police

Police Investigating Weekend Robberies Near Columbia Pike

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County Police are investigating a robbery and an attempted robbery that happened along the Columbia Pike corridor over the weekend.

In both incidents, the victims were pushed to the ground while walking, by a man who then tried to steal their belongings.

The first incident happened just before 8 p.m. on Saturday, north of the Pike in the Arlington Mill neighborhood. The suspect was armed with a gun and ran off with the victim’s phone.

From an ACPD crime report:

ROBBERY, 2020-10100188, 800 block of S. Frederick Street. At approximately 7:50 p.m. on October 10, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was walking in the area when he was approached by the male suspect from behind. The suspect grabbed the victim, pulling him down, and demanded money. When the victim declined, the suspect produced a firearm, assaulted the victim and stole his phone, then fled on foot. The victim sustained minor injuries. The suspect is described as a Black male, 5’10”, thin build, wearing black clothing and a black mask. The investigation is ongoing.

The second incident was an attempted robbery in Barcroft Park, south of the Pike. It happened at almost exactly the same time as the first incident, but a day later.

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY, 2020-10110170, 4200 block of S. Four Mile Run Drive. At approximately 7:51 p.m. on October 11, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was walking on a path through the park when the suspect approached her from behind, pushed her to the ground, and attempted to steal her backpack unsuccessfully. The suspect fled prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as a male, approximately 5’8″, wearing a black hoodie with the hood up and dark jeans. The investigation is ongoing.

Also over the weekend, two police officers were injured in two separate incidents involving unruly suspects Saturday morning.

From ACPD:

VEHICLE TAMPERING/RECOVERED STOLEN VEHICLE (significant), 2020-10100028, 2400 block of S. Oakland Street. At approximately 1:22 a.m. on October 10, police were dispatched to the report of a tampering with auto. Arriving officers observed three suspects inside of a vehicle matching the description previously provided in a lookout. The suspects allegedly exited the vehicle and attempted to flee on foot when police approached them. Suspect One was stopped as they exited the vehicle. Suspect Two was located in the area by additional arriving officers, and, while attempting to place her in handcuffs, she actively resisted and a brief struggle ensued, during which she bit an officer. The officer sustained minor injury. While taking Suspect Two into custody, Suspect Three was observed by officers in the area and taken into custody without incident. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that the vehicle the suspects fled from was previously reported stolen out of Fairfax County. A petition for Assault and Battery on Police was obtained for juvenile Suspect Two. Additional petitions will be sought for all three juvenile suspects.

ASSAULT & BATTERY ON POLICE, 2020-10100104, 4700 block of Lee Highway. At approximately 9:34 a.m. on October 10, police were dispatched to the report of an assault just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that a verbal dispute between the suspect and victim escalated, at which point the suspect allegedly pushed the victim and threw an object at the victim’s vehicle. As the victim attempted to move his vehicle away from the scene while calling police, the suspect chased after the car and threw a cup at it. Arriving officers located the suspect and took him into custody without incident. The victim was not injured. While officers were attempting to place the suspect into a transport vehicle, he actively resisted and became aggressive, then kicked the door of the vehicle, causing it to strike an officer in the head. The officer sustained minor injury. John Hemphill, 52, of Arlington, Va., was arrested and charged with Assault and Battery on Police, Assault and Battery, Obstruction of Justice and Destruction of Property. He was held on no bond.

ACPD Reports Three Indecent Exposure Incidents in Two Days

By ARLnow.com

Cooler fall weather has not stopped men from exposing themselves in Arlington.

The Arlington County Police Department has reported three indecent exposure incidents over a nearly 24 hour span from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning.

The incidents took place near Columbia Pike, near Ballston and in Rosslyn, according to the latest ACPD crime reports, below. In each case, the suspect was seen touching himself inappropriately while in view of a female victim or victims; the suspects all fled prior to officers arriving on scene.

More from ACPD:

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2020-10070049, 1000 block of S. Quebec Street. At approximately 7:25 a.m. on October 7, police were dispatched to the report of an exposure. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim observed the male suspect outside of her residence touching himself inappropriately. The suspect fled on foot prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as a male wearing a dark jacket and dark pants. The investigation is ongoing.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2020-10070115, 500 block of N. Pollard Street. At approximately 3:04 p.m. on October 7, police were on scene of another call for service when they were alerted the report of an exposure in the area. The investigation determined that the reporting party observed the suspect with his pants down, touching himself inappropriately while observing two female victims from behind a fence. The reporting party alerted the victims, and the suspect subsequently fled the area on foot prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as an older Black male, with an average height and build, bald or having very little hair, wearing a blue and black plaid shirt, and khaki pants. The investigation is ongoing.

INDECENT EXPOSURE, 2020-10070074, 1200 block of N. Meade Street. At approximately 10:10 a.m. on October 8, police were dispatched to the report of an indecent exposure. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was inside her residence when she observed the male suspect walking back and forth outside her window multiple times touching himself inappropriately. He then stopped in front of the window, pulled down his pants exposing his genitals, and continued to touch himself, then fled prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as a Black male, with medium to dark complexion, six feet tall, less than 200 lbs., with dreadlocks, wearing black sweatpants, a hooded sweatshirt and a black neck gaiter style mask. The investigation is ongoing.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Study: Arlington Has Safest Drivers in Va. — The insurance website Insurify says Arlington has the safest drivers in Virginia. Drivers in the county “demonstrate exceptional dedication to their own safety and to the safety of others around them,” the website says. [Insurify]

Local Toll Lanes May Be Sold — “Transurban is selling off stakes in its US toll roads because it wants to strengthen its balance sheet… Transurban owns the 95 Express Lanes, 495 Express Lanes and 395 Express Lanes toll roads near the US capital, but traffic on the motorways has been hard hit by the pandemic… The Virginia assets have the longest concession periods of Transurban’s assets with asset lives out to 2087.” [Australian Financial Review]

Police Response at Va. Square Metro — Metro Transit Police and Arlington County Police responded to the Virginia Square Metro station last night for a person who jumped on the track bed. Orange and Silver Line trains were stopped in both directions while the person was taken into custody. [Twitter]

Metro Closure Planned in Early 2021 — “Arlington Cemetery and Addison Road stations will be closed for approximately three months for full platform replacement and station renovation… [During the work] Yellow Line trains will provide all trans-Potomac service for stations Pentagon and south.” [WMATA]

APS Getting More CARES Act Funding — “More than $220 million in federal coronavirus relief is headed to Virginia schools, according to an announcement from Gov. Ralph Northam on Thursday… Arlington County schools will receive $4.7 million.” [DCist]

‘Tiger King’ Star Indicted in Va. — Updated at 8:30 a.m. — “Following an investigation by Attorney General Mark R. Herring’s animal law unit, Bhagavan “Doc” Antle, the owner of Myrtle Beach Safari, has been charged with one felony count of wildlife trafficking, one felony count of conspiracy to wildlife traffic, four misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act, and nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty” [Press Release]

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

Police Looking for Trail Groper

By ARLnow.com

A man groped a woman on a trail near Ballston Monday afternoon, according to Arlington County Police.

The incident happened on the Custis Trail around 12:30 p.m. Police say the woman was jogging when the man, who had just jogged past her, turned around and grabbed her buttocks.

More from an ACPD crime report:

SEXUAL BATTERY, 2020-10050088, N. Glebe Road at 15th Street N. At approximately 12:37 p.m. on October 5, police were dispatched to the report of a sexual assault. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was jogging in the area on the Custis Trail when she observed the male suspect jogging towards her. After they passed each other, the suspect turned around, approached the victim from behind and grabbed her buttocks. The suspect fled on foot prior to police arrival. The victim was not injured. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, pudgy, 5’6″-5’8″, with brown eyes, wearing a tan baseball cap, a white shirt, cargo shorts and white tennis shoes.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Ballston Movie Theater to Close Again — “Cineworld Group, the owner of Regal Cinemas, will suspend operations at all of its theaters in the United States and the United Kingdom beginning on Thursday. The closures will affect 45,000 employees.” [CNN, Axios]

N. Va. Trending in Right Direction — “The health department’s new pandemic metrics, updated Monday based on data through Saturday, show that the disease is currently at a ‘low burden’ level in Northern Virginia, is trending downward, and has low levels of community transmission. All other region’s of the state either have moderate or high levels of burden of the virus and community transmission.” [InsideNova]

County Joins Eviction Task Force — “Arlington has joined the Northern Virginia Eviction Prevention and Community Stability Task Force, a diverse coalition of stakeholders from the housing sector in Northern Virginia, to identify best practices to prevent evictions and stabilize households.” [Arlington County]

Greens Want Local Bag Tax — “The Arlington Green Party is pushing the Arlington County Board to enact a tax on single-use grocery bags, now that the General Assembly has given localities the permission to do so. Party members on Sept. 2 endorsed the proposal to enact a 5-cent tax on bags, and plan to present a petition to the County Board in November.” [InsideNova]

New Police Dog’s Official Photo — “FRK9 Brooks recently sat for his official department photo and gave the camera his best puppy dog eyes.” [@ArlingtonVaPD/Twitter]

More I-66 Ramp Closures — “Alternating overnight ramp closures are scheduled to occur this week on I-66 East in Arlington for final asphalt paving and striping as part of the I-66 Eastbound Widening Project.” [VDOT]

Flickr pool photo by Tom Mockler

Knife-Wielding Suspects Rob North Arlington 7-Eleven

By ARLnow.com

A pair of men, each armed with a knife, held up the 7-Eleven store on the 4500 block of Lee Highway last night.

Police were dispatched to the store just after 11:15 p.m. Sunday after the suspects pointed knives at the store clerk and stole cash and cigarettes, according to a police crime report and scanner traffic at the time.

Both suspects wore masks and dark clothing. They fled the scene by vehicle. No injuries were reported.

More from an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

ROBBERY, 2020-10040207, 4500 block of Lee Highway. At approximately 11:20 p.m. on October 4, police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that two suspects entered a business and approached an employee at the counter. Suspect One pointed a knife at him, and told him to open the cash register, then began to take money from it. Suspect Two brandished a knife, then took money from the second register. As the suspects exited the business, they stole boxes of merchandise from behind the counter. The suspects then fled in a vehicle prior to police arrival. Suspect One is described as a Black male, medium build, 5’9″-6’0″ wearing black pants, a black and brown parka with the hood up, a mask, and white shoes. Suspect Two is described as a Black male, wearing gray sweatpants, a black hoodie with the hood up, black shoes, and a green balaclava. The investigation is ongoing.

Photo via Google Maps

Teen Girl Touched Inappropriately in Buckingham

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 1:15 p.m.) A teen girl was allegedly touched inappropriately by a man in the Buckingham neighborhood, near Ballston, late last night.

The incident happened just before midnight on N. Pershing Drive.

Initial reports suggested that the man might have attempted to abduct a 13-year-old girl, but a police spokeswoman tells ARLnow the crime is currently believed to be a sexual battery, not an abduction attempt.

The man reportedly fled in a vehicle after the incident.

More from today’s Arlington County Police Department crime report:

SEXUAL BATTERY, 2020-10040211, 4300 block of N. Pershing Drive. At approximately 11:56 p.m. on October 4, police were dispatched to the report of a sexual assault just occurred. Upon arrival, it was determined that the juvenile female victim was walking in the area when she observed the suspect following her. The suspect then approached the victim from behind and grabbed her buttocks. The victim pushed the suspect away and yelled for help, prompting the suspect to flee the scene. The suspect is described as a Hispanic male, 25 – 35 years old, approximately 5’0″ tall, chubby, with short black hair. He was wearing shorts and a dark blue shirt at the time of the incident. A silver Honda mini-van was observed by witnesses leaving the area immediately after the incident occurred. The investigation is ongoing.

Arlington NAACP Calls for Independent Investigation into Inmate Death

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington branch of the NAACP is calling for an independent investigation into an inmate’s death inside the county jail last week.

The incident happened on the afternoon of Thursday, Oct. 1 at the Arlington County Detention Facility in Courthouse. Darryl Becton, 46, was found unconscious in his cell and later declared dead on scene by paramedics after resuscitation efforts failed.

Becton, a D.C. resident, was being held on an alleged probation violation following his conviction on a felony “unauthorized use of a motor vehicle” charge last year.

The death is being investigated by the Arlington County Police Department. A separate law enforcement entity — the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office — manages the jail, but the NAACP says a different agency, like Virginia State Police, should conduct the investigation.

“It has been reported that in Arlington there has now been at least three deaths in the past few years at this Detention Facility,” said NAACP branch president Julius Spain, Sr. “It is time to find out the reasons why. Transparency, accountability, and review are extremely critical. The public deserves to know.”

The NAACP sent the following letter to the county’s sheriff, acting police chief and other top officials, as well as members of the media.

Arlington Branch #7047 calls for a full AND independent investigation (to include policy, procedural, and criminal violations) into the death of Mr. Darryl Becton, 46, who died on October 1, 2020, after he was found unconscious in his cell at the Arlington County Detention Facility. Releasing the results of the investigation to the public immediately is paramount to promoting transparency and public trust in our community. The results of the autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determining the cause and manner of death should also be released to the public immediately.

Mr. Julius D. Spain, Sr., President of the branch stated, “Any death in the custody of law enforcement officials should require an independent investigation with full public disclosure. It has been reported that in Arlington there has now been at least three deaths in the past few years at this Detention Facility. It is time to find out the reasons why. Transparency, accountability, and review are extremely critical. The public deserves to know.”

Mr. Kent D. Carter, Vice President of the branch who serves as chair of the branch criminal justice committee added, “the Arlington Branch NAACP intends to push county leadership to include a review of ACPD/Sheriff Office collaboration and custody and detention policies as part of the work on the recently established police practices group.” Mr. Carter continued, “this death raises yet another area that we on the committee should be expected to analyze in order for our work to be meaningful.”

The deaths of inmates over the last few years in the local Detention Facility are overly concerning. The public needs to know what policies and procedures have been implemented to prevent inmate deaths.

Furthermore, while we understand Arlington County Police Department will investigate, we feel strongly that incidents of this nature should be investigated by an independent outside agency such as the Virginia State Police.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Girl’s Study Shed Featured on NBC — With the help of a local Facebook group called “Buy Nothing,” an Arlington dad built a study shed for his daughter using materials donated by neighbors. The project was featured on Saturday’s national NBC Nightly News broadcast. [YouTube, Washington Post]

APS Graduation Rate Improves — “Arlington’s public-school students posted a 93.4-percent on-time graduation rate up from 92.5 percent a year before, according to new data from the Virginia Department of Education. Rates rose among both genders and in major racial/ethnic groups compared to the Class of 2019, while the school system’s dropout rate showed improvement, declining from 5.6 percent in 2019 to 4.9 percent in 2020.” [InsideNova]

Crystal City Halloween Shop Struggles — “This was supposed to be the biggest Halloween of Lorenzo Caltagirone’s career.
For the first time in 95 years, it would fall on both a full moon and a Saturday — an equation that normally would mean big profits for his Virginia costume shop. Instead, sales are down 80 percent and he is running low on cash.” [Washington Post]

Vehicle Tampering Suspects Flee — “Police were dispatched to the report of two subjects trespassing and tampering with vehicles in a parking garage. Upon arrival, it was determined that security observed two suspects enter the garage on motorcycles and begin trying door handles. Arriving officers observed the suspects, however, when they attempted to stop them, Suspect One got on a motorcycle, then fled on foot and the Suspect Two fled on a motorcycle.” [ACPD]

Memorial Service for Erik Gutshall — A memorial service for the late County Board member Erik Gutshall was held last night at outdoor the Lubber Run Amphitheater. Some mourners attended in person, though the service was also broadcast online. [YouTube]

Beyer’s Warnings Unheeded By White House — Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) “specifically and directly warned the White House and the Trump Campaign in June, July, August, and September that refusing to wear masks or social distance could create ‘super-spreader events.’ We used those words,” said Beyer’s spokesman. [Twitter]

Cross-Country Tandem Bike Ride — “Terri and Bruce Brown are finishing up a more than 3,000-mile, three-month bicycle trip from Oregon to the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, not with two bikes, but one.” [WTOP]

JUST IN: An Inmate Died at the Arlington County Jail Yesterday

By ARLnow.com

An inmate died at the Arlington County Detention Facility in Courthouse yesterday.

Paramedics were dispatched to the jail for a report of “CPR in progress” after the inmate was found unconscious in his cell at 4:17 p.m. on Thursday. Despite the resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced dead on scene by medics shortly after 4:45 p.m.

The inmate was identified as 46-year-old Darryl Becton. Court records show Becton, a D.C. resident, was in jail for an alleged probation violation after being arrested  on Tuesday, Sept. 29. Last September he pleaded guilty to felony unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, after initially being charged with grand theft auto.

The Sheriff’s Office says Becton’s family was notified of his death yesterday evening.

As is standard procedure, detectives from the police department are now conducting a death investigation, while the medical examiner conducts an autopsy to determine cause of death.

“Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to contact the Police Department’s Tip Line at 703-228-4180 or [email protected],” the Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. “To report information anonymously, contact the Arlington County Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).”

Police Investigate Pentagon City Purse Snatching

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County police are investigating a purse snatching that involved a foot chase, an implied gun and a getaway vehicle.

The incident happened Wednesday afternoon on the 1200 block of S. Joyce Street in Pentagon City, near Pentagon Row.

According to ACPD, a man grabbed a woman’s purse, broke the strap and ran off, but was pursued by a pair of good Samaritans. The man then implied he had a gun, prompting the pair to stop their pursuit.

By the time police were dispatched, the suspect had hopped into an older minivan, which then drove away. Arriving officers were unable to locate the vehicle. No injuries were reported.

More from ACPD:

ROBBERY BY FORCE, 2020-09300114, 1200 block of S. Joyce Street. At approximately 2:17 p.m. on September 30, police were dispatched to the report of a robbery by force. Upon arrival, it was determined that the victim was walking in the area when she noticed someone following her. As the victim turned around, the suspect grabbed her purse, causing the strap to break. Two bystanders attempted to chase the suspect, however, he implied he had a firearm, prompting the bystanders to discontinue their efforts. The suspect then entered a vehicle driven by a second suspect and fled the area prior to police arrival. The suspect is described as a Black male, 20-30 years old, approximately 6’0″, with a medium cut beard, wearing a black hoodie, sweatpants. The vehicle is described as an old, green and silver Chevrolet minivan. The investigation is ongoing.

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