The Chevy Chase Village police department on Friday warned residents about two “strange” and “disturbing” phone calls to residents this month in which an anonymous caller criticized the appearance of their homes, told them to make changes to their properties and claimed the condition of their properties was hurting his property value.
The village police department pointed out that the caller, who seemed to be very familiar with the town because of his knowledge of the area, didn’t make any threats during the calls. But police are asking any other village residents who receive a similar phone call to notify the department.
Police said the first resident got the call June 3 and the second resident June 10. Both calls happened between 5 and 6 p.m., and the caller’s voice “was described variously as ‘somewhat high-pitched’ or ‘effeminate,’" police said.
Police said the caller refused to identify himself and his phone number didn’t display on the caller ID system of the call recipients.
During the June 3 call, the caller complained about the style of bricks on the resident’s home. On the June 10 call, the caller complained about the resident’s shrubbery and brickwork.
Police said the caller “wanted the homeowners to make changes to their properties,” and told one of the homeowners the poor appearance of the property hurt his own property value.
One of the residents who received a call lives on Cedar Parkway on the west side of the town, while the other lives on Western Avenue on the east side, police said.
“Understandably, the calls were disturbing to each of the homeowners,” the police department wrote.
Chevy Chase Village, a half-square mile town of about 2,000 people that borders Washington, D.C., has its own police department and a median household income exceeding $200,000 a year—helping to make the broader Chevy Chase area one of the most affluent places in the U.S.
Homes currently for sale in the village range from $1.85 million to $3.5 million, according to real estate website Zillow.
