crime

ACPD investigating pair of retail robberies and a car wash gun brandishing

By ARLnow.com
File photo

A man allegedly got mad and drew a gun when an employee at a local car wash asked him to move his vehicle.

The incident happened around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday at the Mr. Wash car wash on the 100 N. Glebe Road, according to scanner traffic. No one was hurt.

Police say they have since identified the suspect.

From today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:

BRANDISHING, 2022-08160067, 100 block of N. Glebe Road. At approximately 10:16 a.m. on August 16, police were dispatched to the report of a brandishing. Upon arrival, it was determined an employee of the business approached the suspect and requested he move his parked vehicle which was blocking other customers. A verbal dispute ensued, during which the suspect allegedly brandished a firearm before fleeing the scene in his vehicle. No injuries were reported. During the course of the investigation, officers identified the suspect and obtained a warrant for Brandishing a Firearm within 1,000 feet of a School. The investigation is ongoing.

Also Tuesday morning, a man allegedly robbed a 7-Eleven store in Virginia Square, assaulted an employee, and then went back into the store to steal more items.

ROBBERY, 2022-08160042, 3500 block of Fairfax Drive. At approximately 8:42 a.m. on August 16, police were dispatched to the report of a dispute in progress. Upon arrival, it was determined the unknown male suspect entered into the business, took several items off of the shelves and attempted to leave without paying. An employee confronted him, during which a verbal dispute ensued. Another employee attempted to intervene and the suspect struck him before leaving the business. The suspect quickly reentered the business, stole additional merchandise and fled the scene on foot. A lookout for the suspect was broadcast and officers canvassed the area yielding negative results. No injuries were reported.

That afternoon, another retail robbery led police on an ultimately futile search for the suspect, who is believed to have fled via Metro.

The robbery happened at the Costco store in Pentagon City.

“At approximately 12:54 p.m. on August 16, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery,” ACPD said. “The investigation determined the unknown male suspect was allegedly attempting to leave a business with unpaid merchandise when he was confronted by loss prevention.”

“A verbal dispute ensued, during which the suspect implied he had a knife before fleeing the scene with the stolen items,” the crime report continues. “The employees followed the suspect out of the business as he continued to verbally threaten them.”

The suspect was seen fleeing into the Pentagon City Metro station, but officers arrived at the platform just as a Blue Line train was departing, according to scanner traffic. That led to unsuccessful efforts to get Metro to stop the train at the Pentagon, at the Arlington Cemetery station, and finally in Rosslyn, per police radio traffic.

“A lookout for the suspect was broadcast and officers canvassed the surrounding area with negative results,” said the crime report.

Arlington’s top prosecutor sticks to reforms despite crime concerns

By Mavis Chan
Scene of attempted bank robbery at 4075 Wilson Blvd (staff photo)

From Philadelphia to Los Angeles to nearby Fairfax County, and here in Arlington, prosecutors running on criminal justice reform platforms were elected in a wave.

But since they’ve taken office, some have questioned whether their approach to crime is too soft. A recall election in San Francisco ousted its chief prosecutor, and last year, Arlington’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti also faced a recall campaign, though it never seriously threatened her tenure in office.

Since she took office in January 2020, some types of crime have increased. At the same time, the pandemic pushed her, defense attorneys and the sheriff’s office to reduce the number of people jailed, and staffing shortages led to a cut in some police department services, such as follow-up investigations on property crimes it deemed unsolvable.

Dehghani-Tafti tells ARLnow that when crime is up, the “tough-on-crime crowd” says to “be tougher” and when it’s down, they say to keep jailing people because “it’s working.” But she believes progressive policies and expanding diversion programs for nonviolent offenders can better help them stay on the right side of the law.

She emphasized that her office takes violent crime seriously. The violent crime rate in Arlington was below the state and national averages in 2021. Meanwhile, police officers working with Dehghani-Tafti generally approve of the way her office pursues violent crime charges, Arlington Police Beneficiary Association President Rich Conigliaro tells ARLnow.

Fewer prosecutions of nonviolent crimes 

Although the police don’t believe Arlington has a major crime issue, the department has seen more crime sprees in the last few years, Conigliaro said. There was an overall 8.5% increase in property crime in 2021 compared to 2019, according to ACPD’s annual report.

“Group A” rates of property crime (via ACPD)

Police have dealt with cases where the defendant had committed multiple property crimes, such as burglaries, in jurisdictions across Virginia. In one such case, a Maryland man, who was out on bail for charges in Fairfax County, was arrested in Arlington on similar charges, including stealing and spitting on an officer after his arrest.

After that incident, Dehghani-Tafti’s office dropped two charges and downgraded a felony charge into a misdemeanor as a plea agreement. His 180-day jail sentence in Arlington was suspended and he was extradited to Maryland to face prior charges there, according to court documents.

Dehghani-Tafti’s office has downgraded felony charges into misdemeanors for cases that “normally would not have seen that level of a plea bargain being agreed upon” on multiple occasions, Conigliaro said. Detectives are concerned with this trend, he added.

Brad Haywood, the chief public defender in the county, also said Dehghani-Tafti’s office seemed less likely to press felony charges where a misdemeanor charge may apply, such as with nonviolent or minor property and drug cases, he said.

Haywood said her office seems more willing to give people with behavioral issues a second chance by ensuring they receive treatments instead of jail time, unlike her predecessor Theo Stamos. Stamos, who is now working in the office of Attorney General Jason Miyares, declined to comment for this article.

Generally, there have been fewer felony indictments under Dehghani-Tafti compared to Stamos, according to performance data gathered in the latest proposed budget from the Commonwealth’s Attorney office. The number of indictments issued by the Circuit Court decreased 37% from 713 in fiscal year 2019 to 449 in fiscal year 2021. The number of sentencing events dropped by almost 57% from 354 in fiscal year 2019 to 153 in fiscal year 2021.

The number of criminal misdemeanor cases that appeared before the General District Court also decreased by 23.4% from 3,476 in fiscal year 2019 to 2,662 in fiscal year 2021.

A table shows the performance data since fiscal year 2018 (via Arlington County)

In Dehghani-Tafti’s view, prisons cannot effectively rehabilitate an offender. She cited a meta study published by the University of Chicago Press last year that showed incarcerations are less effective in reducing recidivism.

Dehghani-Tafti believes the biggest change she brought to Arlington was creating new diversion programs for adults. Her office is taking part in the Motion for Justice Project, which connects participants to social services and treatments, as well as partnering with the nonprofit Offender Aid and Restoration to provide diversion programs.

“I came in guided by the idea that safety and justice are not opposite values, they are rather complementary values,” Dehghani-Tafti said. “And that we can treat people like people and crime like crime.”

(more…)

Juvenile arrests in Arlington down significantly during past school year

By ARLnow.com
Police outside of W-L High School during threat investigation in 2017 (file photo)

Arlington police made 75% fewer arrests of juvenile suspects during the recently-concluded school year compared to the last pre-pandemic school year.

That’s according to data supplied by the Arlington County Police Department, at ARLnow’s request. Arrests of adult suspects also declined, but only by 16%.

The data covers arrests between Sept. 1, 2018-June 15, 2019, compared to the same time period in 2021 and 2022. During the past school year, juvenile arrests only made up about 3% of ACPD’s total arrests, the data shows.

Arlington arrest stats from Sept. 1-June 15 (courtesy ACPD)

Overall, crime in Arlington has increased from pre-pandemic levels, according to the latest ACPD annual report.

A number of factors may be behind the big drop in juvenile arrests, including — notably — changes to how the police department interacts with Arlington Public Schools. The school system voted to remove School Resource Officers from school buildings in June 2021 amid concerns about racial disparities in youth arrests and scrutiny of what advocates termed a “school-to-prison pipeline.”

“Contributing factors to the decline may include legislative changes, changes in crime trends during the COVID-19 pandemic, updated policies between ACPD and APS, and reduced police staffing,” said police spokeswoman Ashley Savage.

It’s unclear how many of the juvenile arrests are of local students. Savage noted that “while the request for juvenile arrest statistics was related to timeframes that encompass the school year, these statistics reflect all juvenile arrests at any location in the County and do not necessarily involve Arlington County students.”

Despite some high–profile incidents at schools since the removal of SROs — and some adjustments to APS involving law enforcement in certain circumstances — officials say they’ve been able to keep students safe without the on-site police presence.

Chase, carjacking and mass airbag theft reported during weekend of vehicular mayhem in Arlington

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

Thieves did not take the Independence Day holiday off, keeping Arlington police busy this past weekend.

It was a long weekend of vehicular mayhem across the county. In one of the earlier incidents, nearly three dozen vehicles — all Hondas and Acuras — had their airbags stolen overnight Saturday into Sunday in various neighborhoods, including the Rosslyn and Pentagon City areas.

From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

LARCENY FROM AUTO (Series), 2022-07030018, 1300 block of Fort Myer Drive/1300 block of N. Ode Street/1200 block of S. Nash Street/1100-1300 block of S. Arlington Ridge Road/1600 block of 28th Street S./1100 block of Arlington Boulevard/1500 block of Arlington Boulevard/1600 block of S. Joyce Street/900 block of 15th Street S./Army Navy Drive at S. Lang Street/1300 block of Arlington Ridge Road. At approximately 1:15 a.m. on July 3, police were dispatched to the 1300 block of Fort Myer Drive for the report of a suspicious vehicle. Upon arrival, it was determined the victim heard her vehicle’s alarm sounding and upon looking outside, observed a white van or SUV stopped next to her vehicle. The suspect vehicle then fled the scene. Upon investigating, the victim observed her vehicle’s window smashed but nothing was reported stolen. Officers canvassed the area and located three additional vehicles with broken windows and airbags stolen. During the course of the day, police received additional reports of larcenies from auto in the County. The investigation determined an additional 34 vehicles had their windows smashed and airbags stolen overnight. All vehicles were Honda and Acura models. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.

On 5 p.m. on the Fourth of July, police chased a car driven by a suspect wanted for felonies in Maryland.

The pursuit started in the Pentagon City mall parking garage when the car allegedly ran into two police cruisers and through the parking gate. It was halted when the driver continued onto an I-395 ramp going the wrong way, but the vehicle was later found and the suspect — who remains at large — was identified and charged.

From ACPD:

ELUDING (Significant), 2022-07040145, 800 block of Army Navy Drive. At approximately 5:00 p.m. on July 4, officers conducting extra checks in a parking garage observed a parked, unoccupied vehicle registered to a suspect wanted for felony offenses out of Anne Arundel County, MD. Officers attempted to take the suspect into custody when he returned to the vehicle but he was non-compliant and refused to follow the commands of officers. The suspect then fled the scene at a high rate of speed, striking two cruisers and causing minor damage and breaking the arm of the gate to the garage. Officers initiated a vehicle pursuit and the suspect continued to driver erratically before exiting I-395 on a one-way ramp going the wrong direction at which time the vehicle pursuit was terminated. A perimeter was established and the area was searched by ACPD and Virginia State Police with the assistance of U.S. Park Police and Metropolitan Police Department helicopters. Alexandria Police Department subsequently located the unoccupied suspect vehicle near the intersection of Route 1 and Franklin Street. Warrants for Felony Eluding, Assault on Law Enforcement (x2), Felony Destruction of Property and Misdemeanor Destruction of Property were obtained for the suspect. The investigation is ongoing.

Then, early Tuesday morning, a pizza delivery driver was carjacked in the Arlington Mill neighborhood, just north of Columbia Pike, by two people with guns and ski masks. They were not found despite a helicopter search of the area.

CARJACKING, 2022-07050020, 800 block of S. Greenbrier Street. At approximately 3:12 a.m. on July 5, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was delivering pizza when the two unknown suspects, who were wearing black ski masks, approached him. The suspects displayed firearms, threatened him and demanded he give them his personal belongings including the keys to his vehicle. The suspects then fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle. A police helicopter searched the area for the suspect and stolen vehicle yielding negative results. The vehicle is described as a 2013 Black Hyundai Elantra with Virginia tags UFD1506. There are no descriptions of the suspects. The investigation is ongoing.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
1/3

Raytheon, Boeing Mostly Moving Execs — “The real answer is that these are relatively easy shifts for both new companies — each of which already had a sizable presence here for years. They are both racing to be closer to their top customer, the federal government, in what appears to be a pretty simple change for each. Based on the little that the companies have shared publicly thus far, it’s essentially relocating a few key executives and support staff from one existing office to another.” [Washington Business Journal]

Wardian Completes Coast-to-Coast Run — “Around sunrise on Friday, July 1, 2022, ultrarunner Mike Wardian completed his run across America… [he] was greeted by the soft waves of the Atlantic Ocean and a beautiful sunrise at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.” [iRunFar, Instagram, Washington Post]

Arlington SUV Used in Crime Spree — “An Arlington County man whose vehicle was stolen after thieves went inside his home to take the keys was surprised to find out his car was connected to a pursuit where three teens were charged with the attempted murder of an officer. The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said his BMW was stolen out of his driveway in the overnight hours of June 17 after thieves went into his home and took the keys.” [WUSA 9]

Fawn Finds Way Out of Stairwell — From the Animal Welfare League of Arlington: “Earlier today Officer Barrett responded to a call for a fawn stuck at the bottom of a stairwell. It turns out the fawn wasn’t really stuck, but just needed a little encouragement!” [Twitter]

Colonial Place Listed for Sale — “A trio of Arlington office buildings dubbed Colonial Place at Courthouse Metro, which haven’t changed hands in going on three decades, hit the market this week. Colonial Place, located at 2101, 2107 and 2111 Wilson Blvd., weighs in at more than 750,000 square feet, immediately across the street from the Courthouse Metro station… the four parcels that comprise the total property, sitting on 7.1 acres, assess altogether at more than $315 million, per public records.” [Washington Business Journal]

Ed. Dept. Rules Against APS — From Arlington Parents for Education: “US ED’s Office of Civil Rights ruled against APS, finding that online platforms and paper packets used during remote instruction posed barriers to individuals with disabilities, particularly those with vision disabilities or who use assistive technology.” [Twitter]

New School Board Leadership — “The Arlington School Board held its annual organizational meeting for the 2022-23 school year and elected Reid Goldstein as Chair and Cristina Diaz-Torres as Vice-Chair. The terms for the new Chair and Vice-Chair begin immediately and will continue until June 30, 2023.” [Arlington Public Schools]

It’s Tuesday — Rain and possible storms in the afternoon and evening. High of 86 and low of 71. Sunrise at 5:50 am and sunset at 8:38 pm. [Weather.gov]

Flickr pool photos by Dennis Dimick, Tom Mockler and Emma K. Alexandra

Police: Thieves stole luxury cars after entering homes, taking keys

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

Thieves are entering homes in North Arlington and driving off with luxury cars using keys pilfered from inside.

At least two overnight incidents involving three stolen vehicles — a BMW and two Audis — were reported in the Old Glebe and Rock Spring neighborhoods in the latest Arlington County Police Department crime report.

Thieves also made off with “electronics, cash and credit cards” from inside one of the homes, police said.

BURGLARY (late), 2022-06170047, 3800 block of Chesterbrook Road. At approximately 6:45 a.m. on June 17, police were dispatched to the late report of a stolen vehicle. Upon arrival, it was determined between approximately 10:00 p.m. on June 16 and 6:30 a.m. on June 17, an unknown suspect entered the victim’s home, stole a set of car keys and stole the victim’s vehicle. There were no signs of forced entry to the home. The vehicle is described as a 2018 Silver BMW X6 35i with Virginia license plate JPA4694. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.

BURGLARY (late), 2022-06200054, 5000 block of 36th Street N. At approximately 5:09 a.m. on June 20, police were dispatched to the late report of stolen vehicles. Upon arrival, it was determined at approximately 3:29 a.m., two unknown suspects made entry into the victim’s home, stole two sets of car keys and stole two vehicles. Personal property, including electronics, cash and credit cards were also reported stolen from the home. There were no signs of forced entry into the home. The vehicles are described as a White 2019 Audi A6 with Virginia license plate XMF9641 and a White 2021 Audi Q7 with Virginia license plate BOGOWP. There are no descriptions for the suspects. The investigation is ongoing.

Last June, ACPD warned residents that it had “seen a rise in home and vehicle thefts that occur overnight when suspects find garage door openers in unlocked cars.” In both of the burglary cases above, police noted that there were no signs of the thieves needing to force entry into the homes.

Last month, meanwhile, police reported several incidents of cars being stolen from North Arlington neighborhoods after being left unlocked with keys inside. The ongoing thefts prompted the police department to continue encouraging residents to practice the “9 p.m. routine” of locking up and removing valuables from plain sight before bed.

“Burglaries and thefts are often crimes of opportunity with thieves taking advantage of unsecured doors and windows to steal items left unattended or out in plain view,” ACPD said.

The latest crime report also included a home break-in in the Bellevue Forest neighborhood, not far from the recent car thefts. However, “nothing of value was taken,” according to police.

BURGLARY (late), 2022-06180148, 3000 block of N. Quincy Street. At approximately 1:30 p.m. on June 18, police were dispatched to the late report of suspicious circumstances. It was determined at approximately 1:30 a.m., an unknown suspect made entry into the victim’s home. It appeared items had been moved but nothing of value was taken. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

Violent crime and property crime up from pre-pandemic levels, but below state average

By ARLnow.com
Police on scene of robbery at a bank in Ballston in May (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington saw a significant rise in crime in 2021 compared to the last pre-pandemic year of 2019.

The overall crime picture was something of a mixed bag, with most crime categories rising but no murders and a steep drop in drug charges in 2021, thanks in large part due to the decriminalization of marijuana in Virginia.

The stats come from the Arlington County Police Department’s annual report, which mostly focused on the year-over-year change in crime rates compared to 2020.

From the report:

The overall crime rate, reported as Group A Offenses, increased 4.8% in 2021 as compared to the previous year. Reported crimes against persons increased 24% in 2021, primarily driven by increases in aggravated and simple assaults. Reported crimes against property offenses increased 7.4% with marked increases in robbery, destruction/damage/vandalism and burglary/breaking and entering offenses. Notably, as a result of focused enforcement efforts and increased community awareness, thefts from motor vehicles decreased -13.1% from 2020. The Department remains committed to reducing, preventing and solving crime through active patrols, strategic deployment of police resources and comprehensive follow-up investigations.

Arlington saw a slight rise in sex offenses compared to 2019 and a larger rise compared to 2020. The rise in violent crime is in line with national trends, and ACPD noted that its overall crime rate is below the Virginia average.

“The total number of offenses, as well as the violent crime rate (offenses per 100,000 persons) remains below the 2021 Virginia average, and below the most-recent FBI Uniform Crime Report,” the department said in a press release.

“Group A” rates of mostly violent crime (via ACPD)

Property crime overall did not rise as steeply as violent crime, though burglary, robbery and vandalism all saw significant increases.

As noted in the annual report, vehicle thefts were down compared to 2020, but were up nearly 40% compared to 2019.

“Group A” rates of property crime (via ACPD)

A large drop in drug charges — down more than 50%, from 1,104 to 575, compared to 2019 — was attributed to changes in state law.

Arlington continued to see a rise in opioid overdoses, however, with total fatal (28) and non-fatal overdoses (64) reaching new highs, at least going back to the 2015.

Reported opioid incidents (via ACPD)

There was some good news in the report related to vehicle and pedestrian crashes, which both declined in 2021 compared to the prior two years.

Some of that positive news is at least partially offset by another stat: Driving Under the Influence charges are on the rise, reaching 382 in 2021, up 24% from 2019. Also, there were 4 fatal crashes, which is just shy of the average for the pre-pandemic years of 2017-2019.

ARLnow previously reported that 61 crashes in 2021 were considered severe. Arlington is now in the second year of its five-year Vision Zero action plan to eliminate fatal and severe crashes.

Crash rates (via ACPD)

“The number of collisions resulting in injury (369) was lower than any time in recent records,” the annual report noted. “ACPD responded to the rise in alcohol-related collisions with increased DUI enforcement and arrests in 2021.”

Police staffing remains a concern. The report says the count of ACPD sworn staff as of June 13 was 325. That’s down from 346 in September, a police spokeswoman confirmed. In March, ACPD announced that it would reduce some services due to staffing challenges.

Police Chief Andy Penn said in a statement that “2021 brought unique challenges as we continued to navigate the uncertainty of a global pandemic.”

“Throughout the year, the sworn and civilian staff of ACPD remained resilient and rose to each new challenge while continuing to provide the highest quality police services,” he said. “I am incredibly proud of the work they do each and every day in service to our community. I also recognize we are at our very best when working in collaboration with the community and appreciate all who engaged with us throughout the year to make us the very best we can be.”

Thieves steal airbags from 20 Hondas in latest theft spree near Gunston Middle School

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

(Updated at 10:15 a.m.) The neighborhoods around Gunston Middle School have again been the scene of a significant series of thefts from vehicles.

Thieves have repeatedly targeted the residential areas along 28th Street S., which connects the Long Branch Creek and Arlington Ridge neighborhoods, over the past month.

The latest involved the early morning theft of airbags from around 20 Honda vehicles, according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report. Airbag thefts were also reported in the nearby Aurora Hills neighborhood, not far from Crystal City.

LARCENY FROM AUTO (Late) (Series), 2022-04280050/04280074, 1400 block of 28th Street S./600 block of 26th Street S. At approximately 5:47 a.m. on April 28, police were dispatched to the late report of a larceny from auto. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that between approximately 4:49 a.m. on April 27 and 5:36 a.m. on April 28, the unknown suspect(s) forced entry into approximately 20 vehicles, all identified as Honda models, and stole airbags. There is no suspect(s) description. The investigation is ongoing.

It the third such reported theft series in the neighborhood in April. Others include:

  • Five vehicles were rummaged through after windows were smashed in Long Branch Creek and Arlington Ridge on April 25
  • At least one catalytic converter theft (out of three reported total) on April 20
  • Three vehicles were rummaged through after windows were smashed in the Arlington Ridge neighborhood on April 14

In November, sixteen vehicles in Long Branch Creek had their windows smashed in one presumed overnight crime spree.

Asked about the thefts and what specifically is being done in these neighborhoods to prevent additional crime sprees, a police spokeswoman provided some general information.

“Larcenies from auto, including thefts of airbags, catalytic converters, tires and rims, as well as thefts of valuables/keys from unlocked vehicles are recurring local and regional crime trends,” said ACPD’s Ashley Savage. “As time and resources permit, officers conduct extra patrols in the areas of reported incidents.”

“The department’s efforts are enhanced by the active involvement of the community,” she continued. “Community members observing in-progress criminal activity should report for police investigation by contacting the Emergency Communications Center at 703-558-2222 or dial 9-1-1 in an emergency.”

Savage also provided the following prime prevention tips.

Officers continue to share crime prevention information, including information on the 9 P.M. Routine, with community members and organizations in the areas of these incidents.

Additional crime prevention information related to larcenies from auto include:

  • Close and lock all windows and doors when you park. Pull on the door handle to verify it’s locked.
  • Park in well-lit areas and activate exterior lights at your home.
  • Take all valuables out of your vehicle.
  • Do not leave your keys, key fobs, or valet keys in your vehicle. This includes keys to a secondary vehicle.
  • Participate in the #9PMRoutine and encourage your family, friends and neighbors to do so too.

A follow up inquiry with Arlington County’s communications staff, with questions specific to the affected neighborhoods, yielded more detail about local outreach efforts.

“The incident summary from the Daily Crime Report and crime prevention tips have been shared by the ACPD Community Engagement Division with all civic association presidents as well as on all areas on Nextdoor,” wrote Bryna Helfer, Assistant County Manager and Director of Communications and Public Engagement. “This includes Long Branch Creek and Arlington Ridge civic associations as well as other areas in the County as [larcenies from auto] have been reported in nearly all neighborhoods across Arlington, typically during the overnight hours and can occur on any day of the week.”

ARLnow has not received a response to questions sent to the email address for the Long Branch Creek Civic Association. The neighborhood association’s Facebook page has been inactive for several years and its Yahoo Groups page appears to have been taken down.

Arlington sees two crimes in two weeks allegedly committed by men awaiting trial in Fairfax County

By Jo DeVoe
An Arlington County police car with lights flashing (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 9:40 p.m.) The man who was arrested on Sunday for robbery and carjacking after an inter-jurisdiction car chase on I-395 was awaiting trial in Fairfax County for stealing a car, court records show.

Laysohn Jones, 21, of Suitland, Maryland, had a hearing date set for May 2 for the auto theft charge, as well as a preliminary hearing for a failure to appear and charges for driving without a license and eluding police. He had been “released on recognizance,” according to court records, or released without bail when he allegedly committed the crime.

And two weeks ago, a man who has committed a slew of petty thefts over the last five years — from the Springfield Mall, Tysons Corner Center, and a CVS pharmacy and Macy’s in Pentagon City — was arrested on nearly a half-dozen charges.

Ronald D. Thomas, 24, is now being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility for his most recent alleged crimes — spitting on an officer, grand larceny, petit larceny, trespassing and identify theft — as well as an outstanding warrant from Fairfax County for grand larceny. Court records indicate he also had a felony second-degree assault charge from Maryland and a misdemeanor assault charge in D.C.

These cases have some blaming recent bail reforms, championed by many prosecutors who were elected on pledges to reform the criminal justice system.

“Repeat criminals are crossing jurisdictional lines and facing no consequences in first, second and third jurisdictions due to progressive policies like abolishing bail,” said Sean Kennedy, a spokesman for Virginians for Safe Communities, an organization that launched efforts last year to unseat the Commonwealth’s Attorneys for Fairfax, Loudoun and Arlington counties.

“They go on to commit more crime elsewhere and those jurisdictions don’t understand their full criminal history because the same prosecutors have downgraded serious charges to light misdemeanors,” he continued. “More and more people are suffering because of that.”

Those who champion reforms to the criminal justice system, however, say repeat offense cases like these have long existed and systems like jail and bail did not deter people from offending over and over again. They add that these policies did nothing to solve underlying problems driving the criminal behavior, such as drug addiction and unstable housing.

“The inclination is, ‘We need to send him to jail for longer.’ We tried that before — that doesn’t work either,” said Arlington’s Chief Public Defender Brad Haywood.

He refuted the idea that there is a “progressive prosecution angle” at work, referencing the ongoing political tug-of-war between reform-minded prosecutors like Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, whose changes have prompted some backlash, and those who advocate for more stringent prosecution and punishment.

“This is a problem that has been an issue for decades in the U.S.,” Haywood said. “This is an issue, very broadly, with the criminal justice system.”

Bond reforms 

Eliminating cash bail was a campaign promise of both Dehghani-Tafti, whose office does not ask for cash bail, and her counterpart in Fairfax, Steve Descano, who formally eliminated cash bail in 2020.

In the case of the carjacking, Randall Mason, the president of the Arlington Coalition of Police, said Fairfax County’s release of the alleged carjacker put officers, the driver and the public at risk of injury.

“He went out and did the same thing again, and it put Arlington officers at risk because pursuits are inherently dangerous,” Mason said. “Luckily everyone was safe, and no citizens injured.”

Police are concerned about and frustrated by the pattern of people who are arrested for serious offenses and released without bond, Mason said.

Dehghani-Tafti countered that her office does seek to hold people deemed to be dangerous or a flight risk.

“It’s the danger you pose, not whether or not you have cash, that should control whether you are released pre-trial or not,” she said.

(more…)

Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Jason Miyares spar over prosecutorial reforms

By Jo DeVoe
Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti at an NAACP and Black Lives Matter rally in June 2020 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares visited Arlington yesterday (Thursday) to launch a political fund aimed at unseating progressive prosecutors.

The reform-minded approach of “left-wing liberal prosecutors” has “directly resulted in higher crime in our communities and they must be stopped,” Miyares said in a statement that specifically called out Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano.

The goal of the Protecting Americans Action Fund, he said, is to “elect District Attorneys who will enforce the law and prosecute criminals, instead of this warped version of criminal justice, which is endangering Americans.”

Miyares did not name-drop Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, Descano’s Arlington counterpart, but coming to Arlington was enough to prompt her to mount a defense of her prosecutorial approach.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney for Arlington County and the City of Falls Church fired back on Twitter with a volley of tweets.

Dehghani-Tafti was elected in 2019 on a pledge to reform the criminal justice system by reducing racial disparities in prosecution as well as recidivism and incarceration, while investigating wrongful convictions. Last year, there was an effort to recall her that accused Dehghani-Tafti of offering criminals lenient plea deals.

Miyares contends crime is up in places like Northern Virginia, under the leadership of Descano, Dehghani-Tafti and Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj. But Arlington’s top prosecutor says these jurisdictions “have the lowest crime rates of any large jurisdictions in Virginia and country.”

She reiterated the crime trends she touted earlier this year, including that her jurisdiction recorded no homicides in 2021 — down from three homicides in 2020 and two in 2019.

(Two reported deaths last year were in federal jurisdiction, including the police officer who was stabbed, shot and killed outside the Pentagon and the security contractor who died at the U.S. State Department’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center.)

“I’ve long resisted the claim that the drop in homicide is due solely to my policies. Instead, I’ve credited the work of our County Board, local delegation, police department, school board, defense bar, public defender, and community and faith groups in teaming up to prevent crime,” she said.

“And yet, the AG and other anti-reformers have no hesitation in cherry picking any individual incident or any uptick in any crime, however slight, to mislead the public and paint a false picture of our reform achievements,” she continued.

Some crimes were trending up during her election year, 2019, and continued upward during her first year of office. This includes an uptick in property crimes, driven largely by carjackings, according to 2020 crime data — the most recent available from Arlington County Police Department.

This uptick prompted more police patrols and coordinated regional response in 2021, which may explain why, according to preliminary ACPD data for last year, carjackings dropped from 16 in 2020 to eight, while car thefts dropped from 323 in 2020 to 306.

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Arlington detectives honored for recovering $89,000 of stolen goods

By Matt Blitz
Detectives Parsons and Galiatsos honored by a national task force for organized retail crime (Image via Twitter/ACPD)

Two Arlington County detectives are being recognized for leading an investigation that led to $89,000 of stolen merchandise being recovered.

The TJX National Task Force for Organized Retail Crime, formed by the parent company that owns department store TJ Maxx, honored Arlington detectives Tim Parsons and Diane Galiatsos earlier this week for their part in arresting a man and recovering tens of thousands of dollars of stolen property.

In December, police got a tip from the task force about an employee stealing merchandise from a business on the 1100 block of S. Joyce Street in Pentagon City, ACPD spokesperson Ashley Savage tells ARLnow.

Perhaps not coincidentally, that’s the same block as the T.J. Maxx in Pentagon City, though ACPD typically does not reveal the identity of businesses that have been victims of crimes.

A police investigation was launched and resulted in an employee being arrested and charged with embezzlement and larceny with the intent to sell. The police recovered $89,000 of merchandise.

The case remains active and in the court system, notes Savage.

“Det. Parsons and Det. Galiatsos are an inspiration to your organization. The professionalism and participation put forth in this case sets an example for other Law Enforcement Agencies to follow,” the award reads. “With the highly impactful nature of this case and the quick closure, we at TJX are very thankful for the ongoing partnership with the Arlington County Police Department.”

Organized retail crime is defined as two or more persons illegally obtaining retail merchandise in large quantities as “part of an unlawful commercial enterprise,” according to Loss Prevention Magazine.

Since police statistics do not specifically track organized retail crime, Savage said she could not provide ARLnow with data about its prevalence in Arlington. However, last year the county experienced a wave of a crime, with a seemingly organized group of burglars breaking into numerous cash-based local businesses to steal money and items.

Besides TJX, ACPD also partners with the Mid Atlantic Organized Retail Crime Alliance (MAORCA) to share information on these types of crime in the region.

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