Police: Armed, drunk men arrested in Clarendon and Ballston over weekend

A pair of remarkably similar incidents has landed two Arlington men in jail.

The incidents occurred within an hour of one another early Sunday morning. In each, a drunk man allegedly got in a dispute, brandished or claimed to have a gun, and was subsequently arrested and found to be armed after police were called, according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report.

Both happened in or in proximity to bars — one in Ballston, shortly after midnight, and another in Clarendon, around 1 a.m.

From ACPD:

RECKLESS HANDLING OF A FIREARM, 2023-05210005, 4100 block of Fairfax Drive. At approximately 12:12 a.m. on May 21, police were dispatched to the report of a person with a gun inside a business. Upon arrival, it was determined the suspect became engaged in a verbal dispute with the victims, during which he allegedly brandished a firearm. The suspect left the scene on foot, was located by responding officers and taken into custody without incident. A search of his person incident to arrest yielded a firearm. The victims did not remain on scene and no injuries were reported. [The suspect], 32, of Arlington, Va. was arrested and charged with Reckless Handling of a Firearm, Public Intoxication and Carrying a Concealed Weapon While Intoxicated.

RECKLESS HANDLING OF A FIREARM, 2023-05210013, 3100 block of Clarendon Boulevard. At approximately 1:00 a.m. on May 21, police were dispatched to the report of disorderly conduct. Upon arrival, it was determined the male suspect became involved in a verbal dispute with the victim, during which he allegedly knocked the suspect’s hat off of his head and implied he had a weapon. As responding officers attempted to detain the suspect, he ran from the area and discarded what appeared to be a firearm before being taken into custody. A search of the area yielded a loaded firearm. No injuries were reported. [The suspect], 21, of Arlington, Va. was arrested and charged with Reckless Handling of a Firearm, Assault and Battery, Drunk in Public and Obstruction of Justice.

Also in the crime report, three teens allegedly fired gel pellets at someone inside a business on the 2000 block of Wilson Blvd in Courthouse. That’s the same block as the new Taco Bell Cantina, though the identity business was not revealed by police.

From the crime report:

MISSILE INTO AN OCCUPIED DWELLING, 2023-05210169, 2000 block of Wilson Boulevard. At approximately 4:13 p.m. on May 21, police were dispatched to the report of disorderly conduct. Upon arrival, it was determined three unknown juvenile suspects discharged gel pellets inside a business, striking one victim. No injuries were reported. The suspects fled the scene on foot and responding officers canvassed the area for the suspects yielding negative results.