armed robbery

Armed Robbery Reported at Virginia Highlands Park

By ARLnow.com

A man was reportedly robbed at gunpoint in Virginia Highlands Park last night.

The male victim told police that a man pointed a gun at him and demanded his wallet around 7:00 Wednesday night. After taking the wallet, the perpetrator fled the scene with an accomplice who was serving as a lookout, according to police.

The park, at 1600 S. Hayes Street, is one block from the Pentagon City mall and Metro station.

From today’s daily crime report:

ROBBERY, 12/19/12, 1600 block of S. Hayes Street. At 7:00 pm on December 19, a male victim was approached by a male subject in Highlands Park. The subject allegedly pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the victim, demanding that the victim give him his wallet. The subject took the victim’s wallet and fled the scene with another subject that had been the lookout. The first suspect is described as a black male in his 20’s, about 6’0”, wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans, and white sneakers. The second suspect was described as a black male in his 30’s, long braided hair, and wearing a dark colored puffy jacket, jeans and tan Timberland boots.

Crime Report: Armed Robbery Fail

By ARLnow.com

The would-be victim of an armed robbery in Ballston managed to get away thanks to some dirt.

The incident happened around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 30. A 6’2″ tall, 250 lbs man with a .45 caliber handgun tried to rob a victim at gunpoint, according to police, but his robbery was foiled when the victim threw dirt in the suspect’s face.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

ARMED ROBBERY, 11/30/12, 1100 block of N. Taylor Street. At 9:30 pm on November 30, a suspect allegedly attempted to rob a victim at gunpoint. The victim was able to throw dirt at the suspect and run away. The subject fled the scene in the opposite direction. The suspect is described as a black male in his late 30’s, approximately 6’2″ tall and 250 lbs. He had a full beard and was wearing a shiny black shirt and black pants. The weapon was described as a black .45 caliber handgun.

Also in the crime report, a man wearing a black leather jacket, white hat and white gloves allegedly punched a woman in the face and took her cell phone in Crystal City.

ROBBERY, 12/01/12, 2100 block of S. Jefferson Davis Highway. On December 1 at 7:35 pm, a victim was allegedly punched and then robbed of her cell phone by an unknown subject. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 30 years old. The subject was wearing a black leather jacket, a white hat, and white gloves during the incident.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump.

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Armed Robbery at Pentagon City Nordstrom

By ARLnow.com

A man with a gun tried to rob the Nordstrom store at Pentagon City mall this morning.

The incident happened around 10:20 a.m. Initial reports suggest a man, armed with a gun, tried to rob the fine jewelry section of the department store, but didn’t end up taking any merchandise. He fled the store and was last seen running toward Pentagon Row. Police swarmed the area and stopped some possible suspects but so far have not made any arrests.

No one was injured during the incident.

Police Investigating Armed Robbery Near Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Police are on the scene of a reported armed robbery just south of Ballston.

The incident happened just after 2:30 p.m. According to initial reports, two young men in their 20s, dressed in all black, stole a cell phone from a victim near the intersection of Glebe Road and 4th Street N. One of the men brandished a handgun during the robbery, while the other implied a weapon.

Nobody was injured during the robbery. Police are searching the area for the suspects.

Crime Report: Juvenile Robbed at Gunpoint

By ARLnow.com

A juvenile who was waiting for his mother to pick him up in the area of Chestnut Hills Park, near Yorktown High School, was robbed at gunpoint this past Saturday night, according to the latest Arlington County crime report.

ARMED ROBBERY, 09/01/12, 2800 block of N. Harrison Street. Between 8:40 and 8:50 pm on September 1, a juvenile victim waiting for his mother to pick him up was robbed at gunpoint by a suspect in a black four door sedan. The suspect is described as a black male, late 20’s to mid 30’s in age and heavy set. The suspect was wearing a red bandana and had short dreads.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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Video: Botched Armed Robbery of a 7-Eleven

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police have released surveillance video from the botched armed robbery of the 7-Eleven store near the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. George Mason Drive.

The robbery attempt happened at about 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19.

The video shows an approximately 5’8″ tall white male enter the store wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a bandana over his face, while pointing a handgun at the store clerk. A second suspect, a 5’7″ tall black male in a white v-neck t-shirt, then enters the store behind the first suspect and appears to throw some sort of firecracker.

The fireworks made a loud bang and startled the suspects, the clerk later told police, and the two men ran from the scene empty-handed. Arlington police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspects.

“Anyone with information on the identities of these individuals is asked to contact Detective John Donaggio at 703.228.4167 or [email protected],” a police press release said. “To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866.411.TIPS (8477).”

James Sylvester Caroline Charged With Murder

By ARLnow.com

The suspect in the death of Columbia Pike jewelry store owner Tommy Wong has been formally charged with murder.

Washington D.C. resident James Sylvester Caroline, 53, is being held without bond at the Arlington County jail on the murder charge and on a separate probation violation charge. He was arrested on the Arlington/Alexandria line during a traffic stop on Wednesday afternoon. Police say the arrest was the result of dogged police work and inter-agency cooperation.

“Through round the clock police work, this individual was located and taken into custody in a timely manner,” said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, who was unable to reveal any other details about the crime or the investigation.

Wong was killed during an armed robbery at his store — Capital Jewelers at 3219 Columbia Pike — on the afternoon of Friday, July 27. At a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, friends and family members described Wong as a kind and gentle man who worked hard to serve customers and provide for his family.

Police Working Leads in Deadly Robbery Case

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 1:35 p.m.) Arlington County Police are working leads to figure out who killed Tommy Kin Mo Wong during a deadly robbery at Capital Jewelers on Columbia Pike on Friday.

Authorities have responded to at least four calls over the past few days regarding men spotted around Arlington who fit the description of the suspect and were wearing yellow vests. One such report prompted police to detain and question a man yesterday, as seen in the courtesy photo on the left. It happened around the same time and vicinity as an SUV running into Bangkok 54 on Columbia Pike, but the two incidents were not related. Police determined the man was not the robbery suspect from Friday, and released him at the scene.

Meanwhile, there’s been some speculation by local TV stations that the Columbia Pike robbery may be linked to a similar armed robbery in the District last month. As seen in video run on NBC 4, the gunman in the surveillance video from the June 9 jewelry store robbery in Northwest D.C. is also seen wearing a reflective yellow vest. Police say the two departments are sharing information about the robberies.

“Our detectives have been interviewing the victim in the D.C. incident as well,” said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. “We’re trying to see if there’s any possible connection between the two incidents.”

Anyone with information concerning the deadly robbery or the identity of the suspect is asked to contact Detective Richard Conigliaro at 703-228-4193 or [email protected]. Information can also be reported anonymously by contacting the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS (8477).

Courtesy photos

Police Release Video of Check Cashing Store Robbery

By Katie Pyzyk

Police have released surveillance video they hope will help lead to the arrests of suspects from last week’s check cashing store robbery in the 4700 block of Columbia Pike.

According to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, the two men confronted an employee as she was approaching the store to begin her shift last Wednesday (July 25). One held a gun to her head, the other a knife to her neck. They forced her to open the safe and made off with its contents, which was nearly $40,000.

The suspects are both described as Hispanic men between 5’8″ and 5’10” with medium builds.

Anyone who has information about the suspects or the crime is asked to contact Detective Robert Wright at 703-228-4197 or [email protected]. To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866-411-TIPS (8477).

Police Investigating Armed Robbery at Pike Check Cashing Store

By ARLnow.com

 

Police are investigating an armed robbery at a check cashing store on Columbia Pike.

According to police, an employee had been walking up to the door of the store in the 4700 block of Columbia Pike around 9:00 this morning to begin her shift. Two men approached her and forced her to unlock the door. According to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, one of the suspects held a knife to the woman’s neck, and the other held a gun to her head.

Once inside, the suspects reportedly forced the woman to take them to a back room and emptied the safe. They fled on foot with $40,000 in cash.

Police were unsuccessful in their attempts to track the men with K9 units. They are currently working to see if there is surveillance video of the incident.

The suspect descriptions are vague, but police are describing both as Hispanic men between 5’8″ and 5’10”. One was wearing a white shirt and the other was wearing a black shirt.

The store employee was not injured during the incident, and is continuing to assist police with their investigation.

Crime Report: Strike Three Edition

By ARLnow.com

In the latest Arlington County crime report, a routine traffic stop turned into something more serious when the driver reportedly claimed to be a police officer. According to police, the man was in fact not an officer, and the “bullet proof vest” he was wearing was anything but.

IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER, 07/06/12, 1700 block of S. Arlington Boulevard. At 2:15 am on July 6, a subject was stopped for a traffic infraction and indicated he was a police officer and was wearing a bullet proof vest. Upon investigation, it was learned he was not an officer and was wearing a baseball catchers vest under his clothing. Stephen Clark Robinson, 37, of Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer, possession of a altered driver’s license, no operator’s license, and failure to ID.

Also from this week’s crime report — which includes items from the past two week, due to the July 4 holiday — a woman was robbed at gunpoint, on the Fourth of July, in the normally safe Pentagon City area.

ARMED ROBBERY, 07/04/12, 1300 block of S. Eads Street. At 5:25 am on July 4, a female victim was robbed at gunpoint for the tote bag she was carrying that had cash, credit cards and a phone. The suspect fled the scene in a beige minivan. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6’0″ tall and 150 lbs. He was wearing dark clothing and had a black bandana around his face at the time of the incident.

Finally, police are looking for a man who stood on a toilet in the ladies’ room of the Ballston-area Harris Teeter, watching the ladies do their business.

PEEPING TOM, 07/07/12, 600 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 5:35 and 6:32 pm on July 7, an unknown male subject entered the female restroom in a grocery store and was seen standing on the toilet watching females use the restroom. The suspect fled the scene after being confronted by the store manager. The suspect is described as a white male, 30s, 5’7″-8″ tall and 200 lbs. He had long curly brown hair and was wearing a long sleeve green t-shirt and jeans at the time of the incident.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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