News

UPDATED: Suspect in custody after bank robbery and standoff in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com
1/14

(Updated at 9:20 p.m.) Roads have reopened around a bank in Clarendon after a reported robbery and possible hostage situation.

The Wells Fargo at 3140 Washington Blvd was robbed shortly after 3 p.m. and the suspect — reported to be a man in his 20s — was still in the bank when officers arrived. Police surrounded the bank and shut down traffic in the area.

Five employees and customers, including a small child, were held in the bank with the suspect during the hour-long incident, according to an update from police.

The suspect implied that he had a weapon, according to police, but it’s unclear whether he was actually armed. A negotiator and SWAT team members responded to the scene, while firefighters and medics staged nearby.

Witness video published by WUSA 9 showed people lying face down on the bank floor during the incident.

Shortly after 4 p.m., a group of heavily armed officers could be seen approaching the bank and, in English and Spanish, commanding those inside to come out with their hands up. The scene was captured on video by ARLnow staff photographer Jay Westcott.

Shortly after that, a man could be seen being led out with handcuffs. The people being held then came out and were asked to provide statements to police.

Police confirmed shortly after 4:30 p.m. that the suspect was in custody and an investigation is underway. No injuries were reported.

Several drivers who were caught up in the robbery response and had to abandon their vehicles on Washington Blvd, in front of the bank, were allowed to return to their vehicles and drive off around 5 p.m.

Later Tuesday night, Arlington County police released the following press release about the robbery and arrest, identifying the suspect as a 30-year-old North Carolina man. No gun was found at the scene.

The Arlington County Police Department has arrested a suspect following a bank robbery in the Clarendon neighborhood. Oscar Gonzalez Allarenja, 30, of Durham, NC, has been charged with Bank Robbery and Abduction. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

At approximately 3:09 p.m. on April 11, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery in the 3100 block of Washington Boulevard. The preliminary investigation indicates the suspect entered the bank, grabbed an employee, indicated he had a firearm and demanded cash before walking behind the counter. Responding officers established a perimeter and worked to safely resolve the incident as the suspect remained barricaded inside the bank with employees and patrons. During the course of the incident, members of the Emergency Response Team approached the bank, gave the suspect commands which he complied with and took him into custody without incident. The patrons and employees, four adults and one child, then safely exited the bank. All were evaluated on scene by medics as a precaution and no injuries were reported.

No cash was reported stolen and no weapon was located on scene. This incident remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact police at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS.

D.C. Attorney General responds to Virginia AG’s scathing letter

By ARLnow.com
National Mall during peak bloom weekend, as seen from Arlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The District of Columbia’s attorney general has responded to a scathing letter to D.C. officials sent by Virginia AG Jason Miyares (R).

Miyares suggested that the District is soft on crime, endangering Virginia residents who visit as well as neighboring jurisdictions like Arlington. The letter was sent as “a direct response to the tragic murder of Christy Bautista,” an Arlington woman stabbed to death in a D.C. hotel room, allegedly by a man with an extensive criminal history.

In reply, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb (D) penned a lengthy letter asking Miyares “for help to stop illegal gun trafficking into DC,” noting that “Virginia is the largest source of illegal firearms recovered here,” per a spokeswoman. Additionally, the letter points out that Virginia cities like Richmond have “experienced increased crime rates substantially higher than the national average.”

Schwalb goes on to highlight that serious crimes in the District are prosecuted in the federal court system. The D.C. court is overloaded and understaffed, resulting in delays and a “public safety crisis,” Mayor Muriel Bowser has previously asserted.

“I also invite you to join me and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown in advocating for DC’s autonomy over our local criminal justice system,” Schwalb wrote. “As a fellow attorney and attorney general, I know you can understand how difficult it is for a community to improve public safety when it lacks meaningful control over its criminal justice system.”

Schwalb’s letter was sent prior to today’s mass shooting at a Northeast D.C. funeral home and stabbing on a Metro train at the Columbia Heights station.

The full letter is below.

Attorney General Miyares:

As the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, I share the frustration and anger regarding senseless killings and violent crime expressed in your April 6 letter to local District leaders. No issue is more important to the more than 700,000 residents of the District than enhancing public safety and preventing violent crime. Just like people in Richmond, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Newport News — each of which has experienced increased crime rates substantially higher than the national average over the past several years — residents of and visitors to Washington, D.C. deserve to feel safe and be safe.

Promoting public safety should be a bipartisan endeavor, not fodder for divisive political grandstanding. Developing and implementing practical solutions that will make our communities safer, now and in the long run, requires thoughtful, data-driven analysis and comprehensive, collaborative strategies. While there are several unsupported assertions and conclusions in your April 6 letter with which I disagree, I do agree with your observation that the proximity of our respective jurisdictions means that enhancing public safety is a regional issue which we must address cooperatively. To that end, I hope you will support efforts to improve public safety in the DMV region.

Improving public safety begins with curbing gun violence. As a necessary first step, we need to keep guns out of the hands of individuals who intend to cause harm. In communities around our country—urban, suburban, and rural—the presence of illegal guns is far too pervasive. Gun trafficking patterns remain remarkably consistent year to year from state to state, and most firearms recovered in the District originate in Virginia. According to the two most recent trace data reports from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Virginia is, by far, the source state for the most illegal firearms recovered in DC. Virginia is the source for nearly four times the number of illegal firearms recovered in the District than the next leading source state, Maryland, which has stricter gun laws. In 2020, of the 1,580 illegal firearms recovered in the District, 667 originated in Virginia. In 2021, Virginia was the source state for 619 of the 1,574 illegal firearms recovered in the District. By contrast, the District was the source for only 58 and 67 of the illegal firearms recovered in 2020 and 2021.

(more…)

Family of Braylon Meade says justice was not served in deadly drunk driving incident

By Jo DeVoe
Braylon Meade playing basketball (courtesy of James McIntyre)

(Updated at 11:40 a.m.) No defendant under 18 years old has been tried as an adult in Arlington County since Parisa Dehghani-Tafti became Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2020.

For Arlington’s top prosecutor, this is an important reform. It keeps children in a system designed for guiding them, and holding them accountable while providing rehabilitative services.

But Rose Kehoe, the mother of Braylon Meade, would have wanted to see the 17-year-old who killed her son while driving drunk last November tried as an adult. In a letter to state Sen. Barbara Favola (D) — shared with other elected officials and with ARLnow — she wrote the decision not to charge the teen as an adult in Arlington County Circuit Court is one reason they felt justice was not served and they were not heard.

“Meaningful reform requires nuanced thinking regarding the facts of each individual case and applying the law fairly and appropriately,” Kehoe wrote to Favola, who endorsed Dehghani-Tafti in her reelection campaign. “In the case of Braylon Meade, we have no doubt that Ms. Dehghani-Tafti’s political rigidity on the issue of refusing to charge juveniles as adults is what governed this case.”

“This was a campaign slogan that worked to drive voters to the polls in 2019 but when applied in the real world of running her office, it stripped our voice away from us and denied a meaningful discussion on how to seek justice for Braylon,” Kehoe continued.

She said Dehghani-Tafti categorically rejected trying the offending teen as an adult despite being two months shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the offense, “despite the defendant’s history of alcohol and THC abuse, despite him driving 94 miles per hour down Old Dominion Drive, despite him only applying his brakes for one half of one second.”

The teen was sentenced to one year of detention and two years probation, though Dehghani-Tafti sought three years in detention.

In a statement to ARLnow, Dehghani-Tafti empathized with the family but said many conditions have to be met to try a child as an adult, and it is not certain the offending teen would have met those criteria.

“As a mother, I know that the death of a child is life shattering. Braylon’s death is a devastating loss for his family and friends, and I am heartbroken over it,” she said. “I understand why Ms. Kehoe feels the way she does. And I don’t want to say anything that adds to their pain. There is simply no good outcome because the only good outcome would be for Braylon to be home.”

A candlelight vigil at Washington-Liberty High School for Braylon Meade (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The decision to certify

State code allows juveniles to be transferred to adult court in limited situations and after considering several factors, such as the severity of the crime and if the child has committed other crimes in the past.

Factors that could lead to transfer include if the offense was premeditated and a weapon was used, Dehghani-Tafti said. Factors that may argue against transfer include the mental health of the defendant and the availability of services.

“All this is because we know from both experience and science, kids are different from adults,” Dehghani-Tafti said. “My team and I met with Braylon’s family, listened to them, and carefully considered this case — with the guideposts of justice and the safety of the community — before determining it was not an appropriate case for transfer. We pursued this case with diligence, and asked for the maximum sentence available, three years. After hearing both sides, the court gave 12 months with a period of probation.”

But Kehoe says she walked away from the one meeting her family had with Dehghani-Tafti feeling less considered than the defendant.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
A house in Westover being demolished (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

County, Feds in Court Over Land — ” A trial underway in federal court will decide whether the U.S. government must pay up to $21 million to compensate a Virginia county for a parcel of land taken to expand Arlington National Cemetery… At issue is how much money, if any, the federal government must pay to Arlington County for the nine acres (3.6 hectares) of land it took from the county to accommodate the expansion.” [Associated Press]

TSA Stops Woman With Gun at DCA — “Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) prevented a Spotsylvania, Va., woman from bringing her loaded handgun onto her flight early this morning (April 10).  The .380 caliber gun was loaded with five bullets.” [Press Release]

Milestone for Va. Square Office Project — “Skanska has topped out the nine-story, 201,000-square-foot office development at 3901 N. Fairfax Drive in Arlington, Va. The project, designed by CallisonRTKL, is slated for delivery next year. When its imminent groundbreaking was announced in September 2021, the $129 million building was already being positioned as a model workplace for the post-COVID world.” [Commercial Property Executive, Skanska]

Marymount Commencement Speakers — “Nearly 1,100 Marymount University students will receive degrees during the institution’s 72nd annual commencement ceremonies next month, and Marymount officials have announced commencement speakers… [including] Dr. Rochelle Walensky, current head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” [Gazette Leader]

Millennial Home Ownership Stats — More Millennials in the D.C. area are now homeowners than renters, a switch compared to five years ago. According to newly-compiled stats, 53.4% of Millennials in the Washington regional are homeowners while 46.6% are renters. [RentCafe, Axios]

It’s Tuesday — Scattered clouds. Mild. High of 75 and low of 43. Sunrise at 6:38 am and sunset at 7:41 pm. [Weather.gov]

AWLA: Someone is shooting rabbits with blow darts

By ARLnow.com
A rabbit (Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley)

Someone in Arlington is apparently shooting rabbits with a blow dart.

Two rabbits, each with darts stuck in their bodies, were spotted by residents along the 700 and 800 blocks of N. Barton Street in Lyon Park earlier this month, according to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. Animal control officers have been trying to capture the rabbits to provide medical treatment.

The apparent dart shootings follow an incident in which a crow was shot with a blow dart in the Fairlington neighborhood last April.

AWLA issued the following press release this afternoon, seeking the public’s help. The release includes photos of rabbits that were shot.

At the beginning of April AWLA’s Animal Control Department began receiving calls regarding two rabbits found on the 700 and 800 blk’s of N Barton street with what appears to be blow darts stuck in their bodies. One of the rabbits has the dart stuck through the head area, the other in the side. Animal Control Officers responded to these calls immediately and have worked over the past week, setting humane traps in different properties in an attempt to catch one of these rabbits. Our intention is to bring the rabbit(s) back to AWLA for triage and transportation to an emergency Wildlife Center for medical care. We are also working with the Department of Wildlife Resources to coordinate our efforts.

This is the second time in the past 12 months in which AWLA has discovered the use of projectiles or blow darts on wildlife. We ask that anyone with knowledge of these incidents or sightings of these rabbits please contact Animal Control immediately at 703-931-9241. Please do not attempt to chase the rabbits.

“This behavior will not be tolerated here in Arlington. This is an act of animal cruelty. We put so much time and emphasis on teaching tolerance and harmonious coexistence with local wildlife in an effort to prevent acts such as this. When groups, associations, or organizations teach intolerance for living things or scapegoat animals for human created conflicts, our wildlife pays the price.” ~ Jennifer Toussaint, Chief of Animal Control

Suspects arrested after weekend carjacking near Crystal City

By ARLnow.com
File photo

Two men are in police custody after a carjacking Friday night.

The carjacking was the tenth reported in Arlington so far this year, and the fifth in which a BMW was taken in the Crystal City and Pentagon City area.

Police were called from the CVS store on the 2400 block of Richmond Highway shortly before 9 p.m. Friday, after a victim reported the theft to employees, according to scanner traffic. The suspects had knocked the two victims, who tried to flee to the ground and took their keys before driving off, according to police.

More from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:

CARJACKING, 2023-04070196, 2400 block of Richmond Highway. At approximately 8:50 p.m. on April 7, police were dispatched to the report of a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, it was determined the two male victims were entering their parked vehicle when the suspect vehicle approached, two suspects exited, brandished firearms and demanded the keys to the vehicle. The victims ran from the vehicle and the suspects chased them, knocked them to the ground and took the vehicle’s keys. The suspect vehicle, a gray sedan, fled the scene followed by the suspects driving the stolen vehicle. During the course of the investigation, officers contacted the Metropolitan Police Department and provided information related to the investigation. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Washington, D.C. and two male suspects were taken into custody by the Metropolitan Police Department. Warrants were obtained for Carjacking, Use of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony and Conspiracy to Commit a Felony for [suspect one], 18, of an unknown location and [suspect two], 20, of Washington D.C. Both are being held in Washington D.C.

Also in the crime report, ACPD reported the arrest of a group of airsoft-gun-toting teens after a coat theft in Pentagon City, and the arrest of a 42-year-old Texas man for allegedly ramming his vehicle into another during a dispute.

WEAPONS VIOLATION, 2023-04080213, 1100 block of S. Hayes Street. At approximately 7:45 p.m. on April 8, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery by force. Initial information provided to dispatch indicated five juvenile suspects allegedly stole the victim’s coat and fled the scene. A lookout was broadcast and responding officers located two juveniles in the Metro and detained them without incident. An airsoft gun was located on one of the juveniles. He was taken into custody and a petition for Carrying an Air Gun in Public was obtained. The victim of the alleged robbery did not remain on scene and the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.

ATTEMPTED MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2023-04090101, 2700 block of S. Glebe Road. At approximately 11:39 a.m. on April 9, police were dispatched to the report of public intoxication. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim and suspect became involved in a verbal dispute during which the suspect allegedly drove his vehicle into the victim’s vehicle, causing damage. Responding officers located the suspect on scene and took him into custody without incident. No injuries were reported. [The suspect], 42, of Round Rock, Tx, was arrested and charged with Attempted Malicious Wounding and Destruction of Property. He was held on a secured bond.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Tulips near the Netherlands Carillon, overlooking the National Mall (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Potomac Rail Bridge Price Going Up — “Virginia’s plan to double capacity for trains over the Potomac River is moving ahead amid inflation that has driven up the project’s cost and contributed to a $389 million budget shortfall, state transportation officials said. Construction of a new Long Bridge is projected to cost nearly $2.3 billion, up nearly $240 million from a year ago.” [Washington Post]

Arrest at Ritz Carlton — From Dave Statter: “@ArlingtonVaPD needing help to arrest a drunk & disorderly person is something often seen at the bars on Wilson Blvd (a bit too often). Not the norm for the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City. But this was the scene around 1 a.m.” [Twitter]

Local Athletes Thriving at College — “Many former high-school athletes from Arlington schools recently have or are enjoying success playing college sports.” [GazetteLeader]

Closures for Race in Lyon Park — “The 2023 Arlington Bunny Hop 5K Fun Run/Walk will take place on Saturday, April 15, 2023, and will begin at 8:00 a.m. The Arlington County Police Department will conduct the following closures in order to accommodate the event.” [ACPD]

It’s Monday — Sunny. Mild. High of 65 and low of 38. Sunrise at 6:39 am and sunset at 7:40 pm. [Weather.gov]

DEVELOPING: Police investigating carjacking in Crystal City area

By ARLnow.com
Traffic camera of 23rd Street S. and S. Eads Street, near carjacking

Arlington County police are investigating yet another carjacking in the Crystal City area.

Initial reports suggest that a group of suspects, including one armed with a gun, carjacked a dark blue BMW X6 around 8:50 p.m. The victim reported the carjacking to employees at the CVS (2400 Richmond Highway) who then called police.

This the tenth reported carjacking in Arlington so far this year, after 14 were reported during all of 2022. Of the 10 carjackings this year, five have involved the forcible theft of a BMW in the Crystal City or Pentagon City area.

Update at 11:15 p.m. — The carjacked BMW may have been found in the District.

Update on 4/10/23 — Two men have been arrested in connection to the carjacking, police confirmed.

Parking dispute leads to gun brandishing along Wilson Blvd

By ARLnow.com
Police car speeding to a call at night (staff photo)

An early morning dispute over parking led to a gun being brandished and a car being stolen.

That’s according to today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report.

The incident happened on the 6100 block of Wilson Blvd, in the Dominion Hills area, a bit after midnight. From ACPD:

BRANDISHING, 2023-04060006, 6100 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 12:24 a.m. on April 6, police were dispatched to the report of a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was in his vehicle when the suspect vehicle prevented him from pulling into a parking spot. The driver and passenger of the suspect vehicle exited the vehicle and became involved in a verbal dispute with the victim, during which the driver made threatening statements towards the victim and the passenger brandished a firearm. The victim exited his vehicle and left the area on foot. No injuries were reported. Upon returning, the victim discovered his vehicle, containing his wallet and undisclosed amount of cash, was stolen. Officers canvassed the area and recovered the stolen vehicle nearby.

“The investigation is ongoing,” ACPD said.

Arlington’s expanded EMS options are reducing hospital trips, but usage remains relatively low

By Matt Blitz
An ACFD ambulance drives down Wilson Blvd (file photo by Jay Westcott)

An Arlington program that lets emergency patients opt to be taken to an urgent care has only been used about a dozen times since its launch two years ago.

In April 2021, the Arlington County Fire Department implemented a new EMS model referred to as Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) at the behest of the Arlington County Board.

Among the changes from standard practice, the model allows patients the option to be transported to a local urgent care or specialized medical office as opposed to a hospital emergency rooms if emergency personnel deem it appropriate.

“Comparison studies show that treatment at urgent care centers can be up to 50 percent less than the cost of the same care at conventional hospitals for appropriate medical conditions,” noted a county press release at the time.

Another hope-for benefit was taking some pressure off overwhelmed local emergency rooms at the height of the pandemic.

However, in the approximately two years since it was launched countywide, only “roughly a dozen individuals” have been transported to an alternative destination, ACFD spokesperson Capt. Nate Hiner tells ARLnow.

It’s unclear why that number is so low, considering the volume of calls ACFD receives and the fact that Covid hospitalizations continued to significantly increase for nearly a year after the program’s launch.

“I want to highlight that we have offered transport to an alternative destination more than a dozen times,” Hiner said when asked to clarify that data point. “However, if a patient declines that service, the result is a transport to the hospital.”

In December 2021, ACFD launched the second phase of the ET3 program, which allowed a local patient to use telehealth technology to speak with a healthcare professional as opposed to traveling for the appointment.

The “Treatment in Place” service has been used considerably more than the transport to an alternate care facility, though it is still only being used by patients a few times per week.

“Telehealth services have been utilized over 170 times with over 102 individuals successfully treated in place,” Hiner said. “For those who were not treated in place, a wide variety of other final outcomes occurred such as transportation to an alternative destination or self-transport to the Emergency Department.”

In all, Hiner said, the ET3 program has kept “over 100 individuals” from having to go to a local hospital’s emergency department since it was launched two years ago.

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Construction workers in Ballston (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Neighbors Worry About Centuries-Old Tree —  “Residents are growing concerned about the future of one of the oldest trees in Arlington’s Penrose neighborhood, a large white oak tree that could be as old as the United States. The tree, in the backyard of a Penrose home that was recently put up for sale, likely survived the Civil War and could have been starting its life as a sprout in the late 1700s around the time of the Revolutionary War.” [Patch]

Counties Monitoring Ruling Fallout — “The Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) is advising its member localities, including Arlington, to hunker down and take a very close look and see if any measures they enacted during the first 15 months of COVID might be in peril following a Virginia Supreme Court ruling. At issue is the March 23 court opinion invalidating Fairfax County’s zoning rewrite – known as zMOD – because its adoption in early 2021 did not follow public-comment rules still in place at the time and not changed by the General Assembly later that year.” [GazetteLeader]

Library Remembering WETA Founder — “Arlington Public Library is partnering with WETA on a community celebration of the life of Elizabeth Campbell on Friday at Shirlington Library, an event that will highlight Campbell’s many contributions to Arlington. The April 7 event, from 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., will feature crafts and activities for children and families and light refreshments for all.” [Patch, Arlington Public Library]

GOP Pushing Single-Member Districts — “Hoping to strike while voter discontent in Arlington is as hot as it has been in a decade, the Arlington County Republican Committee is considering an effort it believes will teach county Democrats a lesson and, perhaps, reduce their all-powerful status in local elections. The GOP at its March 27 meeting kicked around a proposal, presented by a law professor and first-time attendee, to launch a petition drive with the goal of moving Arlington from five at-large County Board districts to single-member districts.” [GazetteLeader]

Democratic Primary Field Set — “The Arlington County Democratic Committee (“Arlington Democrats”) is excited to announce the field of candidates who have filed paperwork with the party for the Democratic nomination in the June 20, 2023, Democratic Primary. The candidates represent a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences and are committed to advancing Democratic values in Arlington and across Virginia.” [PDF]

Join the ARLnow Press Club — Support local watchdog reporting in Arlington and get the day’s headlines in your inbox first thing in the morning. [ARLnow]

It’s Friday — Overcast with sprinkles possible. Cool. High of 57 and low of 48. Sunrise at 6:44 am and sunset at 7:37 pm. [Weather.gov]

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