Langston Blvd

UPDATED: Bank Robbery Reported on Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 5:00 p.m.) Police are investigating a robbery at the United Bank at 5335 Lee Highway.

The bank was robbed just before 2:15 this afternoon. The suspect is being described as a 5’9″ white male, possibly of “Hispanic or Middle Eastern background,” about 50 years of age. The suspect implied, but did not display a weapon.

Armed police officers surrounded the bank for a few tense minutes while they awaited word on whether the suspect was still inside the bank. As it turns out, the suspect fled on foot before police arrived on scene.

The bank is located at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Harrison Street, next to a Harris Teeter supermarket and two blocks from a BB&T bank that has been robbed twice this summer. This is the seventh bank robbery in Arlington since the beginning of June.

Arlington Police issued the following statement about the robbery this afternoon.

ARLINGTON, VA. – The Arlington County Police Department’s Robbery Unit is seeking the public’s help to identify a man who robbed an Arlington bank this afternoon.

The suspect entered the United Bank in the 5300 block of Lee Highway at approximately 2:10 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9, 2011. He implied that he had a weapon and demanded money. After receiving cash, the suspect fled on foot.

The suspect is described as a white male, possibly of Hispanic or Middle Eastern background, brown hair, approximately 50 years old and 5’9” with a thin build. At the time of the robbery he wore a dark striped polo shirt, khaki pants, a light colored “driving” hat and sunglasses.

Anyone who has information about this robbery or the identity of the suspect is asked to call the Arlington County Police Department Tip Line at 703 228-4242, or Detective Donald Fortunato at (703) 228-4197. Det. Fortunato can also be reached by email at [email protected].

BREAKING NEWS — Bank Robbery on Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 4:35 p.m.) The BB&T bank at 5515 Lee Highway was robbed this afternoon — the second robbery there so far this summer.

The suspect (seen, left, in a surveillance image from today) is described as a 6-foot-tall white male in his late 50’s. The man, who has graying hair under his baseball cap, walked into the bank and demanded money, according to Arlington Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. No weapon was shown or implied.

Police believe he’s the the man who’s suspected of three other bank robberies in Arlington this summer, including a robbery in June at the very same bank and a robbery yesterday in Clarendon.

This is the sixth bank robbery in Arlington and the ninth bank robbery in the Arlington and Falls Church areas since the beginning of June.

Photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department

For Sale: 18-Foot Tall Topless Wooden Mermaid

By ARLnow.com

If you’ve ever dreamed of owning a huge, wooden mermaid with big, exposed breasts, now is your chance. All you need is three grand and a chainsaw.

The 18-foot tall mermaid has graced the front yard of Leeway Overlee resident Paul Jackson since 2004, when Paul and wife Nancy had the bright idea to carve something out of their dying 100+ year old white ash tree. Nancy, in a moment of benevolence, suggested a mermaid, to satisfy Paul’s dual loves of fish and women. The final product, carved by Frederick, Md. artist Scott Dustin, featured what the Washington Post’s Laura Sessions Stepp described as “a shapely derriere and bare breasts that must be at least size DD.”

The busty mermaid, named “Damaged Goods” or D.G. for short, has attracted neighborhood and media attention ever since her controversial creation. She received the aforementioned Washington Post write-up shortly after Labor Day 2004 — in an article entitled “Majestic or Monstrous?” — and, more recently, she was the focus of a Connection Newspapers piece entitled “From Controversy to Landmark.” She’s also listed on RoadsideAmerica.com, an “online guide to offbeat tourist attractions.”

All is not well in paradise, however. D.G.’s roots are weakening and Paul has decided to sell rather than watch her teeter. He’s asking for $3,000, and not a dime less.

“Buyer is responsible for ‘slicing her off’ and transporting her to her new home,” he writes on his Craigslist ad. If you want to inspect the goods, D.G. can be viewed from the street or the sidewalk, on the south side of the 6200 block of Lee Highway.

Hat tip to M. Crider

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Groundbreaking for Lee Highway Condos — The Christopher Companies has broken ground on Dominion Heights, a 66-unit condo building at 3565 Lee Highway. Construction is expected to last 14-18 months. [Marketwire]

Suggestions for Field Near Ballston Mall — One writer has a suggestion for a barren quarter-acre field next to the Ballston Common Mall parking garage at the corner of Glebe Road and N. Randolph Street. The field should be turned into a public plaza, complete with specimen trees and a lunch kiosk, GGW’s Joey Katzen writes. [Greater Greater Washington]

It’s Accordion Awareness Month — One Arlington resident and hardcore accordion enthusiast describes how she’s celebrating National Accordion Awareness Month. [Patch]

Bank Robbery on Lee Highway Prompts School Lockdowns

By ARLnow.com

The BB&T Bank at 5515 Lee Highway was robbed around lunchtime today.

The suspect fled the bank on foot, prompting authorities to lock down at least two schools in the area. Parents of Nottingham Elementary and Williamsburg Middle School students received the following message from administrators today.

Today at approximately 12:20 p.m. we were alerted by the Arlington Police about a bank robbery nearby at Lee Highway and Harrison Street. The suspect reportedly left the bank on foot.

As a precaution, the schools “secured the building,” which means all students came indoors from recess, PE or other outside activities. At the same time, we made plans for students to either remain securely in the relocatables or to move into the main building. All exterior doors were locked and classes continued inside. Approximately 30 minutes later, the Police called again to give us the “all clear” and we resumed normal operations.

This is the third reported robbery of a BB&T Bank so far this year. BB&T branches in Rosslyn and Clarendon have been robbed over of the course of the past six months.

Update at 3:55 p.m. — Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia says that the response to the incident did not meet the school system’s definition of a “lock-down,” in which classrooms are locked. Rather, the APS student handbook defines the actions taken today as a “secure the building” response.

Update at 6:55 p.m. — Arlington County Police have issued a press release about the robbery, after the jump. Photos of the suspect are available here.

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Cadillac Crashes Into Lee Highway Beauty Salon

By ARLnow.com

The scene wasn’t pretty, but thankfully nobody was injured when a Cadillac crashed into a Lee Highway beauty salon this morning.

The crash happened just before 11:30 a.m., when an elderly female driver lost control of her vehicle in a strip mall parking lot. The car slammed through the front into Saira’s Beauty Salon, at 5117 Lee Highway, coming to rest partially inside the store. The driver then backed out of the store and into the parking lot, leaving broken glass, twisted metal and smashed bricks in the car’s wake.

Customers and employees were inside the store at the time, but nobody was hurt, including the driver. The store is currently without a door, windows and the front air conditioning unit. The Caddy suffered some scratches and a broken sunroof.

Power Outage Along Lee Highway

By ARLnow.com

A power outage affected about 1,350 Dominion customers along Lee Highway this morning.

The outage created some dangerous conditions where traffic lights were dark or malfunctioning along Lee Highway. Police had to direct traffic at the intersection of Lee Highway and Spout Run.

The power just came back on for most Dominion customers, but police are reporting at least one remaining problem. The green arrow at the intersection of westbound Lee Highway and I-66 is said to be not cycling, backing up traffic all the way to Kirkwood Road.

New Lee Highway Pet Store to Hold Grand Opening

By ARLnow.com

Unleashed (5400 Lee Highway) opened for business last week and now its planning a grand opening celebration this weekend.

The store is part of the ‘Unleashed’ boutique pet store chain run by giant pet retailer Petco. It replaced a Blockbuster video store that closed in January.

On Saturday and Sunday the store will hold a grand opening sale with 50 percent off a number of products, including certain natural dog and cat foods. Employees are also handing out $5.00 off coupons to those who stop by the store this week.

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