A man reportedly attempted to rob a small store while displaying some sort of a weapon, initially said to be a gun but possibly a pipe.
The search for the suspect has now been called off. Earlier, Fairfax County police were using a police dog and a helicopter to try to track the suspect. Arlington police, meanwhile, searched the area around nearby Kenmore Middle School and Carlin Springs Elementary School.
(Updated at 12:05 a.m. on 12/23/21) A Virginia Hospital Center worker has been arrested and charged in a bizarre attempted robbery at the hospital.
Police say 48-year-old Alexandria resident [name redacted], an employee at the hospital’s cafeteria, tried to rob his own employer over the weekend.
Two men impersonating police officers with a search warrant forced their way into a home on the 300 block of S. Fillmore Street around 11:20 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23, according to Arlington County police. One of the suspects held the residents — a woman and two children — at knifepoint in the living room while the second suspect, armed with a handgun, ransacked the house. In the end, the suspects made off with nearly $13,000 in cash and jewelry.
A police source has confirmed to ARLnow.com that the house targeted by the two armed robbers was that of Rafi Khan, 23, who was arrested in December and charged with two counts of bank robbery. Both robberies both took place in Arlington over the course of a week.
Chopper Called in for Suspect Search — The U.S. Park Police Eagle 2 helicopter hovered over the Claremont neighborhood — near Wakefield High School — for about half an hour last night while assisting Arlington County Police in a search for several armed robbery suspects. The chopper assisted police and K-9 units on the ground in the search for the suspects in a armed robbery on the 1000 block of S. Frederick Street, in the Columbia Forest neighborhood, according to ACPD spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. Police eventually arrested three men in connection with the crime, according to police radio traffic.
Board to Consider ‘Pipestem’ Lot — The County Board is expected to decide this weekend on a controversial development proposal in the Leeway Overlee neighborhood. A developer wants to build a large new home on a parcel of land set back from the street and only connected to the street via only a thin driveway strip known as a “pipestem.” Neighbors have been fighting the plan, but to some degree state law — which emphasizes the rights of property owners — prevents the Board from completely blocking development on the lot. [Sun Gazette]
A female escort was held against her will and sexually assaulted in a Crystal City hotel room last week, according to the latest Arlington County crime report.
ABDUCTION WITH INTENT TO DEFILE / SEXUAL ASSAULT, 01/19/12, 2000 block of S. Jefferson Davis Highway. On January 19, around 8 pm, a female escort was held against her will in a hotel room while an unknown male sexually assaulted her. The suspect is a black male, 30-39, 170 lbs.
On Monday, two armed men robbed a jewelry store on Lee Highway, holding employees at gunpoint while snatching the store’s merchandise. One of the suspects was wearing a “one-piece burka with a hood,” according to this week’s Arlington County crime report.
ARMED ROBBERY, 01/16/12, 5100 block of N Lee Highway. On January 16 at 7:42 pm, two unknown suspects entered a jewelry store, brandished a firearm and while one suspect held the employees at gunpoint, the other suspect took an unknown amount of jewelry. Suspect description is two black males; one age 35-45, 6′ 250 lbs wearing a black hoody and jeans and the other 5’8 155 lbs wearing a one-piece burka with a hood.
Among the incidents reported: a police cruiser window was smashed, a Courthouse area business was broken into and a gas station was robbed at gunpoint. All three incidents resulted in arrests.
From the ACPD daily crime report:
Rosslyn Exxon Robbed at Gunpoint — The Exxon at 1824 Wilson Boulevard, in the Rosslyn area, was robbed early Wednesday morning. Police say two men robbed the gas station at gunpoint around 2:50 a.m. “The suspects were both African American men in their 30’s, around 5’10,” Arlington County Police said in the department’s daily crime report. “One subject was wearing a ski mask; the other had a medium complexion and a small mustache.”
Wag More Dogs Case Heading Back to Court — In a newspaper op-ed entitled “Arlington County Scrooges Need Bigger Hearts,” Wag More Dogs owner Kim Houghton says the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear her case early next year. Houghton, with the assistance of the Arlington-based Institute for Justice, is suing Arlington County over a dog mural painted on the side of her Shirlington doggie daycare business. The county has deemed the mural an illegal sign, while Houghton argues that it’s a work of art. [Washington Times]
In this week’s Arlington County crime report, a female escort is robbed at gunpoint in Crystal City.
ROBBERY, 12/15/11, 2000 block of Jefferson Davis Highway. On December 15 at 10:50 am, a man brandishing a handgun robbed a female escort of cash. The suspect is described as an African American male in his late 20’s, 5’6″ and 180 lbs. He was wearing a white t-shirt reading “Myrtle Beach”, jeans, a black jacket, and a black knit cap.
Ray’s Hell Burger in Rosslyn was the scene of an armed robbery on Thursday night. The well-known restaurant was robbed by three men dressed in ski masks and sunglasses, we’re told.
From this week’s Arlington County crime report:
Guns were involved in two notable incidents from this week’s Arlington County crime report.
Last Wednesday, an argument in the Pentagon City mall food court turned dangerous when a man brandished a handgun at three teenagers. Police say the suspect was accompanying a pregnant woman at the time.
According to Arlington Police, the luxury SUV was stolen around 10:30 last night. Two men wearing masks and pointing guns approached the car after it pulled out of a driveway on the 1100 block of S. 18th Street. The men, described as in their late teens or early 20s, forced two women out of the car, stole their purses and drove off.
Just after noon today, the Porsche and two men — presumed to be the same suspects from last night — were involved in an armored car robbery at 16th and M Streets NW, just south of Scott Circle in the District. The men — one with a machine gun and the other with a 9 millimeter pistol — attempted to hold up a Brinks truck, according to initial reports. It’s unclear if they made off with any money.
