A man was arrested over the weekend and charged with attempted burglary after throwing a rock at a Clarendon area bank.
The incident happened just after noon Sunday at the PNC Bank at 2601 Clarendon Blvd.
Police say 27-year-old Uchenna Eze threw a rock at the bank “in an attempt to steal money.” He was arrested, charged with attempted burglary and held without bond.
Photo via Google Maps
Wreath Shortfall Projected for Cemetery — Wreaths Across America projects it will be 30,000 short of its goal of 230,000 wreaths to place on graves at Arlington National Cemetery this year. The organization is hoping more donors step up before its fundraising deadline tomorrow. [Fox News]
Sehkraft Brewing Now Open — Sehkraft Brewing in Clarendon opened to large beer garden crowds late last week. The brewpub has fire pits outside and is hosting live music nightly. [Facebook]
Arlington Ranks No. 2 for Roommates — Among major U.S. localities, Arlington ranks No. 2 for having the highest percentage of adults living with roommates. According to the website, 23 percent of 18-39 year olds in Arlington live with a roommate. That compares to 21 percent for the No. 4 city, Washington, D.C. [Priceonomics via Greater Greater Washington]
Barbershop Chorus to Sing at Metro Stations — The Arlingtones, a barbershop chorus, will be performing barbershop music at three local Orange Line Metro stations this month. [InsideNova]
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
A man pushed a woman to the ground and tried to take her money last Wednesday along Columbia Pike, but fled after a witness intervened.
From this week’s Arlington County crime report:
ROBBERY, 151118069, 3200 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 10:35 p.m. on November 18, a 19 year-old female victim was shoved to the ground after a male subject attempted to steal change from her. The suspect fled the scene after a witness tried to intervene. Marlow Dugger, 37, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with attempted robbery. He is being held on a $5,000 bond.
The rest of the crime report, after the jump.
School Board Compromise on Stratford History — While opposing efforts to designate the former Stratford Junior High a historic district, the Arlington School Board has adopted a renovation plan that keeps its facade intact and has set aside $250,000 for commemorative artwork and educational displays. Currently the home of the H-B Woodlawn secondary program, the school — which was the first in Virginia to integrate — is slated to become a new neighborhood middle school. [Washington Post]
Arlington Reservist Suing Benghazi Committee — Arlington resident Bradley Podliska is suing his former employer, the House Select Committee on Benghazi, claiming he was wrongly forced out of his job and then was defamed on national TV by the committee’s chair. Podliska, an Air Force reservist, says the committee was too hyper-focused on pinning blame on Hillary Clinton. At the same time, he says he was reprimanded for looking into the post-Benghazi talking points of United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice. [Courthouse News Service]
APS to Hold Community Budget Meetings — Arlington Public Schools will be holding three community meetings in December to gather public feedback ahead of the creation of its proposed FY 2017 budget. [Arlington Public Schools]
Arlington’s Secret Santa Program — Arlington County is again organizing a Secret Santa program, which will distribute gifts to more than 1,000 needy individuals in the Arlington community this holiday season. Residents, churches and school groups who’d like to participate are encouraged to donate $25 gift cards to local grocery, drug, and clothing stores. [Arlington County]
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
Cheap Gas in Arlington — Just in time for your Thanksgiving vacation, there are a number of gas stations in Arlington at which you can fill up for less than $2.00 per gallon. At $1.97 per gallon, the BP station at the corner of S. Four Mile Run Drive and Walter Reed Drive, pictured above, isn’t the lowest in the county: that honor belongs to Arlington Auto Service on Columbia Pike, with its $1.87 per gallon gas. [Gas Buddy]
County Warns of Sewer Backup Risk — One thing that could ruin your Thanksgiving feast would be a sewer backup. Arlington County is warning residents that that could happen if they’re not careful about disposing of fats, oils and greases (FOG). The proper ways to dispose of FOG is to empty it into a container, like an empty can, and throw it in the trash — not rinsing it down the drain, where it could cling to and clog pipes. [Arlington County]
Suspicious Package Calls Up Since Paris Attacks — Calls for suspicious packages and suspicious circumstances are up in Arlington since the Paris terror attacks. That’s according to Arlington County Police Chief Jay Farr, who spoke to reporter Pete Williams during a segment on last night’s NBC Nightly News broadcast. The county has set up an online form for reporting possible terrorism-related activity, in addition to receiving such calls via the police non-emergency line: 703-558-2222.
Airport Workers Rally for Higher Wages — As hordes of passengers head to Reagan National Airport for holiday travel, airport workers are going on a hunger strike, pushing for a living wage. Tipped workers at the airport, like baggage handlers and wheelchair attendants, make as little as $3.77 an hour. [WUSA 9]
Lopez Named House Minority Whip — Arlington’s Del. Alfonso Lopez has been named the new Minority Whip of the Virginia House of Delegates Democratic Caucus. In a statement, Lopez said we will continue to work for “our vision of a Commonwealth that prioritizes public education, invests in transit and transportation infrastructure, protects our environment, preserves our social safety net, and grows a new Virginia economy to expand opportunity for all Virginians.” [Patch]
Van Doren Running for Reelection — Arlington School Board member Nancy Van Doren has announced that she will be running for reelection in 2016. Van Doren replaced Noah Simon on the School Board after a special election last year. She will be seeking her first full term. [InsideNova]
Family members of the man who was critically injured earlier this month after he jumped from a bridge while running from police are searching for answers about what exactly happened that night.
The man has been identified by his family as 36-year-old Jivon Lee Jackson of Fort Washington, Maryland. According to Jivon’s father Richard Jackson, he is currently in a coma and stable at George Washington University Hospital.
“What’s murky is how the situation escalated so quickly from getting pulled over to Jivon jumping from a bridge,” Jackon said. “We believe there will be a moment in time when we get those answers, but the longer it takes, the colder information gets. We’re trying to jumpstart that process now.”
On Nov. 3, the night of the incident, Jackson said Jivon was on his way to a friend’s house and was supposed to pick up his mother from Union Station later that night.
Around 11 p.m., he was pulled over after being spotted driving recklessly on I-395, weaving in and out of traffic and driving on the shoulder at excess speeds, Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck told ARLnow shortly after the incident.
Jackson exited the highway at Shirlington and pulled into the Exxon parking lot. When he stopped the car he got out of the vehicle and started running, according to police; shortly after, he jumped from the Shirlington Road bridge and fell approximately 20 feet onto the rocks below. Police reported he suffered from a “severe head injury” and was bleeding profusely.
As of this morning, police could only confirm that the process to transfer Jivon to a rehabilitation facility began last week. No police report on the incident was available.
According to Jackson’s sister Mara Doss, Jivon is a well-known theater producer, director and actor throughout the D.C. area. He earned a degree in communications from Howard University in 2001 and got a master’s in management and marketing from the University of Maryland University College. In 2012, he was named to the inaugural Prince George’s County Forty Under 40 list.
At the time of the incident, Jivon was producing and directing a play called Colorblind: The Katrina Monologues at the Anacostia Playhouse in Southeast D.C.
Doss described Jivon as an active, energetic and health-conscious young man who prioritized work and family.
“Jivon is sort of the glue of the family,” she said. “Right now, the family is kind of broken, and we just want to get some answers.”
Prosecutor: Black Asked for Help Killing Wife — At a bond hearing Monday, prosecutors said that David Black asked a friend to help kill his wife in a classic case of domestic violence. Black was denied bond and will remain in jail, charged with killing his estranged wife Bonnie Black in their home near Pentagon City. The trial is set for Feb. 29. [WUSA 9]
One of the Worst Traffic Bottlenecks — Arlington has one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the country, according to the American Highway Users Alliance. I-395 between Washington Blvd and the GW Parkway ranked No. 26 on the list, wasting 1.1 million hours and 322,600 gallons of fuel annually. [WTOP]
TSA HQ Move May Be Delayed — The Transportation Security Administration’s headquarters may be staying in Pentagon City past 2017 after all. A judge has halted the TSA’s move to Alexandria in response to a protest of the lease bidding process by a losing bidder. [Government Executive]
Arlington GOP May Ditch Office — In order to save money, the Arlington County Republican Committee is considering giving up the $1,100 per month office it rents in the Dominion Arms apartment building. [InsideNova]
See Something, Type Something — Arlington County’s website has a “Homeland Security Tip Form,” for reporting “suspicious activity that may be related to terrorism” in Arlington. [Arlington County]
Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley
(Updated at 3:40 p.m. on 12/23/21) A man attending a conference on drug policy reform stripped naked, started yelling incoherently and was ultimately tased by police during a bad trip Saturday night in Crystal City.
Police say they were called to the intersection of Crystal Drive and 18th Street around midnight Saturday night, for a report of a man standing in the roadway and acting erratically.
Upon arriving on scene, police saw 29-year-old Hector [Redacted] in a flower bed, waving his arms in the air, said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. [Redacted] was completely nude and sweating profusely despite the chilly temperatures, Sternbeck said.
According to police, [Redacted] ran at the first responding officer and slammed his hands on the hood of his police cruiser, all while screaming incoherently. The officer used a Taser to subdue the man and called for backup to help take him in custody.
Medics responded and sedated [Redacted] — who was under the influence of bath salts, according to a field toxicology test — to keep him from harming himself by continuing to writhe on the pavement, Sternbeck said. He was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for observation, where he continued to hallucinate and talk incoherently, according to Sternbeck.
[Redacted], a Mexican citizen, reportedly told police that he had traveled to the area for the 2015 International Drug Policy Reform Conference, which was being held in Crystal City. The conference focused in part on advocating for the legalization of marijuana.
[Redacted] was charged with disorderly conduct and held on a $10,000 bond. He remains in custody and his passport has been surrendered, said Sternbeck.
Arlington County Police are looking for a man who they say nearly ran over an officer Sunday morning.
Around 5:45 a.m. Sunday, police responded to the 2900 block of S. Glebe Road for a report of an assault in progress. Upon arriving and exiting her vehicle, an officer confronted the suspect, who was in a car.
The suspect then drove toward the officer as if he was trying to hit her, but swerved at the last moment and struck two parked cars, before driving off, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.
Later Sunday night, police located the vehicle on S. Highland Street in the Arlington Heights neighborhood — near the suspect’s parents’ house, Sternbeck said. Police closed in but the suspect was able to flee.
The Fairfax County Police helicopter and at least one K-9 unit were called in to search the area but as of this morning the suspect remained at large.
Based on various emails forwarded to ARLnow.com, the presence of the circling helicopter and police officers with guns drawn created a big buzz on Columbia Pike area listservs.
The Arlington County Treasurer’s Office is warning residents of “false” claims in a letter sent to homeowners by a local home buying firm.
Springfield-based Express Homebuyers sent a letter to Arlington homeowners claiming they owed real estate taxes to the county. The letter then offers to buy the recipient’s home to help pay the tax debt.
The Treasurer’s Office released the following statement about the letter Monday afternoon:
“We have recently become aware that many Arlington County homeowners have received correspondence from Jud Allen of Express Homebuyers, falsely claiming that these owners owe real estate taxes and that the County may take their homes away from them due to delinquent taxes.
Please be assured that, unless you have heard directly from the Arlington County Treasurer, you do not owe delinquent real estate taxes and there is no risk of the County taking or selling your home.
If you have any questions about this letter, or would like to report having received this letter, please call us at (703) 228-3090.”
(Updated at 11:25 a.m.) A car slammed into the front porch of a house in Lyon Park Sunday afternoon.
The crash happened around 1:30 p.m., near the intersection of 4th Street N. and N. Irving Street.
According to a witness, a car was crossing Pershing Drive on Irving when it was T-boned by a car heading eastbound on Pershing. One of the vehicles, a four door Honda sedan, then hopped a curb and ran into the front right corner of the house.
No injuries were reported.
Firefighters worked for several hours to shore up the porch so the car could be removed, we’re told.
