The 12-year-old girl police believed was abducted from Reagan National Airport yesterday (Thursday) has been found safe.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says JinJing Ma was located today, after issuing an Amber Alert for her yesterday. Ma was “found in the New York City borough of Queens, safe and in the custody of her parents,” according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

State police issued the alert after learning a woman had led Ma into a car, after Ma arrived from New York as part of a Chinese tour group.

Photo courtesy of Virginia State Police


Police were called to a residence near the Walter Reed Community Center last week for a report of a man peeping through an slightly ajar door.

Officers were dispatched shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Friday, July 25 for a report of a hoodie-wearing man staring in at the female resident. When she closed the door, he fled.

More from this week’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:

PEEPING, 2018-07250019, 2900 block of 16th Road S. At approximately 1:23 a.m. on July 25, police were dispatched to the report of a peeping just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim awoke to an unknown male suspect looking into her residence through a slightly ajar door. When the victim noticed the suspect and shut the door fully, the suspect fled.  The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 6’3″, with a slim build, with brown eyebrows, wearing dark framed glasses and a dark gray hoodie with the hood up. The investigation is ongoing.

More highlights from this week’s crime report, including some that we’ve already reported, are below.

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A Virginia Square resident returned from work on Tuesday to find his house had been burglarized.

The resident, whose first name is Tom, said in a Reddit post that the suspect rummaged through his house and stole electronics and jewelry.

“Posting them here so in case you see a screaming deal on a laptop on Craigslist or Letgo, and you see that this is the guy selling it to you, then please send me a DM so I can update the police with his whereabouts,” Tom wrote in the post.

There was a bit of good news: Tom has a “pet cam” in the basement to keep tabs on his pet rabbits, and the video camera captured a relatively high resolution view of the suspect. Tom gave police a copy of the video and also posted it to YouTube for all to see.

The burglary happened at some point between 12:45 and 2:50 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Kirby Clark.

“An unknown suspect gained entry to a residence and stole numerous items of value,” said an ACPD crime report. “The suspect is described as a black male with dreadlocks, wearing a gray sweatsuit. The investigation is ongoing.”

Tom, who lives near the Rocklands Barbeque restaurant, suggested to ARLnow.com that the burglary was a crime of opportunity in an otherwise low-crime neighborhood — and may be a bit of a cautionary tale for other residents. After trying to force the back door open, the burglar was able to get easy access to the home via an unlocked back window, he said.

“During one of the recent rain storms when it got cooler than normal, we took advantage and opened all the windows to get a nice fresh cross breeze,” Tom said. “Only problem is I forgot to re-lock the back window after closing it.”

While Tom is asking for direct messages from Redditors who might see his pilfered belongings for sale online, police are asking members of the public to contact them directly with any tips.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective C. Cook of the Arlington County Police Department’s Property Crimes Unit at 703-228-4164 or [email protected],” Clark wrote. “To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 866.411.TIPS (8477).”


Police are searching the area around the Courthouse Metro station for a suspect who reportedly threatened another rider on a Metro train with a weapon.

The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. Arlington County Police and Metro Transit Police are on the scene, trying to get to the bottom of what happened. According to initial reports, the suspect was armed with either a gun or a knife and is still at large.

A photo (below) shared by a Twitter user and retweeted by the account Unsuck DC Metro shows a police officer with a gun drawn and a woman with her hands in the air at the station.


With a little over a month until the first day of school in Arlington County, the Arlington County Police Department and the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office will begin a school supply drive tomorrow (Aug. 1).

Community members can bring supplies to ACPD’s headquarters (1425 N. Courthouse Road) from Aug. 1-16. From 6-8 p.m. on Aug. 16, donors can also bring items to help “fill the cruiser” at Westover Shopping Center or Fashion Centre at Pentagon City.

The drive will support county public school teachers and students, whose expenses can add up quickly. Supplies and school fees for the average elementary school student cost $662 last year, according to the Huntington Backpack Index, and that number goes up as students advance to middle and high school. Teachers often spend hundreds out of pocket purchasing items for their classrooms.

Arlington Public Schools is charged with distributing the donations. Suggested items to donate include No. 2 pencils, glue and loose leaf paper.


A man who was “making verbal threats” against customers of a Clarendon cafe was tasered by police Monday morning.

The incident happened around 10:30 a.m. at the Peet’s Coffee at 3003 Washington Blvd, but it was preceded by a police dispatch less than an hour earlier, according to an Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman.

“At approximately 9:47 a.m., police were dispatched to the 3000 block of Washington Boulevard for the report of a suspect making verbal threats to customers inside a restaurant,” ACPD’s Ashley Savage told ARLnow.com. “Upon arrival, officers made contact with the suspect and he was subsequently banned from the property.”

She continued: “At approximately 10:28 a.m., police were again dispatched to the location for the report of trespassing as the suspect had returned to the restaurant and was causing a disruption. As officers attempted to place the suspect into custody, the suspect became combative and a struggle ensued. The suspect did not obey the lawful commands of the officers and a Taser was deployed.”

The suspect, whose name has not yet been released, was transported to a local hospital for evaluation. He is under police custody and charges are currently pending, Savage said.


(Updated at 4:30 pm.) Arlington police have arrested one man in connection with a string of overnight car thefts in Arlington Ridge, and another perpetrator may still be at large.

County police charged 18-year-old Sean Palmer of Washington D.C. with two counts of petit larceny involving a theft from a motor vehicle and two counts of entering or setting in motion a vehicle. He’s set for a Monday (July 30) hearing in Arlington County General District Court on the misdemeanor charges.

Spokeswoman Kirby Clark says officers arrested Palmer after receiving reports about two suspicious men in the area of S. Arlington Ridge Road and 20th Street S. late last night (Thursday). They eventually managed to locate two men matching a witness’s description, including Palmer, though one was able to flee the scene on foot.

Clark says officers determined “multiple vehicles in the area were entered and items of value stolen,” and it’s possible that other vehicles beyond the ones police found were broken into at some point.

An anonymous tipster told ARLnow that police left a variety of notes on car windshields around the 1000 block of 18th Street S. warning owners to check the vehicles to see if anything was amiss.

Police are asking anyone whose vehicle might’ve been broken into to call the department at 703-558-2222.


Arlington police arrested a man for peering into a window and trying to force it open near a Lyon Park apartment complex Tuesday night (July 24).

County police say they received a call about a man looking into the window of a home along the 100 block of N. Wayne Street just after midnight Tuesday. The block is home to the Washington and Lee Apartments, just off Washington Blvd.

Two people tried to confront the man, but he fled the scene on foot. Officers subsequently apprehended 33-year-old Andelino Carrillo Najarro, and charged him with peeping into a dwelling and drunk in public.

He’s now being held without bond, awaiting an Aug. 22 hearing in Arlington County General District Court.

Full details on the incident from a county crime report:

PEEPING, 2018-07240004, 100 block of N. Wayne Street. At approximately 12:10 a.m. on July 24, police were dispatched to the report of peeping. Upon arrival, it was determined that a witness observed an unknown male suspect looking into the window of a residence and attempting to open the window. After being confronted by the witness and victim, the suspect attempted to flee the scene on foot prior to police arrival. Andelino Carrillo Najarro, 33, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with Peeping and Drunk in Public. He was held on no bond.

Photo courtesy of Arlington Police


Arlington police are searching for two men who they believe broke into a business near the Arlington Ridge shopping center early Sunday morning (July 22).

Police responded to a burglar alarm along the 2900 block of S. Glebe Road around 1:50 a.m. Sunday.

Officers then determined that two suspects “gained entry to a business, damaged merchandise and stole numerous items of value,” according to a county crime report. The shopping center in the area is home to a Giant supermarket, an ABC store and a Sweet Frog frozen yogurt shop, among other businesses.

Police believe the men fled in a beige SUV before they arrived. Full details from the crime report:

BURGLARY, 2018-07220045, 2900 block of S. Glebe Road. At approximately 1:50 a.m. on July 22, police responded to the report of a burglar alarm. Upon arrival, it was determined that two suspects gained entry to a business, damaged merchandise and stole numerous items of value. The suspects fled the scene in a beige SUV prior to police arrival. The suspects are described as two dark skinned, average build males, both wearing black hoodies, black pants, dark colored sneakers, black ski masks and gloves. The investigation is ongoing.

Here are more highlights from this week’s crime report, including some that we’ve already reported:

WARRANT SERVICE (Significant), 2018-07190144, 2700 block of S. Arlington Mill Drive. On July 19, Arlington County Police assisted the Alexandria Police Department conduct a check on the welfare of a known wanted suspect. At approximately 2:30 p.m., officers made contact with the armed suspect who barricaded himself inside the residence. Police began negotiations with the suspect and he surrendered without incident. Brian Covarrubias, 31, was taken into custody on the outstanding warrants from the City of Alexandria.

BURGLARY (late), 2018-07190016, 800 block of S. Glebe Road. At approximately 2:00 a.m. on July 19, police were dispatched to the report of a burglary. Upon arrival, it was determined that between 1:20 p.m. on July 18 and 12:50 a.m. on July 19, an unknown suspect(s) gained entry to a residence and stole an undisclosed amount of cash. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

BURGLARY (late), 2018-07190239, 2000 block of N. Potomac Street. At approximately 7:43 p.m. on July 19, police were dispatched to the late report of a burglary. Upon arrival, it was determined that an unknown suspect(s) forced entry to a residence and stole numerous items of value. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2018-07210228, 3100 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 8:45 p.m. on July 21, police responded to the report of an assault with injury. Upon arrival, it was determined that a verbal dispute between known individuals escalated and became physical when the suspect pushed the victim to the ground, causing a laceration. Kenneth Griffin, 41, of Pasadena, TX, was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding. He was held on no bond.

BURGLARY (late), 2018-07210150, 1700 block of 22nd Court N. At approximately 12:48 p.m. on July 21, police responded to the late report of a burglary. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 10:30 a.m. an unknown suspect entered a residence and subsequently accessed the victim’s vehicle and rummaged through it.  Multiple items of value were reported stolen from the residence and vehicle. The suspect is described as a white male, approximately 230 lbs. and 6’1″, with brown hair, wearing a large brown and green jacket. The investigation is ongoing.

BURGLARY (late), 2018-07200234, 1200 block of N. Veitch Street. At approximately 7:09 p.m. on July 20, police responded to the late report of a burglary. Upon arrival, it was determined that between 7:30 a.m. and 6:15 p.m., an unknown suspect(s) forced entry to a residence and stole items of value. There is no suspect description. The investigation is ongoing.


Arlington police arrested a Texas man after a fight broke out near the Clarendon Metro station Saturday night (July 21).

Police charged 41-year-old Kenneth George Griffin with one count of malicious wounding, after he was involved in a scuffle along the 3100 block of Wilson Blvd in Clarendon.

They believe the fight broke out when “a verbal dispute between known individuals escalated and became physical when the suspect pushed the victim to the ground, causing a laceration,” according to a county crime report.

He’s now being held without bond, and has a preliminary hearing on the matter set in Arlington General District Court on Aug. 31.

Full details on the incident from the crime report:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 2018-07210228, 3100 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 8:45 p.m. on July 21, police responded to the report of an assault with injury. Upon arrival, it was determined that a verbal dispute between known individuals escalated and became physical when the suspect pushed the victim to the ground, causing a laceration. Kenneth Griffin, 41, of Pasadena, TX, was arrested and charged with Malicious Wounding. He was held on no bond.


Arlington County police have arrested a Maryland man in connection with the county’s first murder of the year in Ballston this March.

County police have charged 42-year-old Jitesh Vitthal Patel of Woodbine, Maryland with murder, burglary while armed and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony. Police believe he was involved in the killing of John Giandoni, a Woodbridge native found dead in his home along the 4100 block of 11th Place N. on March 16.

Police believe Giandoni, who was 40, died after suffering gunshot wounds inside the home.

“Arlington County police detectives commenced an intensive four-month investigation, reviewing crime scene evidence and conducting numerous interviews,” the department wrote in a statement. “This review revealed additional information about Patel’s relationship to the victim that led detectives to identify him as the suspect.”

Police arrested Patel in Howard County, Maryland on Friday (July 20). He’s being held in the Howard County Detention Center as he await extradition back to Arlington.

Giandoni was a father of one who worked for Booz Allen Hamilton and was active in the Arlington-Falls Church Young Republicans.

Photo via YouCaring


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