A teen driver allegedly eluded police before being apprehended near the Arlington Mill Community Center with a baby that wasn’t properly secured and a gun that was stolen.
The incident started Thursday evening around 7:40 p.m., when an Arlington County police officer conducting speed enforcement on S. George Mason Drive between Route 7 and Four Mile Run Drive spotted a speeding car.
“An officer conducting speed enforcement in the 1800 block of S. George Mason Drive observed a driver traveling at a high rate of speed while trailing another vehicle,” said an Arlington County Police Department crime report. “As the officer attempted to stop the driver, he sped up, went around the other vehicle and fled through a red light.”
The officer searched the area and found the car parked on the 900 block of S. Columbus Street, just across Columbia Pike from the Arlington Mill center. The driver and a passenger were detained.
“The officer located a baby in an unsecured carrier in the vehicle. During the course of the investigation, officers recovered a stolen firearm and determined that the driver did not have a license,” said the crime report. “The driver, a juvenile, was arrested and petitions were obtained for Receiving a Stolen Firearm, Possession of a Handgun by a Juvenile, Eluding Police, No Driver’s License and Cruelty to Children.”
“Child Protective Services was notified regarding the baby,” the crime report adds.