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Six Detained at Columbia Pike Days Inn

by ARLnow.com | December 14, 2011 at 9:58 am | 4,082 views | 67 Comments

Six people were detained by police at the Columbia Pike Days Inn motel yesterday after a tip about prostitution led officers to a stolen vehicle.

Officers investigating a tip about prostitution activity at the Days Inn discovered an SUV that had been reported stolen out of Pennsylvania in the parking lot, according to Arlington County Police spokeswoman Det. Crystal Nosal. Officers kept an eye on the SUV and, when several people got in and started to drive off yesterday afternoon, police swooped in in dramatic fashion, blocking the vehicle in and handcuffing the occupants.

Six people — four women and two men — were detained. As of this morning, charges have still not yet been filed against the six suspects, we’re told.

NBC4 — which had a photographer on the scene within minutes of the arrests — led its 11:00 p.m. newscast with the story. The station’s website says the arrests were related to a “suspected prostitution ring in Arlington.”

Ghetto Ho

I prefer La Quinta.
- Clarendon
  
  Try The Highlander – it has a wee bit more local flavor.
FREDTERP

They can’t use the Crystal City motel anymore? FREDTERP
- FairlingtonD
  
  Americana Inn.
  - PCity
    
    “The Best among Arlington, VA Hotels- The Americana Hotel”
    
    http://www.americanahotel.com/
    - FairlingtonD
      
      Changing to a “Hotel” changed everything evidently. That and some self-promotion.
- Z
  
  You realize you don’t have to sign your comments because your user name is directly above them, right? FREDTERP
Glebe Roader

There is no apostrophe in Days Inn.
- http://www.arlnow.com ARLnow.com
  
  okay
YTK

I hope no one is surprised about this.
- Captain Renault
  
  I’m shocked, shocked to find that prostitution is going on in here!
South Arlington

Tear this dump down finally. Keep up the gentrification. Keep on fixing up Columbia Pike.
- John K.
  
  Yeah, that’ll fix Columbia Pike. The Days Inn is THE problem (eye roll).
  - South Arlington
    
    The crappy Days Inn is part of the problem. I’m glad the process has been started to tear down the slummy buildings and replace them with new development. Keep it going!
    - John K.
      
      I don’t see it. The problems in that part of the Pike seem to be more from either the folks who live in the area or the commuting criminal element from across the river. I mean, if you just want to look down at the horrible, unwashed, WalMart-shopping mouthbreathers who dare to stay at a DaysInn on Columbia Pike instead of in Manassass or Lexington Park, so be it, but I wouldn’t the Pike’s “problem” to that establishment.
      - South Arlington
        
        It’s a remnant of the past when Columbia Pike was as low rent as areas come, hence the construction and operation of a low rent motel like the Days Inn. Times are changing, new development is coming, property values are rising, more affluent residents are moving into Arlington Heights and Penrose. The area is in the beginning process of sweeping out the dumpy and building new investement in the area. The Pike’s problem is decades of neglect leading to depressed rents and property value. That is in the process of being reversed (in large part due to the promise of the streetcar), and the next steps should be redeveloping eye sores/crime magnets like the Days Inn along with a host of other structures.
      - Zoning Victim
        
        “in large part due to the promise of the streetcar”
        
        Yeah, right; over a decade of rising house prices are all because of a stupid, overpriced bus on rails. If that’s the case, they should put one right through the heart of Anacostia. Heck, according to you, they don’t even really have to build one; they just have to promise they will, someday. Think of all of the low-rent, crime ridden places that could be saved.
      - South Arlington
        
        I bought in Penrose in large part due to the new development on the Pike that the streetcar is bringing. Just read the Arlnow article on William Jeffrey’s – the streetcar is what got them to make the substantial investment into their new business. Penrose Square, Siena Park and the Halstead all would still be stagnant, half vacant buildings. In fact, before the streetcar started moving forward, the Pike was largely a stagnant place with little to no new investment. So yes, the promise of the streetcar is spurring on new investment in the area, new residential development (both new housing in the adjoining neighborhoods and condo/apartments) and new demand in the existing housing stock.
      - Zoning Victim
        
        I bought in the area over a decade ago because of what it had to offer then, not because of the promise of a trolley. So you’re telling me it’s the streetcar; not the convenience of the location and it’s relatively low price given the rest of the area that made you want to buy in Penrose? If that’s the case, then why did you pay the premium to live in Arlington when you could have moved a little further down the proposed trolley line and saved a bundle?
        
        The values in this area have been going up since before I purchased here, and if anything, the appreciation in property values has slowed since the new development started along with the rest of the housing market.
        
        I’ll never understand why people seem to think that the only way to get people in and out of this section of town is to tear everything up and put in a trolley; I think a few people are just enamored with the quaintness of it. You can move just as many people along the same route for a lot less money and with a lot less damage and disruption by putting in dedicated busses just like Old Town did. It works great, would accomplish the same thing for less money and it’s flexible, unlike a rail system.
      - South Arlington
        
        When I first moved to the area as a renter, there were limited amenities on the Pike – Bob and Ediths was there, the horrendous old Giant and Safeway were there, the Drafthouse was there (under old ownership they played lots of indie flicks to empty houses that they’d keep screening for well over a month – much worse than the current excellent, proactive owners), and Bangkok 54 was there. Not much else. LA Bar and Grill was still a Salvadorean restaurant. If the Pike had stayed the same, I doubt I’d have bought in Penrose. I like walking places, I like having entertainment and dining options near my home. The Pike streetcar is what kicked off a lot of the new development that is spurring the new investment. My house has appreciated in the past few years, and like them or hate them, you would never have found 1.25 million dollar new housing being built AND being sold (8th St and Wayne) in this neighborhood.
        
        Of course convenience and location played into the equation. I bike to work most of the time and wouldn’t need to ride the streetcar. We’ve already gone through a scare when WMATA canceled the 24P route that used to connect Penrose to the Pentagon (luckily Arlington stepped in and took over the route). Buses aren’t permanent. You’re asking businesses to make substantial investments in the area, rails are a permanent investment in the area that businesses can in turn use as assurances that a neighborhood is moving forward before they invest millions into new capital, real estate and equipment. Just read the Arlnow quote on the streetcar from the owners of William Jeffrey’s: “That was one of the selling points to this area, that that should be down here some day. I think connecting this area with Fairfax and making it a little more Metro accessible can only help develop this whole area.”
        
        If you’re speaking purely on transit terms, then I see the streetcar as being only a marginal improvement over the buses. As a transformative change to the neighborhood’s attractiveness for new investment, the streetcar is a huge improvement. The Old Town buses you cite did nothing to spur any improvements to the shoddy neighborhoods off Seminary, nor did they spur any investment in those areas.
      - Hattie McDaniel
        
        they should put one right through the heart of Anacostia
        
        “They” are way ahead of you: http://www.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/On+Your+Street/Mass+Transit+in+DC/DC+Streetcar
      - Zoning Victim
        
        The streetcar isn’t a done deal until it’s put in; every business owner knows that. In Old Town, it was already established, already has great metro support (by comparison to us) and it’s not as close to DC as we are. I just don’t agree that a distant promise of a trolley is what spured things around here, and as someone else already pointed out, property values are down all over 22204. I own a pretty big house here, and I’ve been through three appraisals in the last six months (don’t ask); believe it or not, my house appraises for $40K less than it did six months ago.
        
        I can’t decide whether or not to be happy about the changes along the pike. While it’s nice to have closer things that I can walk to (although, it’s not like it was anywhere near as sparse as you paint it to be), we’ve lost a lot of what was cool about this part of town. We used to have a lot of small eclectic places, really interesting “lifers” who have been in this neighborhood since they were born and our own Hardware store with people working in it who actually knew where everything was and carried the stuff the old houses around here needed. Now we have two giant buildings that look totally out of place, huge million dollar bars, terrible traffic and uppity people who go crazy because someone put a rap song on the radio in a bar. It won’t be long before all that can afford to be here the same lame specialty (as in $25 special) pizza and frozen yogurt joints. Progress has its disadvantages.
      - John K.
        
        Sigh…while I stand to make a tidy profit off of people who think like that when I leave the Pike, I don’t aspire to live in that world. I wish that worldview would stay up in the Clarendon corridor. You really think Columbia Pike was “as low rent as they come”? Really? Wow… I don’t mean to be personal… but, did you grow up in Potomac or Darien, CT or something? The Pike is not high-class, but… wow…
      - Arlwhenver
        
        Increased property values?
        
        From today’s Gazette,
        
        “22204: Sales totaled 31, up from 25. The average sales price of $342,471 was down 12.3 percent, while the median sales price of $359,900 was down 8.7 percent. Homes spent an average of 69 days on the market, up from 48.”
        
        Just keep that $300 million dollar streetcar coming.
      - South Arlington
        
        My house in Penrose has gone up. Regardless, the other option is to do nothing and watch Columbia Pike stagnate back to what it was.
- Thai Food
  
  Keep Rincome, great Thai food there!
Josh S

Or — legalize prostitution.

Victimless crime.
- Sam
  
  Except when it involves human trafficking to support it….just saying….
  - Josh S
    
    So keep human trafficking illegal.
  - KalashniKEV
    
    The trafficking industry would take a huge hit if the business of prostitution were ever brought to legitimacy and regulated.
    
    The System works to keep the girls scared, broke, and desperate- and to keep everything in the shadows rather than deal with the issue.
    - Quoth the Raven
      
      Not quite sure that’s true – look at places where prostitution is legalized (places like Amsterdam and Thailand). They have HUGE trafficking issues. It’s just not as simple as saying “legalize prostitution but keep trafficking illegal.”
      - KalashniKEV
        
        That’s because they don’t care to stop it.
      - http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/index.htm Wrong
        
        That is false. Take a look at the Trafficking in Persons Report from the State Department, which ranks every country (other than the USA) on its problem with trafficking; Tier 3 is worst.
        
        Legalized prostitution does not correlate with prevalence of human trafficking, either as a source or destination country. Source countries have one thing in common: poverty and corruption. Destination countries (Saudi Arabia being among the very worst, despite a law against prostitution) have one thing in common: corruption.
        
        Thailand is on the tier 2 watch list because it’s a corrupt country with a lot of poverty. So many Thai women end up being trafficked to Europe and Asia, and women from neighboring countries are trafficked to Thailand.
        
        The Netherlands is on Tier 1.
      - http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/index.htm Wrong
        
        Oops–posted the URL in the window, but it didn’t show up:
        http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/index.htm
      - Quoth the Raven
        
        Noted, but recall that a nation’s tier placement does not mean that it isn’t a problem – it’s a reflection of that nation’s government’s adherence to a set of principles. For example, from the narrative for the Netherlands, it says:
        
        “The Netherlands is primarily a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Women from the Netherlands, Nigeria, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Sierra Leone were the top six countries of origin for identified female victims of forced prostitution in 2010.”
        
        So, there you have (at least in one category) the Netherlands in the top six, although it’s a tier 1 country.
        
        My point, though, is that you can’t simply legalize prostitution and expect the human trafficking issue to just go away.
      - drax
        
        You can’t make prostitution ILLEGAL and expect human trafficking to go away either.
        
        The best way to deal with a crime is to deal with the crime itself, not make everything around it criminal. Make prostitution legal, regulate it, give legitimate prostitution shelter, and take the wind out of the sails of the traffickers.
- Arlwhenver
  
  ++
ArlingtonWay

If there had only been a trolley system by which the pimps and their ladies could have gotten to this lovely facility, there would have been no need to steal a car.
OX4

132 and Bush, I’ve got him at gunpoint…
Bob Smith

It’s Columbia Pike, what do you expect? Any South in Arlington blows, including the Pike.
- Greg
  
  Well there’s your problem.
- pikershorts
  
  Stay out.
  - FrenchyB
    
    Amen.
The Gov..

You had me at prostitution..
Hank Hill

the trolleys are going to promote prostitution
- http://www.espn.com Todd Todd
  
  +1
- KalashniKEV
  
  Prostitution is currently fueled by trafficking… and we know if they tore up the street for a few years during construction and then added a big, clumsy, stuck on rails streetcar, traveling at 4 MPH and stopping every few corners it would completely stop all traffic on the Pike.
  
  So the streetcar will put an end to traffic!
Jennifer

If you want the apostrophe, it’s going to cost extra.
- drax
  
  LOL. So is a happy ending an exclamation point?
  - Inquiring Mind
    
    This is offensive; please delete.
    - Illogic Brigade
      
      Wouldn’t it have been easier to just not post in the first place?
charlie

ever since they stopped regulating massage businesses, things have been going down hill.
joey

Wow Columbia pike is up and coming. First loan max, now hookers, and abc store comming soon
- Columbia Dyke
  
  At least no bank robberies like North o’ 50.
  - Zoning Victim
    
    When asked why they were staking out a hotel instead of a bank in light of all of the bank robberies this year, Det. Nosal replied “well, it was a choice between staking out banks to nab bank robbers or staking out a hotel to catch some prostitutes; what do you expect us to do? People were getting laid for god sake! Bank robbers never give happy endings, so prostitutes had to take precedence, obviously.”
  - I’m Drowning in a Sea of Democrats
    
    To quote Willie Sutton, “Because that’s where the money is.”
JamesE

Wow, good thing I didn’t go there last night for my weekly ZJ.
- JohnB
  
  If you have to ask, you can’t afford it.
NoVapologist

“Trolley”
“Trollope”

Coincidence?
jim

I have to laugh about these nitwits who think the “streetcar” is 1) actually going to happen (see recent report on huge cost overruns) or 2) would be a positive to businesses on the Pike if it did. The traffic problems would be a disaster. Notwithstanding the County Board’s pie in the sky policies, people just aint going to give up their cars and any policy that assumes they will is highly flawed.
- South Arlington
  
  Yes, because businesses are really not thriving on H St. NE in DC at all despite streetcar construction.
jim

Right, H St NE is comparable to Columbia Pike. Thanks for proving my point…………..
- South Arlington
  
  It is very similar to Columbia Pike. An urban area close to but not on the Metro line, long neglected, and ripe for a renaissance.
  
  Not sure what point was proven by your subpar and buffoonish argumentation.
demonfafa

Pfft. That place is a dump. I get all my hookers at the Sheraton up the street. That’s a classy joint.
Nuprin

To all you haters of S. Arlington. It’s not like the North is any better, want to find hookers there in N. Arlington, look to N. Pershing and N. Glebe you’ll see them hanging out at the CVS. You want to talk about eye sores, you’ve got plenty up there too. Check out Buckingham area.
Truthi

The Trolley does fuel prostitution. Pimps are sinking massive investments in Columbia Pike so that folks can use green transit for their hook ups….

Ok thats about as silly as William Jeffrey’s Tavern inveted a load on money on the Pike in anticipation of the trolley. SO what ae they going to do for five years before the trolley comes and the disruption that comes with it?

I do wonder if this has anythign to do with the much beloved (not) Arlington Physical Center.
The victim

They wasnt prostituting no evidence of that ever existed the vehicle was not stolen but was actually late on payments the idea tht the police was actually smart enough to catch a pimp slipping is insanely put … The media spends all situations to promote the effect of a job being done well .. Well let me burst ur bubble i never hade prostitutes there never made 30,000 in two days for the record Arlington

Morning Notes Hynes, Tejada Sworn In for New County Board Terms

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