armed robbery

ACPD: Intoxicated suspect punched officer responding to reported stabbing

By ARLnow.com
File photo

Arlington County police used a Taser to subdue a man over the weekend after an officer was allegedly punched along Columbia Pike.

The fracas happened around 10 p.m. Friday near the intersection of the Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive. The incident that drew the police response was initially reported to be a stabbing but later turned out to just be a dispute.

More, below, from today’s ACPD crime report.

ASSAULT ON POLICE, 2023-08110270, 2800 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 10:04 p.m. on August 11, police were dispatched to the report of a possible stabbing. The arriving officer located three male subjects matching the descriptions provided by the reporting party and gave them commands to stop in order to conduct their investigation. Subject One was detained without incident. Subject Two assaulted the officer by punching him and was taken into custody with the assistance of an additional arriving officer. Subject Three refused to comply with the officer’s commands and, following the deployment of a Taser by the officer, was detained. Subject Three was evaluated on scene by medics and, following the investigation, was released on scene. The investigation determined a dispute had taken place but no stabbing had occurred. Subject One… 23, of Arlington, Va. was arrested and charged with Public Intoxication. Subject Two… 27, of Arlington, Va. was arrested and charged with Assault on Police and Public Intoxication.

Also this weekend, police responded to a pair of armed robberies — one Friday night in Pentagon City, the other early Saturday morning in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood.

From ACPD:

ROBBERY, 2023-08110255, 1300 block of S. Joyce Street. At approximately 8:46 p.m. on August 11, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined the male and female victims arranged to meet Suspect One, who is known to them, at this location. When the male victim and Suspect One made contact, Suspect Two exited the vehicle, brandished a firearm and struck the male victim with it before stealing the victims’ bags containing clothing, electronics and personal belongings. Suspect One then brandished a firearm and took the female victim’s purse from her possession. Both suspects then fled the scene in their vehicle with the victim’s stolen property. Officers canvassed the area for the suspects yielding negative results. Warrants were obtained for Robbery (x2) and Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony. The investigation is ongoing.

ROBBERY, 2023-08120066, 1700 block of 26th Street S. At approximately 6:31 a.m. on August 12, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined the suspect was inside of a parked vehicle with the three male suspects when one suspect threatened the victim with a firearm and demanded his belongings. The suspects stole electronics, jewelry and a wallet containing credit cards, personal identification cards and an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing the scene in the vehicle. The victim then requested assistance from the reporting party who called police. No injuries were reported. Officers canvassed the area for the suspect yielding negative results.

Arlington County police investigating another carjacking

By ARLnow.com
File photo

Yet another armed carjacking has been reported in Arlington, this time in the Columbia Forest neighborhood.

The carjacking happened in the early morning hours of Saturday, on the 1000 block of S. Frederick Street just south of Columbia Pike.

“At approximately 4:36 a.m. on August 5, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery,” said today’s daily Arlington County Police Department crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined the victim stopped his vehicle in a parking lot when the suspect vehicle, with four occupants, approached. One suspect then exited the suspect vehicle, brandished a firearm and demanded the victim’s vehicle.”

“The suspects then fled the scene in the suspect vehicle, a black SUV, and the victim’s stolen vehicle, a 2019 black Toyota Camry,” the crime report continues. “The victim’s stolen vehicle was later located unoccupied in Washington D.C.”

Several carjackings and an unsuccessful carjacking attempt were reported by ACPD in July. More than a dozen carjacking have been reported so far this year, by ARLnow’s count, many involving BMWs carjacked in the Crystal City area.

Pike pedestrian punched, robbed by gun-toting suspects

By ARLnow.com
File photo

A man walking along Columbia Pike at 8 p.m. on Friday was punched and robbed by a trio of suspects, two of whom were armed.

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

The incident happened on the 5000 block of Columbia Pike, just west of the Arlington Mill Community Center. It was reported to police about 50 minutes after it happened, according to ACPD.

“The victim was walking in the area when he was approached by the three unknown male suspects,” the police department said. “Two of the suspects displayed firearms in their waistbands while one of the suspects struck the victim with his fist, stole an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the scene on foot. The victim sustained minor injuries and was treated by medics.”

Attempted robbery of computer buyer goes wrong in Penrose

By ARLnow.com
File photo

A robbery attempt in the Penrose neighborhood did not go as planned, after the would-be victim reportedly grabbed and broke a suspect’s replica handgun.

That’s according to scanner traffic and an Arlington County Police Department crime report today.

The incident happened Sunday afternoon on the 2800 block of 8th Street S., two blocks north of the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive.

“At approximately 2:35 p.m. on March 5, police were dispatched to the report of an attempted robbery,” said the crime report. “Upon arrival, it was determined the male victim and two unknown suspects arrived at this location for the prearranged sale of a computer. The suspects showed the victim the computer before brandishing what was later determined to be an air soft gun and demanding the victim’s money.”

“The victim handed the suspects cash and took control of the air soft gun,” the crime report continued. “The suspects then fled the scene on foot, dropping the money in the process. No injuries were reported.”

Scanner traffic at the time suggested that the black handgun, which looked like a Glock, broke when the victim snatched it away from the young suspect.

The suspects — described as in their teens or early 20s — showed up to the sale wearing hoodies and masks, according to ACPD. The computer in question was described as a Mac in a police dispatch.

“The investigation is ongoing,” police said.

Hat tip to Alan Henney

Helicopter called in to search for armed robbery suspects on Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com
Arlington police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)

A pair of suspects, armed with a knife and a gun, robbed a man along Columbia Pike early Sunday, prompting an aerial search.

The robbery was reported just after 2:30 a.m. on the 3700 block of Columbia Pike.

“Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was exiting his parked vehicle when two unknown male suspects approached him, brandished a firearm and a knife, and demanded his personal property,” Arlington County police said today in a crime report. “The suspects then stole the victim’s wallet and jewelry and assaulted him before fleeing the scene on foot. Officers canvassed the area and an aerial search was conducted with the assistance of a police helicopter which yielded negative results.”

No injuries were reported, ACPD said.

ACPD: Would-be robber punched in Buckingham, shots fired along Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com
File photo

Crime doesn’t pay, the saying goes, and that is particularly true if you get punched during a failed robbery attempt.

According to Arlington County police, that’s what happened early this morning in the Buckingham neighborhood.

Around 12:30 a.m., a man armed with a knife tried to rob another man of money along the 200 block of N. Glebe Road — the same block as the CVS and the post office. It did not go as planned for the would-be robber.

From an ACPD crime report:

ROBBERY, 2022-12070004, 200 block of N. Glebe Road. At approximately 12:32 a.m. on December 7, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was walking in the area when he was approached by the unknown male suspect who asked him for money. When the victim declined, the suspect allegedly displayed a knife and attempted to grab the victim. The victim then struck the suspect and ran from the area. The suspect fled the scene on foot prior to the arrival of police. Responding officers canvassed the area for the suspect yielding negative results. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male with a skinny build, 5’11, wearing a red hat, red shirt, black pants and white shoes. The investigation is ongoing.

Also in today’s crime report, someone fired several gunshots into a residential building along the 2000 block of Columbia Pike around 4 a.m. That’s the same block as the Dorchester Towers and Dorchester Apartments complexes, east of Penrose Square.

So far, there is no indication that anyone was actually shot, but a door was damaged.

SHOTS FIRED, 2022-12070025, 2000 block of Columbia Pike. At approximately 4:08 a.m. on December 7, police were dispatched to the report of shots heard. Upon arrival, officers recovered evidence outside a residential building confirming multiple shots had been fired and located property damage to a door within the building. No injuries were reported. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

Park Police helo helps to nab Arlington armed robbery suspect

By ARLnow.com
U.S. Park Police helicopter over the Potomac (file photo)

Arlington police got an assist from their Park Service counterparts on an armed robbery Monday morning.

The incident happened in the Crystal City area around 7:15 a.m. According to a crime report, a man with a gun stole cash from an unnamed business, then fled on foot.

The U.S. Park Police helicopter was called in and the suspect was located across the river in East Potomac Park, where he was arrested. He was armed with a BB gun, police determined.

More from ACPD:

ROBBERY, 2022-11280044, 2400 block of Richmond Highway. At approximately 7:16 a.m. on November 28, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect entered the business, approached the counter, brandished a weapon, and demanded money from the employee. The suspect then fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of cash. A perimeter was established and the area was searched with the assistance of the U.S. Park Police Helicopter. The suspect was located near East Potomac Park in Washington D.C. and taken into custody without incident. During a search of his person incident to arrest, a BB gun was recovered. [The suspect], 31, of Washington D.C. was arrested and charged in Arlington County with Armed Robbery, Possession of a Firearm in Commission of a Felony, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and Possession of a Firearm while Active Subject of a Protective Order. He is being held by U.S. Park Police on separate charges.

Busy Thanksgiving weekend for ACPD amid car thefts and gun crimes

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

(Updated on 11/30/22) The carjacking and pursuit we reported yesterday was far from the only car theft in Arlington over the long Thanksgiving holiday.

It was a busy few days for police, who handled a half dozen other vehicle thefts, as well as a pair of attempted carjackings in the Colonial Village area. One series of thefts claimed five vehicles in parts of residential North Arlington between Thanksgiving afternoon and the morning of Black Friday.

More from the latest ACPD crime report:

GRAND LARCENY AUTO, 2022-11230126/2022-11230160, 2800 block of Washington Boulevard/N. Jackson Street at Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 2:55 p.m. on November 23, police were dispatched to the report of an attempted larceny from auto. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim witnessed the unknown male suspect rummaging through his vehicle. When the victim approached, the suspect began to flee the scene on foot. The victim followed the suspect during which the suspect brandished a knife and fled the area. At approximately 3:20 p.m., police were dispatched to an additional call in the 2800 block of Washington Boulevard for a suspect matching the description of the previous incident who had stolen a running, unoccupied vehicle. The vehicle was later located unoccupied in the 2200 block of 19th Court N. The suspect is described as a Black male, approximately 30 years old, 5’6-5’7, with long curly hair, wearing a black jacket, white t-shirt, dark colored pants and a dark colored baseball hat. The investigation is ongoing.

GRAND LARCENY AUTO/LARCENY FROM AUTO (Series), 2022-11250027/2022-11250029/2022-11250035/2022-11250043/2022-11260096, 5300 block of 27th Street N., 5000 block of 36th Street N., 2300 block of N. Nottingham Street, 6000 block of 27th Street N., 6000 block of 28th Street N. At approximately 7:54 a.m. on November 25, police were dispatched to the late report of a grand larceny auto. During the course of the investigation, it was determined between approximately 2:30 p.m. on November 24 and 7:45 a.m. on November 25, five vehicles were reported stolen from the area. The stolen vehicles are described as a 2017 Toyota Rav4, Gray, MA License Plate: 50DC38, 2020 Kia Telluride, Gray, VA License Plate: VXY4222, 2017 Honda Odyssey, Black, VA License Plate: 1265SC, 2021 Range Rover Sport, Blue, VA License Plate: UGF2051. Additionally, one vehicle in the area was rummaged through and cash and sunglasses were stolen. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

ATTEMPTED CARJACKING, 2022-11260179, 1700 block of N. Uhle Street. At approximately 6:37 p.m. on November 26, police were dispatched to the report of an attempted carjacking. Upon arrival, it was determined Victim One was inside her parked vehicle when the suspect approached, opened the door and ordered her to exit. Victim One exited the vehicle and the suspect entered but Victim One still had the keys. The suspect then fled the scene and approached Victim Two who had just parked in the 2100 block of Key Boulevard. The suspect grabbed the victim’s arm and demanded her keys. When she refused, he fled the scene on foot. No injuries were reported and no items were reported stolen. The suspect is described as a Black male, approximately 5’6, 30 years old, skinny build, wearing a knit cap, black jacket and black/gray jeans. The investigation is ongoing.

Also in the crime report were some gun crimes, including an apparent road rage gun brandishing on I-395 and an armed robbery north of Columbia Pike.

(more…)

JUST IN: Police investigating armed robbery at Clarendon Apple Store

By ARLnow.com
1/3

A man with a gun robbed the Apple Store in Clarendon around lunchtime today.

The robbery happened at the store at 2700 Clarendon Blvd just before 12:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest that a suspect in his 20s pulled out a gold-and-black gun with an extended magazine and demanded laptops, before fleeing with four bags of items.

“At approximately 12:27 p.m., police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, it was determined the suspect was inside a business when he brandished a firearm and demanded merchandise. The suspect fled the scene in a vehicle with the stolen merchandise. The suspect is described as a Black male in his 20s. Police remain on scene investigating.”

The man fled east on Clarendon Blvd in an older model gold Cadillac sedan with Maryland tags, according to scanner traffic. The vehicle, the gun and the suspect seem to match a robbery at the Bethesda Row Apple Store on the evening of Saturday, Oct. 22.

Montgomery County police could be heard today discussing providing additional security for Apple Store locations there following the Clarendon robbery.

Hat tip to Alan Henney

A rash of chases by Fairfax and state police have sped through Arlington

By Jo DeVoe
Scene from a Fairfax County police chase through Arlington County (via Dave Statter/Twitter)

A number of police chases initiated outside the county have careened through Arlington this month.

An armed robbery last Tuesday at the Home Depot in Seven Corners resulted in a police chase up I-395 before the driver got stuck in traffic approaching the 14th Street Bridge and tried to escape on foot at the exit for the GW Parkway.

In another chase last week, Fairfax County police initiated a chase after a cruiser was struck in Lincolnia.

Two weeks ago, the Alexandria police department followed a car into Arlington and Virginia State Police joined the pursuit — until the driver escaped across the river into D.C. and the chase was called off.

Public safety watchdog Dave Statter keeps records of most these chases from his perch in Pentagon City. While there has been a recent mini-rash of Fairfax County-initiated pursuits, he tells ARLnow this is a less common phenomenon compared to VSP chases.

“From my experience, those two recent chases by Fairfax County Police into Arlington are more of the exception that the rule,” said Statter. “In fact, they are so infrequent I had to put in a new folder in my police video file for FCPD.”

The same night as the Lincolnia chase, Statter said state police troopers were pursuing someone, too.

“Just a few minutes earlier, VSP chased and stopped someone on I-395 N near Washington Blvd,” Statter wrote. “VSP was still working that one when the FCPD chase went by. They had a little warning from the dispatcher and a couple of troopers joined in.”

Other VSP chases through Arlington happened on Saturday and in the early hours this morning. In the early Wednesday morning chase, VSP was following a car in connection to catalytic converter thefts in Fairfax County. On Saturday, VSP was chasing a possibly stolen car.

Recent chases involving or started by VSP that went through Arlington — including those this month — concluded with the cars escaping across the Potomac River and into D.C. Often, state police abandons pursuit once the person being chased reaches the jurisdictional line.

The reason for this is that VSP has relatively loose restrictions for starting a chase, but they tighten when troopers reach state lines.

“Sworn employees may initiate a pursuit when a driver fails to stop after the sworn employee has given a lawful order to stop by activating emergency lights and/or siren,” according to Virginia State Police policy.

Anyone under pursuit for a possible misdemeanor or traffic violation is almost always in the clear if they can cross the 14th Street Bridge.

Meanwhile, Fairfax’s back-to-back chases come 13 months after the police department rolled out new, more restrictive guidance for when officers can chase suspects.

Effective September 2021, Fairfax County eliminated pursuits for misdemeanors, traffic violations and nonviolent felonies. Now, police conduct chases within Fairfax County and within Virginia for violent felonies, serious crimes with the threat or use of a firearm or explosive device, and at the authorization of a commander.

Fairfax officers join chases when they meet the department’s criteria, and officers can only pursue a car into D.C. or Maryland if the driver or passenger has attempted or is wanted for a felony crime.

Prior to the decision, Fairfax had one of the most liberal chase policies in the D.C. area, according to a police presentation from spring 2021. At the time, officials said the updated guidelines would bring the county in line with chase policies throughout the region.

“FCPD updated several pertinent policies in 2021 to further align the department with national best practices; improve officer and community safety and ensure our commitment to transparency,” according to the department’s annual crime summary for 2021. “The most significant revision included a modification to the traffic pursuit policy, which now focuses on apprehending offenders who pose the greatest risk to our community and doing so with an eye on safety.”

A comparison of police chase policies in the D.C. region (via Fairfax County)

Arlington has similar police chase policies: those wanted for relatively minor crimes are usually allowed to flee an attempted traffic stop without a chase, while violent criminals may be pursued, as happened earlier this month after an armed suspect firing shots at police was chased from Arlington to Fairfax County. Arlington’s policy follows a lawsuit nearly 40 years ago by a man who lost his legs when struck in D.C. by bank robbery suspects being chased at high speed by an ACPD officer.

(more…)

ACPD: Bespectacled man armed with knife robs Clarendon bookstore

By ARLnow.com
The Barnes & Noble store in Clarendon (via Google Maps)

The Barnes & Noble store in Clarendon was the scene of an alleged armed robbery today.

Police responded around noon to the bookstore at 2800 Clarendon Blvd, in The Crossing Clarendon shopping center, after a caller reported a crime that happened earlier that morning.

“At approximately 12:06 p.m. on September 29, police were dispatched to the late report of an armed robbery inside a business,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 10:50 a.m., the unknown male suspect began to conceal merchandise inside a bag. When employees confronted the suspect, he displayed a pocket knife before exiting the business with the stolen merchandise.”

“No injuries were reported,” Savage added. “The suspect is described as a Black male in his 40’s or 50’s, 5’10” tall, 240lbs with black hair. He was wearing a cream colored sweater, tan khaki pants, brown boots and black rimmed glasses. The investigation is ongoing.”

Photo via Google Maps

View More Stories