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UPDATED: Police Respond to Fight at Pentagon City Mall

Published December 21, 2011 at 3:12PM | Updated December 21, 2011 at 3:49PM

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Police responded to Pentagon City mall this afternoon after a fight broke out between two groups of people.

The call originally came in as a report of a man spotted with a gun near the Capital One Bank, on the food court level. Police took five people into custody near the Pentagon City Metro station, and soon determined that the initial report of a gun was erroneous.

The five people initially taken into custody were all banned from the mall, according to Arlington County Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. One of the men was arrested for assaulting another man, she said, and the other four were released from custody.

UPDATED — Bank Robbery on Columbia Pike

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 15, 2011 at 3:24PM | Updated December 15, 2011 at 6:44PM

(Updated at 6:40 p.m.) Police responded to reports of a robbery at the Bank of America at 3401 Columbia Pike this afternoon. The bank is closed and both main entrances are blocked off as the police conduct their investigation.

The suspect is described as a male around 20 years old, wearing a black ski mask, black jacket and black pants. However, initial reports suggest he may have been taking off articles of clothing as he left. He implied he had a weapon and took off on foot.

Police officers and police dogs have been searching the area for the suspect.

Fire at Berkeley Apartments

By ARLnow.com

Published December 13, 2011 at 12:13PM | Updated December 13, 2011 at 1:46PM

(Updated at 1:45 p.m.) A fire broke out at the Berkeley Apartments building at 2900 S. Glebe Road this morning.

Flames and heavy smoke were spotted coming from a second-floor apartment just after 11:30 a.m. Firefighters from Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax responded and were able to extinguish the flames within minutes, said Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Lt. Gregg Karl.

No injuries were reported. S. Glebe Road was blocked for about two hours during and after the fire. The apartment building is just across from the Arlington Ridge Shopping Center.

Photo (top) courtesy Lt. Gregg Karl/ACFD

Bank Robbery in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published December 9, 2011 at 1:58PM | Updated December 12, 2011 at 9:40AM

(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) A bank robbery has been reported in Rosslyn.

Initial reports suggest a man robbed the Presidential Bank branch at 1700 N. Moore Street, near the Rosslyn Metro station. No weapons were displayed or implied during the robbery, according to police radio traffic.

This is the third reported robbery of Presidential Bank’s two Arlington branches so far this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Former County Fair Manager Charged With Embezzlement

By ARLnow.com

Published December 7, 2011 at 8:15AM

A former Arlington County employee has been charged with embezzling funds from the Arlington County Fair, ARLnow.com has learned exclusively.

Denise Marshall Roller, 47, has been charged with four felony counts of embezzling from the non-profit Arlington County Fair, Inc., one felony count of embezzling public funds, two felony counts of forgery and four felony counts of conducting unlawful financial transactions. She was indicted by a grand jury in September and released on a $5,000 bond in October, according to court documents. She’s scheduled to face trial on Jan. 23, 2012.

Marshall Roller, a resident of Fredericksburg, Va., had worked as the county fair’s event manager since at least 2005. A county employee since August 2003, Marshall Roller worked for the fair under a Memorandum of Understanding between the county and the non-profit that organizes the fair, said county and fair officials. Before being hired by the county, Marshall Roller helped to organize the annual Taste of Arlington event in Ballston.

Marshall Roller’s legal woes started in early May of 2011, when the fair’s Board of Directors discovered the alleged embezzlement, according to Arlington County Fair Board Chairwoman Tiffany Kudravetz. The Board brought the matter to the attention of Marshall Roller’s supervisor, Kudravetz said, and the matter was referred to the Arlington County Police Department.

In a statement emailed to ARLnow.com, Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan said the county acted swiftly after the allegations came to light.

“The County acted immediately upon learning of allegations that Arlington County Fair funds had been misappropriated by a County employee,” Donnellan said. “It turned the matter over to the Arlington County Police Department and appropriate action was taken with the employee. After investigating, ACPD turned the results of its investigation over to the Commonwealth Attorney’s office. The employee is no longer with the County. The Grand Jury has handed down an indictment. This matter is now before the Court.”

The alleged crimes took place between February and May of this year, according to court documents. Prosecutors declined to disclose exactly how much was supposedly taken, but organizers say the fair is not currently in financial trouble.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Kudravetz said.

Marshall Roller resigned her position in May, county Director of Human Resources Marcy Foster told ARLnow.com. She had been working within the Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, according to county spokesman Mary Curtius. A new county-employed event manager took over for Marshall Roller in May.

The Arlington County Fair, which celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, went off without a hitch in August.

Kudravetz says fair organizers are considering a new Memorandum of Understanding that would eliminate the county-staffed event manager position in favor of placing several county employees on the fair’s board of directors.

Bank Robbery Near Ballston Metro

By ARLnow.com

Published November 29, 2011 at 12:17PM | Updated November 29, 2011 at 2:07PM

(Updated at 1:05 p.m.) A bank robbery has been reported in Ballston.

Initial reports suggest a man with a gun held up the Presidential Bank at 901 N. Stuart Street. The bank is less than a block from the Ballston Metro station and a block and a half from Ballston Common Mall.

Police are now looking for the suspect, who fled the bank after the robbery. Per normal police procedure, Arlington County detectives are on the scene and the FBI has been notified.

This is the second reported bank robbery at this particular branch this year. The bank was also robbed in July.

UPDATED: Sick Person at Rosslyn Metro

By Katie Pyzyk

Published October 27, 2011 at 8:42AM | Updated October 27, 2011 at 9:02AM

Update at 9:00 a.m. — WMATA is reporting that normal service has resumed on the Blue and Orange Lines.

Emergency crews are on their way to the Rosslyn Metro station for reports of a sick person on board an Orange Line train. WMATA says the person is unresponsive.

There are delays on the Orange and Blue Lines in both directions as a result. Delays will continue until the situation is resolved.

BREAKING NEWS — Crane Incident in Rosslyn

By Katie Pyzyk

Published October 24, 2011 at 2:05PM | Updated October 24, 2011 at 4:37PM

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) Police and firefighters have responded to the area around Clarendon Blvd and Oak Street, in Rosslyn, where a worker has suffered a medical emergency while in a tall crane.

A technical rescue team from the Arlington County Fire Department will soon be trying to use the crane itself to lower the worker 250 feet to the ground, according to department spokesman Lt. Gregg Karl.

Karl did not know the exact nature of the worker’s medical emergency.

Police have shut down parts of Oak Street and 17th Street to attend to the situation. The crane is on the Sedona and Slate apartment construction site, which was the scene of a retaining wall collapse in August.

Courtesy photo (top)

Arlington Man Arrested on Gun Charge After FBI Raid

By ARLnow.com

Published October 21, 2011 at 3:31PM | Updated October 24, 2011 at 2:04PM

(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) An Arlington resident has been arrested in connection with last night’s FBI raid in Cherrydale and last week’s discovery of buried weapons near I-66.

Rodney M. Gunsauley, 61, is charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He’s currently being held without bond at the Arlington County jail, police say. Gunsauley was previously convicted of a fraud-related charge in ~~2000~~ 2001, according to public records.

From an ACPD press release:

The Arlington County Police Department, along with the FBI, Washington Field Office, is investigating an incident where several weapons were found hidden near Patrick Henry Drive and I-66 on October 12, 2011.

A search warrant was executed on a residence in the 4000 block of N. 17th Street last night as part of the investigation. Rodney Gunsauley, 61, of Arlington, was charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.

BREAKING NEWS — ACPD Officer Hurt in Motorcycle Wreck

By ARLnow.com

Published October 13, 2011 at 1:21PM | Updated July 12, 2017 at 1:44PM

(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) An Arlington police motorcycle officer has been hurt in a crash on Route 50.

The accident happened near the intersection with Garfield Street, around 1:00 p.m. Initial reports suggest that only vehicle — the motorcycle — was involved.

The officer was said to be conscious but “in a lot of pain.” He has been rushed to a local hospital via ambulance.

Currently, the westbound lanes and one eastbound lane of Route 50 get by the accident scene. Cones are being set up and investigators are taking photos of the motorcycle, which is laying on its side.

BREAKING NEWS — Ambulances Dispatched to Rosslyn Metro Station

By ARLnow.com

Published October 11, 2011 at 6:42PM | Updated October 11, 2011 at 7:41PM

(Updated at 7:35 p.m.) A massive emergency response converged on the Rosslyn Metro station around 6:30 tonight after medical emergencies related to overcrowded conditions were reported.

The station was packed with passengers after Orange Line trains were halted for a person struck by a train at the Clarendon Metro station. Firefighters at the station requested a mass casualty response when several people reportedly requested medical attention while trying to climb the station’s long escalators, which were all out of service. Firefighters and paramedics from Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax County and Ft. Myer were dispatched to the station, according to emergency radio traffic.

Paramedics reportedly treated at least one person suffering an asthma attack. It’s not clear how many others were treated. Crowds at the station have thinned out since Orange Line trains started running again, according to firefighters on the scene. Most of the emergency response has been put back in service.

Traffic in the Rosslyn area was reported to be at a standstill as emergency vehicles made their way to the station. Virginia State Police was dispatched to the area for a report of pedestrians crossing Route 50 between Rosslyn and Courthouse.

Photos via Twitter users @jessicamdick and @soxinly