Nathaniel Cousart’s plan was simple. The 46-year-old would don a Metro uniform complete with a blue hat, blue pants, blue shirt, and a safety vest. He would board buses, snatch the driver’s bus transfers, and sell them on the street.

The scam didn’t prove so easy. Twice he made a grab for the transfers and missed. Only once was he successful. Police officers received a call in late June that a man was selling bus transfers at the corner of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Avenues SE. When police showed up, Cousart was gone, but a bus driver had seen him get on another bus leaving the Anacostia Metro Station.

When officers caught up with the bus and Cousart, the thief claimed he worked for Metro, but he could not provide an employee ID number. Bus drivers later identified Cousart as the transfer-snatcher. On Monday, Cousart pleaded guilty to his crimes, stating quite simply, “I’m sorry for what I’ve done.” He got 45 days in jail.