robbery

Crime Report: Knife-Wielding Robbers Edition

By ARLnow.com

Whether you’re out delivering a pizza or walking a dog, sometimes you can never be too careful after dark. In this week’s Arlington County crime report, there were two instances of people being robbed by knife-wielding individuals on the street at night.

ROBBERY, 12/07/11, 1000 block of Randolph Street. On December 7 at 8:40 pm, a man delivering pizza was robbed by an unknown male brandishing a knife. The suspect is described as an African American male, 5’8″ and 150 lbs. wearing all black clothing including a black ski mask.

ROBBERY, 12/10/11, 800 block of S. Harrison Street. On December 10 at 8 pm, a man was walking a small dog when an unknown man confronted him. The suspect brandished a knife and demanded money. The victim gave him a small amount of money, and the suspect fled. The suspect is described as an African American male in his 20’s, 6″ tall and 190 lbs. He was wearing a red and blacked checked button-down shirt and a red knit hat with ear flaps.

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

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Crime Report: Autumn Arson Edition

By ARLnow.com

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a local man was arrested for arson after allegedly setting a series of leaf piles on fire.

ARSON-ARREST, 11/14/11, 3100 block of N. Vermont Street. On November 14 at 9:45 pm, a man set a series of seven of brush fires. Joseph Warsowick, 31, of Arlington, was arrested for Arson. He was held on a $1,750 bond.

Also this week, a bus driver helped to protect a woman from a pair of would-be armed robbers.

ATTEMPT ROBBERY, 11/15/11, 4800 block of Columbia Pike. On November 15 at 6:30 pm, two unknown men attempted to rob a woman at a bus stop by brandishing a knife. The victim fled on a bus and the driver would not let the suspects on board. The suspects were both African American males, 40-50 years old.

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

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County Employee Recounts Chasing Down Robbery Suspect

By ARLnow.com

By night, Juan Rivera is a mild-mannered conga player and salsa dancer. By day, he’s an undercover crime fighter.

At least, that’s the role Rivera played Tuesday, when he helped to chase down a man who tried to rob a woman at an ATM machine in Courthouse Plaza.

Rivera, an employee in the county’s Commissioner of Revenue office, had just picked up sushi across the street from his office when he saw a man running and someone yelling “thief!” Dressed in a shirt and tie and still holding his to-go box of sushi, Rivera gave chase. Soon, he was joined by two other men, one of whom was calling police on his cell phone. The suspect, a tall, physically imposing man in his mid-20s, tried to flee into a nearby residential neighborhood.

“We went after him, he hid [behind] some houses, and I was like, hey he must be in one of these houses, because he just turned around the corner and disappeared,” Rivera recounted. “So we went looking and he was there. There was some verbal confrontation between him and the other person who was chasing him. Then he ran back into the houses, jumped a couple of fences to keep going, and we were right behind him and jumped a couple of fences, too. When he got to the last fence, which was really high, the police came from the left-hand side and caught him.”

So why did Rivera decide to chase after the man, ignoring the potential danger involved?

“To me, that’s just common sense. That’s just how i do things,” he said. “If someone gets robbed, to me, the people should react in a helpful manner. But there were only three of us that reacted. I didn’t go to tackle the guy… but at least participate in assisting this person who was just robbed.”

“It’s kind of sad to see how little participation there was,” Rivera continued. “I live in Columbia Heights in D.C., and if that would have happened there that guy would have not gotten farther than a block. People over there, they’re going to participate. The men there, if something happens to a woman, they just go.”

“Some kids might just do it for the fun of beating someone up,” he added with a laugh.

Once the suspect was in police custody, Rivera headed back to the office, slightly sweaty but with his sushi still in hand. He told his supervisor what happened, and was granted an extra 15 minutes to finish his lunch. Then, he got back to work. Yesterday afternoon, the victim — also a county employee — came and thanked him.

As it turns out, the suspect never got any of the victim’s cash. She was able to break free from the suspect’s choke hold, cancel the ATM transaction and yell for help, according to police. The suspect, identified as 26-year-old James Williams of no fixed address, has been charged with attempted robbery as well as grand larceny, from a previous warrant.

As for Rivera, he’s taking his five minutes of fame — which included an interview with NBC4 — in stride. After all, he’s already used to the spotlight, given that he plays the conga in two bands.

“It’s not a big deal to me,” he said of the new-found attention.

Man Arrested After Brazen ATM Robbery in Courthouse

By ARLnow.com

(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) A man has been arrested after a brazen daytime robbery attempt just outside the county government building in Courthouse.

The crime was called into police around 1:10 p.m. Initial reports suggest the man put a female victim in a choke hold after she entered her PIN number into the Arlington County Federal Credit Union ATM in Courthouse Plaza, just steps from the main entrance of the county government building and across the street from the Arlington County Police headquarters.

The woman reportedly ran away while the man attempted to use her ATM account. It’s unclear whether he withdrew money from the machine.

Several people then started chasing the suspect into the residential Lyon Village area, just north of Courthouse, according to police radio traffic and a witness. Police eventually took over the chase and arrested the man in a yard just near Key Elementary school.

One of the people who initially helped to chase the suspect was an employee in the county’s Commissioner of Revenue office, according to county spokeswoman Mary Curtius. The employee heard the victim scream and then gave chase, Curtius said.

Two Charged With False Robbery Report

By ARLnow.com

Police have arrested a business owner and his employee and charged them with making up a story about a robbery in order to collect insurance money.

On the morning of Friday, June 10, a woman called police and claimed that two African American men in their 20s had stolen a $20,000 bank deposit from her as she approached the Wachovia bank at S. George Mason Drive and Columbia Pike. According to the crime report at the time, she described one suspect as thin with dark clothing and the other as heavyset with a black shirt and khaki pants.

Numerous police officers responded to the call and searched the area for the suspects. In the end, police say, the story was nothing but a ruse to collect insurance money.

Tomas Benitez, 49, the owner of a small Columbia Pike business called Eagle Communications, was charged with Conspiracy to Commit Grand Larceny. Police say he instructed his employee, 44-year-old Patricia Lopez, to report the robbery so that he could make an insurance claim.

Lopez has been charged with Filing a False Police Report.

Crime Report: Four Charged With Cell Phone Robbery

By ARLnow.com

How many people does it take to steal a cell phone and some cash in Ballston? Four, according to this week’s Arlington County crime report.

ROBBERY-ARREST, 06/23/11, 1100 block of N. Stafford Street. On June 22 at 11 pm, four men confronted and assaulted a man walking down the street. They stole his phone and some currency. Police located the suspects. Taha Bencherki, 20, of Washington D.C., Garland Mines, 25, of no fixed address, D’Lonte Fuller, 21, of Arlington, and Lamont Russ, 21 of Arlington, we all charged with Robbery. They were held without bond.

As always, suspects mentioned in the police department’s crime report are innocent until proven guilty. The rest of this week’s report, after the jump.

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Armed Robbery at Ballston Quiznos

By ARLnow.com

We’re just finding out about a brazen armed robbery in the middle of Ballston Wednesday evening.

A man held up the Quiznos in the National Science Foundation building (4201 Wilson Blvd) around 5:45 p.m., according to police and passersby. Police say the man entered the store, displayed a handgun and demanded money. He then locked the employees in the back of the store, took their cell phones and fled.

No injuries were reported.

Police describe the suspect as “an African American male in his 30’s, 5’8”-5’10”, wearing a black baseball cap, black hooded sweatshirt, black ‘fanny pack’ and jeans.”

Crime Report: Day Laborer Robbed

By ARLnow.com

In this week’s Arlington County crime report, we learn more about the suspect arrested after a series of foot chases Sunday night.

ABDUCTION-ARREST, 05/02/11, 4900 block of N. 19th Street. On May 1 at 11:15 pm, a 17 year-old female was attacked by a former acquaintance. The suspect grabbed the victim and pulled her to a wooded area where he attempted to sexually assault her. The victim managed to escape and call police. After an extensive search and several foot pursuits, police apprehended the suspect. Milton Masariego-Deleon, 22, of Arlington, was charged with Abduction with the Intent to Defile. He was held without bond.

On Tuesday night, three suspects lured a day laborer into their car, then assaulted him and stole his money and cell phone.

ROBBERY, 05/03/11, 600 block of S. Carlin Springs Road. On May 3 at 5:30 pm, a man entered a vehicle under the understanding that he was being hired for manual labor. An unknown female drove the car, and two unknown men were inside. The men then assaulted the subject and stole his cell phone and cash. The victim managed to flee the area. The suspects were all African American. The female was in her early 30’s, wore a purple top and had long hair. The first male suspect was in his late 20’s, 6’3″ with a skinny build. He was clean cut and wore a red and white short-sleeve shirt, black pants and black sunglasses. The second suspect was in his mid-30’s, 6’3″ with a chubby build. He had a goatee and wore a blue and red t-shirt and black pants.

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

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Crime Report: Hot Lingerie and Pepper Spray

By ARLnow.com

A Victoria’s Secret clerk was attacked with pepper spray when she tried to stop a man and a woman from stealing lingerie, according to this week’s Arlington County crime report. The incident happened last Thursday at the Victoria’s Secret store in Ballston Common Mall.

ROBBERY 04/07/11, 4200 block of Wilson Boulevard. On April 7 at 2:20 pm, two people stole items from a lingerie store. When a clerk attempted to stop them, one suspect sprayed a caustic substance at the victim. One suspect was an African American male in his 20’s, dressed as a woman. He was wearing a gray sweater, black pants and carried a Louis Vuitton purse. The second suspect was an African American female, 5’2″ and 185 lbs. She was wearing black pants and carried a zebra print purse.

The rest of the crime report, after the jump.

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Two Arrested After Attempted Robbery in Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Two juveniles are in police custody after a daylight attempted robbery just blocks from the Clarendon Metro, according to police radio traffic.

A call came in around noon for an attempted robbery involving a suspect who displayed a knife. Police responded to the intersection of Washington Boulevard and North Johnson Street, about two blocks away from the Clarendon Metro.

Initial reports suggest two teenage suspects, a boy and a girl, have been taken into custody.

The robbery victim was not hurt.

Crime Report: Taxi Drivers Attacked

By ARLnow.com

Two weeks ago we reported on a taxi driver accused of forcing a young female customer to get out in a bad neighborhood, leading to her being attacked while walking home. Here are two reminders that taxi drivers themselves are often in harms way.

ATTEMPT ROBBERY-ARREST 11/29/10, 2100 block of Wilson Boulevard. On November 29 at 4:30 pm, a man approached a cab driver and tried to assault him while demanding money. Bukhari Daoud, 31, of no fixed address, was charged with Attempted Robbery and Drunk in Public. He was held without bond.

ROBBERY 11/30/10, 400 block of S. 23rd Street. On November 30 at 1 am, a man asked a cab driver for money, and stole his meter when the driver refused. The suspect also assaulted the victim. The suspect is known.

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

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