police chase

BREAKING: Police Pursuit Ends in East Falls Church

By ARLnow.com
1/16

(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) Three suspects are in custody after a vehicle pursuit ended near Benjamin Banneker Park in a quiet East Falls Church neighborhood.

The chase of a stolen vehicle that may have originated in Loudoun County was reported to Arlington authorities as it made its way down the Dulles Toll Road. The vehicle sped down toll road to I-66, with Fairfax County Police cruisers, the FCPD helicopter and Virginia State Police in pursuit, before exiting at East Falls Church.

The suspect vehicle finally came to a stop at N. Underwood Street and 18th Street N., near the entrance to Benjamin Banneker Park, around 3:30 p.m. Numerous vehicles were reported to be struck by the suspects in Arlington while they pushed through stopped traffic in the area of Lee Highway and N. Fairfax Drive.

Initially, only one suspect was taken into custody and two were reported to be fleeing on foot, according to scanner traffic. The helicopter and numerous Arlington County Police, Virginia State Police and Metro Transit Police officers successfully searched for the suspects who were quickly apprehended.

A man and two women were arrested and are expected to face numerous charges, we’re told.

Firefighters were dispatched to the scene for a report that the suspect vehicle caught fire after the crash. The fire was quickly extinguished.

Morning Notes

By Ethan Rothstein

Central Place construction site

Public Defender Decries Pay Gap — Arlington’s deputy public defenders can make up to $33,000 less than their counterparts at the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office. Chief Public Defender Matthew Foley said the gap creates an unfair balance, one that allows the deputy Commonwealth’s attorney to grow their salaries on the job and talented public defenders — whose wages are locked in — are leaving the office. He called it “an unfair game going on with people whose liberties are at stake” at the Arlington County Board’s budget public hearing. [Connection Newspapers]

Fairfax Car Chase Result of Arlington Warrants — Updated at 1:05 p.m. — A car chase that broke out at the same time as yesterday’s manhunt was also the end result of Arlington police work. Lakisha Tracy was apprehended in Fairfax County yesterday morning after leading police on a high-speed chase that ended on Fairfax County Parkway in Lorton. Tracy was arrested on outstanding warrants for credit card and identity theft in Arlington County. [Washington Post]

Behind Arlington’s Meals on Wheels Program — Our Man in Arlington columnist Charlie Clarks goes behind the volunteers and beneficiaries of the Meals on Wheels charity, which was started in the county 44 years ago. Those receiving the meals, which are prepared by inmates at the Arlington County Detention Center, can range from the poor to, as one volunteer put it, “one four-star general dressed in a tie.” [Falls Church News-Press]

AFAC Sets 100,000 Meal Goal in April — With continuing record demand, the Arlington Food Assistance Center is hoping to receive 100,000 donated meals this month to distribute to Arlington families in need. AFAC expects to exceed its food budget by $150,000 for the second straight year, and Executive Director Charles Meng has said the nonprofit serves 100 new families a month. [InsideNova]

BREAKING: Police Pursuit Ends in Courthouse After Officer Dragged

By ARLnow.com
1/9

(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) Arlington County Police were involved in a vehicle and subsequent foot pursuit through the Lyon Park and Courthouse neighborhoods this afternoon.

The pursuit started around 12:20 p.m. According to initial reports, an officer trying to make a traffic stop on Route 50 at 10th Street N. was dragged when the driver took off.

Arlington County Police Department spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said the suspect, a D.C. resident, was pulled over for a red light violation. Police found a gun in the suspect’s car after taking him into custody.

The chase went through Lyon Park and ended following a foot pursuit at Fairfax Drive and N. Barton Street, next to Rocky Run Park in Courthouse. The suspect’s car blew out its two right tires and crashed into a squad car. He consequently took off running in the neighborhood and was caught soon afterwards.

Sternbeck said that initial reports that the officer was dragged were slightly overblown. He was leaning into the Chrysler Pacifica when the suspect took off, and was carried for about five steps before he could disengage. The officer didn’t suffer any injuries, Sternbeck said, just “muddy boots.”

N. Barton Street was blocked off between Fairfax Drive and 11th Street for about two hours. Police officers and a K-9 conducted searches for an item the suspect might have thrown out of the car during the pursuit, but Sternbeck said he didn’t know if anything was recovered.

Police Chase Started Because of Expired Inspection Sticker

By ARLnow.com
1/10

A D.C. man is facing felony charges following a police chase that ended in Arlington yesterday, all because of an expired inspection sticker.

Police say 27-year-old Kenneth Kelley, Jr. was driving a 1995 Chevy Tahoe in Dale City yesterday around 1:00 p.m., when a Virginia state trooper noticed the expired inspection sticker. The trooper tried to make a traffic stop, but Kelley refused to pull over and sped away, according to a Virginia State Police press release.

Kelley and his two passengers were soon tailed by a phalanx of state troopers and the Fairfax County Police helicopter, as he headed north toward Arlington. From VSP:

The suspect vehicle made its way to the Prince William Parkway and then northbound on Interstate 95 and then into Arlington County on I-395. The Tahoe took the Glebe Road exit and continued into a residential neighborhood. The driver and two passengers pulled up to a residence on South Veitch Street, parked the Tahoe, fled the vehicle on foot and broke into the residence.

State police entered the residence and took all three males into custody without incident. No one was at the residence at the time it was broken into.

Kelley has been charged in Arlington with felony eluding and unlawful entry. He’s also charged with felony eluding in Prince William County, as well as misdemeanor charges for the expired inspection sticker, improper registration, driving on a suspended license and disregarding traffic lights.

Kelley was also wanted by an outstanding warrant, as was a passenger.

Passenger, Robert Hall, 21, of Washington, D.C., was charged with one count of unlawful entering of a dwelling and identity theft. Hall was wanted by Prince George’s County, Md. Police on an outstanding warrant.

The other passenger, Nathaniel Pickett, 55, of Washington, D.C., was charged with one count of unlawful entering of a dwelling.

The investigation remains ongoing at this time.

No injuries or vehicle crashes resulted from this pursuit.

The Fairfax County Police helicopter was instrumental in assisting state police with following the suspect vehicle and locating the subjects at the residence. In addition, the Arlington County and City of Alexandria Police Departments also assisted with the incident.

State Troopers Swarm Arna Valley As Police Chase Ends in Residential Neighborhood

By ARLnow.com
1/10

A police chase that started in Prince William County ended in Arlington’s Arna Valley neighborhood this afternoon.

Virginia State Police reportedly began pursuing a green Chevrolet SUV in Prince William , following it up I-95 and I-395. The SUV took the Glebe Road exit off I-395 around 1:00 p.m., speeding toward the residential neighborhood of Arna Valley, near Shirlington.

The suspects bailed out on S. Veitch Street, between 26th and 27th Streets. All three were quickly apprehended.

Dozens of police officers, including state troopers and Arlington County officers, swarmed the area as the pursuit ended. A Fairfax County Police helicopter could be seen overhead. Nearby Gunston Middle School was secured for a short time during and after the chase.

Per department policy, Arlington County Police were not involved in the pursuit.

So far there’s no word on what charges the suspects are facing, or on what state troopers might have found in the SUV.

Separately, around 3:00 p.m., Virginia State Police were in pursuit of a vehicle involved in a felony hit-and-run. The chase was called off as the vehicle was approaching Arlington on northbound I-395, according to scanner traffic.

Update at 5:00 p.m. — Virginia State Police have released a statement about both chases.

PURSUIT #1 – Prince William County to Arlington County

At approximately 12:53 p.m. Wednesday, a Virginia State Police trooper was on patrol along Cardinal Drive (near Minnieville Road) in Dale City when a 1995 Chevrolet Tahoe with an expired inspection sticker passed by. The trooper initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle, which refused to stop and sped away from the trooper. The suspect vehicle made its way to the Prince William Parkway and then northbound on Interstate 95 and then into Arlington County on I-395. The Tahoe took the Glebe Road exit and continued into a residential neighborhood. The driver and two passengers pulled up to a residence on South Veitch Street, fled the vehicle on foot and entered the residence. All three males have been taken into custody without incident and charges are pending. The investigation remains ongoing at this time.

No injuries or vehicle crashes resulted from this pursuit.

The Fairfax County Police helicopter was instrumental in assisting state police with following the suspect vehicle and locating the subjects at the residence. In addition, the Arlington County and City of Alexandria Police Departments also assisted with the incident.

PURSUIT #2 – Stafford County to Arlington County

At approximately 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, a Virginia State Police trooper was in the crossover at the 137 mile marker in Stafford County monitoring northbound traffic when a Toyota Camry came through radar at 94 mph. When the trooper pulled out to initiate a traffic stop on the car, it sped away in excess of 100 mph. The car continued northbound on the shoulder and weaving through lanes. Within 10 minutes near the 158 mile marker in Prince William County, the trooper terminated the pursuit for public safety purposes. The Toyota continued northbound. There were three subjects in the vehicle.

At 2:53 p.m., Virginia State Police were notified of a hit-and-run crash in the northbound lanes of I-395 at the Seminary Road Exit. Based on witness statements, it is believed this crash was caused by the same Toyota Camry. A Honda Civic was northbound on I-395 when it was sideswiped by a black sedan. The black car continued northbound at a high rate of speed. The driver of the Honda Civic, a 24-year-old Woodbridge woman, was transported to Inova Alexandria Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. She was wearing a seat belt and was the car’s only occupant.

Anyone with information about the black Toyota Camry with Tennessee plates is asked to please contact the Virginia State Police at 703-803-0026 or #77 on a cell phone.

Police: Drunk Teen Tries to Stab People at Ballston Sports Bar

By Ethan Rothstein

Larry Sutton (photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department)(Updated at 2:20 p.m.) A 19-year-old D.C. resident tried to stab multiple people outside First Down Sports Bar in Ballston last night before fleeing from police, avoiding a taser and ultimately being tackled and arrested, police say.

Larry Sutton was already wanted for armed robbery by the Metropolitan Police Department when, while intoxicated, he attempted “to stab several patrons with a knife” at 8:30 last night, according to the Arlington County Police Department.

First Down owner Ramesh Chopra told ARLnow.com this afternoon that the incident began when Sutton and another individual got into an argument outside the bar. Sutton began swinging a knife, after which the other individual entered First Down, where Sutton followed. Chopra said Sutton swung the knife inside the bar once before the two were kicked out and Chopra locked the door.

After that, Sutton “just started to go after passersby,” Chopra said, swinging his knife at two different people on the sidewalk before the police arrived.

Sutton ignored police demands to drop his weapon and fled toward the Ballston Metro station, the police report said.

According to ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, the officers hit Sutton with a taser, but it did not bring him down. Ultimately, officers had to “execute a takedown” to subdue and arrest him.

Sutton is being charged with three counts of attempted malicious wounding, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, underage possession of alcohol and drunk in public. He is being held without bond. From the crime report:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 140929062, 4200 block of N. Fairfax Drive. At 8:30 pm on September 29, an intoxicated subject attempted to stab several patrons with a knife at First Down Bar. Police confronted the subject on scene and after failing to comply with officers commands to drop his weapon, the subject fled on foot to a heavily populated area near the Ballston Metro Station. Officers attempted a taser deployment but ultimately took the subject into custody following a takedown. The weapon was recovered and Larry Sutton, 19, of Washington, DC, was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted malicious wounding, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, underage possession of alcohol and drunk in public. Sutton was also wanted out of Washington, DC for armed robbery. He was held without bond.

Photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department

Arlington K-9 Helps Apprehend Pursuit Suspect

By ARLnow.com

Police car (file photo)An Arlington County Police K-9 took a bite out of crime Monday night following a car chase on the GW Parkway.

Around 9:30 p.m., on the southbound lanes of the parkway near Route 123, U.S. Park Police began chasing two suspects driving recklessly in a stolen vehicle, according to Park Police spokeswoman Lelani Woods.

The vehicle pursuit ended on the ramp to Key Bridge when the suspects lost control of the car, wrecked and fled on foot.

Arlington County officers, a K-9 unit and the Park Police Eagle 1 helicopter assisted with the ensuing search for the suspects near Rosslyn. The police dog — K-9 “Hugo” — was able to track and apprehend one of the suspects.

The suspect was taken into custody and checked out by paramedics for a bite wound, said ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Six Injured After Police Chase on I-66

By Ethan Rothstein
1/3

(Updated at 12:40 p.m. on 8/3/14) Six people were hospitalized after a police chase turned into a multiple-vehicle collision on I-66 Saturday afternoon.

Around 3:15 p.m., Virginia State Police say they pulled over a Dodge Charger for a routine traffic stop on eastbound I-66 in Fairfax County when it was spotted driving on the shoulder. The Charger stopped for a state trooper in Fairfax County, near exit 57 for Route 50. The responding trooper discovered the driver, 25-year-old Ericka S. Oliver, had an arrest warrant from another local jurisdiction and took her into custody. According to a VSP press release, the male passenger, 33-year-old Anthony G. McCrae of Washington, D.C., then grabbed the wheel of the car and sped off, which led to a high-speed pursuit.

McCrae reportedly exited I-66 at Route 123, turned around, then got back onto eastbound I-66. When the Charger approached traffic before the exit for N. Glebe Road and Fairfax Drive, police say it struck a Ford Expedition and spun out of control. The Charger then smashed into a Subaru Outback.

The Arlington County Fire Department responded to the crash scene, and Capt. Bill Shelton told ARLnow.com they transported six patients — including McCrae — to local hospitals. McCrae was treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The other patients also suffered non-life-threatening injuries, but Shelton said a few were in serious condition when they were transported.

McCrae was arrested and is being held without bond at the hospital on outstanding warrants from both Arlington and Prince William counties. He likely will face additional charges for Saturday’s incident when VSP completes its investigation of the pursuit and crash.

Eastbound I-66 was closed for about an hour following the wreck, and traffic started to get through around 4:30 p.m. Just after 6:00 p.m., all lanes of the highway were open to traffic.

Bar Crawl Attendee Strips Naked, Leads Police on High Speed Chase

By ARLnow.com

Police cars at the corner of Wilson Blvd and N. Highland Street after a car chase ended in a crash (photo courtesy Keith Hall)

There was “chaos” on the streets of Clarendon Saturday night when a naked bar crawl attendee ran from police, hopped in a car and led cops on a high speed chase that ended in a crash.

Just past 8:00 p.m., police say a man who had been participating in the All American Bar Crawl stripped naked in Goody’s (3125 Wilson Blvd) pizza restaurant. The man, described as a black male in his 20s, left his clothes in the restaurant and ran outside, where police quickly gave chase, according to Arlington County Police Department spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The man hopped into a car — police couldn’t say if it was his car — and took off. Police cruisers followed, and chased the drunk man through an adjacent neighborhood. The man then made it back to Clarendon and started going the wrong way down Wilson Blvd, before striking two parked vehicles near the intersection with N. Highland Street, Sternbeck said.

The man — still stark naked — jumped out of the car window and started running, but was soon tased by police and taken into custody, according to Sternbeck. He was taken to Virginia Hospital Center as a precaution, and is expected to be booked at the Arlington County Detention Center tonight on numerous charges including indecent exposure.

A large crowd witnessed the incident, Sternbeck noted. One witness on Twitter said the largely intoxicated crowd that gathered started chanted “USA” as the nude man was detained.

NBC 4 tweeted the following photo of the arrest.

Photo (top) courtesy Keith Hall

Suspect in Stolen Zipcar Leads Metro PD on Chase

By ARLnow.com

Metro transit police vehicle (file photo)A suspect in a stolen Zipcar led a Metro Transit police officer on a brief chase through Virginia Square and Clarendon last night.

The 2014 Nissan Sentra was reportedly stolen from the Zipcar parking around the Ballston Metro Station. It was spotted by the MTPD officer around midnight, driving eastbound on Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square without its headlights on. The officer turned on his emergency lights and made a U-turn to attempt to stop the vehicle.

The driver in the Zipcar refused to stop and led the officer on a 0.3 mile chase down Fairfax Drive toward Clarendon. The vehicle ended up driving over a sidewalk near the Silver Diner (3112 Wilson Blvd) before the suspect bailed out and left the vehicle on a sidewalk across from the Clarendon Metro station.

“The operator of the Nissan is believed to have fled on foot northbound on Clarendon Blvd,” Metro spokesman Dan Stessel told ARLnow.com. The suspect got away and is now wanted on charges of eluding, hit and run and grand larceny auto.

The Nissan suffered “minor damage to the tire/rims” during the chase. A motorist told police that the fleeing suspect had hit his car at some point during the pursuit, causing minor damage. No injuries were reported and no other damage was reported, Stessel said.

File photo

Police: Man Leads High Speed Chase Down Columbia Pike With Six Kids in Car

By ARLnow.com

Police car (file photo)An armed robbery suspect is facing numerous criminal charges in Arlington after allegedly leading police on a high speed chase down Columbia Pike while a total of ten people, including six young children, were in his car.

The incident started just past 10:00 p.m. on Saturday.

Arlington police were notified of an armed robbery that took place near Kenmore Middle School, just over the border in Fairfax County. Two men robbed a pair of sisters at gunpoint in a parking lot on the 3100 block of S. Manchester Street in the Falls Church area, according to Fairfax County Police. The suspects allegedly robbed the 17- and 24-year-old of cash and possessions, then took off on foot.

Shortly thereafter, Fairfax officers located a suspect vehicle near Bailey’s Crossroads and tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver refused to stop, leading them on a chase, according to FCPD.

After a be-on-the-lookout broadcast, an Arlington officer spotted the suspect’s vehicle being chased eastbound on Columbia Pike and joined the pursuit, according to Arlington County police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. During the chase down the Pike the suspect drove at high rate of speed, ran red lights and swerved into the oncoming lanes to get around slower traffic, Sternbeck said.

The suspect crashed into a sedan at S. Glebe Road, then reversed into an unmarked Fairfax cruiser, before continuing to drive down the Pike, according to Arlington and Fairfax police.

The suspect eventually crossed the 14th Street Bridge into D.C., at which time Arlington called off its chase but the Fairfax units continued to pursue. The chase ended when the suspect’s car crashed into a barrier wall at C Street and Washington Avenue, according to FCPD.

Six children, all ages 6 and younger, were inside the suspect’s four-door Ford Focus during the chase, Arlington and Fairfax police said. The children were turned over to Child Protective Services in D.C. Four adults were inside the car at the time, police said.

The alleged driver, 25-year-old Marcus Woodland of D.C., is being held in the District pending extradition to Arlington. Woodland faces 11 charges in Arlington including 2 counts of attempted malicious wounding on law enforcement, felony eluding, felony hit and run, six counts of child endangerment, and reckless driving.

A second suspect, 31-year-old Christopher Woodland, also of D.C., is facing robbery charges in Fairfax County. Two other adults — 19-year-old Abena Okrah of Annandale and 25-year-old Beverly Starr of D.C. — are being charged with receiving stolen property. Fairfax County is seeking extradition of all four suspects.

Witnesses said a police helicopter was involved in the chase, but that couldn’t be immediately confirmed.

“Many police cars and a helicopter just went flying eastbound on Columbia pike @ Walter Reed dr,” @OwenHassig tweeted shortly after 10:30 p.m.

File photo

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