ACPD: Knife-Wielding Man Lands in Jail After Bar Fight in Clarendon

A 39-year-old man from Hyattsville is facing charges after police say he threw a beer bottle, brandished a knife and harassed a group of people in Clarendon.

Police were called to the 3100 block of Wilson Blvd, in the heart of Clarendon’s bar district, just after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a man threatening people with a knife.

From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

Upon arrival, it was determined that the suspect was inside a restaurant when he became involved in a verbal altercation with a group of individuals. The suspect then allegedly followed the group to different restaurants while making verbally harassing statements. The verbal altercation continued to escalate, during which a member of the group grabbed the suspect’s cell phone and smashed it on the ground. The suspect then produced a knife.

The alleged drunken fracas continued inside a restaurant, where an innocent bystander was struck and injured by a flying beer bottle.

As bystanders attempted to separate the parties and escort the suspect out of the restaurant, he grabbed a beer bottle and threw it in the direction of the group. The bottle struck a bystander causing a laceration to the head. The bystander was transported to an area hospital for treatment. The suspect then left the scene and entered a separate restaurant where officers located him and took him into custody without incident.

Police say they found ID cards with someone else’s information while searching the suspect. The 39-year-old from Hyattsville, Maryland is now facing charges of Assault and Battery, Simple Assault, Drunk in Public, Identity Theft and Possession of Fictitious ID.

Separately, a 36-year-old Arlington man was charged with Destruction of Property for smashing the suspect’s phone. He was released on a summons.