Union Jack's in BallstonAn incident that started with an exchange of words inside Union Jack’s (671 N. Glebe Road) and spilled outside sent a man to the hospital for a brain injury.

According to police, on Friday, Feb. 8, the two groups were involved in a verbal altercation inside the bar which escalated throughout the night. Both parties left and while one group of four was trying to walk away, the other group allegedly followed and started a physical altercation.

One of the victims was knocked down and had his head kicked, resulting in a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain. He spent four days in the hospital and was released to the care of his mother, who lives out of state. At the time he was released, the victim had not yet regained hearing in one of his ears.

Another victim was knocked out when she was punched in the face. She has made a full recovery and police anticipate she’ll participate in any upcoming trial or legal proceedings against the suspects.

Two people from the attacking group were arrested. Kevin Gutierrez, 21, was charged with malicious wounding and two counts of assault and battery. He spent four days in jail and has been released on bond. Ebony Hunter, 22, was charged with one count of assault and battery. She was released after being booked.

Police were able to catch up with the suspects quickly due to several witnesses reporting the fight. However, there are varying reports of exactly how many people took part in brawl, and some of the details reported by those involved are fuzzy.

“Everybody’s recollection of the night was a little bit impaired due to the amount of alcohol that was consumed,” said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.


Ballston Common Mall (photo by Katie Pyzyk)Two security guards at Ballston Common Mall got into a fistfight with each other yesterday, prompting a police response but no reported arrests.

The incident happened just before 4:00 p.m. The security guards, who were employed by the mall itself, both suffered facial lacerations in the fight but no serious injuries, according to police radio traffic.

Though bruised and bloodied, there are no reports of the men being transported to the hospital or being arrested. No police report was filed, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Police responded to the mall’s loading dock for the fight but it’s unclear where exactly in the mall the fight occurred.


Frankie Maguire (photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department)(Updated at 10:00 a.m.) An 18-year-old Marymount University student had his intestines exposed as a result of a stabbing in one of the school’s dormitories Friday night, according to police.

The incident started earlier in the evening as a minor altercation between two students who lived in the same dormitory building. According to police, the suspect in the case  — a 20-year-old student — confronted the victim in another student’s dorm room following the altercation.

At one point the suspect shoved the victim, and the victim responded by punching the suspect in the face, possibly breaking his nose, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. The suspect then took out a small folding knife and cut the victim across the lower area of the stomach, from the front of his body to his back, exposing his intestines and cutting his pancreas, Sternbeck said.

When police arrived they found a large crowd of people around the victim, who was holding a t-shirt over his stab wound. They also observed someone throwing beer and liquor out of the room where the incident occurred, according to Sternbeck.

The victim was transported to the trauma center at Inova Fairfax Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police found the suspect in a dorm room with his girlfriend. There was blood “all over the room,” Sternbeck said, primarily as a result of his broken nose.

Francis Joseph “Frankie” Maguire, 20, of Burke, Va., was arrested and charged with malicious wounding. He was to be held without bond until his arraignment, scheduled for today. No charges have been filed against the 18-year-old victim at this time.

No word on what the argument between the two men was about. Court records show that Maguire has also been charged with selling drugs on school property and the distribution of marijuana.

After the incident, Marymount’s Director of Campus Safety sent an email to students assuring them that “this was an isolated incident, and there was no danger to the campus community.”

Photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department


A fight between two students at Marymount University landed one of them in jail and the other in the hospital.

According to police, early Sunday morning a 19-year-old student hit another student in the head with a bottle during a physical altercation, causing a laceration. From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 12/09/12, 2800 block of N. Glebe Road. At 3:45 am on December 9, a subject involved in a physical altercation hit a victim in the head with a bottle, causing a laceration. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he received stitches. Michael Pelham, 19, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with malicious wounding and destruction of property. He was held without bail.

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

(more…)


A brawl outside of an Arlington County courtroom sent one man to the hospital Tuesday morning.

A woman’s boyfriend and her ex-husband got into a physical fight as a result of a child custody dispute at the Arlington County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court (1425 N. Court House Road), according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Sheriff’s deputies broke up the fight. One of the men was punched in the face and was transported to Virginia Hospital Center for “very minor injuries,” according to Sternbeck.

The man who was brought to the hospital, 38-year-old D.C. resident Maron Moss, Jr., was identified as the “aggressor” and charged with assault and battery, Sternbeck said. The second man was not charged.


Treasurer’s Charity Mailing a ‘Win-Win’ — Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary says fliers for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington and the Arlington Food Assistance Center that went out in the mail with county vehicle decals this year represent a win-win for the community. The nonprofits paid the cost of printing and the extra cost of mailing the decals with the fliers. [Sun Gazette]

Fight at RiRa Irish Pub — A fight broke out at RiRa Irish Pub (2915 Wilson Boulevard) in Clarendon around 8:15 last night. Witnesses tell ARLnow.com that two drunk patrons got in a fight inside the bar. As the fight spilled outside onto the sidewalk some passersby might have gotten involved. Numerous police officers responded to the scene and at least one of the of the fight participants was transported to the hospital. An Arlington Falls Church Young Republicans meeting was taking place inside RiRa at the time of the fight, but the group and its members were not involved, we’re told.

AHC Seeks Volunteer Tutors — AHC Inc., an Arlington-based affordable housing nonprofit, is looking for more than 100 enthusiastic, responsible volunteers to help tutor teens in the evening or to work with elementary students in the afternoon. AHC’s tutoring programs for its residents start on Monday, Sept. 17. More information about volunteering is available on the organization’s web site.

Flickr pool photo by Ddimick


The Days Inn on Columbia Pike is back on the Arlington County crime report this week. The motel, which has been the scene of at least three prostitution busts in the past several months, was the scene of a fight late last night.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 04/11/12, 3000 block of S. Columbia Pike. Between 10:30 pm on April 10, and 12:30 am on April 11, a known subject struck a victim in the head and face with a wine bottle during an argument in a hotel room. The victim sustained several lacerations and was transported to an area hospital. The suspect fled the scene and a warrant was obtained for malicious wounding.

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

(more…)


Happy Fat Tuesday — It’s Fat Tuesday, the traditional day of feasting (or partying) before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. To celebrate the occasion, the annual Clarendon Mardi Gras parade will be held tonight, starting at 8:00 p.m. See our list of local Mardi Gras happenings for additional festivities around Arlington.

Three Arrested After Ballston Fight — Three suspects were arrested following a fight near the Ballston Metro station Monday evening. The fight broke out in the area of Fairfax Drive and N. Stuart Street. Fairfax Drive was partially blocked by police vehicles following the incident. Additional details were not immediately available.

Arlington Man Killed in Loudoun County — An Arlington man was killed when a deer came crashing through the windshield of the SUV he was riding in Saturday night. The freak accident happened on Route 9 in Loudoun County around 7:30 p.m. Police say a Toyota Prius first hit the deer, launching it in the air. The deer came down on the SUV, killing 26-year-old Rodolfo Ruiz Villatoro of Arlington. [MyFoxDC]

Legislators Accept Trips and Gifts — Among the corporate gifts and travel accepted by local state lawmakers last year: a $8,796 trip to France (Del. David Englin) and $400 circus tickets (Del. Patrick Hope). [Sun Gazette]


(Updated at 9:05 a.m. on 2/15/12) A fight broke out outside the Arlington Career Center (816 S. Walter Reed Drive) Tuesday afternoon, and one of the suspects was armed.

Just after 3:15 p.m. police received a call for a fight on the 800 block of S. Highland Street, near the Career Center. By the time officers arrived school security already had two suspects in custody, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Security had also removed a handgun from the waistband of one of the suspects involved in the fight. The weapon and five rounds of ammunition were secured by police, Sternbeck said.

The fight started when a former student drove by a group of current Career Center students and recognized one of the individuals as someone he had a previous encounter with, according to police.

“The adult male subject stopped the vehicle he was driving, got out of the car and approached the group of students. He was heard saying he had a gun and was reaching for it when the fight broke out between the two parties,” said Sternbeck. “The subject with the gun, Jimmy Salazar-Alfaro, 24, of Arlington, was charged with Assault. He was also giving a banning notice and barred from school property.”

Salazar-Alfaro had a valid Virginia concealed carry permit, Sternbeck said.


An early morning fight resulted in a broken door, a broken window and two arrests at Bob & Edith’s Diner on Columbia Pike over the weekend.

Police say Zachary Szabo, 23, assaulted Jamel Toms, 26, inside the restaurant around 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31. Toms then “became disorderly, broke the restaurant door, and threw a glass sugar container at a plate glass window, shattering it,” according to the daily Arlington County police report.

Toms, of Alexandria, was charged with “Releasing a Missile Into an Occupied Dwelling” and two felony counts of Destruction of Property. He was held on a $10,000 bond.

Szabo, of Woodbridge, was charged with Assault and Battery. He was held without bond.

The damage to the restaurant was still visible as of yesterday evening.


Four men were arrested Friday night after a large fight broke out at Las Delicias Restaurant, on the 1600 block of S. Walter Reed Drive.

Police say a group of men assaulted several people at the restaurant around 9:30 p.m. One of the victims was assaulted with a shovel, causing a serious leg injury, according to police.

One suspect, 35-year-old Carlos Diaz of Woodbridge, was charged with malicious wounding. Three other suspects — Ricardo Palacios, 28, of Fairfax; Jose Machuca, 38, of Woodbridge; and Juan Machuca, 40, of Woodbridge — were all charged with assault by mob. All suspects were held without bond.

Following the fight and the arrests, police used crime scene tape to cordon off part of the restaurant’s front patio, where chairs and tables could be seen strewn about. Police then took photos of the scene and towed away a white pickup truck from the parking lot.

Hat tip to Brendan L.


View More Stories