Launched in January 2010, ARLnow.com is the place for the latest news, views and things to do around Arlington, Virginia. Started by a Pentagon City resident who has spent the past several years working in local TV news, ARLnow.com seeks to distinguish itself with original, enterprising, up-to-the-minute local coverage.
A man was carjacked by armed suspects in Crystal City last night.
The crime happened around 8 p.m. Wednesday along the 2200 block of Crystal Drive, in front of a row of restaurants. It’s the third reported carjacking in Arlington in two weeks and the second in Crystal City, specifically.
“The male victim was inside his parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle, with three unknown male suspects inside, pulled alongside him,” Arlington County police said today in a crime report. “Suspect One allegedly displayed a firearm from within the suspect vehicle as Suspect Two approached the victim and demanded his vehicle. The victim exited his vehicle and Suspect Two entered and fled the scene in the stolen vehicle with the suspect vehicle following.”
“Responding officers canvassed the area yielding negative results,” the crime report continues. “No injuries were reported. During the course of the investigation, the stolen vehicle was recovered in Prince George’s County, MD.”
The three suspects remain at large. The stolen vehicle was a 2017 BMW, according to public safety watcher Alan Henney.
A 32-year-old man is in jail after being arrested for a second time in less than a month.
Necho Taylor, a D.C. resident, was initially arrested the night of Friday, Dec. 23, after he allegedly shot a woman with a BB gun while riding an escalator at the Rosslyn Metro station. Taylor was taken into custody by Metro Transit Police outside of the Clarendon Metro station, after attempting to flee from officers, and the gun was found in his coat, according to an arrest report.
Taylor spent Christmas in the Arlington County jail on a felony malicious wounding charge but was released on bond by a judge on Dec. 28, according to court records. He is also facing a felony conspiracy charge and a citation for resisting arrest in connection to the case.
The motive for the BB gun shooting was unclear. The victim was treated for an arm injury at Virginia Hospital Center, per the Metro Transit Police arrest report.
Three weeks after being released on bond, Taylor was back in Arlington. Police say he entered a business on the 1000 block of S. Hayes Street — which corresponds with the Macy’s in Pentagon City — and, around noon, fled with stolen merchandise.
He was spotted by Arlington officers and led them on a brief foot pursuit before being taken into custody, according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report.
More from ACPD:
GRAND LARCENY (Significant), 2023-01180108, 1000 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 12:04 p.m. on January 18, police were dispatched to the report of a larceny just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect had entered the business, selected merchandise and attempted to exit without payment. A loss prevention officer confronted the suspect and he fled the scene on foot. A suspect description was broadcast and responding officers located him walking in the area. An officer gave the suspect commands which he refused to follow and fled the scene on foot. Following a brief foot pursuit, the suspect was taken into custody. Necho Taylor, 32, of Washington, DC was arrested and charged with Grand Larceny and Obstruction of Justice. He was held without bond.
Taylor previously was sentenced to 5 months in jail in Arlington in 2016, for petty larceny, according to court records. He’s currently in the county jail awaiting his next court hearing on Feb. 23, records show.
A local bird mid-chomp (Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf)
Park Booze Expansion Approved — “Arlington County Board members on Jan. 21 added two additional local parks – Penrose Square and Long Bridge Park – to those where alcohol can be sold and consumed during special events. Such temporary sales already had been allowed for events at Fort C.F. Smith Park, Gateway Park and Clarendon Central Park, if approved by a county-government committee that oversees the issuance of special-event permits.” [Sun Gazette]
Court Security Stops Man With Gun — “The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office stopped an individual from entering the courthouse with a fully loaded, concealed Smith & Wesson .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol on Jan. 17. The individual reported to the Arlington County Courthouse for a court hearing in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations court, when deputies spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine. The handgun was loaded with seven bullets and located in the individual’s bag.” [ACSO]
Rosslyn Office Building Sold at Discount — From Bisnow’s Ethan Rothstein: “A big haircut for a very sophisticated player on a Class-A building… This building, at 1776 Wilson Blvd., sold for $90M when it was 90% leased in 2014. It’s now 82% leased and sold for less than $60M.” [Twitter, Bisnow]
New Kids Playspace at DCA — “At Reagan National Airport… a new children’s playspace will pique pre-flight imagination. National Children’s Museum — a learn-through-play institution in downtown Washington, D.C., that sparks curiosity through science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM) exhibits and programs — has partnered with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) and The Boeing Company to open Curiosity Runway, a children’s playspace inside of Reagan National Airport.” [MWAA]
It’s Thursday — Partly cloudy but breezy throughout the day. High of 51 and low of 37. Sunrise at 7:21 am and sunset at 5:24 pm. [Weather.gov]
Here is what’s going on Thursday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
No events today. Have one to promote? Submit it to the calendar.
☔ Thursday’s forecast
Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 50 and low of 31. Sunrise at 7:21 am and sunset at 5:24 pm. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Thought of the Day
Life is an incredibly precious gift, and it is up to each of us to make the most of it while recognizing our smallness in the grand scheme of the universe.
🌅 Tonight’s sunset
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
Police at Kenmore Middle School in May 2022 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) A group of Kenmore Middle School students allegedly attacked a student from another school after a basketball game yesterday.
Police were flagged down around 4:55 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of S. Carlin Springs Road and 2nd Street S. for a report of a fight. They found a student bleeding from the nose, according to scanner traffic, and were told by witnesses that he was assaulted by a group of Kenmore students.
“The officer located the juvenile male victim and determined he was walking in the area with a group of witnesses when they were approached by the five known juvenile male suspects,” the Arlington County Police Department said today in a crime report. “The suspects allegedly followed the group and threw items towards them before assaulting the male victim. The suspects fled the scene prior to the arrival of police and a canvass of the area yielded negative results. The victim was treated on scene by medics for injuries considered non-life threatening. The investigation is ongoing.”
The victim was a Dorothy Hamm Middle School basketball player, two tipsters told ARLnow and an Arlington Public Schools spokesman confirmed. The team played at Kenmore Tuesday afternoon, according to a game schedule. The suspects had just attended the game, we’re told.
Both tipsters separately told ARLnow that the victim later went to the hospital for treatment of a broken nose and other injuries.
Kenmore’s principal sent the following letter to families this afternoon.
Dear Kenmore Families,
I wanted to alert you to an incident that happened outside of Kenmore near the public bus stop after yesterday’s basketball game.
Several students were involved in a verbal and physical altercation with a student from another middle school. The incident started after a verbal altercation near the bus stop and continued up the street.
These actions do not reflect our core values and beliefs at Kenmore and under no circumstances do we condone this type of behavior. We take these incidents very seriously and disciplinary action will be taken. We have contacted the parents of those students directly involved. We ask for your continued partnership in talking with your children about the serious nature of these incidents.
Thank you to community members who stepped up to help the school address this incident. We are committed to being a No Place For Hate School and will continue to promote a positive environment for all.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly.
Arlington County police are seeking more victims of a teen identified as a suspect after a string of groping incidents.
The incidents happened in and around the Courthouse area this past fall and involved women being grabbed from behind in a sexual manner by an unknown suspect. One involved a woman walking her dog in Courthouse on Nov. 28 and another involved a woman walking or running on the Arlington Blvd Trail on Dec. 7.
So far, police say they have only charged the teen with an incident on Nov. 29 when a female jogger was grabbed from behind. They’re now trying to determine a link to the other incidents and putting out a call for more potential victims to come forward.
More, below, from a just-issued ACPD press release.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit is investigating an Arlington teen after he was charged with assaulting a woman running along the Arlington Boulevard trail.
At approximately 3:05 p.m. on November 29, the female victim was running in the 2000 block of Arlington Boulevard when the male suspect approached from behind, grabbed her buttocks and continued running. In January 2023, detectives identified the 17-year-old male suspect and obtained a petition for Assault and Battery. In accordance with Virginia Code, the identity of the juvenile suspect is not releasable.
Similar incidents were reported in the Clarendon-Courthouse and Radnor/Ft. Myer Heights neighborhoods in November and December 2022 and detectives continue to investigate the suspect’s possible involvement in these incidents. Based on the preliminary investigation, detectives believe there may be additional incidents that have not been reported to police. Anyone who may have experienced a similar incident is asked to contact Detective C. Mulrain at 703-228-4194 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
(Updated at 4 p.m.) After two days off to start the week, Taylor Elementary students will be participating in virtual learning today due to a major maintenance issue.
“Taylor Elementary School will move to virtual instruction on Wed, Jan. 25, due to the repair work underway to restore power and heat in the building,” the school said on its website.
After uncertainty about the reopening, however, the school’s PTA president told ARLnow this afternoon that Taylor is now expected to reopen Thursday.
The several day closure was caused by building system failures.
“There is an issue with the HVAC and electrical systems,” Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia tells ARLnow. “Crews have been working since Monday morning to identify the problem so that we can promptly resolve the issue and return to in-person instruction.”
Parents were instructed to pick up iPads at the school this morning for virtual learning. Several expressed frustration with the situation via tips to ARLnow.
“Families have received no other information and cannot plan accordingly,” one parent told us.
In an email to families last night, the school said “we are all doing our best.”
“In the past three years in education, we have truly learned the importance of flexibility,” the email said. “By participating in online learning tomorrow, we can ensure that our students continue to be connected to school and engaged in some learning activities aligned to grade level standards. ”
“If your student is stressed or anxious about online learning, please tell the teacher via email,” the school added.
Taylor PTA President Rebecca Villane says that families are frustrated with the situation.
“The forced closure of Taylor Elementary School for the past 3 days has been frustrating for the Taylor community and particularly challenging for families with limited resources, who depend on schools for meals, intensive educational interventions for struggling learners, and supervision of young children during the workday,” Villane told ARLnow via email.
“The last 72 hours have shed light on tremendous communication, prioritization, and contingency planning issues for continued instruction at APS,” she continued. “We don’t yet know the source of this outage, but in any event we want to see APS provide information on outstanding known issues with our aging school buildings across the county, and a timeline of action that APS is going to take to address these serious deficiencies.”
“[Superintendent] Duran and the Facilities and Operations department owe our students and families better than this situation repeating itself in the future, at Taylor or elsewhere,” Villane added.
The pedestrian overpass in Shirlington on a cold and rainy winter day (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Scholarships in Braylon Meade’s Memory — “With such a wide-reaching legacy, Braylon’s parents wanted the fund to be just as dynamic. So instead of creating one scholarship in Braylon’s name, they created three. ‘By establishing three scholarships, we hope to touch several different aspects of Braylon’s life,’ Kris explains.” [Press Release]
Missing Middle Roils Nextdoor — “The debates on Nextdoor in Arlington have been particularly intense over the past year, both Harrell and Bodine say, because the missing middle rezoning proposal came out in April and has been going through the county review process. For his part, Harrell suspects he’s posted hundreds of comments in the last year on the missing middle issue alone. Bodine accused the moderators of her neighborhood forum of being biased in favor of missing middle and inappropriately suspending some of the people who agree with her.” [Vice]
More Guns Confiscated at DCA — “Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) prevented two travelers from bringing their handguns onto flights within a four-day span, bringing the total number of guns detected at the airport checkpoints to five so far this month.” [Press Release]
More on GW Parkway Work — “The northern portion of the George Washington Parkway is undergoing a major repair project that will cause headaches for drivers — and restore several lost views of the Potomac Gorge… Selective tree removal will allow motorists to see original views of the Potomac and downtown that have been blocked for years.” [Axios]
Pedestrians Struck on the Pike — “Scanner: Two people struck by driver around the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Adams Street, near Penrose Square. Both victims conscious and alert. Driver and striking vehicle reportedly left scene.” [Twitter]
Chase on I-395 — “Afternoon drama on I-395… Virginia State Police chased a red sedan through Arlington to the 14th Street Bridge before terminating the pursuit.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Rosslyn’s Raytheon Restructuring — “Arlington’s Raytheon Technologies Corp. said Tuesday it is restructuring its four subsidiary companies into three business segments, citing a need to better align with customer needs. The move comes nearly three years after the blockbuster merger of Raytheon and United Technologies Corp. and seven months after the combined company said it was moving its headquarters from Waltham, Massachusetts, to Arlington.” [Washington Business Journal]
It’s Wednesday — Rain throughout the day. High of 53 and low of 36. Sunrise at 7:21 am and sunset at 5:22 pm. [Weather.gov]
Address:1020 19th Street S. Neighborhood: Addison Heights Type: 5 BR, 4 (+1 half) BA single-family detached — 4113 sq. ft. Listed: $1,994,000
Noteworthy: New Construction Lily Model with 2 Car Garage & Open Concept Living & Dining
Beautiful new Lily Model in Addison Heights by local Arlington home builder Classic Cottages — 5 Bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, 4,113 finished sq. ft., and 2 car attached garage!
This open concept, transitional home features a spacious main level with a home office, powder room, living area with gas fireplace, breakfast nook, gourmet kitchen, walk-in pantry, mud room with built-in cubbies, and attached 2 car garage. A gorgeous stairwell takes you to the second level which boasts a large primary suite with two walk-in closets, open linen shelving, dual vanities, and spa shower. Three secondary bedrooms are conveniently located on this second level as well as a spacious laundry room with sink and washer/dryer hookups.
On the lower level, you’ll find a large entertainment room, storage closets, and a bedroom with full bath.
This home checks all the boxes. Your new home search is not complete without a visit to this gorgeous brand new home in the heart of Addison Heights!
