crime

Crime Report: ‘I See What You Did There’ Edition

By ARLnow.com

A burglar broke into a store in the Courthouse area this past weekend and made off with a pair of laptops. But it’s the other item that he or she took that seems to suggest a level of trickiness beyond the capabilities of your run-of-the-mill criminal.

BURGLARY (COMMERCIAL), 08/12/12, 2400 block of Wilson Boulevard. Between 2 and 9:30 am on August 12, an unknown subject(s) kicked in the front door of a business and stole two laptops and the store surveillance equipment. There is no suspect(s) description.

Elsewhere, someone broke into a medical office and swiped several items, including blank prescription pads. The office is located on the same block as Virginia Hospital Center.

BURGLARY, 08/09/12, 1600 block of N. George Mason Drive. Between 7:15 pm on August 8 and 7:51 am on August 9, an unknown subject(s) entered a locked office and stole various items to include cash, laptops, blank prescription pads and sample prescription packs. There is no suspect(s) description.

The rest of this week’s Arlington County crime report, after the jump.

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Crime Report: Indecent Exposures

By ARLnow.com

There were two incidents of men engaged in lewd activities in public last week, according to the latest Arlington County crime report.

On Thursday, Aug. 2, a man was seen masturbating between two cars in the Clarendon/Courthouse area.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 08/02/12, 1100 block of N. Barton Street. At 11:08 pm on August 2, an unknown subject was seen masturbating between two parked cars by a female as she walked past him on the sidewalk. Police were unable to locate the subject, described as a Hispanic male, in his mid 20’s, wearing a white shirt.

On Sunday, Aug. 5, another man was seen masturbating in public, this time in an apartment building hallway.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 08/05/12, 5100 block of S. 10th Street. At 6:14 pm on August 5, a female victim witnessed a unknown male subject masturbating in her apartment building hallway. The male subject fled from the building on foot and was located by police a short time later. Rodimiro Valenzuela Garcia, 38, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and drunk in public. He was held on a $1,500 secure bond.

Also last week, police say an Arlington man attempted — but failed — to stab another man with a butcher knife. He was arrested outside the Ballston Metro station.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 08/03/12, 4200 block of N. Fairfax Drive. At midnight on August 3, a subject repeatedly attempted to stab a man with a butcher knife as he exited a store. The victim did not sustain any injuries. The subject was located by police on a bench outside the Ballston Metro Station with the knife under his shirt. Mario Lewis, 53, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with attempted malicious wounding. He is being held without bond.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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Arlington PD to Participate in National Night Out

By ARLnow.com

Officers from the Arlington County Police Department’s Third District will be participating in National Night Out tonight (Tuesday).

National Night Out is described as “an effective, inexpensive and enjoyable program to promote neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships in our fight for a safer nation.” Locally, the Third District — which includes most of southwestern Arlington County — will be participating in four National Night Out events.

The times and locations listed for the events are:

  • Fort Henry Gardens (2470 S. Lowell Street) — 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.
  • Barcroft Community House (800 S. Buchanan Street) — 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
  • Park Glen Condos (824 South Arlington Mill Drive) — 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
  • Douglas Park (1718 S. Quincy Street) — 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Barcroft neighborhood website says its National Night Out event will include an ice cream social, along with appearances from state Sen. Barbara Favola and members of the police department. The time listed for the event on the neighborhood website is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said the events are intended to help the department build relationships in neighborhoods.

“National Night Out is about building long-standing relationships within the community and developing a sense of trust with one another… so when crimes like the one today occur, there’s full cooperation between neighbors and the police,” said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, referencing the two suspicious deaths that are currently being investigated in the Hall’s Hill neighborhood.

Crime Report: With Friends Like These Edition

By ARLnow.com

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, items were stolen from a house in the Ballston area after a juvenile house sitter invited friends over.

BURGLARY, 07/22/12, 4100 block of N. 11th Place. On July 22 at 8:54 pm, a male juvenile reported several items missing from the place he was house-sitting. The juvenile had invited friends over and realized once they left that a laptop, camera and money had been taken. Police are investigating.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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Crime Report: Harassers Attack

By ARLnow.com

A man was stabbed last weekend after trying to intervene when two men were harassing a woman in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 07/14/12, 800 block of S. Harrison Street. On July 14 at 4:00 am, two unknown subjects confronted and stabbed the victim after he intervened when they were harassing two female subjects. The suspects are described as Hispanic males between the ages of 19-22, wearing dark clothing.

Last week a Maywood resident was robbed at gunpoint, in the middle of the day, by two suspects.

ROBBERY, 07/12/12, 2300 block of N. Lincoln Street. On July 12 at 3:48 pm, two unknown subjects kicked in the victim’s kitchen door and robbed him at gunpoint of cash, sneakers and a phone. Suspects are described as black males, approximately 20 years old, with one possibly wearing fake dreadlocks.

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

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Police: Newspaper Carrier Carjacked at Gunpoint

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 7:15 p.m.) Police say a newspaper carrier was carjacked early this morning (Wednesday) in the 2300 block of S. Joyce Street, between the Aurora Highlands and Arlington Ridge neighborhoods.

Around 4:30 a.m., the 73-year-old woman was doing her rounds of paper delivery and had just exited the car to place a paper on a customer’s doorstep. According to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, two men then drove up in a van next to her, and one said “give me the car.”

Police say both of the subjects, one of whom had a gun, pushed the woman to the ground. At that point, one of the men reportedly jumped into the woman’s car and threw her dog out of the vehicle, before driving off. The other suspect got back into the van and drove off.

Sternbeck said the woman yelled “fire” hoping someone would hear and help her. The resident at the house she was in front of came outside to assist, and they called police together.

According to police, the victim said she never leaves her car except at this one residence.

A tipster tells us the woman is a carrier for The Washington Post. The carrier and her dog, named Sparkle, were both shaken up but are otherwise fine, the tipster said. She didn’t report any injuries and denied medical attention.

Sternbeck said the woman describes both suspects as black men, about 5’9″, medium build, wearing dark sweaters and ski masks. The victim’s car was a beige Toyota Corolla, but there was no additional information provided regarding the suspects’ van. Anyone with information about the crime or the suspects is urged to call the police non-emergency number at 703-558-2222.

A Washington Post spokeswoman declined to comment about the incident.

EXCLUSIVE: Bystanders Take Down Would-Be Thieves on Metro

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) A group of bystanders helped out a Metro rider last night (Tuesday) by tracking down and detaining three men who allegedly tried stealing a woman’s cell phone.

Springfield resident Jonathan Jackson says he was riding the Blue Line home around 7:00 p.m., when he noticed a man acting suspiciously. When the doors opened at Arlington Cemetery, the situation grew weirder.

“All of a sudden we saw this guy weaving in and out of the train cars,” Jackson said. “He ran into our car and then ran into the next car down.”

Just as the chimes were ringing for the doors to close, Jackson says a woman ran out of the train yelling that the man had stolen her phone. That’s when Jackson ran off the train and onto the platform trying to find the accused thief. He saw that farther down the platform, several people had tackled the man.

“At that point, I thought the best thing I can do is call the cops,” said Jackson.

Jackson called 911 while others detained the alleged thief.

“It really was a team effort, but nobody even knew each other,” said Jackson.

Jackson says for a while, two other men, who appeared to be the alleged thief’s friends, tried freeing him while he was being held on the ground. After a few minutes, however, they took off. Jackson believes bystanders followed the friends and pointed them out to police, because they were detained along with the accused thief.

Metro Transit Police were the arresting officers, and they were assisted by Arlington County Police. According to WMATA spokesman Dan Stessel, the accused thief is 17 -years-old, and has been charged with robbery. Police talked to the other two people who were detained because they matched witness descriptions, but both were released.

“We’ve had a few snatch robbery events this year where witnesses or victims chased after the criminal,” Stessel said. “But it’s not something we encourage because of the potential of injury. It’s always best to let the property go. This one has a happy ending, we’re certainly happy for that.”

Jackson believes the train driver must have seen what was going on, because he kept the doors open while bystanders ran down the platform to catch the alleged thief. The train reportedly ended up holding at the station for about 10 minutes, until police arrived and were able to make arrests.

Although he has heard of people having their electronic devices stolen on the Metro, Jackson said it was far different to witness it. While he obviously can’t say for certain, he said it didn’t seem like this was a one time incident.

“It seemed like it was pretty well coordinated,” Jackson said. “But they just didn’t anticipate a group of people stepping in.”

There are no reports of injuries from the incident.

Crime Report: Strike Three Edition

By ARLnow.com

In the latest Arlington County crime report, a routine traffic stop turned into something more serious when the driver reportedly claimed to be a police officer. According to police, the man was in fact not an officer, and the “bullet proof vest” he was wearing was anything but.

IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER, 07/06/12, 1700 block of S. Arlington Boulevard. At 2:15 am on July 6, a subject was stopped for a traffic infraction and indicated he was a police officer and was wearing a bullet proof vest. Upon investigation, it was learned he was not an officer and was wearing a baseball catchers vest under his clothing. Stephen Clark Robinson, 37, of Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer, possession of a altered driver’s license, no operator’s license, and failure to ID.

Also from this week’s crime report — which includes items from the past two week, due to the July 4 holiday — a woman was robbed at gunpoint, on the Fourth of July, in the normally safe Pentagon City area.

ARMED ROBBERY, 07/04/12, 1300 block of S. Eads Street. At 5:25 am on July 4, a female victim was robbed at gunpoint for the tote bag she was carrying that had cash, credit cards and a phone. The suspect fled the scene in a beige minivan. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6’0″ tall and 150 lbs. He was wearing dark clothing and had a black bandana around his face at the time of the incident.

Finally, police are looking for a man who stood on a toilet in the ladies’ room of the Ballston-area Harris Teeter, watching the ladies do their business.

PEEPING TOM, 07/07/12, 600 block of N. Glebe Road. Between 5:35 and 6:32 pm on July 7, an unknown male subject entered the female restroom in a grocery store and was seen standing on the toilet watching females use the restroom. The suspect fled the scene after being confronted by the store manager. The suspect is described as a white male, 30s, 5’7″-8″ tall and 200 lbs. He had long curly brown hair and was wearing a long sleeve green t-shirt and jeans at the time of the incident.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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Crime Report: Manhandled by Masseur

By ARLnow.com

A woman was receiving a massage at a Columbia Pike salon on Saturday when the masseur apparently took things too far. From this week’s Arlington County crime report.

SEXUAL BATTERY, 06/24/12, 3000 block of S. Columbia Pike. Between 11:30 am and 12:30 pm on June 23, a victim was sexually assaulted while getting a massage at a salon. The subject is described as a Hispanic male, in his late 20s to early 30s, approximately 6’4″ and 200 lbs. He had black curly hair in a pony tail and stated his name was Juan.

On Sunday morning, a woman in the Radnor – Fort Myer Heights neighborhood reportedly woke up to find a man having sex with her, after she had gone to sleep drunk and alone.

RAPE, 06/26/12, 1400 block of N. Scott Street. A female victim woke up naked the morning of June 24 with a known male subject beside her in bed that admitted to engaging in sexual intercourse. The victim had gone to bed alone intoxicated the night before. The victim does not wish to press charges at this time.

On Monday, a man exposed himself to a female rider on the VRE train, then ran off when the train stopped in Crystal City.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 06/25/12, VRE Train approaching Crystal City. Between 8:15 and 8:30 am on June 25, an unknown subject exposed himself to a female rider. The subject fled the scene as the train stopped in Crystal City. The suspect is described as a white male, 30’s, 5’8″ tall, 130 lbs., with short black hair. He was wearing a black suit at the time of the incident.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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Crime Report: Woman Escapes Boyfriend’s Zip Tie

By ARLnow.com

An Arlington man has been charged with abduction and domestic assault and battery after police say he tried to tie his girlfriend’s hands behind her back during a fight.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

ABDUCTION, 06/15/12, 300 block of S. Adams Street. At 2 pm on June 15, a female victim and her boyfriend got into a physical altercation. During the fight, the suspect held the victim down on the bed and attempted to tie her hands behind her back with zip ties. The victim was able to bite the suspect on the arm and he left the room. Jeffrey Teagno, 24, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with abduction and domestic assault and battery. He was held without bond.

The suspect, Jeffrey Teagno, is listed by Virginia State Police as a registered sex offender for possession of child pornography in 2009.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

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Crime Report: Man Threatens Mall Security With Knife

By ARLnow.com

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a man allegedly stole items from a store in the Pentagon City mall, then threatened a security officer with a knife when confronted.

ROBBERY, 06/09/12, 1100 block of S. Hayes Street. On June 9 at 7:45 pm, a subject stole merchandise from a store at the mall and when approached by the loss prevention officer, he fled the scene on foot. After being followed by the loss prevention officer, he threatened him with a knife. Police apprehended the subject a short time later in the mall parking garage. Lonnell Andre Buford, 40, of Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with robbery and possession of burglarious tools. He was held without bond.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

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