McLean

Courthouse Law Firm’s Reaction to Guilty Verdict for Partner’s Attacker

By ARLnow.com

Alecia and Andrew Schmuhl (photos via FCPD)The man who held a local attorney and his wife captive in their McLean home for hours, torturing them and slashing their throats, has been found guilty on all charges.

Springfield resident Andrew Schmuhl, 33, now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. The sentencing will begin Thursday.

Schmuhl’s wife, Alecia, will face trial in September for her role in the attack, which allegedly stemmed from her firing from the Courthouse-based law firm Bean, Kinney & Korman. Victim Leo Fisher was the partner in the firm who fired Schmuhl.

The firm released the following press release about the verdict Tuesday evening.

We are grateful that the jury’s guilty verdicts in the prosecution of Andrew Schmuhl for his brutal assault of our friend and colleague, Leo Fisher, and his wife Sue Duncan, mark the beginning of closure for them. This was a horrific ordeal no one can fully grasp. We appreciate the enormous effort made by the Commonwealth’s Attorney and his office to present a compelling case that has produced a just result, and the hard work of the law enforcement professionals who brought the facts to light. We trust that the jury will now recommend a sentence commensurate with the defendant’s atrocities.

The firm remains deeply indebted to its friends, clients, colleagues and fellow professionals for their constant well-wishes and support throughout this process.

With the conclusion of the sentencing proceedings, Leo may add his comments to those of the firm, but we ask that his and Sue’s continued privacy be respected. Otherwise, as the prosecution of Alecia Schmuhl is continuing, no further comment will be provided from anyone with the firm, apart from our desire that an appropriate outcome in her case will also be achieved.

About Bean, Kinney & Korman, P.C.

For more than 50 years, Bean, Kinney & Korman has been a leading Northern Virginia law firm that has continuously grown and diversified to meet the increasingly complex legal needs of its expanding community of clients. Bean, Kinney & Korman provides business/corporate and individual services among a wide range of practice areas.  For more information, visit http://www.beankinney.com.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Evening rush hour traffic on S. Walter Reed Drive

Office Vacancy Down in Arlington — Arlington has had a 1.6 percent positive net absorption of commercial office space so far this year. Crystal City in particular has done well, gaining 313,000 square feet of occupancy. [Bisnow]

History Plan for Arlington Centennial — Arlington County is seeking public comment on the mid-term report produced by the Arlington History Task Force. The task force is trying to come up with a plan for preserving Arlington’s history, in time for the county’s centennial in 2020. [Arlington County]

McLean Up in Arms Over Gun Store — Nova Firearms, the gun store that tried unsuccessfully to open a store in Cherrydale, has moved its McLean store to a larger location but is now incurring the wrath of a group of residents. Parents object to the fact that the new store is behind a local elementary school, in view of at least one classroom. [Washington Post]

Gym Responds to String of Sexual Assaults — Responding to a string of attacks on women in Arlington, including a sexual assault near Rosslyn over the weekend, the Nova MMA CrossFit gym is offering a free self-defense seminar on Wednesday, Oct. 28 from 7-9 p.m. [MyFoxDC]

Road Closures for Army Ten-Miler — Route 110, the northbound I-395 HOV lanes, S. Eads Street, Army Navy Drive, Long Bridge Drive and Washington Blvd are among the roads in Arlington that will be closed Sunday morning for the annual Army Ten-Miler race. [Arlington County]

Arlington Law Firm Issues Statement About Partner’s Stabbing

By ARLnow.com

Alecia and Andrew Schmuhl (photos via FCPD)The Courthouse-based law firm of Bean Kinney & Korman is confirming earlier reports that its managing shareholder, Leo Fisher, and his wife were stabbed in their McLean home on Sunday.

In a statement, the firm also confirms that one of the suspects, Alecia Schmuhl, 30, was an attorney at the firm. Her employment ended on Oct. 28, less than two weeks before the attack, Bean Kinney said.

Schmuhl and her husband, Andrew (both pictured), have been charged with two counts of abduction and two counts of malicious wounding.

The Washington Post, citing prosecutors and police, reports that Andrew Schmuhl entered the house after pretending to be a police officer, tied Fisher and his wife up and then repeatedly stabbed them. The couple were arrested after a car chase, and Andrew was wearing nothing but a diaper when he was taken into custody, the Post reported.

Both victims are still in the hospital. Their wounds were described as life-threatening.

The statement from Bean Kinney is below.

As reported through multiple media sources, Leo Fisher, Bean Kinney & Korman’s managing shareholder, and his wife were savagely assaulted and repeatedly stabbed in their home by intruders, identified as Andrew Schmuhl and Alecia Schmuhl, husband and wife. Alecia Schmuhl was an associate attorney with the firm from February 13, 2013, through October 28, 2014. As the matter is a subject of an active police investigation, the firm is unable to comment further on the circumstances of her employment and separation from the firm.

We are shocked and horrified by the facts of the matter as presented at this morning’s bond hearing for Ms. Schmuhl, and entirely support the decision to deny her bond. Our hearts go out to a wonderful colleague and his beloved wife. We are doing everything possible to support them through this ordeal and pray for their recovery. We are confident in the ability of the judicial process to achieve a just outcome and will fully cooperate with the Fairfax County investigative authorities to assure that those who have committed these unspeakable offenses against good people are fittingly punished for their actions.

Photos via Fairfax County Police Department

Six Cats Die in McLean House Fire

By Ethan Rothstein

McLean house fire dog and cat rescue(Updated at 4:35 p.m.) Six cats died as a result of a house fire on Westmoreland Street, just over the Arlington border in McLean this afternoon.

A “small house fire” was called in at 12:30 p.m. today and units from the Fairfax County and Arlington County fire departments responded to the 1900 block of Westmoreland Street. The fire was extinguished “within minutes” according to Fairfax County Fire Department spokesman Capt. William Moreland.

One elderly woman, who was rescued from the home, was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. When firefighters inspected the house, they found six deceased cats, and transported one cat and one dog to a nearby animal hospital.

Fire investigators are on the scene to assess damage to the house and to try to determine a cause for the fire.

Photo courtesy of @CAPT258

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Petition Contractor Waives Extradition — The man whose company was hired to collect signatures for a petition to change Arlington’s form of government is likely headed to the Arlington County lockup. Shawn D. Wilmoth, 24, was indicted last month on voter fraud charges. Yesterday he waived extradition in Macomb County, Mich. [Washington Post]

McLean Residents May Sue Over Redistricting ‘Insult’ — McLean residents are apparently none too pleased that their pristine ‘burb has had its state Senate representation split in two by redistricting. One of the new McLean districts is the 31st, which also includes most of North Arlington. One resident said it was an “insult” to have their neighborhood lumped in with Arlington. A McLean citizens group is contemplating a lawsuit over the redistricting outcome. [Sun Gazette]

Curious Grape to Hold Moving Sale — The Curious Grape will be closing its Shirlington location at the end of the month. To help prepare for the move to a new, thus-far-unannounced location, the store is holding a moving sale. Alexandria-based wine-and-cheese retailer Cheesetique will be taking over the store after Curious Grape moves out. [Shirlington Village Blog]

How to Score Free Coffee — Patch has come up with a comprehensive guide for scoring free coffee in and around Arlington. Among the tips: pretend like you’re interested in the espresso maker at Williams Sonoma and ask for a sample, go car shopping and ask for coffee, or get free samples at Whole Foods. [Patch]

Lost Dog Café Becoming Lost Dog Empire?

By ARLnow.com

What started out 25 years ago as a small neighborhood eatery in North Arlington is blossoming into a full-fledged local chain.

Lost Dog Café, which last year added a South Arlington location on Columbia Pike, is close to signing a lease for a storefront on Colshire Drive in McLean. And they’re not stopping there.

Lost Dog’s expansion is being undertaken not by the owners of the original restaurant, but by four friends who used to work there as teenagers.

Wes Clough, Mike Danner, Jim Barnes  and Mike Barnes are all graduates of Yorktown High School. Their devotion to Lost Dog Café started at age 16, when they started working there as drivers.

That dedication carried over through college, office jobs and marriages, and came full circle when Lost Dog owners Pam McAlwee and Ross Underwood gave their blessing for the friends to start the restaurant’s first franchise.

The Columbia Pike location, across the street from Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse, opened in May 2009. McAlwee and Underwood donated the franchise fee to their charity, the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation.

The new venture has been a success, winning awards and gaining customers at a pace well exceeding the friends’ expectations. Even this past weekend, during the height of Snowmageddon, the restaurant was packed.

Part of the success, says co-owner Jim Barnes, can be attributed to Lost Dog’s focus on serving customers. During the snow storm, Barnes personally delivered phone-in orders in his Jeep Wrangler.

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