investigation

Hazmat Investigation at Gov’t Office in Shirlington

By ARLnow.com

Update at 11:15 a.m. — The all-clear has been given and the hazmat team is packing up their gear.

Some roads are being shut down in the area of 2800 S. Randolph Street in Shirlington due to a hazmat investigation.

According to scanner traffic, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office at 2800 S. Randolph received an envelope with a white powdery substance in it. The Arlington County Fire Department’s hazmat team is checking to see whether the substance is hazardous.

A similar investigation into a suspicious substance was conducted at the same office last Tuesday.

Hazmat Investigation at Shirlington Office Building

By ARLnow.com

Update at 7:40 p.m. — The all-clear was given at about 5:00 p.m. and the scene has since been cleared.

The Arlington County Fire Department’s hazmat team is investigating a suspicious substance at a federal office in Shirlington.

Hazmat personnel are preparing to enter an office at 2800 S. Randolph Street, according to scanner traffic. They will be performing tests on the substance to determine whether or not it is hazardous.

Among the tenants listed for the 2800 S. Randolph Street building, also known as Randolph Square, is the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Pedestrian Struck on Route 50

By ARLnow.com

A woman was struck and seriously injured by a vehicle on Route 50 overnight, according to police.

“At 2:30 am, an adult female attempted to cross Route 50, just prior to the on-ramp to Washington Boulevard, after darting out from the tree line,” said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. “The driver was unable to stop his vehicle in time and the pedestrian was struck. She remains in critical condition at GW Hospital.”

Several lanes of eastbound Route 50 were closed for an extended period of time while police investigated the accident. Those lanes had reopened by 5:30 a.m.

Police Investigate Shooting Outside Crystal City Hotel

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police are investigating a shooting that occurred early Sunday morning in Crystal City.

The incident happened just after 3:00 a.m. According to police, four people were posing for photos behind a vehicle parked in front of a hotel on the 2700 block of Jefferson Davis Highway when an unknown suspect fired between 3 and 6 gunshots. The hotel desk staff heard the shots and called police.

Responding units found a male victim shot in both ankles. The man was treated by medics and taken to George Washington University Hospital, according to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Four bullet casings were found at the scene.

The victim and his three friends claimed that they had only heard the gunshots and had not seen the shooter. Sternbeck said there was “not much cooperation” from the group, and that the investigation is ongoing.

The incident is not believed to be connected to the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally, Sternbeck said. The Hyatt Regency Crystal City hotel at 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway is the rally’s official hotel.

Road Closed Due to Serious Accident

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:00 p.m.) S. Carlin Springs Road was closed between 5th Street and 7th Road tonight due to a serious accident between a Jeep and a moped.

Around 8:00 p.m., the Jeep driver was trying to make a left turn onto 6th Road when the SUV and the moped collided, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Officers arrived on the scene and found the moped rider, an adult male, lying on the ground. He was taken to a local hospital via ambulance with what were thought to be critical injuries.

According to Sternbeck, the man had a high level of alcohol in his system. He’s expected to recover from his injuries. The female driver of the Jeep remained on scene following the collision, Sternbeck said.

Carlin Springs Road was shut down for an extended period of time while police conducted an accident investigation.

Traffic Alert: Washington Blvd Closed for Bomb Investigation

By Katie Pyzyk

Updated at 12:25 p.m. — The item was found to be not hazardous, and the investigation is wrapping up. All lanes of Washington Blvd have been re-opened.

A bomb squad investigation has shut down part of Washington Blvd and is causing significant traffic backups.

Washington Blvd in the eastbound/southbound direction has been shut at S. 2nd St, near Route 50. While the investigation continues, there will be various closings in the area, including on S. 2nd St.

Drivers are advised to avoid the area altogether if possible.

The investigation involves a pipe wrapped in some sort of packaging found lying in the bushes.

Man Sentenced for Guns Found Buried Near I-66

By ARLnow.com

An Arlington man has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for “possessing firearms after being convicted of a felony.”

The charge stems from an incident in October when a number of guns were found buried in the ground near Patrick Henry Drive and I-66. Investigators from the FBI and the Arlington County Police Department used forensic evidence to link the guns to 61-year-old Cherrydale resident and convicted felon Rodney M. Gunsauley.

In all, prosecutors say they recovered at least 35 tubes containing 14 guns and more than 20,000 rounds of ammunition.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office issued the following press release tonight.

Rodney Melvin Gunsauley, 61, a resident of Arlington, Va., was sentenced today to 40 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $6,000 fine for possessing firearms after being convicted of a felony.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee.

According to the statement of facts and court records, on Oct. 12, 2011, construction workers discovered two weapons caches located at the 1000 block of Patrick Henry Drive, Arlington, Virginia. FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) agents and Arlington County Police and Fire responded to the location and recovered one short barrel AR-15, thirteen AR-15 magazines, 385 armor piercing rounds, two handguns – a Para-Ordinance .45 and Delta Elite Semi-Automatic 10 mm – additional clips for the .45, a lock pick set and coded letter with references to additional locations. Forensic evidence led law enforcement to Gunsauley, whose house was searched pursuant to a federal search warrant on October 20, 2011. Inside his apartment, law enforcement found 12 M16 firing pins, materials to make weapons caches, a shovel and a lock pick set. Gunsauley was taken into custody the same day.

Gunsauley pled guilty on Dec. 8, 2011, to felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. With Gunsauley’s cooperation, law enforcement reported in court today that 33 additional weapons tubes had been recovered in Arlington Va., containing six additional AR15 rifles, five additional handguns to include a 9mm, a 40 caliber and another 45 caliber and 20,000 additional rounds of ammunition.

This case was investigated by FBI Washington Field Office and the Arlington County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Ronald L. Walutes Jr. prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States, with assistance from the Arlington County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office.

Credit Card Skimming Investigation Began in Arlington

By ARLnow.com

Last week, a Maryland man was convicted of running a credit card skimming ring that operated in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania from 2010 to 2011.

Authorities say the ring victimized hundreds of people and businesses by stealing credit card numbers, using those numbers to buy gift cards and merchandise, then returning the merchandise for cash. In some cases, the credit card numbers were stolen when restaurant servers, paid by the ring, ran customer credit cards through a “skimming” device that recorded each number.

The case against the now-convicted ringleader, 33-year-old Olubunmi Oladapo Komolafe, began building in Arlington.

According to an affidavit, a co-conspirator of Komolafe was stopped and questioned by police at an Arlington Macy’s store on January 30, 2010. The co-conspirator was attempting to make a purchase at Macy’s using gift cards that had been either re-encoded or purchased using a stolen credit number, according to the affidavit.

Eventually the suspect was let go, but he surrendered several gift cards to officers. From there, ACPD detectives began an investigation that eventually led to a U.S. Secret Service investigation and a federal case against Komolafe and four other men, including the co-conspirator who was initially stopped in Arlington.

FBI Evidence Response Team on Patrick Henry Drive

By ARLnow.com

FBI agents are using metal detectors, shovels and buckets to try to locate new evidence at the site where gun parts and PVC pipes were found buried in the ground yesterday morning.

An FBI Evidence Response Team truck, an all-terrain vehicle and a tent now line Patrick Henry Drive near the I-66 overpass. Yesterday, VDOT construction contractors found gun parts buried in the ground near a utility box, prompting an investigation by the Arlington County bomb squad and police department. The FBI has since taken over the investigation.

A team from the FBI’s Washington Field Office started searching the muddy grounds, just above the westbound lanes of I-66, around 8:00 this morning. Washington Field Office spokeswoman Lindsay Godwin says she was unaware of any findings at the site so far.

ACPD Seeking Information on Hit-and-Run Truck

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police think that a delivery truck may have been the vehicle that struck and killed 23-year-old Zorigoo Munkhbayar on Friday.

Munkhbayar was walking on Route 50 early Friday morning when he was struck by a vehicle near the N. Rhodes Street ramp. By the time someone saw Munkhbayar’s body laying in the roadway and called police, the Arlington resident was already dead.

Today police revealed that they believe a 2005-2007 Mitsubishi delivery truck was the striking vehicle. Police say the truck “would have noticeable damage to the front passenger side and passenger side grill/headlight.”

Investigators are asking for the public’s help in solving the crime.

“Police ask that anyone who may have seen a man walking on eastbound Route 50, or witnessed the accident, contact Detective Paul Marseilles at (703) 228-4237,” police said in a statement. “Detective Marseilles can also be reached via e-mail at [email protected].”

The above photo, provided by the Arlington County Police Department, shows a truck similar to the model suspected of hitting Munkhbayar. See more photos here.

Investigation Near County Office Building

By ARLnow.com

Updated at 8:55 a.m. — ART reports that the scene in front of the county building is now clear and buses are running normally.

Roads are closed in front of the county office building at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard, in Courthouse, while authorities investigate a suspicious envelope.

Police were unable to provide any additional information about the investigation, but a photo of the scene shows the county’s Bomb Squad truck and a Bomb Squad member in full blast gear.

ART bus routes 41, 62 and 77 are delayed due to the closures.

Photo courtesy Tim Kelley

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