arrest

Crime Report: Armed Threats

By ARLnow.com

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a female escort is robbed by a man with a gun, and a man who threatened to get his gun is Tasered by police.

ROBBERY 12/08/10, 1200 block of N. Glebe Road. On December 8 at 12:15 pm, a man brandished a handgun and robbed a female escort in a hotel room. The suspect is described as an African American male, 5’9′ with a medium build. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants and black shoes.

ASSAULT ON POLICE-ARREST 12/14/10, 1200 block of S. Nash Street. On December 14 at 11:30 pm, a police officer towed a vehicle. The vehicle owner threatened to get a firearm from his residence, left the scene, and returned. When he did not comply with police commands, a tazer was deployed. John Pistolas, 47, of Arlington, was charged with Assault on Law Enforcement. He was held on a $1,000 bond.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump.

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Is This the House of a Terrorist?

By ARLnow.com

This is the house on 11th Street South in the Arlington View neighborhood where alleged “wannabe jihadist” Awais Younis lived with family members.

Younis, also known as Sundullah Ghizai and Mohhanme Khan, was arrested by the FBI last week and charged with threatening — via Facebook — to set off pipe bombs in Georgetown and on Metro trains.

Younis, graduated from Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School in 2004. A high school classmate and neighbor said the Afghanistan native was “real quiet.”

“He stayed to himself, kind of like an outsider,” LaRondre Gaskins told WUSA 9. “No friends but certain things that happened he was real weird about, like when 9-11 happened… he clapped about it in class.”

A family member, meanwhile, called the charges “bullsh-t.”

Younis, who is in his mid-20s, will undergo a court-ordered mental health evaluation. A court hearing is scheduled for Dec. 21.

All was quiet at Younis’ house this morning. There was little activity on the street, save an elderly woman taking items out of her SUV.

On the porch in front of the red brick home, Encyclopedia Britannicas were stacked haphazardly in a potato chip box. Down the side of the house, an Afghan rug was folded next to a Dell computer box, apparently waiting to be taken away as trash.

Arlington Man Accused of Making Metro Bomb Threats

By ARLnow.com

The FBI’s terrorism task force has arrested a 25-year-old Arlington man on suspicion of making bomb threats via Facebook.

Awais Younis was taken into custody on Dec. 7. In court documents, he’s accused of threatening to use pipe bombs to blow up a busy section of Georgetown. He’s also accused of threatening to place bombs on Metro trains.

More from TBD, Fox 5 and the Washington Post.

DEVELOPING — Delays on I-66 As Airport Van Causes Multiple Crashes

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:05 a.m.) There were major delays on westbound I-66 between George Mason Drive and East Falls Church this morning as police investigated a series of wrecks apparently caused by a airport shuttle van.

We’ve heard reports of at least six crashes caused by the van between the Roosevelt Bridge and Sycamore Street on I-66. At least two additional crashes have been reported outside of Arlington. We’re hearing that two drivers required medical treatment.

Police temporarily shut down the ramp from westbound I-66 to Sycamore Street to allow an ambulance to access one of the crash sites.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority is now confirming that airport police have arrested the driver of a blue Super Shuttle van at Dulles Airport in connection with the crashes.

“Our officers located driver and the van in front of the main terminal at Dulles, and he was taken into custody,” said airport spokesperson Courtney Mickalonis. “We’re working with other police agencies to determine exactly what happened.”

Mickalonis said airport police were initially alerted by a motorist who was struck by the van on the Dulles Access Road. She added that police did not find any passengers inside the van. It’s not known whether passengers might have gotten out before police arrived.

No word on charges at this time, but we’re hearing that the driver spit on officers while being taken into custody.

Update at 3:30 p.m. — Virginia State Police have sent out an updated press release (after the jump). Note that VSP is only counting the incidents their troopers responded to, and we stand by our count of eight crashes.

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Crime Report: Restaurant Patrons to the Rescue

By ARLnow.com

The latest Arlington County crime report shows that mid-to-late November has been somewhat slow, crime-wise. Most of the crimes reported by Arlington Police from Nov. 17 to 23 were of the standard larceny/burglary variety.

One such incident stands out, however. Two young men from Alexandria were taken into custody in Crystal City after their alleged cell phone theft was foiled by a group of restaurant patrons.

LARCENY FROM A PERSON-ARREST 11/18/10, 2200 block of Crystal Drive. On November 18 at 7:50 pm, two men entered a restaurant and took a phone off a table. Several patrons of the restaurant stopped the suspects until police arrived. Darius Williams, 18, of Alexandria, was charged with Grand Larceny from a Person and Wearing a Mask or Hood to Conceal Identity. He was held on a $3,000 bond. Jamal Walker, 18, of Alexandria, was charged with Grand Larceny from a Person. He was held on a $2,500 bond.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump.

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Police Arrest Suspect in Hotel Sexual Assualt Case

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Police Department has arrested a man for the Aug. 14 abduction and robbery of two Canadian citizens, a mother and her daughter, at the Best Western on South Glebe Road.

Investigators say 49-year-old Storme Swann, a registered sex offender from LaPlata, Md., knocked on the victims’ hotel room door then forced his way inside. He sexually assaulted the daughter, who is in her 50s, and then fled after stealing money and electronics, according to police.

In a press release, police say they tracked down the suspect thanks to an anonymous tip.

An anonymous tip through Crime Solvers lead detectives to the Charles County Sherriff’s Office who identified the suspect as a registered sex offender in Maryland. With the assistance of detectives from the Charles County Sherriff’s Office, Storme Swann, 49, of LaPlata, Maryland, was arrested on November 22, 2010. He was charged with Abduction with the Intent to Defile and two counts of Robbery. He is currently being held without bond in Maryland.

Anyone who has further information about this robbery is asked to call Detective Donald Fortunato of the Arlington County Police Department at (703) 228-4197. Det. Fortunato can also be reached by email at [email protected].

Police: Man Arrested for Forcing Women to Perform Sex Act in Crystal City

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) An Arlington man has been arrested and accused of forcing two women to perform sex acts at gunpoint in a Crystal City apartment building.

The man, 33-year-old McKinley C. Joyner, used the web site Backpage.com to hire a prostitute, according to police. After the woman arrived at his apartment on the 2100 block of Jefferson Davis Highway, Joyner pointed a gun at her and forced her to perform a sex act, police said in a statement.

A friend of the victim, who was waiting in the lobby, then went up to check on her. Investigators say Joyner let her in and then forced her to perform a sex act at gunpoint, as well.

Police arrived at the scene around 8:00 a.m. Thursday morning, after being called by the woman’s escort agency. The agency became concerned after not being able to get in touch with their employee, police explained.

Joyner was arrested and charged with two counts of forcible sodomy. Other charges are pending, police say. He’s currently being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Joyner is listed as a co-founder and partner in New York-based firm Blazetrak, LLC, which specializes in allowing fledgling artists to “get directly in touch with established industry experts and celebrity talent.”

The company’s PR agency has not returned a call for comment.

Update at 4:40 p.m. — Joyner’s biography has been removed from the Blazetrak website.

Man Arrested in Arlington Was Former Top Army Soldier

By ARLnow.com

A man who investigators say purposely struck a person with his car in Pentagon City last week was formerly the top enlisted member of the U.S. Army.

Police say Manassas resident Gene C. McKinney, 59, had picked up commuters from a slug line and was driving north toward Washington when the commuters demanded to be let out of the car because, they claimed, McKinney was driving fast and erratically.

After McKinney let them out on the 1100 block of South Eads Street, one man took out a camera and tried to snap a photo of McKinney’s license plate. That’s when McKinney hit the gas and struck the man with his car, according to police. He was arrested and charged with attempted malicious wounding.

McKinney, who’s now out on bond, was the 10th Sergeant Major of the U.S. Army, serving from 1995 to 1997. As the top non-commissioned member of the Army, McKinney was responsible for advising the chief of staff and acting as a liaison between soldiers and Army leadership. He was the first and remains the only African American to hold the post.

McKinney’s tenure as Sergeant Major was marred by numerous accusations of sexual harassment, although he was eventually acquitted of all harassment charges.

McKinney faces a preliminary hearing on December 6.

Crime Report: Less Exciting Than It Sounds Edition

By ARLnow.com

A missile flew into occupied dwelling in Arlington last Wednesday, according to this week’s Arlington County Crime Report. And by missile, police are referring to a ring of keys.

MISSILE INTO AN OCCUPIED DWELLING-ARREST 08/11/10, 5100 block of S. 8th Road. On August 11 at 10 pm, a woman threw a ring of keys through the living room window in an attempt to hit the male inside. Makeba Sturge, 23, of Arlington, was charged with Throwing a Missile Into an Occupied Dwelling, and given a $500 bond.

Elsewhere, we learn what the large police response to a house on North Manchester Street was all about last week.

ASSAULT ON POLICE-ARREST 08/11/10, 200 block of N. Manchester Street. On August 11 at 4 pm, an officer responded for a parking complaint, and discovered that the owner of the car was wanted. The suspect assaulted the officer and attempted to flee. He was arrested at the scene. Jose Santos Vasquez, 35, of Arlington, was charged with Assault on a Police Officer and was served with the warrant for Working Without a License. He was held on a $3,500 bond.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump.

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Arlington Residents Commit 37 Percent of Crime in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Most people arrested for crimes in Arlington live outside Arlington, according to police department booking records.

In 2009, Arlington police arrested 4,599 individuals for crime ranging from eluding to homicide. Of those, only 1,731, or 37.6 percent, listed Arlington as their city of residence.

The remaining 62.4 percent either lived elsewhere or did not list a fixed address.

According to police, 538 individuals listed no fixed address — which amounts to 11.7 percent of all arrests.

Comparable statistics were not available from neighboring jurisdictions.

Bank Robbery Suspect Arrested

By ARLnow.com

(Updated on 12/23/21 at 11:35 am.) An Arlington man was arrested outside the Wachovia Bank in Ballston Saturday morning after police say he passed a note demanding money.

[Name redacted], 54, was arrested outside the bank at Fairfax Drive and North Stafford, across from the IHOP. Police say he passed the note to a bank employee around 10:20 a.m.

[Redacted] was charged with robbery and held without bond.

Ballston was the scene of another bank robbery back in April. The HSBC bank was robbed by a white male who entered the bank and demanded cash. So far, police have not announced any arrests in the case.

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