rape

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Power lines in Ballston

Man Pleads to Arlington Hospital Rape — A former Virginia Hospital Center employee has pleaded guilty to the rape of a 37-year-old woman at the hospital. The victim was at the hospital to receive a CT scan after falling and hitting her head while drunk. The rapist, 30-year-old Roy Anthony Jones, will be sentenced in October and could spend up to 18 years in prison. [Washington Post]

Construction Permits Filed for Office Tower — JBG Cos. has already filed for construction permits for the new CEB Tower office building in Rosslyn. The 31-story tower is part of JBG’s Central Place project, which also includes a residential tower which is currently under construction. [Washington Business Journal]

Arlington Powerball Winner Claims Prize — Arlington resident Tim Dudgeon has come forward as the winner of a $1 million Powerball prize. Dudgeon bought the ticket at Mia’s Market and Deli at 1607 S. Glebe Road. The store received a $10,000 bonus from the lottery for selling the ticket. [WJLA]

Vihstadt Pushes for Greater Contract Oversight — After a $7 million streetcar contract was able to bypass a County Board approval process on a technicality, Board member John Vihstadt wants to require all capital improvement contracts valued at $1 million or above to receive Board approval. County Manager Barbara Donnellan is evaluating the proposal. [InsideNova]

Arlington Celebrates Public Art Milestone — Arlington County is celebrating “30 years of Public Art placemaking in our community.” The multi-month celebration will kick off Aug. 1 on Dark Star Park Day, held at 1655 Fort Myer Drive in Rosslyn. [Arlington County]

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sunset Paddle (Flickr pool photo by David Bender)

Board Members Spar Over Streetcar PR Funds — Of the $7-8 million contract with Parsons Transportation Group to serve as project manager of Arlington’s streetcar system, up to $650,000 will be spent on “public-education efforts during the first year of the contract.” That isn’t sitting well with Board member and streetcar critic Libby Garvey. “We should not be wasting $650,000 on PR,” she is quoted as saying. [InsideNova]

DJ Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Women — DJ Joey Flash, who counts A-Town Bar and Grill in Ballston among his former clients, has pleaded guilty to charges of rape and sexual battery. The nightlife fixture, whose real name is Joseph Rivera, admitted to bringing highly intoxicated women back from bars, having sex with them while they were unconscious, and filming the encounters. [Washington Post]

Capital Bikeshare Runs Out of Membership Keys — Anyone wanting to sign up for Capital Bikeshare will have to wait until the second week of July. CaBi says it has run out of membership keys “due to issues with our supplier, and heavier than anticipated member sign ups.” [DCist]

Animal Hospital Coming to Shirlington — Two veterinarians will be opening a new facility, Shirlington Animal Hospital, this fall at 2770 S. Arlington Mill Drive. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

Sinclair Hoping to Close on WJLA Sale Soon — Sinclair Broadcast Group, which is buying Rosslyn-based TV station WJLA (ABC 7), is hoping to close on the sale by July 27. The company is selling TV stations in Harrisburg, Pa. and Charleson, S.C. to facilitate FCC approval of the acquisition of WJLA and six other Allbritton Communications stations. [Arkansas Business]

Flickr pool photo by David Bender

Man Pleads Guilty to 25-Year-Old Rape Case

By ARLnow.com

William Couch (photo courtesy ACPD)A man has pleaded guilty to two 25-year-old cold cases in Arlington.

William Couch pleaded guilty to abduction with intent to defile and object sexual penetration in the cases, according to an Arlington County Police Department press release.

According to police, Couch admitted to the May 9, 1989 sexual assault and robbery of a woman whose home was broken into as she slept, and the Sept. 11, 1989 rape of a woman who was forced into a maintenance room by a man after she arrived early for her shift at work.

“In January of 2013, cold case detectives reviewed evidence from these cases and in June of 2013 William Couch became a suspect,” according to the press release. “On February 17, 2014 Couch was indicted on charges in connection to these assaults. On June 12, 2014, he pled guilty and was sentenced to 45 years on each case.”

The cases were investigated by detectives Rosa Ortiz and Robert Icolari, of ACPD’s Cold Case Squad, and prosecuted by Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Cari Steele. Ortiz is best known for being the lead detective in the Carl Diener murder case.

“Once again the value of a having a Cold Case Squad has been proven as we were able to bring some closure to two victims while bringing this sexual predator to justice,” said Deputy Chief Daniel Murray, commander of ACPD’s Criminal Investigations Division.

Crime Report: Man Crashes into Boulders, Assaults Cops

By ARLnow.com
Arlington police car outside police headquarters (file photo)

An 18-year-old Arlington resident was arrested early Tuesday morning after police say he drunkenly ran his car into two small “boulders” at Henry Clay Park, then assaulted two police officers as he was being taken him into custody.

The man faces a long list of charges, including DUI, possession of PCP and assault on a police officer. From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

ASSAULT ON POLICE OFFICER, 140422003, 500 block of Garfield Street. On April 22 at 1:29am, police noticed a vehicle driving erratically and honking its horn. Police followed the vehicle and witnessed it strike two boulders at Henry Clay Park and coming to a stop. The suspect assaulted officers as they took him into custody. John Taylor Herrling, 18, of Arlington, VA was arrested for two counts of assault on a police officer, possession of PCP, DUI, eluding, resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, and hit and run. His bond status will be determined once he is sober. 

Also in this week’s crime report, a man is accused of trying to rape a woman he met on an online dating site.

ATTEMPTED RAPE, 140420017, 1700 block of N. Troy Street. On April 20 at 6:50am, a victim reported being sexually assaulted by a subject she met through an online dating site. Following police investigation, Joseph Lamae Coles, 24, of Washington, D.C. was charged with attempted rape, abduction with the intent to defile, choking, and malicious wounding. He was held without bond.

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

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

A family at the base of the Netherlands Carillon

Earth Day in Arlington — Today is Earth Day around the globe, but Arlington County has declared that “every day is Earth Day in Arlington.” In a press release, the county detailed the steps it has been taking to enhance environmental sustainability and also highlighted some environmentally-friendly events around Arlington. Among the upcoming events are the Green Living Expo on April 26 and Bike to Work Day on May 16. [Arlington County]

School Board Candidate Visits All 52 Precincts — Arlington School Board candidate Barbara Kanninen says she has now knocked on doors in all 52 Arlington electoral precincts. Last year Kanninen was criticized for reportedly holding all of her published campaign events in north Arlington. [InsideNoVa]

Rally Against Rape in Rosslyn — The annual Rally Against Rape will be held in Rosslyn’s Gateway Park at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to raise awareness of sexual violence in Northern Virginia. The event is free and includes speakers, music and a resource fair. [Clarendon Nights, Eventful]

Virginia Hospital Center Employee Charged With Rape

By ARLnow.com

Roy Anthony Jones (photo courtesy ACPD)An employee at Virginia Hospital Center has been charged in the alleged rape of a patient.

Police say Roy Anthony Jones, a 30-year-old D.C. resident, raped a 37-year-old female patient in the early morning hours of January 13, 2014, while he was working as a CT Scan Technician.

“The victim was at the hospital as a patient when the incident occurred and reported the crime to police following the attack,” Arlington County Police said in a press release today. “Virginia Hospital Center staff cooperated with detectives throughout the investigation.”

Jones was denied bond and is being held at the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Photo courtesy ACPD

Crime Report: Attempted Rape in Buckingham

By ARLnow.com

Police car lightsArlington police have arrested a man and charged him with attempting to rape a woman in Buckingham last Friday afternoon.

Police say Hector Lopez Aguilar, 33, forced his way into an apartment on the 4200 block of N. Pershing Drive and tried to rape a 54-year-old woman.

He allegedly fled the scene when the woman fought back.

From this week’s Arlington County crime report:

ATTEMPTED RAPE, 140328034, 4200 block of N. Pershing Drive. At 2:00 pm on March 28, an unknown subject forced his way into an apartment, assaulted a 54 year-old female victim and attempted to rape her. The suspect fled when the victim fought back.  Police located the subject the following day at a nearby apartment. Hector Lopez Aguilar, 33, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with attempted rape and abduction with the intent to defile. He is being held without bond.

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

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Crime Report: Girl Raped in Buckingham

By ARLnow.com
File photo

A girl was raped in the Buckingham neighborhood last Thursday, according to this week’s Arlington County crime report.

A 35-year-old man was arrested for the crime and is known to the victim, cops say. Police are not releasing many details about the crime — like the victim’s age or the man’s relationship to the victim — saying such information would make it too easy to identify the victim.

From the crime report:

RAPE, 10/17/13, 300 block of N. Thomas Street. On October 17 at 11:10 am, a subject was taken into custody for the rape of a known juvenile victim. Carlos Diaz-Vincente, 35, of Arlington, VA, was arrested and charged with rape. He is being held on no bond.

The rest of this week’s crime report, after the jump. Named suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty.

(more…)

Police Arrest Suspect in 21-Year-Old Rape

By Ethan Rothstein

Stevie Brinson (photo courtesy of ACPD)Arlington County police have arrested an Alexandria man in connection with the 21-year-old rape of a college student.

Stevie Brinson, 50, of Alexandria was arrested Thursday after police say they “got a hit on DNA evidence” from the 1992 rape at gunpoint of a 25-year-old woman. The crime happened on the 2000 block of N. Adams Street near Lyon Village.

Brinson is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility. In June, ACPD resubmitted evidence to its laboratory which led to Brinson as a suspect, police said. ACPD, with the assistance of Alexandria Police, arrested Brinson at his place of work in Alexandria.

“Cases like this are not forgotten by the Arlington County Police Department,” Deputy Chief of Police Daniel Murray said in a press release. “Our Cold Case Squad detectives worked diligently in an effort to get justice for this victim and remove a dangerous individual from the streets.”

From the ACPD press release:

On January 28, 1992, the female victim opened her apartment door to the suspect, who claimed to be a maintenance worker. Once inside the residence, the suspect produced a handgun and demanded money. He then forced the victim into her bedroom where he bound her hands and proceeded to rape her at gunpoint. The suspect then robbed the victim of cash and fled the scene.

Photo courtesy of  ACPD

Arlington Man Accused of Rape in Pennsylvania

By ARLnow.com

Roger Valdez mug shotA 38-year-old Penrose resident has been arrested and accused of raping a girl in Pennsylvania.

Roger Valdez, of the 800 block of S. Adams Street, was arrested by Arlington police on Thursday, according to PennLive.com. Police in Palmyra, Pa. say Valdez took a 12-year-old girl he met on the internet from her home there to a motel and had sex with her multiple times. Palmyra is a town of about 7,000 people between Harrisburg and Lebanon, Pa.

Valdez has been charged with “three counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with a minor, aggravated indecent assault of a child under the age of 13, indecent assault of a child under the age of 13 and corruption of minors,” according to TV station WHTM.

Valdez will be extradited from Arlington to Pennsylvania.

Man Sentenced to 50 Years for Rape, Abduction of Daughter

By Katie Pyzyk

Rodolfo Hernandez-Suazo(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) An Arlington man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the January 2012 abduction and rape of his adult daughter.

Circuit Court Judge Louise M. DiMatteo imposed the jury’s sentencing for 54-year-old Rodolfo Hernandez-Suazo — which included 50 years for rape, 25 years for abduction with intent to defile and 5 years for incest — but ordered that the sentences run concurrently.

Hernandez-Suazo lured his then 22-year-old daughter to a south Arlington hotel room last year, claiming he was going to complete some maintenance work there. Once both were at the hotel, Hernandez-Suazo forced sex on his daughter.

Prosecutors say Hernandez-Suazo then told the daughter to take a shower, but she did not end up doing so. As a result, after she reported the crime to police several hours later,  investigators from the Arlington County Police Department Special Victims Unit were able to retrieve DNA evidence from her.

Hernandez-Suazo had been estranged from his daughter since leaving El Salvador about 20 years ago. They were reunited in 2009, when the daughter came to the United States to live with her mother, but she broke off contact after Hernandez-Suazo touched her inappropriately. He then re-initiated contact last year, leading to the incident in the hotel room.

“The victim held the understandable but misguided belief that she and the defendant could at last have a normal father-daughter relationship. Unfortunately he turned out to be a predator, not a parent,” said Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Lisa Tingle. “Her courage in coming forward should give others similar strength knowing that our community treats these offenses with the utmost seriousness.”

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