investigation

Suspect Arrested in Rosslyn Sexual Assault Case

By Bridget Reed Morawski
1/1

A 25-year-old D.C. man has been arrested for sexually assaulting a woman in Rosslyn last May.

The suspect is Richard Allen Lowe, who police say knocked on doors at an apartment building on the 1500 block of Key Boulevard pretending to be a maintenance worker. When a female victim opened her door, the suspect attacked her, sexually assaulting her before fleeing, according to police.

Lowe, charged with abduction with intent to defile and malicious wounding, is being held at the Arlington County Detention Facility on no bond.

More from the press release:

Arlington County Police detectives conducted an intensive investigation including the review of crime scene evidence, witness interviews and laboratory results. The review resulted in additional information that led detectives to identify Richard Allen Lowe as a possible suspect. Forensic evidence and thorough investigative efforts linked the suspect to the incident. The suspect was arrested in Washington D.C. on February 22, 2018 with assistance by the Metropolitan Police Department and subsequently extradited to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

This remains an active criminal investigation. Anyone with information regarding this incident or concerning Richard Allen Lowe is asked to contact Detective P. Pena at [email protected]. To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866.411.TIPS (8477).

After the attack last May, the Arlington County Police Department released a video of the suspect entering another residential building on the 1900 block of Wilson Boulevard. In that instance, the building’s concierge saw the man sneak in and denied him further access.

Police: ‘Active and Ongoing Investigation’ into Nauck Drive-By Shooting

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are still investigating a drive-by shooting in the Nauck neighborhood this past Sunday night.

Three male suspects in a dark van or SUV opened fire on a group of four juvenile near the intersection of 24th Street S. and Shirlington Road around 8:15 p.m., according to police. A resident who lives nearby emailed ARLnow.com and described a chaotic scene.

“Around 8:12 a series of approximately eight gunshots were heard followed by several individuals seen running through the neighborhood,” she said. The resident added later that she’s skeptical that no one in the neighborhood was able to give a better description of the vehicle or the suspects.

Police are treating the shooting as an “attempted malicious wounding” rather than attempted murder. ACPD spokeswoman Ashley Savage said the incident “remains an active and ongoing investigation by the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit.”

“Police have collected crime scene evidence, canvased the area and spoken with witnesses,” Savage said. “The events that preceded the shooting remain under investigation.”

“The Third District Community Policing Team has been in touch with community members since the incident occurred and is attending a tenants meeting in the community next week,” Savage continued. “Anyone who has information regarding this investigation is asked to call Detective Bertollini at703.228.4243 or [email protected]. Information can also be reported anonymously by calling the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866.411.TIPS (8477).”

Photo via Google Maps

Feds Seek Forfeiture of Clarendon Home in Manafort Case

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 5 p.m.) A nearly $1.8 million home in Clarendon may be subject for forfeiture to the federal government as a result of the case against former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort.

A 12-count indictment of Manafort, accusing him of laundering money and failing to register as a foreign lobbyist, details his alleged transfer of money from overseas shell companies to buy cars, luxury goods and expensive real estate.

Among the properties is a home on the 1000 block of N. Edgewood Street, adjacent to to Green Pig Bistro and steps from the heart of Clarendon. Arlington County property records show the house, first built in 1920, was purchased in September 2012 for $1.9 million and is currently assessed at just over $1.75 million. Manafort’s daughter, Andrea, is listed as the owner.

The indictment alleges that the home was purchased with money transferred from a shell company in Cyprus and seeks its forfeiture, along with the forfeiture of three Manafort-linked properties in New York.

Another official involved in President Trump’s campaign, Rick Gates, was also named in the indictment, as part of the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Report: Police Justified in Officer-Involved Shooting

By Chris Teale

A report released Tuesday by Commonwealth’s Attorney Theo Stamos found that Arlington County Police officers were justified in shooting a man near I-395 in May and will not face charges.

Two officers, Steven Yanda and Matt Chattillion, shot 28-year-old Daniel George Boak of Centreville on May 17 around 4:30 p.m. after he struck Yanda with his black pickup truck. The officers were attempting a traffic stop at the highway’s Glebe Road exit.

“The totality of the circumstances confronting Officer Yanda and Officer Chattillion at that moment presented an imminent danger of serious injury or death to Officer Yanda and potentially a danger to others at the scene, thereby justifying the use of deadly force to defend Officer Yanda and others,” Stamos wrote.

Stamos’ report said that Boak did not comply with officers’ commands to show his hands when he stopped, and he instead accelerated into Yanda, pinned him against a white Toyota sedan in front with his car and continued to accelerate.

“I could feel pressure on my leg increasing,” Stamos quotes Yanda as saying in his statement to investigators. “He wasn’t just bumping me and then reversing. He continued to come forward. So, it seemed he was trying to injure or kill me. I feared for my life.”

Both fired into the vehicle and struck Boak four times: in the head, neck chest and forearm. Another officer who arrived on scene then placed the car into reverse to free his colleague. Boak was pronounced dead at Virginia Hospital Center at approximately 5:30 p.m. that same day, after the officers attempted CPR.

Stamos said the officers’ statements on the incident were consistent, as well as the statements from civilians in cars nearby. Stamos added that video from Yanda’s in-car camera and from a balcony overlooking the exit show him trapped between the two cars.

A blood sample found that Boak had traces of cocaine, morphine and heroin in his bloodstream, as well as a zip lock baggie in his car containing a small amount of cocaine and a glass-tube smoking device that contained cocaine residue. Stamos also noted that Boak’s family members said he had a heroin addiction and “problems with authority.”

AAA Warns Drivers of Credit Card Skimmers at Gas Stations

By Chris Teale

After a spate of credit card skimming devices being discovered at gas stations across the region this year, including in Arlington, AAA Mid-Atlantic is warning motorists to be extra cautious when paying at the pump.

Several gas stations in Cherrydale as well as a Shell station on S. Four Mile Run Drive appeared to have been hit by the skimmers earlier this year. The skimmers are installed inside pumps and ATMs and copy customers’ card information for fraudulent use by criminals, who use Bluetooth technology to receive the stolen credit card numbers in seconds.

Anyone who suspects a skimmer in their gas pump can check by jiggling the credit card slot to see if it is askew or asymmetrical.

More from John B. Townsend II, AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Manager of Public and Government Affairs:

The caper may crop up, lawmen forewarn, in other counties, cities and communities across the Greater Washington area, as dodgy perpetrators try to stay steps ahead of the reach of the law’s long arm and catch local consumers unawares as they purchase fuel. To safeguard your debit or credit card, and protect your finances, only buy gas at stations that affix security seals to the fuel dispenser. Always remember the motto ‘Let the buyer beware’ (caveat emptor) when making a gas transaction.

This year, skimmers have been discovered in parts of Maryland as well as Alexandria, Bailey’s Crossroads, Centreville, Tysons Corner, Vienna, and in areas around Prince William and Frederick counties. In the last 12 months, AAA said, Fairfax County Police have removed “21 individual skimmers from 15 different locations.”

AAA gave the following advice to those using self-service gas pumps:

  • Park at pumps close to the front door of the gas station if possible. Criminals tend to install the skimmers on an outside pump farthest from where the clerks can see them.
  • Check for Bluetooth skimmers embedded inside pumps at a gas station using your cell phone. Turn on your Bluetooth setting and look for a series of random numbers and letters. It may be a telltale sign a Bluetooth-enabled skimming device is interleaved into the gas kiosk. Do not connect to the Bluetooth device.
  • Make sure the gas pump panel is closed and inspect the card reader at the pump. Look for signs of tampering. If it looks like it’s been opened or its security tape has been broken, inform the cashier and do not use that pump.
  • Pay for your gas inside the store.
  • Use cash instead of your credit card.
  • Monitor your bank statements constantly. Look for overdraft notices. Skimming criminals may wait months before using your information and then go on a sudden spending spree.

Photo via Google Maps

UPDATED: Major Delays on I-395 Due to Fatal Crash

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:25 p.m. — One person has died as a result of the crash, which involved two construction vehicles, according to an updated statement from Virginia State Police.

At 2:21 a.m., Tuesday (Aug. 22), Virginia State Police Trooper A.J. Santiago responded to a fatal crash in the southbound Express Lanes of I-395 near Exit 10C in Arlington County.

At the time of the crash, the Express Lanes were closed to the public because of an active highway work zone for pavement repairs. A dump truck had just entered the work zone and was traveling south to deliver its load of paving material. Another work zone vehicle, a pickup truck, was traveling north in the closed southbound Express Lanes and as it came through a bend in the highway collided head-on with the southbound dump truck.

The driver of the pickup truck, Brian S. Kilburne, 55, of Fredericksburg, Va., was transported to George Washington University Hospital, where he died later Monday morning. His two passengers were transported to George Washington University Hospital for treatment of serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

The driver of the dump truck was not injured in the crash.

The Virginia State Police Fairfax Division Crash Reconstruction Team responded to the scene and is assisting with the ongoing crash investigation.

Earlier: The inbound HOV lanes of I-395 have been closed during the morning rush hour due to a crash investigation.

The investigation is taking place just before the 14th Street Bridge, following an early morning crash involving a pickup truck and a dump truck. Three vehicle occupants were transported to the trauma center at George Washington University Hospital.

Police typically conduct accident investigations when a victim of a crash has life-threatening injuries.

The closure of the HOV lanes is causing major backups on the entire stretch of northbound I-395, particularly in Arlington. One driver, on Twitter, reported a 1 hour, 45 minute commute from Woodbridge.

Photo (top) via Google Maps

ACPD Releases Results of Preliminary Investigation Into Officer-Involved Shooting

By ARLnow.com

The police officers who shot and killed a man during a traffic stop last month acted properly and within “established guidelines,” according to the results of a preliminary investigation.

The shooting happened Monday, May 17 during a traffic stop on the Glebe Road off-ramp of I-395. In a statement released Friday afternoon, the Arlington County Police Department said that the suspect was shot after he used his truck to pin an officer against another vehicle.

The full ACPD press release is below.

The preliminary investigation into the officer involved shooting on May 17, 2017 has been completed. Chief M. Jay Farr announced today, “this incident remains an active police investigation, however, based on the information revealed during the preliminary investigation, we believe that our officers’ actions were prudent, reasonable and within our established guidelines.”

To summarize this incident, at approximately 4:32 p.m. on May 17, 2017, Arlington County Police attempted a traffic stop on a wanted suspect traveling on I-395 at Jefferson Davis Highway based on a lookout received from a license plate reader. The suspect initially stopped for officers, but fled the scene and maneuvered around the officers and continued traveling along I-395. The officers continued to travel in the same direction as the suspect vehicle but no pursuit was initiated. The suspect exited I-395 at Glebe Road where he encountered heavy traffic and officers again attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Based on officer accounts as well as independent witnesses and crime scene evidence, when officers approached the vehicle on foot, the suspect initially stopped the vehicle and opened the door but then made a decision to close the vehicle door, place it in drive and ultimately struck an officer pinning him against another vehicle. At that time, shots were fired by officers, injuring the suspect. Officers were then able to move the suspect vehicle and free the officer. Officers performed life saving measures on the suspect before he was transported to Virginia Hospital Center where he later succumbed to his injuries. The officers involved were Officer S. Yanda and Corporal M. Chattillion.

We are committed to protecting and serving the citizens of Arlington County and remaining transparent with the public. Upon completion of our investigation, the findings will be provided to the Commonwealth Attorney for independent review and additional information may be released at that time.

ACFD Investigating Intentionally-Set Fire at Arlington Church

By ARLnow.com
1/5

Someone tried to light a door on fire at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses church in the East Falls Church neighborhood of Arlington this morning.

The fire was set using a flammable substance just before 10 a.m., according to Arlington County Fire Department spokesman Lt. Jason Hart. The fire damaged the door — an entrance to the church sanctuary — and some surrounding bushes but did not spread beyond that.

Investigators from the Fire Marshal’s Office are still on scene this afternoon, gathering evidence.

This is the second such arson case currently being investigated in Northern Virginia, Hart said; a similar fire was recently set at a Jehovah’s Witnesses church in the Falls Church section of Fairfax County.

Arlington authorities are coordinating the investigation with their Fairfax County counterparts, according to Hart.

Police Investigating Credit Card Skimmers at Cherrydale Gas Stations

By ARLnow.com

It’s an ongoing problem: thieves using “skimmer” devices to steal credit and debit card information from unsuspecting customers of local businesses.

Arlington’s Cherrydale neighborhood appears to be the latest target of the skimmer scammers.

Reports a resident:

Maywood listserv lighting up with reports of multiple people getting their credit cards skimmed recently. Most people point to common thread of Liberty Gas station on Lee Highway (and a few other likely places in the area) as common thread. But that is not 100% clear.

In most cases, someone buys gas here. Later someone tries to purchase gas in California. Per Cherrydale listserv earlier, it looks like Arlington Police already found a “skimmer” machine earlier at Exxon across the street, but these are new reports from another potential location.

Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage confirmed at least a portion of the neighborhood scuttlebutt.

Here’s what she said via email to ARLnow.com:

Our Financial Crimes Unit received reports of possible credit card skimming at the Liberty Gas station. They responded to the area and during their investigation did not identify a point of compromise at this location. On March 9 at approximately 1:57 p.m., police responded to the Exxon gas station in the 4000 block of Old Dominion Drive for the report of a recovered credit card skimmer. That investigation is ongoing.

These type of cases are typically reported to police as credit card fraud and since we use credit cards for almost all purchases (online, in person, groceries, gas, etc.) the challenge is identifying the point of compromise. Turnaround time from point of compromise to first fraudulent use varies depending on how the suspects intend to use the stolen data. Police work closely with banking institutes who notify us when there is a trend with customers cards being compromised and they identify the location all the cards have in common.

There are some things citizens can do to protect themselves:

  • You will not know if a gas pump has a skimmers. In most cases, the skimmers are being placed inside the machine.
  • Pay inside at the gas station rather than at the pump.
  • Always pay using credit rather than debit – it’s easier to dispute the charges and isn’t linked directly to your bank account.
  • If you haven’t switched to a chip reader on your credit card, do so.
  • Regularly check your bank statements and if you notice fraudulent activity, notify the bank so they can begin an investigation.
  • If you find you were the victim of fraud, file a police report.

Photo via Google Maps

ACPD Seeking Sexual Assault Suspect Who Posed As Maintenance Worker

By ARLnow.com
1/2

A man posing as a maintenance worker sexually assaulted a woman in her Rosslyn apartment Sunday morning.

The attack happened around 9:45 a.m., on the 1500 block of Key Blvd, according to an Arlington County Police Department press release.

Police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect, a man believed to be in his early 20s, who was caught on video surveillance footage.

More from the ACPD press release:

The Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victim’s Unit is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a suspect involved in the sexual assault of a female victim which occurred at a residence in the 1500 block of Key Boulevard.

At approximately 9:45 a.m., an unknown male suspect entered the residential building and began knocking on various apartment doors claiming to be a maintenance worker. Once the female victim opened her door, a physical struggle ensued between the victim and the suspect. During the attack, the suspect sexually assaulted the victim. The suspect then fled the scene on foot.

The suspect is described as a black male in his early 20s, approximately 6’0″ tall with a slim build. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt with dark pants and carrying a backpack.

Arlington County Police remain in the area investigating this incident. If anyone has information on the identity of this individual or details surrounding this incident, please contact Detective P. Pena of the Arlington County Police Department’s Special Victim’s Unit at 703.228.4183 or at [email protected]. To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866.411.TIPS (8477).

Update at 3:20 p.m. — Police have released surveillance footage of the suspect allegedly fleeing the scene of the crime.

Man Dies After Glebe Road Moped Crash

By ARLnow.com

An Alexandria man has died after losing control of his moped and crashing into a sign.

The crash happened in rainy weather around 5:40 p.m. Saturday, on S. Glebe Road near ramps to and from I-395.

From an Arlington County Police Department press release:

At approximately 5:40 p.m. on April 22, police were dispatched to the 2400 block of S. Glebe Road for the report of a single-vehicle crash involving a moped. Arlington County Fire Department medics administered CPR before transporting Virgiliro Lopez, 45, of Alexandria, VA to George Washington University Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Detectives from the Critical Accident Team (CAT) responded to the scene. The initial investigation revealed the driver was traveling southbound on Glebe Road when he lost control of the vehicle and struck a traffic sign in the median. The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has additional information regarding this investigation is asked to contact Detective T. Parsons at [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously to Arlington County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS.

Glebe Road was closed or at least partially blocked for more than an hour following the crash, while police investigated. NBC 4’s Darcy Spencer tweeted the following photo from the scene.

View More Stories