspect vehicle on foot until coming to the 900 block of 13th St NW where a car matched to one of the stolen sets of keys was parked. As the suspects were trying to get into the car, the valet tried to pull them out and the suspects began to beat his face. The valet backed off and the suspects made off in the stolen car.
DC Fire and EMS responded and took the valet to Washington Hospital Center where he was treated for swelling to his forehead and lacerations on his nose.
Detectives say the second robbery occurred just after 10 p.m. on Saturday. Multiple sets of keys were taken from the valet stand at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse located at 950 I Street — just a couple minutes‘ drive from Kitchen + Kocktails.
In this case, police say the valet called and told responding officers that while he was helping another customer, a suspect went up to the valet table and grabbed four sets of keys belonging to a Maserati, a 2021 Kia, a 2021 Honda and a 2021 Nissan before running away.
One of the victims, Andrea Ible, says she wasn’t able to get back into her car until Sunday afternoon and did not get her keys back. Shwe says she’s frustrated with how the restaurant is handling the incident.
“They’re not doing anything,” Ible told FOX 5. “They were being very negligent.”
This isn’t the first time DC-area valets have been hit.
In February, thieves stole a valet stand and some of the car keys inside it from outside RPM Italian D.C. at 6th and K Streets in the Mount Vernon neighborhood not far from the D.C. Convention Center.
Several vehicles were also stolen from a Ruth’s Chris Steak House valet in northwest D.C. on Christmas Day 2022 and again on New Year’s Day. The valet attendant in that case told police he was parking another vehicle when the keys were stolen from the valet’s podium, which was reportedly locked. Police found a stolen Mercedes-Benz on Dec. 26 in an alley, where it had been set on fire.
It’s not yet clear if any arrests were made in those incidents. Police are continuing to investigate this weekend’s robberies. Anyone with information should contact the Metropolitan Police Department.
FOX 5’s Nana-Sentuo Bonsu will have more on this story tonight. Tune in at 7 and 10 p.m.
Read More: Employee beaten, several keys stolen from valet stands at 2 Northwest DC restaurants
