police

Registration Open For 9-11 Memorial 5K

By Aaron Kraut

Registration is open for the Arlington Police, Fire & Sheriff 9-11 Memorial 5K, set for Saturday, Sept. 8 in Crystal City.

The event sold out about a week ahead of last year’s race day, said race organizer and retired Arlington County Police Capt. Matt Smith. Registration is capped at 5,000 runners.

The race starts at 6 p.m. at the DoubleTree Hotel in Crystal City (300 Army Navy Drive). Runners can register online for $25 through Aug. 3, $30 from Aug. 4 to Sept. 7 and $35 on race day. Team registration ends on Sept. 1. Proceeds will be donated to charities including the Wounded Warriors Project and Homes For Our Troops.

Police Identify Couple In Murder-Suicide

By Aaron Kraut

Police on Thursday identified the man and woman killed in Tuesday’s murder-suicide at the Park Shirlington Apartments on the 4500 block of 31st Street South, near the Fairlington neighborhood.

Xiomara Aracely Benitez, 30, of Arlington was pronounced dead at the scene along with Juan Carlos Mox Mox, 30, of Arlington, according to a press release from the Arlington County Police Department. Police identified Benitez as the victim and Mox Mox as the subject. They were married with two children.

Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said a family member took in the two children after the incident, which police have officially ruled a murder-suicide. The cause of death has not yet been determined, according to police.

A family member discovered the victim and subject in a back bedroom of their apartment and police received a 911 call at 2:43 p.m. on Tuesday.

This last homicide in Arlington County happened on March 14, 2010, when a man was stabbed to death in the Lyon Park neighborhood.

Crime Report: With Friends Like These Edition

By ARLnow.com

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, items were stolen from a house in the Ballston area after a juvenile house sitter invited friends over.

BURGLARY, 07/22/12, 4100 block of N. 11th Place. On July 22 at 8:54 pm, a male juvenile reported several items missing from the place he was house-sitting. The juvenile had invited friends over and realized once they left that a laptop, camera and money had been taken. Police are investigating.

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

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BREAKING NEWS — Police Investigate Murder-Suicide

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 6:35 p.m.) Police are investigating what appears to be a murder-suicide at the Park Shirlington Apartments on the 4500 block of 31st Street South, near the Fairlington neighborhood.

Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck says it appears the man and woman, both 30-years-old, had some sort of relationship and lived together in the apartment where they were found. An adult female family member who also lived in the apartment found the bodies in a back bedroom and called 911 around 2:45 p.m.

One resident told ARLnow.com that the apartment was home to a couple with two children and a woman who also had a child. The children were all between the age of 7 and 9, she said.

“Nothing like this has happened here before,” said Cecilia Rodriguez. “I’ve lived here for 26 years and I’ve raised my kids here… It’s scary for me.”

Rodriguez said she believes a car police towed from the apartment’s parking lot belonged to the female half of the couple.

Police were seen taking items out of a dumpster near the apartment building, such as a rolled up rug and bags of trash. Initial reports suggests evidence might have been found in the dumpster.

The last homicide in Arlington County occurred on March 14, 2010, when a man was stabbed to death in the Lyon Park neighborhood.

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ACPD Looking for Beer Pong Bandits

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police are investigating an unusual break-in and theft that took place yesterday (Sunday).

One or more suspects broke into a locked house on the 5500 block of 7th Street S., in the Forest Glen neighborhood, at some point on Sunday. According to police, the suspects played beer pong while inside the house. They then allegedly stole two cars parked outside, leaving the residence “in disarray” with empty beer bottles strewn about.

The crime was reported Sunday afternoon by an adult female house sitter — a friend of the family that owns the house and the vehicles, according to police.

There is no suspect description available.

Crime Report: Harassers Attack

By ARLnow.com

A man was stabbed last weekend after trying to intervene when two men were harassing a woman in the Columbia Heights West neighborhood.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

MALICIOUS WOUNDING, 07/14/12, 800 block of S. Harrison Street. On July 14 at 4:00 am, two unknown subjects confronted and stabbed the victim after he intervened when they were harassing two female subjects. The suspects are described as Hispanic males between the ages of 19-22, wearing dark clothing.

Last week a Maywood resident was robbed at gunpoint, in the middle of the day, by two suspects.

ROBBERY, 07/12/12, 2300 block of N. Lincoln Street. On July 12 at 3:48 pm, two unknown subjects kicked in the victim’s kitchen door and robbed him at gunpoint of cash, sneakers and a phone. Suspects are described as black males, approximately 20 years old, with one possibly wearing fake dreadlocks.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

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Police: Newspaper Carrier Carjacked at Gunpoint

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 7:15 p.m.) Police say a newspaper carrier was carjacked early this morning (Wednesday) in the 2300 block of S. Joyce Street, between the Aurora Highlands and Arlington Ridge neighborhoods.

Around 4:30 a.m., the 73-year-old woman was doing her rounds of paper delivery and had just exited the car to place a paper on a customer’s doorstep. According to police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, two men then drove up in a van next to her, and one said “give me the car.”

Police say both of the subjects, one of whom had a gun, pushed the woman to the ground. At that point, one of the men reportedly jumped into the woman’s car and threw her dog out of the vehicle, before driving off. The other suspect got back into the van and drove off.

Sternbeck said the woman yelled “fire” hoping someone would hear and help her. The resident at the house she was in front of came outside to assist, and they called police together.

According to police, the victim said she never leaves her car except at this one residence.

A tipster tells us the woman is a carrier for The Washington Post. The carrier and her dog, named Sparkle, were both shaken up but are otherwise fine, the tipster said. She didn’t report any injuries and denied medical attention.

Sternbeck said the woman describes both suspects as black men, about 5’9″, medium build, wearing dark sweaters and ski masks. The victim’s car was a beige Toyota Corolla, but there was no additional information provided regarding the suspects’ van. Anyone with information about the crime or the suspects is urged to call the police non-emergency number at 703-558-2222.

A Washington Post spokeswoman declined to comment about the incident.

EXCLUSIVE: Bystanders Take Down Would-Be Thieves on Metro

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) A group of bystanders helped out a Metro rider last night (Tuesday) by tracking down and detaining three men who allegedly tried stealing a woman’s cell phone.

Springfield resident Jonathan Jackson says he was riding the Blue Line home around 7:00 p.m., when he noticed a man acting suspiciously. When the doors opened at Arlington Cemetery, the situation grew weirder.

“All of a sudden we saw this guy weaving in and out of the train cars,” Jackson said. “He ran into our car and then ran into the next car down.”

Just as the chimes were ringing for the doors to close, Jackson says a woman ran out of the train yelling that the man had stolen her phone. That’s when Jackson ran off the train and onto the platform trying to find the accused thief. He saw that farther down the platform, several people had tackled the man.

“At that point, I thought the best thing I can do is call the cops,” said Jackson.

Jackson called 911 while others detained the alleged thief.

“It really was a team effort, but nobody even knew each other,” said Jackson.

Jackson says for a while, two other men, who appeared to be the alleged thief’s friends, tried freeing him while he was being held on the ground. After a few minutes, however, they took off. Jackson believes bystanders followed the friends and pointed them out to police, because they were detained along with the accused thief.

Metro Transit Police were the arresting officers, and they were assisted by Arlington County Police. According to WMATA spokesman Dan Stessel, the accused thief is 17 -years-old, and has been charged with robbery. Police talked to the other two people who were detained because they matched witness descriptions, but both were released.

“We’ve had a few snatch robbery events this year where witnesses or victims chased after the criminal,” Stessel said. “But it’s not something we encourage because of the potential of injury. It’s always best to let the property go. This one has a happy ending, we’re certainly happy for that.”

Jackson believes the train driver must have seen what was going on, because he kept the doors open while bystanders ran down the platform to catch the alleged thief. The train reportedly ended up holding at the station for about 10 minutes, until police arrived and were able to make arrests.

Although he has heard of people having their electronic devices stolen on the Metro, Jackson said it was far different to witness it. While he obviously can’t say for certain, he said it didn’t seem like this was a one time incident.

“It seemed like it was pretty well coordinated,” Jackson said. “But they just didn’t anticipate a group of people stepping in.”

There are no reports of injuries from the incident.

BREAKING NEWS — Pedestrian Struck by Taxi in Ballston

By ARLnow.com

Update at 3:35 p.m. on 7/19/12 — The victim has died, according to police.

Investigators are on the scene of a critical pedestrian accident in Ballston.

The accident happened around 9:45 a.m. at the intersection of Glebe Road and N. Carlin Springs Road. An elderly female pedestrian was in the crosswalk, crossing Carlin Springs across from Ballston Common Mall, when she was struck by an Arlington Yellow Cab, according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

The woman’s injuries are thought to be life-threatening.

A neighbor told ARLnow.com that the pedestrian was a resident of The Carlin retirement home, one block away  from the scene.

A number of closures were in place while investigators took photos and interviewed witnesses. All southbound lanes of Glebe Road were blocked at Wilson Boulevard. Carlin Springs Road was shut down at N. Thomas Street. Both road reopened at 11:05 a.m.

Sternbeck said the driver of the cab remained on scene and cooperated with police. No word yet on any charges against the driver.

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

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Mystery Surrounds Eden Center Shooting — Questions still surround the murder and suicide that occurred at the Eden Center in Falls Church on Saturday night. The victim, meanwhile, has been identified as 51-year-old Tai Phan, of Annandale, who at the time of the shooting was on his way to a gig as a bass player at a restaurant. [Washington Post]

Board May Drop Retail Requirement for Condo Complex — The Arlington County Board is poised to reverse a requirement it set 9 years ago for the Woodbury Park condo complex to reserve interior space for a convenience store. The store would have been located inside the 364-unit complex, with no outside signage and no easy access for non-residents. Nobody has stepped up to rent the space, so county staff is recommending the Board drop the retail requirement and allow Woodbury Park to build a condo unit in its place. [Sun Gazette]

Library, Bayou Hold Instagram Photo Contests — Arlington Public Library and Bayou Bakery restaurant (1515 N. Courthouse Road) are both holding photo contests aimed at smartphone users. Entrants to both contests are encouraged to enhance — and, in the case of Bayou, submit — their photos via Instagram, the photo sharing and special effect service recently acquired by Facebook. The library’s contest is entitled the “Steve Jobs Memorial Juried Cell Phone Photo Show,” while the Bayou contest is called “Bayou by You.” [Arlington Public Library, Bayou Bakery]

Flickr pool photo by Ddimick

Video: Bystanders Walk Past Accident Victim While Getting on the Bus

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Police Department has released video tonight from a Metro bus that stopped at the scene of fatal pedestrian accident earlier this month.

The video was taken on the evening of July 1. Just minutes prior to the start of the video, a man had been struck by a car on Columbia Pike near the intersection with Four Mile Run Drive, which was darkened due to power outages in the area following the June 29 derecho.  The video shows the bus pulling up to the scene, which was next to a bus stop. The man’s bloodied body — blurred out by police — is lying on the sidewalk.

With the bus stopped, passengers file past the man’s body. Although someone had called 911 — lights from police cars heading to the scene can be seen in the background — not a single person stops to check on the man, who was either dead or dying. A woman carrying shopping bags walks right by, without hesitation. One man crosses himself after getting on the bus.

Police say they released the video in a “good faith effort” to get witnesses to the accident to step forward. Detectives are not looking to charge anybody in the video with any wrongdoing — they just want them to “come forward and say ‘this is what happened, this is what we saw,'” according to Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck.

“The intent is solely to get these witnesses to… assist police in the reconstruction of what happened that night,” Sternbeck said. “The intent is not to say these individuals are accountable for anything.”

Sternbeck noted that the driver of the striking vehicle “has been very cooperative,” but the case is still open. Charges could still be filed if the driver is thought to be at fault.

The victim of the accident has been identified by police as 35-year-old Edgar Francisco Aguilar of Arlington. He was pronounced dead on scene, according to Sternbeck.

Any witnesses are asked to contact Det. Icolari at 703-228-4240.

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