Fight near Clarendon caught on camera (courtesy Dave Statter)
An early morning fight near Clarendon was caught on camera over the weekend.
The brawl happened around 2 a.m. Saturday along the parking-lined section of Fairfax Drive at the western end of Clarendon. The video shows one person being knocked to the ground and a car ramming the side of another car, amid a fight that appears to be between two groups of people.
Police arrive on scene near the end of the video.
According to public safety watcher Dave Statter, one of the people to post a photo of the fracas on social media, it’s just the latest in a series of fights over the past month or so associated with Clarendon nightlife.
In addition to fights that take place outside, “there are also multiple police calls each weekend night for fights inside the bars in the 3100 block of Wilson and Clarendon,” Statter wrote last week.
Fight #caughtoncamera: A wild scene in Clarendon at 2 a.m. today. Two people were knocked down and a car was rammed. This is the loop on Fairfax Drive at Wilson Blvd. It lasted for a while with @ArlingtonVaPD delayed getting to the scene. It's not clear when they were called and… pic.twitter.com/LbBZDhmVAT
HERE IS VIDEO of a brawl in Arlington County, with one punched out and a car getting rammed. This happened in the parking lot between Wilson Blvd and Fairfax Dr just after 2 a.m. @ARLnowDOTcompic.twitter.com/15ZoDpnCRO
Falls Church carjacking suspect (courtesy City of Falls Church)
The case involving the man who allegedly went on a carjacking and assault spree through Falls Church and Arlington is moving forward.
Last week — eight months after his arrest — he was identified as Garrett Reeves, of Lorton, according to Susan Finarelli, a public information officer for the City of Falls Church Police Department.
He has been charged with carjacking, malicious wounding, destruction of property with intent and felonious charges of failure to stop at an accident and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, per court records. He has hearings for these charges on Jan. 4 and 10, 2024.
Falls Church police arrested Reeves in March. According to police and a surveillance video aired by NBC 4, Reeves struck a pedestrian near the Beyer Volvo dealership and crashed into several cars, while driving a carjacked Jeep.
He fled and allegedly ran to a nearby shopping center, where he attacked a man and stole his car. He drove into Arlington and was reported to have rear-ended a woman driving on Langston Blvd. This stolen car was later found in Fairfax County, police said at the time. Two days later, he allegedly carjacked another car in Falls Church.
Between his arrest and now, however, he has spent most of his time in a state psychiatric facility because he was not deemed fit to stand trial. Statewide, this is an increasingly common finding that has strained state hospitals, the Virginia Mercury reports.
Falls Church police conducted two investigations before obtaining warrants for Reeves’ arrest, Finarelli said. He was arrested on multiple charges, including carjacking, and taken to the Arlington County Detention Facility — where Falls Church arrestees are jailed — though he was uncooperative and did not reveal his name.
“During his first arraignment, the Courts deemed him not mentally competent hence his transfer to the Western State mental hospital,” Finarelli said.
Last Tuesday, the Falls Church police department learned that the man was identified and transferred back to the Arlington County jail. There, Finarelli says, he was served with additional warrants and held in jail without bond.
The Arlington County Police Department is not seeking charges for the hit-and-run in the county — considered a misdemeanor — because Reeves faces felony charges for the hit-and-run and carjacking in Falls Church, ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow.
Police car speeding to a call at night (staff photo)
While many enjoyed pre-Halloween revelry this weekend, Arlington County police were kept busy with a variety of mayhem.
Several of the notable incidents happened early Saturday morning.
Just before 1 a.m., officers responded to a carjacking in Crystal City, in which a man is alleged to have forcibly stolen a car and a phone from a woman he knows.
CARJACKING, 2023-10280018, 23rd Street S. at S. Eads Street. At approximately 12:48 a.m. on October 28, police were dispatched to the report of a dispute. Upon arrival, it was determined the female victim and male suspect, who are known to each other, were inside the victim’s vehicle when they became involved in a verbal dispute, during which the suspect stole the victim’s phone. The suspect then threatened the victim and demanded the keys to her vehicle. The suspect took possession of the keys and the victim exited the vehicle. The suspect subsequently fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle. No injuries were reported. Warrants for the suspect were obtained for Carjacking and Petit Larceny.
This is at least the 17th reported carjacking in Arlington so far this year, three more than the 2022 total of 14.
About an hour later, police responded to a bar in Clarendon for a 24-year-old D.C. woman who allegedly assaulted a bouncer.
After the bouncer declined to prosecute, the still-agitated suspect is alleged to have spit on a female officer. She was then arrested on the charge of Assault on Police.
ASSAULT ON POLICE, 2023-10280034, 3100 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 1:43 a.m. on October 28, police were dispatched to the report of disorderly conduct. Upon arrival, it was determined the female suspect was acting disorderly inside an establishment and asked to leave by security personnel. The suspect refused and allegedly assaulted the security personnel. A deputy working the Nightlife detail intervened and the suspect remained combative. Responding officers detained the suspect during which, she kicked one of them. The victim did not wish to prosecute for the assault and officers banned the suspect from the property. The suspect then reapproached an officer and spat on her. [The suspect], 24, of Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with Assault on Police.
About an hour after that, a hit-and-run dispatch led to the discovery of a man suffering a serious laceration and a car chase of the suspect in both crimes.
The suspect, a 24-year-old Arlington man, was finally taken into custody in the Columbia Forest neighborhood and now faces a slew of charges.
MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2023-10280046, 600 block of S. Carlin Springs Road. At approximately 2:52 a.m. on October 28, police were dispatched to the report of a hit and run which was later determined to have occurred in Fairfax County, VA. Upon arrival, it was determined the reporting party, who is the owner of the vehicle struck in the hit and run, followed the suspect vehicle into Arlington and observed the male suspect stop in the 600 block of S. Carlin Springs Road and remove an individual from the vehicle before fleeing the area. Responding officers located the individual, an adult male, suffering from a laceration and immediately rendered aid before being transported to an area hospital with serious injuries. A lookout for the suspect vehicle was broadcast and an officer observed the vehicle traveling in the wrong direction and initiated a traffic stop. The suspect disregarded the officer’s emergency equipment and fled the area. Following a vehicle pursuit, the suspect vehicle came to a stop in the 5100 block of 10th Place S., during which the suspect exited and fled the scene on foot. Following a foot pursuit, the suspect was taken into custody without incident and determined to allegedly be under the influence. The preliminary investigation indicates the victim and the known suspect were in a residence in the 1000 block of S. Frederick Street when they became involved in a verbal dispute that escalated to a physical altercation during which the victim suffered the injury. [The suspect], 24, of Arlington, Va. was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding, Eluding, Driving Under the Influence, Obstruction of Justice and Driving Under the Influence on a Suspended License. He was held without bond.
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
An arrest has been made following a July crash in Lyon Village in which the driver allegedly fled the scene with two small children.
The crash happened around 10 p.m. on N. Bryan Street, in the aftermath of severe storms.
“Around 10:05 pm, a black Porsche SUV went screeching down N. Bryan St. in Lyon Village at a high speed,” a resident told ARLnow at the time. “[It] crashed into a light pole and took the entire pole down across N. Bryan, hit a stop sign which got attached to the undercarriage of the Porsche, then did a sharp left turn into 16th Street where the car came to a stop.”
“Then I heard a little girl screaming ‘Daddy, Daddy!’ It was heartstopping,” she continued. “I ran outside at the sound of the collision and heard the girl screaming. When I got there, the car was still running, all the doors were open, but no one was in it. Neighbors were pouring out of their houses to see what had happened.”
“At least three witnesses reported that the man got out of the Porsche and told his children (apparently 2 young children) ‘Run with me,’ she said. “Then they took off running down 16th Street towards Courthouse.”
Among the destinations that could be seen on the wrecked Porsche’s navigation system were Le Diplomate restaurant in D.C. and a home in Vienna, Virginia. Yesterday, ARLnow’s sister site FFXnow reported that a 42-year-old Arlington man is facing charges here and in Vienna for the crash and for allegedly making false statements to police.
From FFXnow:
The Vienna Police Department got a report on July 30 from a supposed resident who said his vehicle had been stolen out of his garage on Battle Street SE sometime between midnight on July 29 and 9 a.m. on July 30.
“A resident left his vehicle unsecured in the garage with the keys inside overnight,” police said in a summary from its recap of the week of Aug. 4. “Due to a storm and power outage, the garage door was unable to close. The following day, the resident discovered the vehicle was stolen.”
The VPD noted at the time that the vehicle was later located in another jurisdiction.
A subsequent investigation, however, linked the vehicle to a crash in Arlington County where the driver fled the scene with two children, according to an update in the VPD’s latest recap, which covers the week of Sept. 8-14.
“Investigation revealed the driver was the owner of the vehicle who made the stolen vehicle report the following morning,” Vienna police said.
Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed to FFXnow that the suspect is also facing charges here.
“As a result of the investigation into the circumstances of the crash, warrants were obtained on September 7 for [the suspect], 42, of Arlington, VA for Child Neglect (x2) and Hit and Run of Unattended Property (x2). He was taken into custody by the Town of Vienna Police Department.”
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
Scene of hit and run crash in Lyon Village (courtesy photo)
On Saturday night, as much of Arlington was cleaning up from the earlier severe storms, a driver slammed into a light pole and a stop sign in the Lyon Village neighborhood.
The driver of the Porsche SUV then got out and ran off with two small children who had been passengers in the vehicle, police and witnesses tell ARLnow. It is unclear whether any of them were injured.
It’s an incident that drew many neighbors out of their homes amid a power outage. The crash still has the affluent neighborhood near Clarendon and Courthouse talking — and concerned about the welfare of the children.
A local resident recounted what happened.
“Around 10:05 pm, a black Porsche SUV went screeching down N. Bryan St. in Lyon Village at a high speed, crashed into a light pole and took the entire pole down across N. Bryan, hit a stop sign which got attached to the undercarriage of the Porsche, then did a sharp left turn into 16th Street where the car came to a stop,” a tipster told us.
“Then I heard a little girl screaming ‘Daddy, Daddy!’ It was heartstopping,” she continued. “I ran outside at the sound of the collision and heard the girl screaming. When I got there, the car was still running, all the doors were open, but no one was in it. Neighbors were pouring out of their houses to see what had happened.”
“At least three witnesses reported that the man got out of the Porsche and told his children (apparently 2 young children) ‘Run with me,’ she said. “Then they took off running down 16th Street towards Courthouse.”
The tipster shared photos of the crash, including the navigation screen, which had Le Diplomate restaurant in D.C., Quincy Park in Arlington, and a home in Vienna, Virginia listed as recent destinations.
“The car was badly damaged with almost every window shattered and the stop sign stuck to the undercarriage — so hopefully the kids were not injured. The little girl sounded absolutely terrified, though.,” the tipster added. “It took the police and fire dept. quite a while to arrive due to all the other emergencies.”
Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage largely confirmed the sequence of events.
At approximately 10:07 p.m. on July 29, police were dispatched to the 1500 block of N. Bryan Street for the report of a single vehicle crash with unknown conditions The preliminary investigation indicates the driver of the vehicle struck a stop sign and utility pole at 16th Street N. and N. Bryan Street before exiting the vehicle with the two juvenile occupants and running from the scene prior to police arrival.
Savage said the crash is being investigated as a hit and run but declined to name a suspect as no one has been charged yet.
“The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been sought at this time” said Savage.
Falls Church carjacking suspect (photo courtesy City of Falls Church)
A man accused of going on a days-long assault, vehicle theft and property destruction spree that extended into Arlington is in custody.
City of Falls Church Police said the man, who is uncooperative and has not revealed his name, was arrested Sunday after leaving a multi-jurisdictional trail of injury and destruction in his wake.
The incidents started around lunchtime Friday, when the suspect made a U-turn on the 1200 block of W. Broad Street, near the Beyer Volvo dealership. Driving a Jeep that had earlier been carjacked in Fairfax County, the suspect struck a pedestrian and crashed into several cars, according to police and a surveillance video aired by NBC 4.
The suspect then allegedly ran to a nearby shopping center, where he attacked a man and stole his car.
“Witnesses say the suspect ran into a parking lot, hit an older man over the head and stole his vehicle,” NBC 4 reported.
The suspect subsequently drove into Arlington, according to police, and rear-ended another driver along Langston Blvd.
“At approximately 1:19 p.m. on March 17, police were dispatched to Langston Boulevard at Spout Run Parkway for the report of a hit and run,” Arlington County police spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, it was determined the victim was traveling eastbound on Langston Boulevard and slowed to make a turn when she was struck from behind by the suspect vehicle. The driver of the suspect vehicle failed to stop and fled the scene following the crash. No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.”
Falls Church police say the stolen car was later found in Fairfax County. Two days later, the suspect went looking for another car to steal, just blocks from the first crash, police said.
“On Sunday, March 19, at about 3:45 p.m., police responded to the 1000 block of W. Broad St. for report of an assault and attempted carjacking,” Falls Church police said. “One victim was transported to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries.”
Scanner traffic at the time suggested a “severe” assault.
A witness told NBC 4 that the suspect walked up to a man loading his car, slammed him to the ground and tried to take his keys, but good Samaritans intervened and helped lead police to the suspect, who was taken into custody.
“Exact charges are pending, and the man’s name and photo will be released once available,” Falls Church police said.
The full police press release is below.
City of Falls Church Police announced that the individual arrested on Sunday is the same person wanted for a stolen vehicle, carjacking, and hit and run on Friday. Exact charges are pending, and the man’s name and photo will be released once available.
“I want to thank our officers and dispatch who persevered through the numerous incidents,” said Police Chief Mary Gavin. “And a big thank you to the community members who stopped to help the victims and called in tips. The ‘See Something, Say Something’ mantra helped us immensely with this arrest.”
The woman who was injured after being pushed out of an SUV near Ballston (via GoFundMe)
(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) An arrest has been made in the case of a woman who was pushed out of a moving SUV near Ballston.
Maryna Kapovska, 25, suffered severe injuries in the May 15 incident, which happened on Wilson Blvd just west of N. Glebe Road. She has been undergoing rehabilitation, including for a traumatic brain injury, according to a GoFundMe page that has raised $50,000 to cover Kapovska’s expenses.
Arlington County police announced this afternoon (Wednesday) that a man has been arrested in the case, following a “thorough investigation,” though there’s still no word on an exact motive.
Willie Clements, a 59-year-old Maryland resident, is now facing several felony charges after being taken into custody on Friday by Arlington County Police Department tactical officers. Police say the victim entered his black SUV while waiting for a rideshare driver in D.C. around 3 a.m.
Clements “was not employed as a rideshare driver and was not operating in a for-hire status,” according to police.
The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is announcing the arrest of a suspect following an aggravated malicious wounding investigation in the Bluemont neighborhood. Willie James Clements, 59, of Upper Marlboro, MD is charged with Aggravated Malicious Wounding, Grand Larceny and Hit and Run. He is being held without bond in the Arlington County Detention Facility.
At approximately 3:06 a.m. on May 15, police were dispatched to the area of Wilson Boulevard at N. Vermont Street for the report of trouble unknown. The reporting party stated she was driving in the area when she observed a black SUV swerving and traveling at a high rate of speed. The passenger door to the vehicle then opened and the victim was pushed out onto the roadway. Responding officers located the female victim in the roadway and medics transported her to an area hospital with serious injuries.
The investigation revealed that earlier in the morning, the victim requested a rideshare service from the 800 block of Florida Ave NW, Washington D.C. to her residence in Arlington. While waiting for her driver to arrive, the suspect approached, the victim entered his vehicle and he drove away. The suspect was not employed as a rideshare driver and was not operating in a for-hire status.
Arlington County Police Department detectives conducted a thorough investigation including witness interviews and the review of crime scene and other evidence. The review resulted in additional information that led detectives to identify Willie James Clements as a suspect. Officers assigned to the department’s TAC Unit took the suspect into custody without incident on the afternoon of September 2.
This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage tells ARLnow that the crime scene was “less than a mile” from where the victim lived. She was unable to say why the victim might have entered the suspect’s vehicle.
“This remains an active criminal investigation and to ensure the integrity of the prosecution, no additional details are available at this time,” Savage said.
Kapovska is originally from Ukraine and was quoted in news stories in February just before the Russian invasion.
“Our dad is defending our homeland while our mom had to flee the war to Germany,” her sister noted on the GoFundMe page.
Prior to the March incident, the 25-year-old attended a Ukrainian Orthodox church in Montgomery County weekly, sang in the choir, and posted regularly on Instagram to show support for her homeland, said a Montgomery County Media story.
As her rehabilitation continues — it’s expected to take 6-12 months, according to the GoFundMe page — she returned to Instagram two weeks ago after a long hiatus.
“Happy days,” Kapovska wrote in a post, with a photo from prior to her injuries. “Life divided into before and after. This is before, looking forward to after.”
Arlington police car at night (file photo courtesy Kevin Wolf)
A trio of catalytic converter theft suspects, all from Chicago, were arrested early this morning.
Arlington police say they were able to track down all three suspects after they tried to speed off in a car, which they then crashed in the Penrose neighborhood. They were later arrested in the northern portion of the neighborhood, near Sequoia Plaza and Butler Holmes Park.
The arrests, which come amid a rash of thefts of the valuable car part across Arlington, ultimately happened thanks to an alert resident who reported a vehicle break-in along 13th Road S., near the Arlington Village condos, around 2 a.m.
More from an Arlington County police crime report:
VEHICLE TAMPERING, 2022-08310022, 2700 block of 13th Road S. At approximately 1:55 a.m. on August 31, police were dispatched to the report of a vehicle tapering in progress. Responding officers located a parked vehicle on Walter Reed Drive at S. Randolph Street matching the description provided by the reporting party and observed three male suspects enter the vehicle. Officers activated their emergency equipment and attempted a traffic stop but the driver fled from the scene at a high rate of speed. Additional officers responded to the scene and located the unoccupied suspect vehicle crashed in the 2600 block of 2nd Street S. Officers established a perimeter and located one suspect at 1st Place S. and S. Barton and the other two suspects were located in the 100 block of S. Wise Street and taken into custody. A search of the suspect vehicle resulted in the recovery of two catalytic converters and power tools.
The three suspects, who range in age from 29 to 34, are facing a number of charges, including Eluding, Tampering with Auto, Larceny with Intent to Sell, Possession of Burglarious Tools and, in the case of one suspect, Hit and Run.
Asked by ARLnow about whether the suspects were previously known to ACPD or suspected in other catalytic converter thefts, police spokeswoman Ashley Savage said the investigation is still underway.
“Detectives will continue to investigate to determine if the suspects are linked to any other reported thefts,” she said, adding that “Virginia law prohibits the disclosure of someone’s prior criminal history.”
Intersection of 2nd Street S. and Old Glebe Road (via Google Maps)
(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) A woman has died after being struck by a driver who then fled the scene, according to police.
Viviana Oxlaj Pérez was walking near the Thomas Jefferson Community Center around 7:30 p.m. Monday when the driver of a truck struck her and then drove off, a family member told ARLnow.
Police and medics quickly responded and treated the critically injured woman, but she later died at the hospital.
Police closed the intersection of 2nd Street S. and S. Glebe Road, in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, for about two hours to investigate the hit-and-run crash.
Police remain on scene investigating. Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to call police at 703-558-2222.
An online fundraiser was established for Oxlaj Pérez early Tuesday morning by her daughter, Hilary Lopez Oxlaj.
Reached by phone, Lopez Oxlaj said her mother was walking across the street with her bike, on her way to the nearby 7-Eleven store, when the driver blew through a stop sign at the intersection and struck her.
Lopez Oxlaj said her mother, who was 53, had lived near the Arlington Career Center for 17 years and was known as the “lady with the bike” who sells cold drinks and ice cream to soccer players at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center fields.
“She was a mother who worked very hard,” she said. “Everyone knew her as a very kind woman.”
Oxlaj Pérez was a married mother of six and frequent churchgoer, who would often donate food to people who were struggling, her daughter said.
Lopez Oxlaj hopes that her mother’s generosity is returned so the family can afford funeral expenses.
“We are collecting funds to… send my mother’s body to Guatemala,” Lopez Oxlaj wrote on the GoFundMe page. “She was a very hardworking lady fighting every day… Please ask for your help, it will be a great blessing.”
As of 11 a.m. the page had raised nearly $3,000 of its $25,000 goal from a few dozen donors.
Police said Tuesday morning that officers arrested the alleged driver, a 62-year-old Arlington man, after finding the striking vehicle about a mile away from the crash scene. Alcohol is “believed to be a factor in the crash,” according to police. The man is now facing numerous charges.
Looking down Lynn St. on a rainy day (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Debating the Arlington Way — “Their unsigned flier asks whether the push for new housing types marks ‘the end of the Arlington Way,’ defined as a ‘long-standing tradition of public engagement on issues of importance to reach community consensus.’ The new ‘Arlington Way 2.0,’ it accuses, involves ‘lack of respect,’ ‘failed analysis’ and ‘governance problems’ as ‘partisans grab control of decision-making and steamroll the public.’ Those harsh words made me wonder, must the Arlington Way always mean ‘you get your way?'” [Falls Church News-Press]
CA Says No to Hypothetical Abortion Prosecutions — Arlington and Falls Church Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti is among “more than 80 elected attorneys from around the country [who] vowed not to prosecute individuals who seek, assist in, or provide abortion care.” [Common Dreams, Vox]
Gunfire in Green Valley — “3700 block of Four Mile Run Drive. At approximately 2:35 a.m. on June 24, police were dispatched to the report of a dispute. Upon arrival, it was determined that following an ongoing dispute between known individuals, the suspect entered the victim’s home. The victim confronted the suspect and a verbal altercation ensued outside the home, during which the suspect brandished a firearm and discharged it. No injuries or property damage were reported.” [ACPD]
Dozen Officers Graduate from Academy — “Family, friends and colleagues gathered on June 22 to celebrate the achievements of Arlington County Police Department’s 12 newest officers as Session 146 graduated from the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy. During the graduation, the officers took their solemn oath to serve and protect the Arlington community and safeguard the Constitutional rights of all.” [ACPD]
Hit-and-Run Driver Causes I-395 Crash — From Dave Statter: “#caughtoncamera: For the 2nd time in less than 24 hrs a crash at I-395S Exit 8C. 3 cars involved, with the one causing it driving off.” [Twitter]
Awards for Arlington Students — “ACC/Arlington Tech TV Production students Lina Barkley & Ellie Nix take the 1st place gold medal for VA at the National SkillsUSA Television (Video) Prod. contest in Atlanta. Congrats to our National Champions! We are so proud!” [Twitter, Twitter]
CIP Hearing Planned Tomorrow — “Comments are welcome on Arlington’s proposed $3.9 billion FY 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) during a County Board public hearing on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. The public hearing will begin at 7 p.m. and those interested may register to speak in person or virtually by visiting the County Board website.” [Arlington County]
Fairfax Mulls Route 29 Name — “It’s possible Fairfax County will not be following Arlington’s lead in renaming its stretch of U.S. Route 29 as ‘Langston Boulevard.’ Fairfax County supervisors wish to rename Lee and Lee-Jackson Memorial highways… but a county survey – with an admittedly small sample size – found the public would prefer they just go with the roads’ numbers.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s Monday — Rain in the morning and afternoon. High of 81 and low of 70. Sunrise at 5:47 am and sunset at 8:39 pm. [Weather.gov]
Police response to a hit and run suspect on Columbia Pike on Dec. 29, 2021 (via Arlington County)
(Updated at 2 p.m.) An Alexandria man suspected in five separate hit-and-run crashes was tased by police in an incident that shut down Columbia Pike last week.
On the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 29, police were dispatched to the intersection of the Pike and S. Greenbrier Street for a report of a crash. They encountered a man in a damaged vehicle who refused to come out.
Even as more officers arrived, the man just sat in the vehicle, at some point reaching for something under the seat, according to scanner traffic at the time. Police, fearing that the man might have a weapon, requested bulletproof shields, while additional units rushed to the scene.
Eventually, officers used a Taser to subdue the man and take him into custody. Columbia Pike was blocked during the evening rush hour incident.
TRAFFIC ALERT: Columbia Pike blocked after crash, with a driver who refused police commands to exit the vehicle and was tased, per scanner traffic pic.twitter.com/Cj5wsmyx3v
A subsequent investigation determined that the 34-year-old man had struck four vehicles in Arlington and one in Fairfax County before finally coming to a stop at the Pike and Greenbrier, according to police. He’s now facing multiple hit and run charges, as well as a charge of driving under the influence.
None of the hit-and-run victims were injured, police said.
More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report, below.
HIT AND RUN (significant), 2021-12290153, Columbia Pike at S. Greenbrier Street. At approximately 4:39 p.m. on December 29, police were dispatched to the report of a hit and run just occurred. Based upon information from witnesses in the area, arriving officers located the suspect vehicle, which had sustained significant damage, and attempted to make contact with the suspect. The suspect ignored multiple lawful commands from officers to exit the vehicle. Officers then removed the vehicle’s driver side window and attempted to remove the suspect, however the suspect continued to ignore their commands and resist arrest. Officers deployed a TASER and the suspect was subsequently taken into custody without further incident. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that prior to officers arrival, the suspect allegedly struck four vehicles in Arlington County and was involved in an additional hit and run in Fairfax County. No injuries were reported by the victims and the suspect was treated on scene by medics before being transported to an area hospital to be medically evaluated. [The suspect], 34, of Alexandria, Va., was arrested and charged with Felony Hit and Run (x2), Attempted Felony Hit and Run, Driving Under the Influence, and Obstruction of Justice. He was also served with outstanding warrants out of Fairfax County. He was held without bond.
