police

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Treasurer’s Charity Mailing a ‘Win-Win’ — Arlington County Treasurer Frank O’Leary says fliers for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington and the Arlington Food Assistance Center that went out in the mail with county vehicle decals this year represent a win-win for the community. The nonprofits paid the cost of printing and the extra cost of mailing the decals with the fliers. [Sun Gazette]

Fight at RiRa Irish Pub — A fight broke out at RiRa Irish Pub (2915 Wilson Boulevard) in Clarendon around 8:15 last night. Witnesses tell ARLnow.com that two drunk patrons got in a fight inside the bar. As the fight spilled outside onto the sidewalk some passersby might have gotten involved. Numerous police officers responded to the scene and at least one of the of the fight participants was transported to the hospital. An Arlington Falls Church Young Republicans meeting was taking place inside RiRa at the time of the fight, but the group and its members were not involved, we’re told.

AHC Seeks Volunteer Tutors — AHC Inc., an Arlington-based affordable housing nonprofit, is looking for more than 100 enthusiastic, responsible volunteers to help tutor teens in the evening or to work with elementary students in the afternoon. AHC’s tutoring programs for its residents start on Monday, Sept. 17. More information about volunteering is available on the organization’s web site.

Flickr pool photo by Ddimick

Attempted Robbery on Columbia Pike Ends With a Bang

By ARLnow.com

Two men attempted to rob the 7-Eleven store at the corner of Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive early Sunday morning.

Police say a man with a gun entered the store at 3:25 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19, and demanded money from the cashier. A second suspect then entered the store and a firecracker suddenly exploded in his hand. Frightened by the apparently unplanned or mistimed fireworks, the suspects fled the scene empty-handed.

“The suspect with the firearm was described as a white male, approximately 5’8” tall with a medium build and black hair. He was wearing grey hoodie sweatshirt, a dark bandana around his face and black shorts,” according to the police report. “The second suspect was a black male, approximately 5’7” tall with a average build and was wearing a white v-neck tshirt and dark shorts.”

Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said there was no indication that the second suspect was seriously hurt by the firecracker. Police say they’re not sure why the suspect had the firecracker in the first place.

Would-Be Sex Assault Victim Takes a Bite Out of Crime

By ARLnow.com

A woman got the better of a man who attempted to sexually assault her in Courthouse, near Key Elementary School.

The attack happened on the 2400 block of N. Custis Road, just past 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, as the woman was walking home alone from the Courthouse Metro station. Police say a man came up from behind, grabbed her, forced her to the ground, and placed his hand over the woman’s mouth while he attempted to use his other hand to sexually assault her.

Before he could do so, however, the woman bit him on the hand and screamed for help. The man ran off as three people who heard the scream ran over to assist the victim.

Police attempted to locate the suspect — described as a 5’7″, 200 lbs white male who was wearing a white button-down shirt and blue jeans — but ultimately were unsuccessful, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Rolling Road Closures for 9/11 Motorcycle Ride

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:30 p.m. — The ride has concluded, with the motorcylcists arriving in Pentagon City. Few residual delays remain on eastbound I-66 as a result of the rolling road closures, according to traffic cameras.  One motorcyclist who fell on the ramp from Route 110 to Army Navy Drive is receiving medial attention for non-life-threatening injuries.

About a thousand motorcyclists will be coming to Arlington tonight for the annual America’s 9/11 Ride.

The bikers are scheduled to leave the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanskville, Pa. this morning en route to Arlington, where they will be staying overnight. The motorcycle ride will enter Arlington via eastbound I-66 around 3:00 this afternoon. The ride will continue to southbound Route 110, and will end up at the Doubletree Hotel at 300 Army Navy Drive in Pentagon City.

Arlington County Police will be escorting the ride through Arlington. Officers will temporarily close on-ramps to “avoid mixing vehicles with the ride,” according to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The bikers will leave for New York City from the Pentagon North Parking Lot, via northbound I-395, on Saturday morning.

Crime Report: ‘I See What You Did There’ Edition

By ARLnow.com

A burglar broke into a store in the Courthouse area this past weekend and made off with a pair of laptops. But it’s the other item that he or she took that seems to suggest a level of trickiness beyond the capabilities of your run-of-the-mill criminal.

BURGLARY (COMMERCIAL), 08/12/12, 2400 block of Wilson Boulevard. Between 2 and 9:30 am on August 12, an unknown subject(s) kicked in the front door of a business and stole two laptops and the store surveillance equipment. There is no suspect(s) description.

Elsewhere, someone broke into a medical office and swiped several items, including blank prescription pads. The office is located on the same block as Virginia Hospital Center.

BURGLARY, 08/09/12, 1600 block of N. George Mason Drive. Between 7:15 pm on August 8 and 7:51 am on August 9, an unknown subject(s) entered a locked office and stole various items to include cash, laptops, blank prescription pads and sample prescription packs. There is no suspect(s) description.

The rest of this week’s Arlington County crime report, after the jump.

(more…)

Hall’s Hill Community Mourns Loss of Homicide Victims

By ARLnow.com

Through song, prayer and poetry, the Hall’s Hill community came together Tuesday night to mourn the loss of two of its own.

A candlelight vigil was held for double homicide victims Keefe Spriggs and Carl Moten at the Hall’s Hill/High View Park Memorial Garden. Dozens of people young and old — including friends, family and neighbors of the victims — attended the somber vigil, which was organized in part by the Calloway United Methodist Church (5000 Lee Highway). Speakers included pastors and community members.

On the morning of August 7, 59-year-old Spriggs and 31-year-old Moten were found murdered in an apartment on the 1900 block of N. Culpeper Street, in Hall’s Hill — the neighborhood in which they were both born and raised. So far, police have not released any additional information regarding the ongoing investigation into the homicides.

Spriggs, known as Kee-Kee to friends and family, was divorced and was working at a body shop. Moten, also known as Pooh Bear, was an acquaintance of Spriggs and had been working as a cook at a restaurant in Falls Church.

Calloway pastor Rev. Sonja Flye Oliver said Spriggs and Moten both came from families with “extremely deep roots in the Hall’s Hill community.”

“Both of these families are families of faith, families of character,” she said. “These people exemplify what it means to be a close knit community.”

Rev. Oliver said it has been more than a decade since a crime like this has happened in the area.

“This is just shocking, it’s a shocking thing to have happen,” she said. “I’ve heard over and over again: things like this just don’t happen in Hall’s Hill.”

“When one of us hurts, all of us hurt, because we’re all related,” she told the gathered crowd. “We’re related by blood or we’re related by the Spirit. I like the feeling of family that this community exhibits all the time. You feel the love and the presence of God here.”

The families of both men are “not strangers to loss,” Rev. Oliver said. Spriggs’ mother had previously lost a son to a motorcycle accident and another son to an illness, she said.

The funeral for Spriggs was held on Tuesday. Moten’s funeral will be held at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in the Arlington View neighborhood on Thursday.

Rev. Oliver said Arlington County Police have been responsive to the community during the investigation into the homicides.

“We have faith that they are working diligently and trying to piece everything together,” she said. “I think the community will rejoice when we have an answer. We would just like to know who and why.”

In the meantime, she said, the “outpouring of love from the community” has been helping the families of Spriggs and Moten cope with their loss.

1/24

Man Accused of Sex Assault in Clarendon Whole Foods

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 11:05 p.m.) A D.C. man is in jail after police say he sexually assaulted a woman in the Clarendon Whole Foods and masturbated in a police interview room.

The alleged crime took place inside the store, on the 2700 block of Wilson Boulevard, at 1:50 p.m. on Sunday. According to the police report, a female shopper had bent down to retrieve a bottle of wine when the man — 24-year-old Frank Alex Bouknight — came up behind her and placed his hand between her legs and on her genitalia. Bouknight then laughed and walked away, police say.

Bouknight fled the area in a bus, but then returned and was located by police sleeping on a public bench in front of the nearby Barnes and Noble store, four hours after the assault, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Police found “hardcore pornography” magazines inside Bouknight’s backpack, Sternbeck said.

Bouknight’s alleged sexual misconduct continued when he was brought back to police headquarters.

“Once in the police interview room, the subject repeatedly masturbated,” according to the crime report.

Bouknight was charged with sexual battery. He is being held without bond.

Photo courtesy Arlington County Police Department

DEVELOPING: Police Investigate Stabbing Near Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) Police are on the lookout for a suspect in a brutal daylight stabbing near Clarendon.

A man was stabbed multiple times outside the Pio Pio restaurant at 3300 Wilson Blvd just after 1:30 this afternoon. He was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital in what’s now being described as life-threatening condition, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

Police say the incident started when the victim, who was working in a nearby office building, spotted a man breaking into his car. The victim gave chase across Wilson Boulevard, and the two men got into a physical altercation outside Pio Pio. During the struggle the suspect took out a knife and stabbed the victim numerous times in the hands, shoulder, front, back and arms, according to Sternbeck.

Blood could be seen splattered on the walls and sidewalk outside of the restaurant.

After the stabbing the suspect took off south on N. Jackson Street, toward the Ashton Heights neighborhood. A police officer was flagged down by a witness at 1:38 p.m., Sternbeck said. Officers set up a perimeter and used a K-9 unit to try to track down the suspect, but police believe he may have stolen a white work van a few blocks away in order to flee the area. Officers are currently looking for the van, Sternbeck said.

The victim is being described as a 31-year-old resident of Montgomery County, Md. The suspect is described by police as a 28 to 32 year old Hispanic male, approximately 5’9″ and 150 lbs. He was wearing a white t-shirt that was likely ripped in the struggle, was well as dark blue jeans.

Warning: Readers might find one of the photos below disturbing.

1/8

Crime Report: Indecent Exposures

By ARLnow.com

There were two incidents of men engaged in lewd activities in public last week, according to the latest Arlington County crime report.

On Thursday, Aug. 2, a man was seen masturbating between two cars in the Clarendon/Courthouse area.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 08/02/12, 1100 block of N. Barton Street. At 11:08 pm on August 2, an unknown subject was seen masturbating between two parked cars by a female as she walked past him on the sidewalk. Police were unable to locate the subject, described as a Hispanic male, in his mid 20’s, wearing a white shirt.

On Sunday, Aug. 5, another man was seen masturbating in public, this time in an apartment building hallway.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 08/05/12, 5100 block of S. 10th Street. At 6:14 pm on August 5, a female victim witnessed a unknown male subject masturbating in her apartment building hallway. The male subject fled from the building on foot and was located by police a short time later. Rodimiro Valenzuela Garcia, 38, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with indecent exposure and drunk in public. He was held on a $1,500 secure bond.

Also last week, police say an Arlington man attempted — but failed — to stab another man with a butcher knife. He was arrested outside the Ballston Metro station.

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 08/03/12, 4200 block of N. Fairfax Drive. At midnight on August 3, a subject repeatedly attempted to stab a man with a butcher knife as he exited a store. The victim did not sustain any injuries. The subject was located by police on a bench outside the Ballston Metro Station with the knife under his shirt. Mario Lewis, 53, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with attempted malicious wounding. He is being held without bond.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump.

(more…)

UPDATED: Police Investigating Hall’s Hill Deaths as Homicide

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 8:55 p.m.) Arlington County Police confirmed today that they’re investigating the deaths of two men in a Hall’s Hill apartment as a double homicide.

Initially classified as “suspicious deaths” yesterday, police now say that they believe Arlington resident Keefe Spriggs, 59, and Carl Moten, 31, were murdered inside the apartment on the 1900 block of N. Culpeper Street.

No weapon was found inside the apartment, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Still, police are not saying whether a killer is on the loose. Instead, Sternbeck says the crime was an “isolated incident” and that local residents should not be worried about further violence.

Spriggs was a divorced father of two who worked in a body shop, WJLA’s Jennifer Donelan reported Wednesday evening. Moten, a cook at a restaurant in Falls Church, was an acquaintance of Spriggs and was staying at his apartment.

Both Spriggs and Moten had criminal records in Arlington, including DWI and eluding police for Spriggs, assault and probation violation for Moten, and possession of cocaine for both. Spriggs’ crimes dated back to 2003, however, and Sternbeck said so far there’s no indication of any other crime taking place inside the apartment other than the two killings.

After going more than two years without a homicide, these murders are the third and fourth homicide in Arlington so far this summer.

Photo courtesy WJLA/ABC 7

Arlington PD to Participate in National Night Out

By ARLnow.com

Officers from the Arlington County Police Department’s Third District will be participating in National Night Out tonight (Tuesday).

National Night Out is described as “an effective, inexpensive and enjoyable program to promote neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships in our fight for a safer nation.” Locally, the Third District — which includes most of southwestern Arlington County — will be participating in four National Night Out events.

The times and locations listed for the events are:

  • Fort Henry Gardens (2470 S. Lowell Street) — 12:00 to 8:00 p.m.
  • Barcroft Community House (800 S. Buchanan Street) — 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
  • Park Glen Condos (824 South Arlington Mill Drive) — 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
  • Douglas Park (1718 S. Quincy Street) — 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Barcroft neighborhood website says its National Night Out event will include an ice cream social, along with appearances from state Sen. Barbara Favola and members of the police department. The time listed for the event on the neighborhood website is 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said the events are intended to help the department build relationships in neighborhoods.

“National Night Out is about building long-standing relationships within the community and developing a sense of trust with one another… so when crimes like the one today occur, there’s full cooperation between neighbors and the police,” said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, referencing the two suspicious deaths that are currently being investigated in the Hall’s Hill neighborhood.

View More Stories