crime

Crime Report: Drunk Man Crashes Car Into Fire Station

By Ethan Rothstein

A Falls Church man crashed his car into Arlington’s Fire Station No. 9 earlier this week.

Yancy Carrera, 33, drove into the corner of the fire house at 4:05 a.m. Sunday morning, according to police. He was arrested charged with DUI and felony destruction of property.

A fire department official said no one was injured in the crash, which caused only cosmetic damage to the building. So far, there is no estimate on the cost of the repairs.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

FELONY DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY, 09/22/13, 1900 block of S. Walter Reed Drive.  At 4:05 am, an intoxicated subject drove his vehicle into the corner of Fire Station #9. Yancy Carrera, 35, of Falls Church, VA, was arrested and charged with DUI and felony destruction of property. He was held with no bond.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Man Breaks into Courthouse Apartment, Rubs Sleeping Woman’s Arm

By Ethan Rothstein
File photo

A Courthouse woman awoke early Saturday morning to an unknown intruder rubbing her arm, according to Arlington County (Va.) Police.

The man fled the woman’s apartment without taking anything, according to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The suspect’s description does not match the alleged Virginia Square face-caresser from earlier this month.

From the crime report:

BURGLARY WITH INTENT TO DEFILE, 09/23/13, 1400 block of N. Taft Street. At 4:05 am on September 21, an unknown subject entered a female victim’s residence while she slept. The victim woke up to the suspect rubbing her arm. The suspect fled the scene and was wearing a red polo shirt and blue jeans at the time of the incident.

Armed Robbery at Auto Parts Store

By Katie Pyzyk

Arlington County Police Department badgePolice are investigating an armed robbery at Advance Auto Parts on the 5400 block of Lee Highway.

According to police, two subjects walked into the store shortly before it closed on Sunday night, around 8:40 p.m. A suspect with a gun forced one of the two store employees to the floor. The other suspect remained with that employee while the armed suspect led a second employee to the back to get money from the safe.

After taking money from the safe, police say the suspects grabbed money from cash registers in the front of the store. They demanded both employees to lie on the floor, then fled the scene. Neither store employee was injured.

Police say the suspect with the gun is described as a 6’1″ black male, about 200 pounds, wearing a black shirt and dark jeans. The second suspect is described as a 6’0″ black male, about 200 pounds, wearing a black shirt and tan pants. Both are believed to be in their 20s and were wearing black ski masks at the time.

Anybody who may have information about the robbery or the suspects is asked to call the police non-emergency line at 703-558-2222.

Crime Report: Indecent Exposure in Bluemont

By ARLnow.com
File photo

A man on a bike exposed himself to a woman who was walking her dog in the area of the Bluemont Junction Trail, according to this week’s Arlington County crime report.

The incident happened at 4:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4. From the crime report:

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 09/04/13, 700 block of N. Emerson Street. At 4:19 pm on September 4, a subject on a bicycle exposed himself to a victim while walking her dog. The suspect is described as a white or Hispanic male in his 20’s, approximately 5’7″ tall, average build, and medium length dark brown hair. At the time of the incident the suspect was wearing a yellow shirt with a blue circle and writing in the center and black athletic shorts with a grey checkered pattern. The suspect’s bicycle was black with silver and white writing and thin tires.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump. All suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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Man Seen Exposing Himself at Park

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police car (file photo)A man was seen exposing himself in Benjamin Banneker Park on Saturday morning.

The incident happened around 8:00 a.m. The man was spotted in the woods near the park’s soccer fields, with a white shirt covering his head, exposing himself to other park users, according to an Arlington County crime report.

Police were not able to locate the suspect.

The 11-acre park is located along the W&OD Trail and near the East Falls Church Metro station.

Police: Man Broke Into House, Caressed Woman’s Face

By Ethan Rothstein
File photo

(Updated on 12/23/21 at 11 a.m.) An Arlington man woke up in his Virginia Square bedroom early Thursday morning to find a stranger caressing his girlfriend’s face while she slept.

According to Arlington County Police Department spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, 25-year-old [name redacted], of Arlington, broke into the house just after 3:00 a.m., went downstairs and caressed the female victim’s face when the male victim woke up and yelled at him.

“[The male victim] recognized the suspect from a cast on his arm that he was the same man who assaulted him a few days earlier,” Sternbeck said. “During that incident, the suspect approached the victim outside the victim’s house and started punching him.”

Sternbeck said the victims hadn’t had any previous interaction with [redacted], calling the alleged assault and burglary “random” acts. [Redacted] was arrested and charged with burglary and assault and battery. He is being held at the Arlington County Detention Center without bond.

Police Arrest Suspect in 21-Year-Old Rape

By Ethan Rothstein

Stevie Brinson (photo courtesy of ACPD)Arlington County police have arrested an Alexandria man in connection with the 21-year-old rape of a college student.

Stevie Brinson, 50, of Alexandria was arrested Thursday after police say they “got a hit on DNA evidence” from the 1992 rape at gunpoint of a 25-year-old woman. The crime happened on the 2000 block of N. Adams Street near Lyon Village.

Brinson is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility. In June, ACPD resubmitted evidence to its laboratory which led to Brinson as a suspect, police said. ACPD, with the assistance of Alexandria Police, arrested Brinson at his place of work in Alexandria.

“Cases like this are not forgotten by the Arlington County Police Department,” Deputy Chief of Police Daniel Murray said in a press release. “Our Cold Case Squad detectives worked diligently in an effort to get justice for this victim and remove a dangerous individual from the streets.”

From the ACPD press release:

On January 28, 1992, the female victim opened her apartment door to the suspect, who claimed to be a maintenance worker. Once inside the residence, the suspect produced a handgun and demanded money. He then forced the victim into her bedroom where he bound her hands and proceeded to rape her at gunpoint. The suspect then robbed the victim of cash and fled the scene.

Photo courtesy of  ACPD

Crime Report: Indecent Exposure in Douglas Park

By ARLnow.com

A man exposed himself to a woman in a stairwell in the Douglas Park neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

EXPOSURE, 09/03/13, 1200 block of S. Thomas Street. At 2:50 pm on September 3, a subject exposed himself to a female victim in a stairwell. The suspect is described as a black male, bald, approximately 5’6″, 160 pounds, and in his early 30’s. At the time of the incident the suspect was wearing khaki shorts, a black t-shirt, and a khaki button down.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.

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Good Samaritan Stops Cell Phone Robbery

By Ethan Rothstein

Rosslyn BID employee prevents cell phone theftA Rosslyn Business Improvement District employee saved a woman’s cell phone during a robbery this afternoon.

The woman was texting behind the McDonald’s, on N. Lynn Street, when a man ran past and snatched her cell phone out of her hands, the BID employee said. Neither he nor the victim wished to be identified.

The woman called for help, and another BID employee got on the radio to describe the suspect, a black man in dark clothing, he said. Standing at the corner of N. Lynn and 19th Streets, he saw the suspect run by.

“I just asked him to give me the phone,” the good Samaritan said, “and he did, then he ran off toward the Metro. He had two phones in his hand and he gave me one of them.”

The BID employee and the woman gave their accounts to the police before speaking with ARLnow.com.

“I guess [the suspect] wasn’t trying to get into any trouble,” he said. Asked why he thinks it was so easy for the suspect to give up the phone, he said: “It’s just a good weekend, I guess.”

As of earlier this afternoon, the suspect was still at large.

Crime Report: Jewelry Stolen

By ARLnow.com
File photo

Someone broke into an apartment in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood over the weekend and stole a “variety of expensive jewelry.”

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

BURGLARY, 08/24/13, 2600 block of S. Veitch Street. Between 7:45 pm on August 23 and 11:45 pm on August 24, a female victim noticed the screen of the window had been cut and her apartment had been broken into. A variety of expensive jewelry was stolen. There is no suspect(s) description.

Last Thursday, a man was punched in the face and had his cell phone stolen in the area of St. Thomas More Cathedral School.

ROBBERY, 08/22/13, 100 block of N. Thomas Street. At 3:25 pm on August 22, a victim was punched in the face and had his cell phone taken. The suspect fled the scene on foot and is described as a black male in his 20’s, approximately 5’7″ tall and 160 lbs. He had a neck tattoo as well as arm sleeve tattoos. He as wearing an army fatigue shirt, jeans and grey new balance sneakers.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump.

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Police Arrest Man for Crystal City Bike Thefts

By Ethan Rothstein

Arlington County police logoPolice arrested a man last week for stealing bicycles in Crystal City.

Howard Montgomery, 47, of no fixed address, was spotted just before 3:00 a.m. last Thursday riding a bicycle and carrying another alongside him, Arlington County Police said. When an officer questioned Montgomery, he tried to flee but was taken into custody “after a brief struggle,” according to the police report.

Montgomery, who was also in possession of “a power grinder with numerous blades,” admitted to stealing the Cannondale and Drossinger bikes, police said. He was arrested and charged with grand larceny, larceny with intent to sell, possession of burglarious tools and obstruction of justice.

The arrest comes after ACPD announced that bike thefts in Arlington had hit an all-time high.

The two bikes stolen were not registered with the the police department, making it more difficult to return them to their owners, according to ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Sternbeck said the area where Montgomery was arrested, around the 1600 block of S. Eads Street, is one of the “hot spots” for bicycle thefts around the county. Bicycle thefts tend to happen more frequently at commuter locations with lots of bike racks, he said.

While Montgomery confessed to stealing the two bikes, he did not admit to any prior crimes, said Sternbeck.

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