Newscasters using an app that identifies "sketchy" neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., were in for a surprise when their news van was broken into and looted while they reported on one of the "sketchy" neighborhoods.
WUSA9 reporter Mola Lenghi, photographer James Hash, and intern Taylor Bisciotti visited the Petworth area after the app led them there. While they interviewed Petworth residents—who told them that it is a "good" neighborhood and that the neighborhood is relatively quiet—robbers were making off with the crew’s goods.
"We got back to the news van, noticed that our lock was popped out, got in there, and noticed that all of our stuff was gone," Lenghi explained.
"I had a backpack full of electronics, work related electronics, a laptop," he said. Bisciotti reported that her "purse, wallet, iPad, and cracked iPhone" were stolen, while Hash’s "laptop, …photo gear, and a couple small cameras" were long gone.
The crew used the "Find my iPhone" app on Lenghi’s phone to track Bisciotti’s phone. They went to several dumpsters before finally finding the stolen items.
Lenghi described Hash as "chest deep in the dumpster, literally emptying the dumpster out, rooting through trash."
They recovered some of the goods, but computers and cameras—totaling "many, many, many thousands of dollars"—are still at large, Hash said.