(Updated at 4:00 p.m.) Police have made two arrests in the 2009 murder of Carl Diener.
Diener, a 57-year-old Lyon Village resident, was found lying dead on a Clarendon street early on the morning of Dec. 29, 2009. Late last year, friends and family held a vigil to mark the one year anniversary of Diener’s death, and to draw public attention to the police department’s continued effort to find clues about the case. With today’s announcement, those efforts seem to have paid off.
The two men arrested are both in their early 20s. One was arrested in Montgomery County, Md. and the other was arrested in the District, according to police.
Patti Diener Lough, Carl’s sister, says she hopes the arrests will help her family and the community feel safer.
“I’m just thrilled,” she told ARLnow.com. “The Arlington County Police obviously didn’t consider this a cold case. I don’t believe that they would be making an arrest if they didn’t have information that was going to stick.”
“I am just glad that we’re going to have some more information” about the case, Diener Lough added. “It doesn’t change anything. Nothing can bring Carl back, of course. But it will allow the family and the Arlington community to process this and feel better and safer.”
Diener Lough said the arrests support what she has believed all along — that the murder a “crime of opportunity” by multiple assailants who did not know Carl.
Here’s the press release from the Arlington County Police Department.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit announces several arrests related to the homicide that occurred on December 29, 2009. At 2:50 a.m. that morning, medic units and police responded to a call regarding an injured man lying on the street in the 3200 block of N. 13th Street. They located Carl Diener, 57, an Arlington resident, deceased.
Detectives have conducted an extensive investigation over the past year and a half and obtained warrants charging Roger K. Clark III, 20, of Severn, Maryland, and Javon Martin, 24, of Washington D.C. with Murder. Roger Clark III, was arrested on June 6, 2011, and Javon Martin was arrested on June 8, 2011. They are pending extradition to Virginia.
“I am extremely pleased with our detectives’ investigation,” stated Arlington County Police Chief M. Douglas Scott, “It illustrates that there are no “cold cases” in Arlington; we continue to investigate crimes long after they occur.”
Diener’s death was a shock to the Clarendon community. His family, friends, and concerned business owners took up a collection of $25,000 for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for his death. They also held several vigils and benefits in his memory.
The Arlington County Police Department would like to thank the men and women of the Washington Field Office of The Federal Bureau of Investigation, The United States Marshals Service, the Montgomery County Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department for their assistance in locating these fugitives.
Anyone who has additional information about this case is asked contact Detective Rosa Ortiz at (703) 228-7402. Det. Ortiz can also be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]. Witnesses can also call the Arlington Police Tip-Line at (703) 228-4242.